Sweet Potato and Asparagus Hash

One of the best things about feeling comfortable in the kitchen is creating your own recipes.  When I can open my fridge and grab the things I have on hand and create something delicious for my family it makes me proud -- even more proud than when I taught my son to sit.  {I’m referring to my son, Scrappy the dog, who really only sits when he feels like it and is on carpet -- so I guess I don’t have much to be proud of with him...}  So when I pulled this side dish out of my brain, I was pretty happy.  

It all began when Steve wanted steaks for dinner -- I had sweet potatoes and asparagus on hand and was going to do my typical grilled asparagus and baked sweet potatoes.  Then an epiphany hit -- let’s chop ‘em all up with some onion, bacon, and orange zest and juice and create something really spectacular.  Steve’s not a huge sweet potato fan but he gobbled this up like it was going out of style -- it’s bright and salty and the perfect companion to a thick juicy steak.

Sweet Potato and Asparagus Hash

3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces

4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into bite sized pieces

1 small white onion, diced

zest from 1 small orange

juice from 1/2 orange

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

2 tsp thyme, minced

1. Place a large frying pan over medium high heat.  Add bacon to pan and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan and keep warm.  
2. Discard all but 2 tbsp of bacon fat from frying pan.  Add cubed sweet potatoes and onions to the pan and saute.  Cook until potatoes begin to soften and onions become translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes.  
3. Add orange zest and juice to potato/onion mixture and stir to combine.  Add asparagus to pan and stir.  Let orange juice reduce then add bacon, thyme and black pepper to pan.  Allow mixture to crisp up, if desired.