A Cowboy Christmas Brunch

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Roast Beef Hash and Eggs

Nana's Buttermilk Biscuits

Salsa

Green Chili

Orange Spice Cinnamon Rolls

Sliced Fruit
Christmas Cookies

Orange Juice 

Coffee

Getting things done ahead is the only way I can do a nice Christmas morning brunch... otherwise its scrambled eggs and Pop n Fresh around here.  Smile...  nothing wrong with that of course, but I love to put on a nice meal especially when there is a crowd coming to visit.    We have 4 little cowboys and a little baby cowgirl,  to join us this year, not to mention the big "Cowfolk" that will be here as well.  So.. it is a Cowboy's Christmas brunch for us.

I have made almost everything ahead of time and it is now in the freezer ready to go for Christmas morning.  We Cooked up a nice roast beef and plenty of potatoes to prepare for this.  Steve helped me to chop everything (His help is always greatly appreciated by me, and he is always quick to volunteer when he has a minute); the final preparation will be the easy part. 

I made up the napkins and napkin rings from a batch of bandanas and some leather ornaments our friend/neighbor Brett made for us a while back.  I thought they decorated the napkins perfectly, and made great party favors as well.  I was inspired by Lisa's napkins  over on Celebrate Creativity in all its forms.  If you want some wonderful Christmas decorating ideas and activities, check out her "25 days of Christmas" posts.  I have thoroughly enjoyed each one of them.

I used burlap and raffia to decorate for this brunch.  They are not fussy;  my imperfections can hide quite easily in this mode of decorating.  Burlap is the "thing" these days, and can be easily found and inexpensively paid for.  Love it.  

For the napkin rings,  I used burlap ribbon I had bought on sale earlier this year.  It is nice to use ribbon, because the edges are already  finished; only one cut is necessary.

Love Brett's leatherwork ornaments.

These Cowboy dishes were given to us many years ago by Steve's Grandparents.  They collected them in their younger years.  They are a treasure that we enjoy to this day.

I love the coffee pot.  It is unique, don't you think?

There were teacups/coffee cups....

    mugs, plates (big and little) and bowls.  There is medium sized platter and a big serving bowl as well.

This main dish is cooked and served in a cast iron skillet, cowboy style.

The Green Chili is hot and tastes wonderful over the hash and eggs.

Nana's Buttermilk Biscuits are the best. 

Roast Beef Hash and Eggs; a breakfast to satisfy any Cowboy; made with diced Roast Beef, potatoes, onions and green chilies and topped with an egg or two for everyone.

The Cinnamon Rolls and Biscuits can all be made ahead and frozen before being baked.  

Enjoy!

Cowboy Hash and Eggs

This wonderful breakfast can be prepared a week or so ahead of time, and put together in no time for any special occasion.  This year it will be the main course for our Christmas Brunch.  If you plan ahead, you can cook your roast and potatoes, chop them and store them in ziplock freezer bags along with the chopped onion and chilis.  Take them from Freezer to Refrigerator the night before, and put them together the morning "of".  Click here to see our Christmas Brunch.

Boil your potatoes whole, until just almost done; but still very firm.  Cool them completely,  then cube them into small cubes.  I boiled them with the skins on and then the skins come off easily while cooling.  Or just peel before you boil them; either way.

Have meat, potatoes and veggies cooked and diced and ready.  Steve diced up all the potatoes, onions and meat for me.  It was a great help.

Put your Meat, Potatoes, Green Chilis and Onions into separate ziplock freezer bags and freeze until the night before you want to use them. Thaw them in the refrigerator the night before, and in the morning begin putting all together.

 In a nice sized cast iron skillet, sauté the onions in oil.

 Once onions are slightly softened, add the potatoes and then meat.

 Next comes the green chili.  Stir all of the ingredients together, and allow them to lightly

 brown in the pan.

 Once the hash has started to brown, use a spoon to make indentations where your eggs are going to go.

 Crack an egg into each indentation.

 Crack all of the eggs into their little nest.

 Cover with foil and put into the oven.

Bake 10-12 minutes for soft yokes and 12 - 20 for firm yokes.  Use the cast iron skillet as your serving platter.  Dish up and garnish with salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, green onions or jalapeños.  Is wonderful served with Green Chili and cheese, and biscuits or tortilla wedges. 

Cowboy Roast Beef Hash and Eggs


Ingredients

4 cups potatoes diced ( They should be previously cooked, but still a little hard; you can also use ready-made cottage type hash browns).

3 cups Roast Beef Cut diced

1 1/2 cups White Onion diced

1 1/2  cups Green Chilis Chopped

3 Tablespoons butter or oil

2 Green Onions chopped

1 1/2 Cup Shredded Montery Jack Cheese

6 Eggs



Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Melt oil or butter in a large cast iron skillet.  Add onions, then potatoes, meat and chills. Mix and heat until the hash is heated through and bottom has begun to get crispy.  With a large spoon, make  indentations in the hash.  Crack the eggs and place one in each indentation.  Cover with foil and bake until bottom is crispy and eggs are cooked to desired amount; 10- 20 minutes. Smother with green chili and cheese if desired.  Serve with Tortilla wedges or biscuits.

Serves 6

Enjoy!

Nana's Buttermilk Biscuits

Steve's Grandmother was a good cook.  I don't think there was ever anything she made that we didn't all love.  There are two recipes,  however,  that she is best known for in our family, and those are her pancakes (another post  yet to come) and her biscuits.  Our family cherises these biscuits, and most of us have made them at one time or another.   I learned to make them early in our marriage... it was a rite of passage into the family so to speak hehehe.  Steve and I have both made these biscuits throughout our marriage;  They are a Saturday morning treat, and also a company treat.   On several occasions, I've given instructions for them over the phone to my grown kids; so now here  they are in 2D available anytime. for everyone.   Hope you all enjoy them.

Nana's Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

3 cups flour (and extra for cutting the biscuits)

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 pinches of salt (about a teaspoon)

5 Tablespoons Natural Palm shortening

1 Tablespoon shortening for the pan

Buttermilk (1 1/2 to 2 cups)

Intstructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix dry ingredients together
3. Cut shortening in until thoroughly  blended
4. Pour in buttermilk slowly, stirring as you go.  You will want enough buttermilk to make a sticky dough.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat it out with floured hands.  Pat it out to about  1 to 1 1/2 inches thick.  It is important not to make your biscuits too thin.  You want them to rise up nicely.
6. Put 1 Tablespoon shortening into an 8 or 9 inch pan.
7. Heat the pan in the oven until the shortening is melted.
8. Remove the pan from the oven.
9. Place the biscuits into the pan (place them in, and turn them over, allowing the shortening to lightly coat the topside of them).
10. Place your biscuits right up next to each other; this will create a taller,  moist and tender biscuit.
11. Bake for approximately 25- 30 minutes; until they are lightly golden brown on top.
12. Serve hot, buttered with Molasses butter,  Homemade Apple butter, Jam or Honey... Mmmmmm

Molasses Butter
When Steve was a little tyke, he watched his grandfather making his usual big show of whisking molasses and butter together for the family's favorite biscuit spread.  Little Steve quickly handed his biscuit to "Papa" for his portion to be applied.  Hehehe.  He couldn't talk yet, but he knew what was what.

Here's all you do to make it:

Allow your butter to sit at room temperature until softened.  Add molasses and whip together with a knife.  You can use whatever proportions that you like.  We like a medium to dark brown color.  It really is good, and is an old time treat.