Valentine's Day Brunch for One

Valentine's day was never one of our favorite holidays when we were newly married. So overdone with the heart cards, cheap candy boxes, overpriced flowers etc. We loved each other everyday so didn't need an official "holiday" to show it. As the years passed I started making "Valentine's day themed" dinners that we shared with friends. Sometimes it was heart shaped pizzas, other times I would make three or four course extravaganzas with the champagne and wine a flowin' . Steve would help cook and clean up (boy do I miss that!). We bought cards for each other, sometimes flowers and/or chocolate goodies. I bought him a bathrobe one year for God's sake!

This year I plan on sticking my head in the sand for V-Day. The cards are tucked away in a box of Valentine's decorations and will stay there until I can bring myself to dig them out again.
It has been 6 months since Steve died ( I can't believe it) and I am getting better at dealing with it but the cards are another matter. Oh well, I do have two days to change my mind.

Last week I went to Costco. Someone told me they had great sweet butter that made perfect pie crusts so I went to check it out. That is when reality hit me. Costco is NOT a store for  single peeps.  I bought the butter, all 4# of it, as well as a package of 6 lamb chops ( will have friends over) and one of their roasted chickens. Now I have to do something with the chicken!  I made enchiladas ( two of them), shredded some into my Easy Peasy Stir Fry and still have 3/4 of it left, so, this morning I decided to make Chicken Hash with a poached egg. We loved hash. I honestly thought I already posted a blog on hash as I have made it in various incarnations with lamb, roast beef, corned beef, turkey, chicken or shredded zucchini. Since I never posted any of them in a blog we'll start with this simple one.

Chicken Hash for 2

2 med. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and shredded. Place them in a bowl of water if not using them right away.
1/2 c. onion,chopped
1/2 c. red bell, chopped
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
Chicken stock or water
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried
1 T. chopped parsley
1 T. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325
Heat butter and oil in a heavy oven proof skillet.  Saute onion and red bell pepper until soft.  Drain and squeeze the shredded potatoes dry in a dishcloth.  Stir into the onion-pepper mixture. Let cook 3-5 min. until potatoes start to stick to the bottom of the skillet.  Stir to scrap up crispy bits a few times. Cover skillet and cook over med-lo heat 10 min to soften the potatoes, adding 1/4 c.stock or water if they are getting too brown and sticking.  Season with salt, pepper and paprika.  Add shredded chicken,oregano, 1/2 T. parsley and lemon juice.  Taste for seasoning.
Place skillet, uncovered into the oven to cook for 10 min.

Leftovers can be frozen for another brunch if you are making this for one.

To finish off the plate, I poached an egg and placed it on top of the hash, garnishing it with fresh ground pepper and some of the chopped parsley.  A slice of wheat bread cut into a heart with a cookie cutter was toasted and buttered.

Fruit was a composed plate of strawberries, blueberries, kiwi fruit, Cara Cara orange segments, a tablespoonful of roasted rhubarb and a few slices of dried persimmon.

Almost looks like the top of a fruit tart!

Bubbly was served and a toast was made to the wonderful life we shared together.