PDA

View Full Version : Taters!! morphed into "A Mess"



mroliver77
09-14-2010, 02:55 PM
We have in my area lots of sand and black sand soil. Most of it is vegetable farmed for Campbell Soup. Co. When they harvest the potatoes a machine digs them and feeds them up a conveyor built of closely spaced rods that filter the dirt away and carry the spuds on up and into a truck driving alongside. Any stalks, weeds etc. are carried on up the conveyor and dropped behind the machine. Most of the taters are meek and take the ride with the others but a few latch on to the greenery and ride back to freedom some choose other methods of escape and are crushed to death.
Enough of that, Being a local I know a lot of folks and got permission to pick up taters laying in the field. It is not the easyest work but wont kill you either. My Lady friend and I picked up 7, 5 gallon buckets yesterday. She likes the very small ones to can and I like the larger ones as there is more usable tater with less work. In the winter I get up and take a wire brush to a handful of spuds. They clean very fast this way. I cut into 1" chunks and drop into some grease/oil on med heat. I will then skin an onion, mebbe cut up a pepper or get some out of the freezer and drop it in the pan. Let's not forget some garlic! Then some kind of meat, usually smoked sausage of some kind or left over brats, ham, bacon etc. When all cooked I scramble up a few eggs and add them and either cook as an omlet or scramble if my daughter is around. We call it "A Mess". Invented at the "Truckers Paradise" on US 24 outside of Liberty Center Ohio. Add or subtract ingredients as wanted/necessary. This will stay with you for hours in a tree stand!I need to get some of Hickories pepper butter made to top it off!
Jay

Dale in Louisiana
09-14-2010, 05:32 PM
Invented????

Try these. (http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/?p=509)

Same thing, different order, but good stuff. The eggs is a bit different...

Dale in Louisiana

Lloyd Smale
09-17-2010, 06:15 AM
nothing better then a skillet meal!!

Bulldogger
09-17-2010, 09:45 AM
Second the claim it's a great meal for when you've not sure when you'll take time to eat again that day. I've heard all kind of names for it, but I've taken to calling it Hash anymore. As long as it starts with cubed potatoes, it is bound to end up good. BDGR

pmeisel
09-19-2010, 09:34 PM
No disrespect to the fine chef at Liberty Center, but my dad made me the same meal decades ago and had been making it since the 40s... :-)

And I have had a similar meal at "Flo's", at the corner of 224 and 23 about halfway between Findlay and Tiffin... that was a good number of years ago, not even sure it's still there. I believe the postal address was Alvada, Ohio....

Here's to Flo's, Trucker's Paradise, and my dad, for knowing how to make simple good food.

sargenv
09-19-2010, 11:35 PM
I usually put together something like this that my wife and I loosely call a "cow pie". It looks like heck but tastes wonderful.. it might have spuds, onions, mushrooms, misc steamed veggies, misc saute'ed or grilled veggies, eggs, sausage, ground or sliced meat from the previous evening's dinner, and even sometimes some slightly stale bread to soak up the juices or eggs.. Usually topped with shredded cheese and placed under the broiler to just get the cheese melted.. Usually the three ingredients that are mandatory are cheese, eggs, and onions.

mroliver77
09-20-2010, 12:27 PM
I was lust kidding about it originating here! I have seen loacal variations when traveling. Thanks for everyones input and their version of it. I am headed over to my friends now to sort the taters and can some of them.
Jay