We always had fresh meat growing up or meat we had put in our freezer. But, never had I had meat-in-a-can. When I married, we moved to Austin with the U.S. Air Force. On one of my first trips to the grocery store, I discovered meat-in-a-can. There was canned chicken, canned beef and canned pork. And then, I saw a can of corned beef hash. I wasn’t certain what it was, but the picture on the can looked pretty good. I thought it would be a good stand-in for meals when we did not have meat in our refrigerator, so I bought a couple of cans. In the military, we were paid once a month, so it made monthly grocery shopping easier when I could purchase meat-in-a-can.

I’m certain we young military brides were no different back then than they are today. We sat around talking about just about everything, naturally this included cooking meals for our new husbands. My ears perked up when one of the wives began to talk about corned beef. She talked about different ways she would prepare corned beef and how good it was. Naturally, when I went home, I cooked my first corned beef. My husband and I both liked the taste of this new meat-in-a-can. I cooked it several ways and usually went back to this simple, easy way to prepare a quick breakfast. After he was out of service, this simple breakfast almost became a part of the past. We both worked, I would grab a bowl of cereal and he would eat with the guys after he arrived at his office.

A few days ago, I was with a friend in Elberta and decided to stop in at Grits & Gravy for breakfast. This is a small restaurant but obviously a favorite of all the locals. This place was crowded! When I first glanced at the menu, I was surprised to see hash and eggs. Wow, what a blast from the past. I had not thought of hash and eggs in such a long time. Their hash tasted better than mine ever did; they probably don’t use meat-in-a-can. We enjoyed our breakfast so much that we went back another day, for good measure. Their food is good, the service was great and I’m sure we will go to Grits & Gravy again.

Hash and eggs

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can corned beef hash, 16 ounces

4 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation for hash and eggs

Heat oil in a heavy skillet. (I like to use my cast iron skillet.) Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add corned beef hash and mix together, breaking up hash with a large spoon. Cook over medium heat for 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low and pat hash mixture to make it flat. Use the back of the spoon and make 4 wells in the hash. Break one egg at the time into a small dish. Gently pour egg into well. Repeat for additional eggs. Put a lid on skillet and cook until the white of eggs are done. Serve warm with grits or hash brown potatoes.

From the scriptures

Spiritual food is essential for all of us, as well as physical food. We enjoy two or three meals every day. We should nourish our mind and feed our spirit daily just as we feed our body. Reading our Bible daily is one way to feed our spirit.

Our Scripture for this week is: Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Such a great verse for newlywed couples. With so much to learn and so many new experiences, this scripture will always be with you during this new phase of your life and for ever and ever.