Sunday morning O'briens

I have this little (my sister would even go so far as to say, nasty) habit of waking up EARLY on the weekends. Usually between 6-7am I wake up, do my weekend ritual of opening all the curtains and blinds and letting the sun pour in while I go around dusting and sweeping and whatnot. This is when I am full of energy, the sunshine in the house renews me, letting me borrow it's life and vitality. And trust me when I say I take advantage of this rare time. If things don't get cleaned, swept, mopped or dusted in the mornings, then they never will until the next weekend. And for some reason, I don't like to clean or do any housework when it's dark out, I know that may sound silly to some of you out there, but I just can't. This may be partly my mom's fault because we had this weekend thing of waking up on Saturdays and cleaning the entire house before we were allowed to go out. Actually, before we even asked to go out or for her to drive us to a movie or over to a friend's, we knew the house had better be cleaned. I can appreciate that sort of thing now, thanks Mum!

However, after last nite's bridal shower/party, I was pooped. There was no cleaning to be done nor blinds to be opened. I didn't have any strength. It's like those certain times when you've been up all nite and your stomach is queasy and nauseous because you've been doing stuff you probably shouldn't have. Think Anthony Bourdain type of nite! Well, I don't think he can ever be outdone, but we sure try.

I guess all the cleaning gets to me because I am usually starving afterwards. I needed to make something quick and easy and in one pan.

O'briens:
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min

VIP's:

• 15-20 fingerling potatoes - washed and quartered
• 1/2 red onion - chopped in large chunks
• 1/2 bell pepper - washed and chopped in large pieces
• 2-3 jalapenos - washed and chopped in large pieces
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste

The play:

1. in a wide saute pan, heat oil, add chopped potatoes and salt, cover
2. after a few minutes add the onion, bell pepper and jalapenos, cover
3. stir every so often for the next 10-15 min until the potatoes are done
4. after the potatoes are cooked, add freshly ground black pepper and serve

Notes: if you want something even more filling and carb-laden or to feed a hungry crowd, turn these into breakfast tacos. Warm up some tortillas, fill them with O'briens and refried beans, and then top off with some spicy salsa.