Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet

I love comfort food, because...well.... it brings comfort. Who wouldn't want to start their day with a little comfort and a full stomach? Oh, and bacon. You have to have bacon. This dish contains both comfort AND bacon. Could it really get any better than that? I didn't think so either.

I made this in my trusty cast iron skillet, but if you don't have one, simply cook it in a regular skillet then transfer it to a baking dish before you add in the eggs. The smell of melted skillet handles is NOT pleasant, and will take away any feelings of comfort this dish may bring. Not even bacon could save it.

Alrighty. Let's get cooking.

Ingredients:
12 ounces of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cups peeled, diced sweet potato (roughly 1/2 inch pieces)
4 cups diced zucchini
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 large red bell pepper, diced
5 or 6 large eggs
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Cook bacon pieces in a 12-inch cast iron skillet until crisp. You're going to need a lot of bacon grease to cook the vegetables, so I would suggest cooking over medium heat so it will render the most fat.

2. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. There should be enough grease left in the pan to cover the entire bottom. If there isn't, add a bit of butter, lard or olive oil. You want right around 1/8 inch of oil/grease in the pan.

3. Before we go any further, you need to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Now, add your diced sweet potato to the pan, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook the sweet potato, stirring every few minutes, until it is golden brown on all sides and starting to get soft. This may take a bit.

4. Crank the heat up to high and add the zucchini, red pepper, and onion. Cook, stirring often, until all vegetables are soft.

5. Turn off the heat, and stir in the bacon.

6. Using a spoon, make 5 or 6 wells in the sweet potato mixture, and crack an egg into each one.

7. Put the entire skillet in the oven and let it bake until the eggs are as done as you like. I like the yolk to be runny, and it took about 9 minutes in my oven.  For the yolk to be set, it may take 14 to 15 minutes.

8. Remove the skillet from the oven, season with salt and pepper, then serve to hungry people!