GREEN EGGS AND HAM WITH ITAL-TOTS AND GARLIC-CHEESY TOAST

Green Eggs and Ham with Ital-Tots and Garlic-Cheesy Toast image

Provided by Rachael Ray : Food Network

Time 35m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 19

1 sack frozen tater tots, any brand
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/2 cup baby spinach or arugula, 2 handfuls of leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil, about 10 to 12 leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts (pignoli), a palmful
1 small clove garlic, cracked from skin
Salt and pepper
2 rounded spoonfuls grated Parmigiano or Romano
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound breakfast ham, chopped
8 large eggs
A splash half-and-half or milk
Salt and pepper

Steps:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Open tots and pour 4 portions onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Sprinkle the tots with salt and dried seasonings and toss them around a bit to get the herbs to stick to the tots ¿ as the frost starts to melt the flavorings will set into place. Bake the tots until crisp, about 12 minutes.
Combine ingredients for green sauce in food processor and process until sauce forms; you are making a pesto sauce for the eggs. Set pesto aside and reserve.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and butter to pan, then add the chopped ham and cook to lightly brown at edges, 3 minutes or so.
Remove the tots from the oven and switch the broiler on to toast your bread.
Beat eggs and splash of half-and-half or milk with salt and pepper. Add eggs to the ham in the skillet and scramble them up with the ham to desired doneness and remove from heat.
Toast bread under hot broiler, 30 seconds on each side. Rub with cracked garlic then spread with butter and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan, the diced mozzarella and ground black pepper.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the tomato sauce, oregano, crushed red pepper, and the garlic clove from the toast. Cover with plastic wrap and heat for 2 minutes. Serve as dipping sauce for the tots.
Stir the pesto into the ham and eggs, making them "green", and serve with garlic-cheese toast on the side.