The Denver Scramble is an easy, filling breakfast. Ham, onions, and peppers are tucked into pillows of scrambled eggs for a dish that’s just as good as the namesake omelet, but a lot quicker. Yum!
When I was growing up, my parents made omelets often on the weekends, especially in the summer. Mom would chop up the veggies from Dad’s garden and array them in an omelet bar on the counter. While a parental cooked up omelets, a slow task, to be sure, kids could come fill their omelets with whatever they wanted.
One of my favorites was what Dad called The Denver Omelet. It contained ham, onion, bell pepper, and tomato. A true Denver doesn’t usually have tomatoes, but ours did.
You wouldn’t believe the number of cherry tomatoes that man can grow every summer! Sheesh. 😉
When I serve omelets at our house it takes forever. Forever! Prepping omelets for eight is no small feat.
Making a Denver Scramble is so much easier for feeding a crowd than omelets. Just saute the omelet “fillings”, add the eggs, and scramble like you normally would. Tasty, tasty, tasty.
Denver Scramble with Prosciutto
Ham is one of the more frugal pork cuts available, next to shoulder, country strips, and pork loin. In fact, I can usually get all of the above for less than $2 a pound, depending on the season.
I often buy a ham at Easter and then stretch the leftovers. I slice or chop it and wrap it into meal-sized packages in foil in a freezer bag to stash in the deep freeze. Freezing below 0 degrees keeps food safe indefinitely. However, the longer it’s stored, there is a risk of losing quality. So, we try to use things up within 4 to 6 months.
If you’re doing a Whole 30 or trying to avoid sugar or additives, you can make this with chopped prosciutto. It’s super tasty with those little bits of meat in it, and it meets all the criteria. It’s not quite as pink as ham, evidenced in the picture above.
You can add diced tomatoes on top to serve if you like. That’s how my dad would do it. 😉
Denver Scramble
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1 cup diced ham or prosciutto
- 1 onion (1 cup chopped)
- 1 bell pepper (any color) any color (1 cup chopped)
- 12 egg beaten
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter or heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until clear. Stir in the ham or prosciutto as well as the bell pepper. Cook, stirring until the mixture is hot.
- Add the eggs, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook. Once the eggs start to turn white around the edges, stir the eggs to scramble. Continue to cook and stir until the eggs are cooked to your preference. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Tools I use for this recipe:
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife
- plastic cutting boards
- stainless steel mixing bowls
- Wire whisk
- nonstick skillet
Got a favorite breakfast recipe at YOUR house?
*This post was originally posted on July 12, 2012.
