Puffy Ham and Cheese Omelet!

I decided start my weekend out with a new recipe found in a Taste of Home book I have. I've never used puff pastry before, but I'm a convert. I'm calling it........

" The Puffy Ham and Cheese Omelet".

 In a skillet, fry up two potatoes and 1/2 of a medium sized onion until golden and tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, roll out two sheets of thawed puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. You want to roll it out so that it will fit your baking dish. Set one of the pastry sheets aside for a little later.

Line your baking dish of choice with one of the pastry sheets. (Note to self, use a shallower dish next time. I think the one I chose may have been a tad too deep)

In a separate bowl, crack about 7-8 eggs. What I find interesting about this picture is the difference between a farm fresh egg and a store bought egg. The store bought eggs are on the outside, and the farm fresh egg is on the inside. The egg from the chicken coop outside has a much richer orange/yellow look, don't you think? I think they taste better too, but some people don't like some of the "extras" that sometimes show up in a fresher egg. I'll never forget my Aunt Beth's reaction to an egg straight from the coop. I'm pretty sure she never ate one again.

Pour about 1/3 a cup of milk into the egg mixture.

Take a fourth a cup of chopped parsley flakes (or if you are smart and go to the store ahead of time, get the fresh stuff!). Add a shake or two of salt, a few twists of fresh cracked black pepper and whisk it all together.

In a hot pan, melt about 1/2 a table spoon of butter and pour your egg mixture in. You only want to pour a little less than half the first time, because you are going to be making more omelets (I got three out of the eggs I used). The trick is to lift the sides of the eggs and let the runny part fall under the mixture as it's setting. You don't have to worry about flipping it. Whatever looks slightly unset after you've cooked your omelet will cook off in the oven later.

Start layering. Take about a cup of cheese and make that your first layer. Take half your potatoes, and make that your second. Take your first omelet and make that your third.

Add another layer of cheese.

Add some chopped ham to your potatoes and make that another layer.

Place your last omelet and a final layer of cheese on top of that.

Take your second puff pastry sheet and lay it over the top. Seal and trim the edges.

Crimp your crust. By the way, I will freely admit that I totally suck at crimping pastry crust.

Use the remainder of your eggs that were in your bowl to brush over the top of the puff pastry. I liked the look of the pastry with the little bits of parsley flakes on top. Very pretty.

Put in the oven for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees. It will come out golden and crunchy on top, and nice and warm on the inside. All that cheese, potato, ham and egg....mmmmmmmmmmm.......

Now just spoon out your finished product onto a plate and consume with great enthusiasm!

Enjoy!