I do like to watch cooking shows like “Iron Chef America” and Gordon Ramsay’s series. I would hear the word “Mise en place”. I eventually discovered that it is a French word pronounced “Me zen platz”.  Loosely translated, it means to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to incorporate into your recipe. This photo is my mise en place for the Farmers and Ranchers Breakfast. I have the leftover taco meat, sweet banana peppers, onions, tomatoes, potato and eggs. The eggs really should have been out of the shells and beaten, but I like the look of the brown shells in the bowls. I wait until the last minute to grate the potato because it does turn brown quickly. I’d rather have it brown in the pan rather than on  the butcher’s block.

I never really thought it was necessary to have all of the ingredients sliced, chopped or diced.  But as I started to pay more attention to my cooking, I realized that I could give more attention to sauteing and assembling the dish, if everything is prepped. It does make a big difference.