Recipe Post: Baked Potato Casserole

Hold your arms out in front of you. No, really, go ahead. You’re at home, no one will see.

Now open ‘em wide

Wider

And get ready to give me a great big hug.

You’re about to experience possibly the best comfort food you’ve ever eaten.

That is, if you like things like potatoes, cheese and butter.

A friend of mine had a “Thanksgiving in August” party last week. It’s like Christmas in July, only with more food. :) We had some yummy turkey and velvety sweet potato casserole and some to-die-for pumpkin cake, among other things. And I brought my potluck staple, baked potato casserole. And I’m not going to lie, one of the reasons I was looking forward to early Thanksgiving was I was pretty excited to have an excuse to make this again.

This is a nice easy one, it really only takes one bowl and a baking dish.

You will need:

• 1 package shredded hash browns
• Cream of Chicken – 1 can
• Sour Cream – 8 oz
• Shredded cheddar – 2 cups
• Corn flakes – 2-3 cups
• Butter – lots (spread is best)

Preheat the oven to 350

Dump your cream of chicken and sour cream in a bowl. I say 8 oz of sour cream, but I’d be lying if I didn’t use more than that on occasion. Consider that a '”minimum” requirement. I’ve used up to 16 before. Yum!

Mix that together, and add your cheese. Again, eyeball to taste. I use a couple of big handfuls.

Mix that together, add your hashbrowns in stages. Thawed or frozen, either way.

If frozen, you' might need to add another 10 minutes to your cooking time.

At this point you can also add whatever other fixin’s you want. Bacon bits, chives, something else you like on baked potatoes. Personally I’m satisfied with cheese, sour cream and butter, but it’s up to you.

Now you want to throw a few globs of butter into your casserole dish and spread it all over.

I mean ALL over. This is why I use spread instead of stick butter. It’s just easier for me.

I love butter. Fill the dish with your potato mixture and press it so it’s level across.

Now, your corn flakes. I keep a box of corn flakes around solely and specifically for this recipe. Crushed corn flakes, I should say. Because I crush them. Not to powder, of course, but into small pieces.

Sprinkle them on top of the potatoes, not thickly, but without any holes.

Next, more butter. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in the microwave.

Drizzle the butter all over the top of the corn flakes.
This will help them stay gold and crispy without burning in the oven. Melt more butter if necessary. You can’t overdo this part.

Now put your casserole in the 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. To check, just put a butter knife in the middle of the casserole. If it comes out warm and a little gooey, you’re golden.

If you can, let it set for 5-10 minutes. If you can, the results are worth it.

If you can’t, I understand.

And enjoy some cheesy, gooey, crunchy potatoey goodness that you won’t want to share with anyone. :)