Cooking a casserole has to be one of my favorite things. If you have never baked a casserole, then you just don’t realize how easy it is. Basically you just throw some ingredients into a Pyrex and leave it to bake for about an hour. Easy, right? My husband loves to entertain, and he will let me know while I’m working that we have people coming over that night. Typically it starts out by him inviting one couple then the list grows. That’s fine by me though because usually he ends up grilling so I don’t have to do too much in the kitchen in that instance. I got home yesterday and like a typical man, Jimbob had only bought meat at the grocery store, both pork ribs and beef ribs, but no sides. Luckily I’m an innovator. We had a bag of hashbrowns in the the freezer, and I figured I could whip up a little hashbrown casserole. I had to improvise on some things, but I think that made it better. For instance, I didn’t have 16 ounces of sour cream, so I used what I had and threw some cream cheese in there. Delish! Also, I recommend using 2 cups of shredded cheddar, but I didn’t have quite that much and it was shredded four cheese. So here’s the recipe for my new and improved hashbrown casserole.
Ingredients:
30 – 32 oz. bag of hashbrowns
8 oz sour cream
3 oz cream cheese
1 can of cream of potato soup
2 cups shredded cheese
Some grated parmesan–the amount is really up to your preference, and it’s optional.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients thoroughly. Put the mixed ingredients into a buttered Pyrex. Don’t worry about evening out the top or flattening it, you want it to be jagged so you can get some crunch on top. Bake it for an hour at 350°.
I actually ended up leaving mine in the oven for an hour and a half, but the only difference is that the top was even crunchier. So, if you like the crunch keep it in there a bit longer. This is one of the easiest recipes to make, and it’s great for when you have company over. You just throw it in the oven, go outside on the deck to watch the guys grill, and when you’re ready it is.
