This recipe right here is a potluck classic. Easy to make, perfect to transport, and a certain crowd pleaser. It is a basic concoction of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, chopped onions, and a cheesy sauce. Sometimes with a topping, other times without.
Personally, I had never made it before but I had the opportunity to try it on occasion at different gatherings. My neighbor back in Alabama used to make something similar to this, but even simpler- thrown together in the crockpot. It’s been on my “to-do” list for awhile now. I wanted to make a casserole that was baked with a crunchy topping though, and preferably one without canned condensed soups.
Well, once again Mel’s Kitchen came to my rescue! I’ve been using her blog for a lot of things lately and she has proved herself pretty dependable. I’m a fan. Anyways, she wanted the same thing from this casserole. Her Mother used to prepare the canned soup version often during her youth and she wanted to create the same great taste but without all the processed products. Success!
I wanted to take this to one of my church group luncheons (where I take most of my blogging goods). I had never transported a hot dish before though so I was a little nervous. How would it stay warm for an hour and a half before it’s served?? There is no way it could. And although this dish might be okay, just barely warm, I wanted it to still be so warm that it was still gooey and hadn’t solidified from cooling yet. Ya know? Well, I found the coolest product to solve that problem! It’s a 13-by-9-inch transportable pyrex set with a hot/cold pack. I just LOVE it! And it worked fantastic. My dish was still right-out-of-the-oven-hot by the time it was finally served. And it was a complete hit. The whole casserole disappeared before the luncheon was over. My favorite part of bringing food to gatherings is when I overhear people asking each other, “Who mad this??? It was great!”.
And you don’t even have to wait for a gathering/potluck to make this. You can make cheesy potatoes for a dinner side-dish or at a Holiday meal- why not? I know of lots of people who do : )
- Potatoes:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
- 26-ounce bag frozen shredded hash browns
- ½ cup light sour cream
- Topping:
- 3 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent,a bout 5-6 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Combine the chicken broth and milk in a liquid measure and slowly whisk in the mixture. Add the salt, pepper and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth. Mix in the frozen hash browns, lifting and folding the mixture until well combined. Finally, stir in the sour cream.
- In a medium bowl, toss the lightly crushed cornflakes with the butter until evenly combined. Scoop out the potato mixture into a 9X13-inch baking dish and top with the buttered cornflakes. If baking the potatoes by themselves, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly around the edges.
adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Tagged as:
cheddar,
cheese,
potatoes,
Savory,
Sides,
sour cream