A Casserole by Any Other Name Would Taste Just as Delicious
Hashbrown Casserole, Funeral Potatoes or However You Know This Dish it is Just One Thing — Delicious
Every now and again you come across something that feels so familiar you’re amazing it hasn’t been an integral part of your life all along. For me, that item is the one and only hashbrown casserole.
Growing up in the Midwest, casserole was something that was always offered but begrudgingly eaten in my house. You really boil down into two different groups about this: you either love casseroles or you despise them.
I grew up in a family that had a thin veneer of opulence over everything, so things that were deemed not upper class were often described as gross. As mentioned in the last newsletter, I love Spam almost as much as my children but despite growing up 25 minutes from its headquarters it wasn’t well into my 20’s that I decided to finally give it a try because of a stigma placed around it by my family. Most casseroles for me unfortunately fell into this category.
The humble hasbrown casserole is something that can be pulled out for any occasion and be one of the favorite dishes. It’s a hit at pot lucks, everyone loves it during any holiday, and a majority of people know it as “funeral food” since it is not only incredibly comforting to eat but can be stored in the freezer for up to three months - making it ideal to give to someone in mourning that won’t be cooking for themselves for a while.
My variation has a bacon-y twist on it thanks to some bacon I had lying around but traditionally the core tenets of a hashbrown casserole are frozen thawed hashbrowns, cheese of some sort, cream of chicken soup, and something crunchy on top like corn flakes.
You can make it ahead and freeze it uncooked for months to be pulled out whenever you need a comforting dish or bake it off and store it frozen for however long you need. It truly is one of the best examples of Midwest cuisine and I am going to make it as often as I can now without gaining too much weight.
Hashbrown Casserole
Yield: 9 x 13 pan, probably 12-15 servings
Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen hashbrowns (2 lbs), thawed
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can of cream of chicken soup (10.5 oz)
4 oz sour cream
4 oz heavy cream
1/2 parm cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon garlic powder
12 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
Corn flakes for topping
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and remove hashbrowns from the freezer to thaw.
Once the oven is preheated, in a large bowl, put all ingredients minus corn flakes and mix until fully incorporated. You don’t want any clumps of single ingredients, you want everything as evenly distributed as possible.
Grease your 9 x 13 cooking vessel and evenly spread casserole filling into it. Top with corn flakes liberally, and place in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes depending on how thawed your hash browns were. It should be golden brown and bubbly when done. Serve immediately or let fully cool before covering and storing in fridge/freezer for later reheating.