Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 5 (2 lbs.) pkgs. frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
1½ cups butter, melted
5 (10.75 oz.) cans condensed cream of mushroom, celery or chicken soup
5 (8 oz.) containers sour cream
2½ cups chopped onions, sautéed in butter until tender but not brown
2½ lbs. (10 cups) shredded Cheddar cheese, Colby cheese or blends (see note below)
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
5 cups French fried onion bits for topping
OPTIONAL, chopped celery or bell pepper cooked with the onions
OPTIONAL, 1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce
OPTIONAL, crushed garlic or garlic powder to taste
OPTIONAL, 5 small cans green chilies
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Directions: |
Directions:Spray the inside of the roaster with a heavy coating of non-stick spray. Preheat to 325º. In a large bowl, combine hash browns and 1½ cups melted butter (make sure hash browns are thawed as per recipe instructions). Then add the cheese and mix. Lastly add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into the roaster, holding back the topping till later. Bake in the electric roaster covered for at least 1 hour, 40 minutes, up to 3 hours if the mix was cold/refrigerated to start with. Sprinkle on the onions, cover, bake 20 minutes longer.
Here are more variations:
* Add some chopped or minced green pepper, or some cooked and crumbled bacon.
* About halfway through baking, place more cheese on top and finish baking until the cheese is nicely browned.
* Topping with the French fried onion bits is my preference, as the electric roaster does not give a crisp finish to the top. But you MUST wait till about 20 minutes before serving, or they will get limp.
* Cracker Barrel uses Colby cheese. My current favorite blend is the Kraft Mexican blend and Italian blend, 1/2 and 1/2. No spices in this, just many creamy, flavorful cheeses.
* This recipe has quite a few variations. Most folks agree that without the sour cream it is pretty dry, or they double up the canned soup.
***I often use homemade thick white sauce (Recipe Below), made with 1/2 beef or chicken broth and 1/2 milk, in place of the soup - or at least I use the low fat, low sodium family size cream of mushroom in place of regular.
It really matters how cold the mix is to start. If you mixed and refrigerated the night before, it takes about 3 1/2 hours to cook. If the soup/sauce etc is room temp, at least 2 hours.
***White Sauce***
1 gallon whole milk, warmed but not boiling (or use 1/2 beef stock)
10 oz. flour, may need a little more
1 lb. unsalted butter or margarine
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1½ Tbsp. salt
White pepper (optional)* |
This recipe for Hash Brown Potato Casserole - Electric Roaster is from