I’m this close, and I mean thiss close, to caving into Dylan’s idea of using a flamethrower to clear away all this snow. I really am that desperate. Unfortunately, we’re fresh out of napalm, and I’m not desperate enough to succumb to a match and hairspray… yet. And so, the best way I know to console myself in all of this snow and cold weather is warm, creamy and cheesy tater dishes.
That’s potato dishes, for all my high-falootin’ friends around here. And if you don’t know what high-falootin’ means, then a) it probably applies to you and b) I bet you don’t get all your wardrobe from a feed store, either and c) in all honesty I probably lost you at the word “flamethrower”. But tell me you’ve at least heard of Cracker Barrel, right? Well, it is said that they have the best Hash Brown Casserole there is, however, I’m here to dispute that. My hash brown bake recipe is basically the flamethrower and CB’s recipe is the snow; it will quickly melt away from existence on your menu.
Due to that aforementioned 4 letter word… y’know, sn*w… there isn’t a video to accompany this recipe. I live in an area that is lucky to have signal on a good day, but 11 inches of snow really killed any signal we had and it’s limited my abilities this week. More proof that sn*w is practically my kryptonite. I couldn’t go a week without sharing a recipe, though, so I hope you enjoy this recipe and it brings warmth and happiness to you this week.
Better Than the Barrel Hash Brown Bake
Makes roughly 10 servings! This is my go-to meal for every family function because it’s so delicious and feeds so many!
- 1 (30 oz) bag of frozen hash browns, thawed
- 2 cans (10.75 oz) cream of potato soup
- 1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 onion, chopped fine
- 16 oz sour cream
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 1.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1.5 cup cubed ham, about 1/2 thick
- 1 teaspoon salt, pepper each
Preheat oven to 375°
First we will need to dice our ham, and the onion. I use a ham steak, but you can also get 2 pieces of ham cut about 1/2 inch thick from the deli as well. Cut them into 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch bite size cubesFor the onion, I put mine into a dicer and let it do the work for me. If you don’t have one, simply chop the onion as finely as you can.
Next, in a very large bowl, we will begin combining all the ingredients. Make sure your hashbrowns are nice and thawed or else you’ll get an arm work out trying to stir together all ingredients.
First the hash browns, onions, salt and pepper. 
Next, the soups and sour cream.
Stir well… 
Next add the ham. 
Stir again.
Next add in 1 cup of the sharp cheddar cheese, and stir mixture well.
Next we will spoon the mixture into a 9×13 baking dish.
Next, top with Parmesan cheese, and then repeat with remaining sharp cheddar cheese.
Parmesan Cheese… 
More sharp cheddar cheese.
Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
Let set about 5 minutes before serving! And enjoy! I know I talked a big game against Cracker Barrel’s take on this, and I hope I was able to put my cheese where my mouth is. Now if you don’t mind, I need to go literally put this cheesy dish where my mouth is.
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