Creamy Hashbrown Casserole

Posting a little later than usual today, but I had a bunch of errands to run this morning. I went to Jesse's new school to meet with his new teachers and get a tour of the place before he starts next Monday, followed by a bunch of boring stops that should have been quick and cheap, but weren't (stupid T.J. Maxx, taking all my money).

Anyway, let me just give a little advice about this dish. If you click the source link below, you'll see that this recipe has all kinds of glowing reviews. Personally, I don not agree with them. I was excited to try this, and made it for myself, my mom and my sister. It was a bit of a disappointment.

I would absolutely NOT recommend making this as a dinner. It would however make an excellent side dish. Seriously. We all agreed that this was more of a side dish than a dinner.

Also, I'm posting the recipe exactly how Paula posted it (which is how I made it), but I do suggest changing a couple things. First, the soup. It calls for Cream of Celery, but I think you should try Cream of Chicken (you'll see almost this exact recipe on the back of the Ore-ida Hashbrown bag, I think Paula just changed some things to make it 'hers'). Also, I would suggest added some chopped ham or chicken...SOMETHING of substance to give it a little 'Oomph'.

Finally, the topping. Now, I liked the crushed potato chips, but my mom suggested bread crumbs or panko instead. Just  a thought. You could also try crushed corn flakes.

So, while we didn't love this dish, especially as the main event, with a little tweaking I think it would make a great side dish.

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'Creamy Hashbrown Casserole'

Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 onion, chopped 

1 container sour cream (16 oz)

1 can cream of celery soup (10.5 oz) 

1 package shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

1 package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed (30 oz)

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 

2 cups crushed potato chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8 casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft. Pour onions into a large bowl.

3. Add the sour cream, cream of celery soup, cheese, garlic powder, hash browns, and salt and pepper. Combine until well blended.

4. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Top evenly with crushed potato chips and bake for 45 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

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