Simple Savory & Satisfying: hash browns

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe belongs to Eric's mom. I think I first had her cheesy potatoes the first time I had dinner at Eric's parents' house. I fell in love with them with first bite. So when she asked if she could bring anything to Thanksgiving dinner, I immediately thought of these potatoes. They were a nice change up from mashed potatoes, too.

Ingredients:
2 cups (10-3/4-ounce each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 package (32-ounce) frozen hash brown potatoes (also very good with southwestern has
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, and garlic salt. Add potatoes and cheddar cheese. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Side Dish Ideas:
Alfredo Green Bean Casserole
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake
Sauteed Kale with Bacon
Simply the Best Macaroni and Cheese
Very Simple Roasted Potatoes

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Homemade Hash Browns

Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite dinner meals. I'm not a morning person so about all I can muster for breakfast in the morning is oatmeal or cereal or toast. I just don't have it in me to make eggs or pancakes or French toast. So we have breakfast for dinner--cheesy eggs, bacon, and homemade hash browns. I've tried making hash browns myself before, but they've always come out mushy, never crisp. This time I did a little research and then had Eric do the actual frying because he's a thousand times better at frying stuff than me. The result was perfect hash browns.

Homemade hash browns, bacon, and cheesy scrambled eggs.

Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Crispy hash browns depend on getting the starch out of the potatoes--as well as excess moisture. Peel the potatoes. Using a grater, shred the potatoes and place them into a container of cold water. Stir a couple of times to dissolve the excess starch. Change the water and repeat.

You can drain the moisture a few different ways. If you own a potato ricer, place the shredded potato in there to squeeze out the liquid, just don't squeeze the potatoes through the ricer. Or place the shredded potatoes in a salad spinner. However, if you don't own any of these gadgets (I don't) you can still make crispy hash browns. I put my shredded potatoes in a mesh colander and used a small plate to press the water out of the potatoes. Then I used paper towel to squeeze out the rest. This process worked very well for me.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the shredded potato, spreading it out across the bottom of the skillet and making sure it's not more than 1/2 inch thick. Once the bottom has become a gold brown (about 5 to 7 minutes), flip the potatoes over. To make flipping easier, Eric cut the hash browns into quarters and flip each slice separately.

Once both sides are a golden brown, transfer hash browns to a paper towel lined plate to absorb any excess oil. Season with salt and pepper.