SANDRA'S CHEESY HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

Delicious sides dish that's a 'crowd pleaser' 

when the recipe is doubled,

or for a smaller family (as in recipe shown below) it's just as great too!

After all, you can't go wrong with potatoes and cheese...

(Serves 2 to 4)

Prep: 10 Mins.

Bake: 30 Mins.

INGREDIENTS

1-1/4 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese, divided

1-1/4 cup shredded mozzarella, divided

1 tablespoon unsalted cold butter, divided

1/4 cup low sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons dried minced onion

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 ozs. (about 2 cups) frozen hash browns (do not thaw) 

~ I make my own freezer hash browns using russet potatoes

METHOD

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray, with butter spray, a 6x6" casserole dish and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses to combine; set aside separately 1/2 cup of cheese mixture for the final topping.

Divide the cold butter in half (2-teaspoon-portions each). Melt half the butter; set both cold and melted butter aside.

To the cheese mixture in the medium bowl, add the reserved melted butter, beef broth, dried minced onion, granulated garlic and black pepper; mix to combine.  Gently fold in frozen hash browns (do not over mix).

Place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; add the reserved cold butter. Once the butter is melted, gently add the hash brown mixture to the skillet (do not pack down) and heat mixture just until cheese melts, while occasionally stirring very gently (do not break up hash browns), about 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish and top with reserved 1/2 cup of cheese mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, just until the top turns a deep golden brown.

Let casserole stand for 5 minutes before serving. ~ Enjoy!

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Tip:

If you wish to double the recipe, it's easily done by using a larger 8x8" casserole and increasing the baking time (but at the same temperature above) to 50 minutes, which will provide 6 to 8 servings.