Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

This is good for dinner, for breakfast, for cold weather… It is not good for diabetes. Originally, many years ago, I found it at the Better Homes and Gardens website.

• a can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup
• one 16-oz tub of sour cream (you can use reduced fat, but fat-free doesn’t do well here)
• one 30 or 32-oz bag of frozen hashed-brown potatoes (you can use Southern style or shredded, but the southern-style could lengthen your baking time, and it’s really long enough without that). Don’t thaw them out.
• a small onion, diced fine (you can use 2 Tablespoons of dried minced onions)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar (either mild or sharp)
• one or two 8-oz packages of diced ham
• a tube of Ritz Crackers or similar (I have also used Club crackers, but saltines are unsatisfactory), crushed.
• a stick of butter (1/2 cup), melted
• a cup of shredded mozzarella or cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix everything but the crackers and butter and that last cup of cheese in a big bowl, and I mean big. This always takes a lot more time than I think it ought. Spray a 9×13 casserole pan with Pam, and press the food into it. Even it out. Sprinkle the crushed crackers on top, evenly, and then drizzle the melted butter over all. (I think the original recipe called for the crackers and the butter to be mixed together and then spread over the top, but I never remember to melt the butter in a big enough dish to mix the crackers in, so I just do it separately, and it has never seemed to make a difference.)

Bake for 50 minutes. Sorry, it just takes that long. Actually it takes longer. Because after 50 minutes, take it out, sprinkle on the additional cup of cheese, and put it back in for 5-10 more minutes until melted and just beginning to brown.

You can’t really cheat on the time. If you try to shorten the time, the middle won’t be done. The potatoes will not be tender. Don’t be tempted to try it. You’ll be sorry.

You CAN make this ahead of time, at least partially. Cook it without the crackers and butter for the 50 minutes, let it come to room temperature, and then refrigerate. Then 40 minutes before you need it, top your casserole with the crackers and butter, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then add the last cheese for the last 10 minutes.