casserole — A Southern Fairytale

[donotprint]There’s just something about comfort food.

Ooey, Gooey, Cheesy, Warm, Filling Food that feeds your belly and your soul. Eaten with family and friends, this is the food that is served at baby showers, brunches, afternoons with friends and family. The food of your childhood and your best memories.

Everyone has a recipe for Hashbrown Bakes and Casseroles, those recipes passed among friends and family, this one. This is my new favoritest of all favorites. It’s cheesy and gooey, hot and slightly crisp, while creamy, with just a dash of tang from the sour cream and a sweet bite from the onions.

What? You want the recipe? Okay

Grate 2 C of sharp cheddar cheese (or.. pepper jack would be FABULOUS if you like that extra ZING!!!), chop 1/2 of one large yellow onion and 10 oz of cooked ham

Mix together with 2 (10.5 oz) cans of cream of potato soup, 1 (16 oz) tub of sour cream and a 30 oz package of frozen shredded hashbrowns, add about 1 Tbsp pepper, 1/2 Tbsp salt, a dash of paprika (smoked, if you have it).

Once this is all thoroughly mixed, layer it into a 9X13 (will fill) or a 10 X 15 (to make thinner servings) casserole dish

Top with 2 C of your favorite grated cheese blend. I use an Italian Blend: Parmesan, Mozzarella, Fontina, Provolone, Asiago and Romano (If you’re keeping count… that’s SEVEN cheeses in this dish)*

Place in the oven and bake at 325 for 1 hour, or until hot and bubbly and golden brown around the edges

Serve immediately.

This dish will have everyone wanting more and asking for the recipe. They’ll probably even offer to do the dishes for you, in exchange for the recipe *wink, wink*[/donotprint]

Cheesy Ham and Hashbrown Bake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Approximate Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 9X13 Pan or 10X15 Pan

Cheesy Ham and Hashbrown Bake

Delicious and simple comfort food; this Cheesy Ham and Hashbrown Bake from ASouthernFairytale.com is perfect for every day or special occasions

Ingredients

30 oz bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns
2 (10.5 oz) cans of cream of potato soup
1 (16 oz) tub of sour cream
10 oz smoked ham (lunch meat, leftovers etc...), chopped
1/2 a medium to large yellow onion, diced
2 C grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 C favorite cheese blend (I use a 6 cheese Italian blend)
1/4 Tsp to 2 Tbsp black pepper (we love black pepper, remember you can add it, you can never take it away)
salt to taste
dash of smoked paprika

Variations

Use pepper jack instead of cheddar for a nice kick
Add in red and green bell peppers for a delicious crunch and burst of color
Try using 1/2 frozen shredded hash browns and 1/2 O'Brien style hash browns
Make ahead and freeze - just don't top with cheese if you're going to freeze it

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325 F
Grate the cheese, chop the ham, dice the onion
In a large bowl mix together: soup, hash browns, seasonings, onion, sour cream, ham and cheddar cheese
Spread into a 9X13 (for thicker servings) or a 10 X 15 (to make more servings) dish and top with the cheese blend
Bake for one hour or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown

http://asouthernfairytale.com/2010/06/27/cheesy-ham-and-hashbrown-bake/

By the way I’m nominated for the Social Luxe Tastiest Blog Award. I would LOVE your support! You can vote every day until June 12th, there are some other great categories and amazing bloggers nominated, I hope you take the time to vote!! Thanks y’all![/donotprint]

King Ranch Chicken is one of my staples. You know, those recipes you can whip out without a thought, easily changeable and always a crowd pleaser. Yep, it’s one of those. I finally had to write down a recipe because my youngest brother has to have exact portions and when he would make this he would call me over and over and over and over to make sure he had the ingredients and portions down correctly.
So, drape a towel over your keyboard, put on your bib and prepare to be tantalized.

King Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

* About 4 lbs of cooked chicken (breasts or whole de-boned), chopped or shredded, your choice.
* 1 large yellow onion, diced
* 1 ( 10.5 oz ) can, cream of mushroom soup
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1 C chicken broth
* minimum 1 (10 oz) can jalapeno slices (add more if you like it like that), chopped
* 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
* 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
* 2 medium tomatoes, 1 chopped, 1 sliced
* 1 lb shredded cheese, sharp cheddar or Mexican Blend… whatever floats your boat.
* 12 corn tortillas or a bag of corn tortilla chips
* Garlic, Salt and Pepper I have a shaker that contains 1/3 Garlic Salt, 1/3 Salt and 1/3 Pepper, I use it for everything.

How To:

In a large skillet over medium high heat drizzle about 1 Tbsp olive oil: add the onions, peppers, jalapenos, chipotle peppers and tomatoes. Cook until the onions become slightly translucent and your kitchen smells like heaven. Add the soup, broth and chicken. Bring to a slow simmer. Add Spices. Bring to a slow bubble, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be hot.

In a large baking dish place a layer of slightly broken tortilla chips or tortillas, top with a layer of the ‘mixture’. Cover with cheese. You can keep repeating these layers if it’s a smaller, deep dish or stop here if it’s a larger, shallow dish.
I like to top the cheese with sliced jalapenos and tomatoes.

Bake uncovered at 375 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese melts into bubbling golden goodness.