Hi there and welcome back for another Tasty Tuesday! This week, we have a recipe for a classic dish that stands tall and mighty in the halls of potluck history!  Cheesy Potatoes! Also known as Party Potatoes! Its hot and hearty cheesy goodness, and this recipe is a powerful addition to your potluck arsenal! And dear friend, its Easy Peasy Good and Cheesy!

My thanks and photo credit to my faithful and oh so talented friend, Maribeth Schmidt. You can see more of her amazing work at Maribeth Schmidt Photography.

This recipe was given to me as a new bride. Troy and I had just gotten married and moved to Michigan, and we tried a new church. They had a class for newly married couples. A dear couple, Cliff and Marge Mayes who had been married probably 40 years taught the class. Honestly they were so sweet and so much fun. They mentored and guided us with stories of their own journey, the good, the bad and the ugly… we would laugh together and even cry together. His stories. Her stories. There were about 50 of us in the class… all rookies. Marge shared this recipe with all of us, and I’ve never forgotten how she always made us feel like we could do anything as a couple if our faith was strong. She taught us patience and love… and yes, how to make cheesy potatoes! I have a special feeling in my heart every time I see that little recipe card she hand wrote out for me. Now I’m sharing it with you some 30+ years later! So lets begin!

Preheat Oven to 350

1 bag (2 lb) frozen hash brown potatoes (I use diced) – Thaw 30-40 min

1 stick of butter

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup 

1 tub sour cream (16 oz)

1 bag (10 0z) shredded cheese (I use colby jack)

1 medium onion chopped 

2 bunches green onions chopped

Grease with butter or cooking spray a 9 x 13 baking pan

Melt butter in small skillet and drop in the chopped onion and green onion, saute or simmer until translucent or just beginning to turn golden. (this smells heavenly!)

In a large bowl, put the potatoes, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and most of the shredded cheese, reserving a little of the cheese to make a nice topping over the casserole before baking. Use a strong spoon and stir. This is a heavy mix and will take a little muscle! Don’t worry about mixing it too much… just a basic combining stir… then add in the onions cooking on the stove. A little more mixing… remember its ok if its not completely mixed. Its almost better to let it be a little imperfect… something magic happens in the oven to sort things out perfectly! Just trust me… a little life metaphor in your casserole… the imperfections add to the charm!

Now spoon this heavy mixture in your greased baking pan, even it out with your spoon, and sprinkle with your reserve cheese. Time to bake! 45-60 minutes… I cover mine with foil for about the first 25-30 minutes to keep the top from getting over done.

Voila! Cheesy Goodness Comfort Food, cure for even the hardest day at work!

My son Jake says this dish is the “Ace in the Hole”, the dish on the table that even if no one else brings a single thing you like, when people see this dish, suddenly its all good. There are cheesy potatoes. This potluck just got totally redeemed!

What are we having for dinner? ______ and Cheesy Potatoes… it does not matter what the first blank gets filled with. You could say “Last night’s leftover hot dogs” but if you follow with “Cheesy Potatoes” its like you said, “You are Loved” in a casserole!

This pan will serve 10-12. But I have doubled and even tripled this recipe for parties (I have some pretty large pans for such occasions!)

You could tweak the recipe by tossing in some cubed ham. Honestly, this is such a winner, and you could make it in your crockpot too if you wanted. I’ve also made a crunchy cornflake or cracker crumb topping on it, but we generally rely on the cheesy top in our home.

I also make a pretty good bean dish, and a friend of mine loves when I serve them together because he heaps the beans on top of the cheesy potatoes. This always makes me smile! Usually about 4pm someone from our house will text me, “What’s for supper?” or “What’s for din-din?” If I say “cheesy potatoes” I can almost hear a cry through the text of “Thank you! Thank you! Now I can make it through this day!” Isn’t it funny how personal and comforting food can be?

This is the kind of dish that is great the day you make it, but I think its even better on the next day when you slowly reheat it. It seems the flavor comes out even more the second day!

This is a great recipe to play with a bit. You could try swapping out the cream of chicken soup for cream of broccoli.

Perfect for summer barbecues or cold winter days with sloppy joes or pulled pork sandwiches. Or even as a side for holiday meals when you are serving something like ham.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and that it blesses your family for years and years like it has mine! I hope your day today is full of sunshine and good things! I’ll be back Friday for Fashion Friday!

Love Always,

Amy

“Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort.” ~Norman Kolpas