Okay, so I finally got around to making that Mr. Dell’s Hashbrown Casserole thing. Heard about it, seemed easy enough. Let’s walk through how it went down.
Gathering the Goods
First thing, had to dig out all the ingredients. Grabbed a bag of those frozen shredded hash browns. You know, the plain kind, just potatoes. Saves so much time not having to shred potatoes myself, honestly.
Needed cheese, of course. Got a block of cheddar, shredded that up. Grabbed a can of that condensed cream soup – I think I used cream of chicken, but whatever works. Sour cream, butter, an onion, salt, pepper. Oh, and a box of cornflakes for the topping. Basic stuff, really.
Mixing It All Up
Got out my biggest mixing bowl. Dumped the whole bag of frozen hash browns in there. They were still pretty frozen, didn’t bother thawing them completely.
Tossed in the shredded cheddar. Then spooned in the whole can of condensed soup. Added a good dollop of sour cream. Chopped up about half an onion pretty small, threw that in too. Sprinkled in some salt and pepper – didn’t measure, just eyeballed it like usual.
Melted maybe half a stick of butter in the microwave. Poured about half of that melted butter into the bowl. Gave everything a really good stir. It looks kinda messy at this point, just a big gloppy mixture of potatoes and creamy stuff. Don’t worry, it comes together.
Getting it Ready for the Oven
Grabbed my standard 9×13 baking dish. Didn’t grease it, there’s enough fat in the mix already. Scooped the whole potato mixture out of the bowl and into the dish. Used a spatula to spread it out evenly, pushing it into the corners.
Now for the topping. Took a couple of handfuls of cornflakes, put them in a plastic bag, and crushed them up a bit. Not into dust, you still want some crunch. Sprinkled the crushed cornflakes all over the top of the potato stuff.
Took the rest of that melted butter and drizzled it all over the cornflakes. This helps them get golden and crispy in the oven. Make sure to get it reasonably even.
Baking Time
Okay, into the oven it went. Had the oven preheated to maybe 350 degrees Fahrenheit? Somewhere around there. Just slid the dish onto the middle rack.
Left it in there for a good while. Probably 45 minutes, maybe closer to an hour. You just gotta watch it. I waited until the edges were bubbling nicely and the cornflake topping looked golden brown and delicious.
The Final Result
Pulled it out of the oven. Smelled amazing, that cheesy potato smell. Let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. Important step! Casseroles need to rest so they don’t fall apart when you serve them.
Dished up a big spoonful. It was exactly what you’d expect – warm, cheesy, potato goodness with that crunchy, buttery topping. Total comfort food. It’s not fancy, but it hits the spot. Definitely a solid side dish or potluck contribution. Easy to make, hard to mess up. Yep, turned out pretty good.
