BVC Eats: Cheesy hash brown casserole a.k.a. “Funeral Potatoes”

Here is a tump* recipe I got off the back of a bag of hash browns and then messed with. There are no rules with tump recipes. Change the ingredients, the proportions, the oven temperature—this is your recipe now.

This version makes a rilly big shoo. Cook it for a crowd or just admit that you want it all yourself.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

6 large eggs
1 cup milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream
1 pint sour cream
2 lbs. frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
-or “a bag” – quantity flexible!
1 large onion, slice thinly or minced
3 to 5 cups or more shredded cheddar cheese
-sharp cheese is good but pre-shredded is easy – I use two flavors
salt and cayenne pepper or hot pepper sauce to taste

Heat oven to 350^oF. Grease one or two 9×13 baking pans or casseroles.

Beat the eggs with the sour cream, milk, onion, and seasonings.

In a separate very large bowl, mix the hash browns (frozen or thawed) with most of the cheese and mix. Add the wet ingredients and mix.

Tump it all into one or two greased 9×13 baking dishes and top with the remaining cheese. Bake half an hour or so until the center is set. Turn up the heat to 450 ^oF for five minutes or so to make the top brown.

Serves you for at least two or three days. No, really. You won’t want to share.
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*tump: [white trash] n 1: open a bunch of cans and boxes and tump ’em together 2: quick and dirty, quantities and proportions flexible 3: don’t tell your doctor you’re eating this

Afterward: I am creditably informed that in the Midwest these are known as Funeral Potatoes because of their tendency to show up at gatherings after someone dies. As many funerals as I’ve had in the Midwest, I have to say I’ve never seen them…but I certainly don’t want to neglect my homeland.