I’m calling it ‘Sin on a fork’. This old-school hash Brown Casserole is too easy, too yummy and too – yes, sinful – for words. But we can all indulge once in a while without shortening out lives. And you’ll want to make it tonight!
Sin on a Fork is perhaps the greatest example of ‘Granny Cookery’ you’ll come across this year. (Unless I find another one!)… It is, in fact, AllRecipes contributor
Truly sinful
… But once you get past the cup of melted butter and the can of condensed Cream of Chicken soup, it’s actually nutritionally pretty neutral.
And I can’t recommend you replace either of those key ingredients with something else that’s pos-sibly less dietarily harmful. They’re the whole flavour point of the dish. So suck it up and read on.
Too easy…
This casserole is so fast and easy, you might be able to make it without referring to the recipe’s ad-mittedly simple instructions.
Just put all the filling ingredients together in a well-greased 9 x 13 in casserole and stir. Then top with crushed corn flakes and butter, and bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven for 60 to 90 minutes – until the top is crispy and golden, and the filling is bubbly.
The real fun…
… With this dish is the myriad ways you could dress it up – or down. All it takes to make it vegan is to replace the Chicken Soup with Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery.
But dressing it up is far more fun. Add small broccoli or cauliflower florets, peas and/or diced carrots. Go meaty with cubed leftover or deli ham, shredded leftover or rotisserie chicken or diced mild sausage.
Add your fave Curry spice blend or Indian masala to make it exotic. In fact, add pretty much any ‘feature’ flavour you wish. Everything goes with Cream of Chicken!
Reader tips
One reader suggests using cubed- rather than shredded- style hash browns.
Another suggests replacing the corn flakes with potato chips – or French’s (or equivalent) Crispy Onions.
Yet another recommends sautéeing the onions and adding a pinch of Garlic.
If you make it ahead to bake and serve the next day, bring it to room temperature, and add the corn flakes and butter just before popping it in the oven. Otherwise, the baking time will be off, and the dish will cook unevenly. And your topping will be mushy!
And finally, one commenter warns against using pre-shredded cheese. ‘It’s just not the same!’
My take
An afterthought… You COULD replace the canned soup with one of Campbell’s new soup-inspired prepared canned sauces. I’m anxious to try Grandma’s Hash Brown Casserole with that new Lemon-Garlic sauce! But nutritionally speaking, you’re no further ahead on the ‘Sin’ factor…
Bottom line: You’re not going to eat this for supper every night. So don’t sweat the processed ingredients or the Calories. Or the butter…
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/276505/grandmas-hash-brown-casserole/