Loaded Hashbrown Casserole

New years are good. It's a fresh start. But sometimes, fresh starts are hard. And tiring. And hard. And when things are hard, it's reasonable to need some comfort food.  I've been making this dish for a long time, but have yet to share it with all of you. The best part of this is the flexibility. I serve this with eggs for breakfast and pulled barbecue sandwiches for dinner. See? Flexibility.

Ingredients:

• 26 oz. bag of frozen hashbrowns, or 6-7 large red potatoes (which is what I'm using)
• 16 oz. container sour cream
• 1 packet Ranch seasoning
• 9-11 slices of bacon
• 8 oz. bag shredded cheese

Directions:

• If you're not using bagged potatoes, you can easily use real potatoes. Start by peeling the the potatoes. Shred, making sure to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible before placing in your baking dish.
• Truth moment: I use microwaveable bacon. I love the real stuff, but when I'm going to be crumbling bacon, it doesn't hurt to have thin slices. Plus, it only takes about 2 minutes compared to 20 minutes. Cook whatever bacon you choose according to the package.
• Take the sour cream out of the container and place into a large bowl. Sprinkle Ranch seasoning on top. Combine well; otherwise, if you pour the seasoning directly onto the potatoes, it gets weird. Just do it separately.
• Combine the sour cream mixture and potatoes in a deep baking dish.
• Let's get started on the cheese. Slowly combine the cheese in with other ingredients.
• Top with bacon and do the same. Mix it up!
• To the best of your ability, flatten the mixture using a spoon. It helps it cook more even.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour, then lower the temperature to 300 degrees F and let cook for another 45-minutes to an hour. Keep an eye on it, and remove from oven when it is cooked thoroughly and top is browned.

Here's the key, and this is very important. I never eat this the day that I make it. It tastes so much better if you cook it and then let it sit for at least 12 hours, then re-heat it. I don't know why. Maybe it's just a preference thing, but I've made this countless times, and that's always been the case.

Love and hashbrowns,

Rachael