Tasty Tuesday-Casserole Comfort

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“Some foods are so comforting, so nourishing of body and soul, that to eat them is to be home again after a long journey. To eat such a meal is to remember that, though the world is full of knives and storms, the body is built for kindness. The angels, who know no hunger, have never been as satisfied.”
― Eli Brown, Cinnamon and Gunpowder

 

 

 

We all know that at times of sadness certain food, comfort food, can have such a way of soothing the soul.  The weekend after Norbert's passing I traveled into comfort food country, a favorite place of mine, and made Hash Brown Casserole using a recipe from the book At My Grandmother's Table by Faye Porter.  

Now I absolutely LOVE this cookbook because not only does it have great recipes for the sorts of traditional, nostalgic, vintage foods not usually found in modern cookbooks, it also has stories about the Grandmother's.  Each recipe begins with a brief story about the Grandmother who originally made it,. Its a southern cookbook so there is plenty of fat, sugar, and salt, and it is not a snobby cookbook.....many of the "salad" recipes contain more sour cream and cool whip then fruit, but it still is a delight to read and to cook from.   The Hash Brown Casserole is my favorite thing I've made so far, the Grandmother who developed it Evelyn Barber was supposedly a fanatic about her hair, visiting the beauty salon twice a week and being teased by her family for keeping in Aqua Net in business.  Apparently Grandma Barber took all teasing in stride and had a great sense of humor, she was certainly a great cook.  I made a few changes to the recipe: substituting butter for margarine and adding Poblano chilies.

Hash Brown Casserole

2 lbs Frozen Hash Browns, I like Cascadian Farms but any will do
16 ounces sour cream
8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter,
1 to 2 Poblano chilies, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a very large bowl stir together the Hash Browns, sour cream, cheddar, chicken soup, and melted butter.   Stir in the onion and Poblano  and then mix in the salt and pepper.  Spray a large casserole pan with non stick spray and spoon in the casserole mixture.   Bake for 40 minutes until bubbly and brown.   You can also make it the night before, refrigerate, and bake it in the morning for about an hour.    (It smells wonderful which will make any pugs in the vicinity come running). 

Speaking of breakfast and in honor of my beloved Norbert, here is a link to one of my favorite stories about him: It concerns the time my foodie mutt turned his nose up at a Bisquick pancake despite loving the authentic home made version (link)