Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe has several different names!  I have heard "hash brown casserole" or "special potatoes" or "cheesy hash browns" or "cheesy potato casserole".  I decided that I would call them "creamy cheesy potatoes".  I have tried "hash brown casserole" recipes before and the family was not too receptive to eating them. So I took the basic special potatoes recipe from Once A Month Mom and adapted it a bit thinking that my family might be more receptive to eating the potato dish. Despite my adapting the recipe more to the family's tastes, it was not well received by all. Personally, I enjoyed them and am looking forward to eating the leftover portion.

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes--adapted from Karen Fetters @onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 pounds frozen hash browns
15 ounces (1 can) cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup bacon bits
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 -1/2 tsp black pepper
8 ounces (2-3 cups) cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place stick of margarine in a 9×13 baking dish and stick in the oven until the margarine is melted. Once melted, pour the potatoes into the dish and mix carefully together.  While waiting for the margarine to melt, mix together in a small bowl the soup, sour cream, bacon bits, spices and milk. Pour over potatoes. Top with Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

If you want to freeze any of this dish here are the freezing directions:
Place hash browns in a 9×13 baking dish. Melt butter and pour over potatoes, mix. In a small bowl mix together soup, sour cream, and milk. Pour over potatoes. Top with Cheddar cheese. Simply cover with foil and freeze. You could easily make this into two 8×8 baking dishes as well. To serve: Thaw, remove foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. If frozen, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 2 hours. Servings: 8

This post is linked to: 

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff!