Last summer my husband and I were invited to spend the weekend with college friends at their RV near a lake in central Illinois. They were generous hosts and we had a great weekend cooking, eating and boating. One of the things we had that weekend was a tasty concoction of hash brown potatoes, sour cream, cream of mushroom soup and cheese. She tossed it in her slow cooker before we went out on the lake for the day and it was hot and ready for dinner that evening. We had it with a grilled pork loin.

I have since made this for dinner many times. You can vary the cheese, soup, and sour cream flavors. I have also turned it into a meal by adding meat and vegetables. Warm and satisfying on a cold winter night.

Step 1:

You will need a slow cooker to make this stew. The potatoes take a long time to cook and you do not want your other ingredients to over cook.

You will also need
30 ounce bag of frozen hash browns
8 ounce bag shredded cheese, your choice of type
8 ounce container sour cream, your choice of flavor
1 can condensed cream of mushroom, cream of chicken or cream of celery soup
chopped vegetables to taste, I used the whole onion and about half of each pepper
meat, I used 10 ounces cubed ham
Any cooked meat will work. Chicken, turkey, cooked ground beef, etc.

Step 2:

Then you put everything in the slow cooker. I spray the interior of the slow cooker with a cooking oil spray to prevent sticking and make clean-up easier. First I put the potatoes in, then added and mixed in the vegetables and meat. Next I mixed in the shredded cheese. Finally, I mixed in the soup and sour cream. That can be a little tricky, but keep mixing. It does not have to be perfect. As it cooks it gets saucy and mixes in.

Step 3:

Put the lid on your slow cooker and cook this on low heat for 4 to 5 hours. Less than 4 hours and the potatoes will not cook. More than 5 hours and it will get mushy.

Serve in a ceramic mug and enjoy. It has protein, vegetables and a carbohydrate. This size recipe will easily feed 3 to 4 people.