Hashbrown casserole is a southern favorite when it comes to the holidays! I love love love it. Potatoes, cheese, and onions YEAH. :D

This hashbrown casserole came from my cousin Linda, which was passed to my mom and then to me. My mom made some small changes as did I. The end result is an over the top crazy delicious hashbrown casserole.

Be careful with this one - too much and you're on a train to food-coma-ville. It's a happy but not very productive place. :)

Step 1: Ingredients:

2 lbs frozen shredded potatoes or freshly shredded potatoes (I actually used a few more handfuls on top of that!)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 onion, chopped
2 cups grated cheese
pepper
Tony's seasoning (if you can't get Tony's where you are, order it! You will not be disappointed. :D)

You'll also need a 9x13 baking dish (glass works best) and an oven preheated to 350 F.

Chop the onion however big you like - I like mine a little chunkier. :D The cheese my mom recommends for this is a colby/jack mix, so I do that too. It's really good with anything that's not too smelly, though.

I don't add any salt to mine (the butter, cheese and soup will all have lots) but I do like adding a bit of Tony's seasoning and some pepper.

My mom says that you can turn it into a meal by adding ham to the mix - I want to add bacon! I didn't think about it until it was too late. Someone please add bacon and send me pictures. :D

Step 2: Defrost/shred the Potatoes

If you're using frozen potatoes you'll need to defrost them. I put them in a large bowl and pop them in the microwave on the defrost setting - it took about 10 minutes to get them nice and defrosted. If you're good at thinking ahead, you can always pop them in the fridge the night before. :)

Once they're defrosted, let them hang out in a colander while you get everything else together.

If you're shredding your own potatoes they won't need any extra draining.

Step 3: Preheat and Combine!

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Chop the onion and melt the butter.

Then combine all the ingredients in your baking dish. Mix very well! You want the potatoes to be coated with everything. After it's mixed, press the potatoes flat in the dish.

Step 4: Bake!

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F. After 45 minutes, it'll be done but looking kinda pale. If this doesn't bother you, chow down!

If you'd like a little more color, broil it on high for 5-10 minutes. I love doing this because it makes the top nice and crunchy. :D

Step 5: Serve!

Hashbrown casserole goes great with everything! I especially like it with ham or BBQ. :D

It's also a really good midnight snack when it's cold right from the fridge.