A dear friend in the old homestead neighborhood where we grew up in Indiana made this delicious potato casserole for a family get together many years ago. Everyone loved it and asked for the recipe, which Mrs. Swedo generously supplied. When I decided to bake a ham Sunday, I thought this dish would be a perfect match, and different from the other ways we usually eat potatoes. And it was!
This recipe also serves a lot of folks. I figure 8-10 servings. And it is rich – canned soup, cheese, sour cream, and milk. Mrs. Swedo’s Potato Casserole is a unbelievable, satisfying side dish.
You’ll use a large bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, the shredded kind. If you prefer homestyle hash browns, those cut into little cubes, I bet that would work great, too. Giving the whole recipe a rethink, i imagine you could even us the frozen homestyle hashbrowns that have chopped onion and green pepper mixed together.
Whatever style you ultimately decide to use, be sure there are no big clumps of frozen potatoes in the bag. They should all be loose, so it will be easier to stir the ingredients. While still in the sealed bag, I took a wooden meat mallet to mine to beat the clumps apart – beautiful!
Ham, Potato Casserole, Snap Peas
The casserole is very easy to put together. There aren’t many ingredients. Whatever additions or substitutions you decide to make, please leave on the crunchy topping. The original recipe calls for crushed corn flakes. Richard and I never eat corn flakes, so I browned some bread crumbs in butter, and topped the casserole the last 15 minutes. Wow! Such a nice touch. Fifteen minutes to mix the ingredients. An hour to bake. Be ready for rave reviews.
- 2 1-pound bags of frozen hash brown potatoes
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 can cream soup (chicken, celery, cheddar cheese, etc.)
- 1 cup milk
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 12 oz. shredded cheese (mild cheddar, sharp cheddar or combination)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray with vegetable spray or butter a 9x13 baking dish.
- Place the frozen potatoes in a large mixing bowl. (Make sure there are no frozen clumps in the bag. If there are and while the potatoes are still in a sealed bag, gently beat the clumps with a meat mallet or rolling pin until all the clumps are broken apart and freely move around.)
- Add the chopped onion and cheese to the potatoes. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the ingredients.
- In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the soup, sour cream, milk, salt, seasoned salt, and pepper. Pour over the potatoes, and stir until everything is well coated with the liquid mixture.
- Spoon the potato mixture into the prepared baking shet, and spread until it's even in the dish.
- Place the casserole in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes.
- While the casserole is in the oven, melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the bread crumbs and brown. Set aside.
- After 45 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven. Top with 2 oz of cheese and the bread crumbs. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove the casserole to a cooling rack. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
