Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Fully Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

This past Sunday was the April Sunday Dinner. We had quite the motley crew at the gathering. Aside from eating I also challenged our adult brains with some creative Easter egg decorating. The outcome was a lot of really colorful hard boiled eggs.

For dinner this week I made the Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork, Fully Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole, baked beans and Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars. Guests brought other items that were delicious and fit with the meal perfectly.

First the Pulled Pork. I won't bother retyping the recipe on this blog. You can find it here.  I didn't use a full can of chipotle chilis because I knew I had several spice challenged folks coming. I only used 2 and think I should have used a couple more. There was ultimately no spice to it and no real flavor of chipotle.  I couldn't taste any Dr. Pepper flavoring either. The pork was good, don't get me wrong, but the flavoring I expected wasn't what I got.

As one of my side dishes I made a mashed potato casserole.  I've had this recipe since 2001 and have never made it. Super simple. And OMG sooo good. You really should try it.

Fully Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
(This is from memory)

  • 5lbs russet potatoes
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 c milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c sour cream
  • 4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 3/4 c green onions, chopped
  • 2 1/4 c grated cheddar cheese

Basically make mashed potatoes. Boil your potatoes, mash them with the butter and milk. I start by adding the butter and mashing, then slowly add the milk in parts. I don't like overly waterly mashed potatoes. Once those are incorporated I scramble up the egg and toss it in. The original recipe called for 2 eggs, but I only used one and it was fine.

Once that's all mashed together and smooth, add most the bacon (keep some aside for topping), add most the onions (keep some aside for topping), add 2 cups cheese.

Mix. Season with Salt and pepper to taste.

Put in a 3 quart baking dish. I used a 9X13. Top with remaining bacon, onions and cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

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