Hash Brown Potato Casserole

Source: Marie Hicks (she gave me the secret ingredient – Cheez Whiz)

Everyone has had some variation of this hash brown casserole. Let me tell you – I’ve tried them all and this is the best! Marie gave me the secret ingredient and I added/changed a few things. But it really is the Cheez Whiz that makes it the best.

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen hash brown potatoes (thawed)

1 large jar Cheez Whiz

1 (10 ¾ oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1 small onion chopped

1¼ sticks of butter (1 stick softened, ¼ stick melted)

**1 sleeve buttery crackers crushed OR Corn Flakes (about 1 cup crushed)

6 slices cooked, crumbled bacon

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.

In a large bowl combine hash browns, cheez whiz, cream of chicken soup, onion and 1 stick of softened butter. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with either the crackers or the corn flakes. Pour the remaining ¼ stick melted butter on topping, add the crumbled bacon and cook an additional 10-15 minutes (until topping is golden brown).

**I use crackers if I am traveling with this dish as they seem to last better for longer periods of time. If I am serving immediately, I use the Corn Flakes.