OK, so I made an amazing casserole, and now everyone wants the recipe. Can you say no when they ask? I can't. Here you go, but you have to follow it, OK, and don't complain to me if you don't do it the same way I did. Here we go. By the way, Happy 120th birthday to my Granny Edwards.
First, start the oven at 375. You have to spray the 9" x 9" glass pan with spray oil so the hash browns don't stick. I use olive oil and try to find it cholesterol-free because I don't like adding cholesterol (she says that but uses pure butter). Then you dump 1/2 a bag of frozen hash browns into it. Don't buy the small bag and then tell me there weren't enough. Get a good-sized bag, something like 20 ounces. I didn't look when I bought it. It's a store brand, nothing fancy.
After the hash browns, you add sprinkle (generously) about 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese. I'd tell you exactly how much, but I don't usually measure anything. You can grate it if you like. Add about 3 tablespoons or so of Ranch dressing. Again, I don't measure it, so just squirt it out and drizzle it all over the entire mess. Then add 2 whisked or beaten eggs with 1/4 cup of melted butter. I don't measure the butter, but I know a 1/2 a stick is 1/4 a cup if you buy the type that has 4 sticks in a box. I microwave the butter by itself for about 40 seconds.
After the egg/butter thing you grate or add shredded cheddar. This time I used white cheddar. You can do whatever your heart desires. I grate enough to cover the top lightly. Then I add the sausage. Sometimes, I tear it up, and other times, I don't. The one in the picture only has 8 patties, so if I was serving 9 people that would be a problem, but this only served four since we like to eat it, and 8 can be divided by 4 pretty good.
Pop that puppy into the oven (no, you don't get to email me and say I was being cruel to animals; I'm from the South. We say that sort of thing. It's not going to change just because you're offended. You're allowed to be offended.) You cook it for 45 minutes at 375, and depending on your oven, it will be ready around that time. I think I cooked mine for 47-48 minutes today. Then I took it out and let it set for 10 minutes before I dug into it.
The recipe is one I've used for a long time. Some people add half and half, and some people use sour cream instead of Ranch dressing. you can do it with ham, you can do it with chicken or turkey too. You can do it with fish, but I don't think I'd eat it if you did. I'm not going to do that to myself. The famously wonderful Southern restaurant Cracker Barrel has a hash brown casserole, and they do it well; this one is sort of like that one, probably. There's just so much you can do with certain food items. No one holds the patent on how to cook this sort of thing, and if they did, our grannies wouldn't give them the time of day they were asking for. Then again, my granny didn't use frozen hash browns.
There you go, that's it. That's the big ol' secret to what I had for breakfast today. I started posting what I was eating, and so many wanted to talk about it. I'm sure they can do the same thing(s) I'm doing. Some folks just need a nudge, and others need a push. Pinterest is a great place to get recipes and ideas if you're thinking you want to do something special for someone or for yourself, but you just can't figure out what it is that you want to do. Try that!
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