Make-ahead mashed potato casserole

An awesome little barbeque joint just down the freeway serves this cheesy mashed potato casserole dish to die for. When we eat it, we just groan in happiness.

Well now we can have it anytime we want, because I finally found a recipe that tastes just like it. Mmmmmmm! It’s from a Taste of Home magazine (does anyone get that magazine - it’s fun to find new recipes to try every month). I flagged it for Easter brunch, and Ma graciously prepared it (yay for us!). That thing was gone so fast I almost didn’t get to taste it.

First, here’s what the casserole looks like preassembled the night before and ready to pop in the fridge. (Yeah, yeah, wish I had a picture of it after cooking the next day – but I’ve already mentioned that when good food is sitting in front of me the camera is forgotten):

We made only a couple of changes from the original recipe, including trying these frozen, steam n’ mash potatoes for the first time – handy little things. The recipe works with any ol’ kind of potatoes, of course.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole

Ingredients

• 9 medium peeled and cubed potatoes (or 2 24-ounce bags of frozen potato cubes) 
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 6 bacon strips, chopped
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 green onions, chopped

Directions

• Cook bacon until crisp, set aside to drain on paper towels.
• Bring potato cubes to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender, drain. (Or, prepare two bags of frozen potato cubes).
• Mash potatoes with cream cheese, sour cream and butter. (We don’t own a potato masher – gasp -- so we just use a hand mixer.) Stir in milk and seasonings.
• Plop potato mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish (we use our glass lasagna pan); sprinkle with cheese, onions and bacon. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (That’s the BEST part – no need to run around like crazy on party day, the work is all done the day before.)
• Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until heated through. (If you have a convection oven like we do, you can easily bake three of these babies at the same time.)

Oh man, this stuff is so good!

View printable recipe (I’m trying something new – can you let me know if the printable works?).

Now, does anyone have any more casserole or slow-cooker recipes I can check out? I’ve been trying to get more adventurous in the kitchen and it’s really fun.

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Post #29. No pics from Tahoe yet, but they’re having lots of fun according to phone reports. Check out these other spring fling bloggers: And babies make four…, Another Journey, Birdie and the Queen Bee, Catherine’s Chatter, Diary of a Nouveau Soccer Mom, Dragonflies, Journey to Motherhood, Koprowski Kids, Life with L and M (julialaine.net), Love and a Little Craziness, Mindful of Mine, Moments with Maisie, No Ordinary Family, One Plus One Equals Four, Our Boy and His Cricket, Searching for Sophie, Spectacular S, Three Kids = Chaos, To Vietnam and China, We’re Here.