more than the main celebration

Either of these creamy, cheesy side dishes does great at a brunch. They are easy to whip up ahead of time and then pop in the oven when you need to. When the holidays roll around there is usually one house in our family that ends up stuffed with people. When it’s mine that means about 11 of us under one roof for as much as four days, so I try to have a pretty good plan not only for the main celebration, but for all the eating that has to go on between shopping, decorating, trips to the movies and card games. We’re pretty easy going, so I can set my family a breakfast buffet and they will take care of the rest, popping a pre-made single-serving rendition of the 7-Layer Side dish into the microwave and pouring a cup of coffee. These family recipes offer the same flexibility, with some scrambled eggs and fresh fruit on the side. (I’ve been known to pull the fully cooked dish from the fridge and they’ll scoop out and microwave what they want! Don’t ya’ just love ’em?) The second has a lighter sauce, because it is made with twice as many potatoes. Have fun.

Those Potatoes
1 lb frozen hash browns
½ cup butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 10-ounce can cream of celery soup
1 10-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 pint sour cream
Thaw hash browns. Preheat oven to 350. Sauté onion in ½ cup butter. Add soups and sour cream. Place thawed hash browns in a greased 9x13-inch casserole dish. Pour sauce over the potatoes and stir. Pour ¼ cup melted butter over mixture. Bake 30 minutes at 350 or until bubbly hot in the middle. Add 8-12 (10) ounces shredded cheddar cheese and continue to bake 15 minutes.

Hash Brown Potatoes
2 lbs frozen cubed hash browns
1 cup sour cream
½ cup onion
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup butter, melted
¼ cup butter, melted
¾ cup corn flakes, crushed
Preheat oven to 375. Mix ½ cup melted butter over hash browns; mix in cream of celery soup, sour cream, 2 cups cheese and onion. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Mix ¼ cup melted butter into crushed corn flakes; spread over the top of hash browns. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake 15 minutes more.