Experiments From Auntie's Test Kitchen
H is for Hash Brown Casserole
Ah, Cracker Barrel, that restaurant / country novelty store. I remember doing my first project for a Southern History course about this eating establishment. One of my favorite menu items from Cracker Barrel is their Hash Brown Casserole. Huddle House ruined regular hash browns for me, so this combination of potatoes and cheese is an excellent substitute.
One problem; the nearest Cracker Barrel is more than 20 miles from Lakewood. So, off to the internet I go to try to find a comparable recipe.
I found this recipe at Genius Kitchen. The directions are as follows:
Cracker Barrel's Hashbrowns Casserole- Copycat
2 pounds frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 - 10 1/4 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray an 11x14 - inch baking dish with cooking spray. Mix the above ingredients together, place in prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes or until brown on top.
Pretty easy and straight forward, right? Well, not so much.
I should have known there would be trouble when, like most of these type of websites, the page was plastered with so many ads that the recipe almost didn't load. Once I finally got the recipe to load, I followed it as directed. After 45 minutes, the casserole wasn't done. After an hour, it still didn't look done, but I was afraid of burning it. When my first bite tasted of undercooked onion, I know something was amiss. Remembering that I'm at a higher altitude, I tried cooking it an additional 30 minutes. That didn't help. It wasn't done, and it wasn't good. I kept trying to eat it out of sheer disgust and frustration, but eventually threw it away.
I guess I'll either have to travel the 20+ miles to the nearest Cracker Barrel, or put it on my list of places to eat the next time I'm in Alabama...whenever that is.
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