Funeral Potatoes

Who doesn't love funeral potatoes? They are loved so much that every funeral dinner you attend has at least four different versions of this yummy (and very fattening) dish. You can go the shredded potato route or the chunky route, either way they are super yummy (and very fattening).

I had never made these before this past weekend, so when my mom requested them for a Mother's Day side dish I quickly hopped online to find the recipe I thought looked best.  Here's what I found.

Funeral Potatoes
(adapted from Our Best Bites)

1 - 30 oz bag frozen hash browns
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
3 tbs. butter
2 cups non-fat sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers (I prefer Chex, but didn't have any on hand).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saute pan, melt 1 tbs. butter and saute the onions and garlic until onions are soft and translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

In a very, very large bowl combine the hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese, and onion/garlic mixture.  (I like to do all the wet ingredients first saving the hash browns for last so everything is well mixed) Stir until well combined.

Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. 

Smash up a sleeve of the Ritz crackers. Melt 2 tbs butter and combine with the cracker crumbs to create the topping.

Poor topping over potatoes and cover with foil.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, removing the foil half way through.

Let cool before you dig in or you'll burn your tongue.  No one likes a burnt tongue. The recovery period is horrible.