Hash Brown Casserole

It's probably no secret that Saturday morning breakfasts are one of my favorite meals. So for this Saturday I ended up trying this copy cat recipe for The Cracker Barrel's Hash Brown Casserole. This is probably the third recipe I've tried that has attempted to figure out the actual recipe, and although, this recipe is probably the closest to the real thing that I have tried so for, it was still lacking when it came to the original. It was still really good though. I almost feel like on top of the the 2 cups of Colby cheese, there should be an additional 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. It just kind of seemed like it needed a little extra something, so maybe that would solve it. Don't get me wrong though. This recipe is really yummy, the only downfall really is that it takes about an hour and a half from start to finish. So, it's not a quick fix, which is usually what I like to look for in a breakfast recipe. But still yummy none the less. Enjoy!!

Estimated Cooking Time: About 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 26-ounce bag frozen country-style hash browns
• 2 cups shredded Colby cheese
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup beef stock or canned broth
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Dash garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the frozen hash browns, cheese, and onion in a large bowl. Combine the milk, beef stock, half the melted butter, the garlic powder, salt, and black pepper in another bowl. Mix until well blended, then pour mixture over the hash browns and mix well.

Heat the remaining butter in a large, ovenproof skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot, spoon in the hash brown mixture. Cook the hash browns, stirring occasionally, until hot and ll of the cheese has melted (about 7 minutes). Put the skillet into the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until surface of the hash browns is dark brown.

{If your skillet isn't ovenproof (because it has a plastic handle, for example), you can also spoon the potatoes into a glass 9x9-inch baking dish after cooking in the skillet. Also, if you can't find Colby cheese, you can also use cheddar cheese for this recipe. Colby, however, is preferred.}

Recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes