Taters Gone Wild

You've heard me say many a time that my guys are meat and potatoes men. And while they'd be happy with mashed potatoes every night, I like to keep my eyes open for new ways to turn a spud. So this one really caught my eye when I saw the PW fixing these cheesy hash browns for her crew.

Yes, there are peppers in this recipe, but NO it's not hot. I promise and will explain later.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 bag southern style hash browns (that's means they're diced instead of shredded)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (or more) Anaheim chili pepper, diced, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/2 - 1 poblano pepper, diced, seeds and ribs removed
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped, seeds and ribs removed
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
• 2 T butter

Oh, and I almost forgot--

Bacon! 4-6 slices, cooked and roughly chopped. Everything's better with bacon, right?

 

I cook my bacon in a skillet, remove it and drain the grease, then add the butter without wiping out the pan. Why waste all that flavor?

 

Once the butter is melted, add your onion and peppers. BTW, if you can't find Anaheim peppers, you can add a can of diced green chilies, just add then at the end, since they won't need to cook.

Doesn't that look purty? And it smells wonderful.

 

We're going to keep cooking this over medium to medium-high heat.

Starting to brown, but not there yet. Keep cooking.

 

Ah, finally. This is what we're looking for, almost a blackened state (that does not mean burned either). See how much they've cooked down and everything is turning brown? This took about 20 minutes. You don't want to rush it. And guess what? All that cooking cooks the heat right out of those peppers. All that's left is the flavor. 

 

Now you're ready to add your potatoes. Yep, they're still frozen.

Toss everything together then dump it all into a buttered baking dish. Top with shredded cheeses and bacon.

Bake in a 375 degree oven 30-35 minutes, or whenever it's hot an bubbly.

Omigosh! This smells amazing.

 

And tastes even better.

These babies certainly livened up my boring chicken and broccoli.

 

My boys loved 'em. Even asked me to make them again. That's like two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert (miss those guys).

 

So what do you say? Do you trust me enough to try it WITH the peppers? Go ahead. Ree would be proud of you.