So, my company is having an early Thanksgiving potluck, and I’m thinking about bringing cheesy hashbrowns. My problem? I have a pretty good recipe - it’s similar to the Cracker Barrel’s - and I’ve made them before, but only in a 9x13 pan that bakes for a half hour or so. I’m not totally clueless with a crock pot, but I’ve never made cheesy potatoes in one before.
Any ideas as to how I should proceed? I was thinking of simply baking it conventionally the night before, then dumping it all into the crock pot the next day. I’d lose some of the crispy top, I think, but I don’t think that’s a huge deal. But what should I set the crock pot at so that it’ll be piping ready for lunch? Low? Will that get it hot by lunch? High for an hour, then turn to low?
Alternately, anyone got tried-n-true cheesy potato recipes that are crock-pot friendly?
Tips? Tricks? Thoughts? Or is this entirely silly?
Many thanks.
Not so much a recipe as a formula for heart disease but this tastes pretty good and I’ve never had to bring home leftovers. I don’t know how big your crock pot is so adapt as required.
Coarsely chop enough potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes to fill your crock pot to within a couple of inches of the top. Toss the spud cubes with a bit of kosher salt and oil, spread out on a half sheet pan and roast in the oven until brown and crispy, stirring every ten minutes.
Chop one onion (and one green pepper if you like that sort of thing) into a heavy saucepan with a bit of oil to sweat and soften them for a few minutes. After the veggies are mostly soft, add one can of your favorite heat and eat chili, one ‘brick’ of Velveeta and enough milk to make a pourable sauce. You’re probably better off making the sauce a bit thicker than you think you need to.
Remove the spuds from the oven and, in a large mixing bowl, gently stir together the potatoes and enough of the sauce to look right. Depending on the size of your crock pot, you’ll probably have leftover sauce. It freezes well and is tasty when you’re in a mood for that sort of thing.
Pour the cheesy spuds into the crock pot that you have pre-warmed to its lowest setting.
My crock pot has an oven safe liner so I pop them into the hot box to get a little browned and crusty on top. Make double-dog sure your crock pot was designed for this before you try it.
They will not last very long before turning to mush so don’t expect them to hold them all day.