March Madness Casserole

Submitted by erkitty

"Ready, Set, Cook! Special Edition Contest Entry: This is comfort food!!! It hits all the right buttons for those nights when Spring has been snatched right out of your grasp and March is at hand. Pick a non-stick pan that has a bottom diameter close to the size of your casserole dish--that way it fits into each layer easily."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 45mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb of thick sliced bacon (I used apple wood smoked)
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomato, packed in oil- drained and minced
• 17 ounces of your favorite alfredo sauce
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
• 1⁄2 cup thinly sliced green onion (I just used the green parts)
• 2 1⁄2 cups grated smoked gouda cheese
• 13 3⁄4 ounces artichoke bottoms, packed in water- drained and sliced in thin crescents
• 2 (20 ounce) packages Simply Potatoes® Shredded Hash Browns
• 2 eggs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup canola oil

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg.
2. Slice the bacon into ¾ inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil. They bake at 375 deg. for about 18 minutes.
3. Removed cooked bacon to a paper towel to drain.
4. Place cream cheese, Alfredo sauce and sun dried tomatoes and tobasco sauce in a food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape mixture into a bowl and set aside.
5. Mix the ground cumin into two eggs –like you were making scrambled eggs.
6. Place the Shredded Hash Browns in large mixing bowl and incorporate the egg mixture into them with your hands.
7. Sprinkle in the flour, blend it in with your hands and set aside.
8. Heat a 12 inch non-stick omelet pan and add canola oil to the bottom when hot—just enough to coat the ten inch area at the bottom.
9. Add 1/3 of the potato mixture and press into the bottom to form a large 9 to 10 inch potato cake.
10. Fry 7 to 8 minutes on each side at med –high flame to form a thin, crispy potato pan cake. Remove it to the bottom of a round casserole dish that is about 10 inches in diameter.
11. Fry the second potato cake—while the first side cooks begin building the casserole.
12. Spread a layer of the Alfredo mixture on top, sprinkle with all the bacon, add 1/3 the green onions and 1/3 the smoked Gouda.
13. Add the second potato cake to casserole, top with 1/3 Alfredo mixture, artichoke bottoms, 1/3 of the green onions and 1/3 of the smoked Gouda.
14. Fry the last potato cake, add it to dish , top with last of the Alfredo and Gouda and sprinkle with the last of the green onions.
15. Bake at 375 deg. for 30 minutes.
16. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before serving--that way the slices stay together better.