I got this recipe from my good friend Ericka and it was called “Funeral Potatoes”. My family loves them and they are always a hit at potlucks, so I just can’t call them Funeral Potatoes anymore. I’ve found similar recipes that call them Duchess Potatoes but I just call them Special Occasion (even though I make them for parties as well as an average Wednesday dinner).
7 medium russet potatoes (or 4 of the monster size baking potatoes)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream (I often swap low fat cottage cheese and it’s delicious)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter (salted or unsalted, doesn’t matter)
2 tsp. dried chives
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1) Scrub the potatoes and place in a large stock pot. Cover with water and boil them whole with the skins on. When a knife slides easily into the potatoes, drain and remove them to a cutting board and let them cool to room temperature. I do this in the morning and then leave them out for a few hours.
2) Heat the remaining ingredients in the stock pot that you cooked the potatoes in. Once everything is combined and the cheese is melted, turn it off and leave the sauce in the pot.
3) The original recipe said to shred the potatoes, but I prefer more texture, so I take the easy method and just slice the potatoes into rounds, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Add them into the stock pot and stir until everything is mixed together.
4) Dump everything into a 9×13″ pan or similar 3-quart casserole dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Or, this is a great dish to make up ahead of time and keep in the fridge (covered) unbaked for a few hours until you’re ready to pop it in. If you bake it from refrigerated, it will take about 45 minutes. I usually up the oven temp to 400 and bake it covered for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 20-25, that way the top doesn’t burn before it’s heated through.
5) If it’s even possible, these are better as leftovers. I don’t know why, they just are. I usually put a serving on some foil in the toaster oven pan and heat it up in there instead of the microwave or turning my oven on just for that. Since the heating element is closer to the food it only takes about 15 minutes or so and it gets the edges a little more browned and crispy. I love it!
Lastly, since this makes a huge dish full and is meant to be potluck size to feed a crowd, I have adjusted the recipe by about half and baked it in my 7×11″ dish to make just enough for a family dinner.
3-4 medium potatoes (or 2 huge baking size)
1 cup sour cream or cottage cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 butter
1 tsp. dried chives
1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper, and granulated garlic
no cream of chicken soup (it’s kind of hard to use just half a can – you could and then just put the other half in a tupperware to use later, but I’d forget about it)
Follow directions as above, but bake it for just about 20 minutes (or 30 from refrigerated). Cooking time depends on how big a dish you use and whether it’s a glass Pyrex or metal. When the cheesy sauce is bubbling around the edges, it’s done.
JenPenM 