Funeral Potatoes

Everyone has a different version of this recipe. This is how the Buck family makes 'em.

FUNERAL POTATOES
32 oz. bag frozen Southern-style hash browns, thawed*
2 10.5-oz. cans condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (Vanessa says mushroom is better)
1 pint sour cream
1 small onion, finely minced, or the same amount of green onions (aka scallions), finely minced
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (the sharper the better, IMO)
¼ cup melted butter
crushed cornflakes and additional butter for topping**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. At this point you may sauté the onion in a little butter if you want to make sure the onion flavor isn't too overpowering in the final dish, but it's up to you. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except cornflakes and butter; turn into a lightly greased 9x13" glass casserole dish. Combine a generous amount of crushed cornflakes with enough melted butter to hold them together and sprinkle it over the top of the casserole. Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and browned. Soooooo many carbs.

Serves 8 people or 1 hungry teenage boy.

*This casserole was originally created to use up leftover baked potatoes. If you don't have a bag of hash browns but you do have whole potatoes, you can still make this if you're willing to do a little more work. Peel about 2 lbs. worth of russet or red potatoes and cut them into small dice. Rinse off the excess starch, pour diced potatoes into a pot, cover with water and boil about 5 minutes or until they're just barely cooked (remember, they'll cook another 45 minutes in the oven). Drain potatoes completely and proceed with recipe.

**I've also made the casserole topping using crushed Kettle brand salt and pepper potato chips and butter. I thought it tasted pretty good, but Vanessa informs me that this variation is culinary heresy. For her it's cornflakes or nothin'.

Stolen from numerous Mormon farming cookbooks and tweaked to perfection!