Thanksgiving Side Dish

By : Whitney Miller | 2 Comments | On : November 12, 2012 | Category : Blog

My church’s women’s ministry recently had an event which they had me be apart of. I was given the opportunity to share my testimony and about my recent travels. I also shared easy entertaining recipes and tips. The ladies who coordinated the event had the idea for all the women who attended to give me one of their recipes. I have chosen three recipes out of the collection to put my own twist on. The first recipe I chose was a hashbrown casserole recipe. The twist I chose to put on this recipe is to lighten it up. The recipe I was given is below.

Hashbrown Casserole (original recipe)

32 oz. cubed hashbrowns

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup melted butter

1 can of cream of chicken and mushroom soup

salt

pepper

Mix all of the ingredients. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F

At first glance, I decided to lighten the fat and sodium. The high fat ingredients are the sour cream, cheddar cheese, butter, and canned cream of soups. These items besides the butter and sour cream are also high in sodium. Canned cream of soups contain a lot of sodium. There is almost 3/4 teaspoon (1,760 mg) of salt in a can of cream of mushroom soup. The American Heart Association’s recommended daily sodium intake is 2,300 mg or 1 teaspoon.

                                        (I found this photo online)

So, what ingredients have I chosen to use instead? Well to give a creaminess without the high fat, I used half and half and for the cheesiness, I used parmesan cheese.

I call my hashbrown dish Cheesy Potato “Risotto.” I am able to obtain a very creamy texture without using cream because of the risotto technique. The starch in the potatoes is released slowly with the stirring process and the gradual addition of the low sodium chicken broth and half and half. Lastly, many hashbrown casseroles have a crunchy topping. I gave my hashbrown dish a crunchy topping using rice cereal.

My Cheesy Potato “Risotto” is a perfect side dish for your family’s Thanksgiving meal. Enjoy this lightened up hashbrown casserole recipe and save the indulging for dessert- pumpkin pie (:     You can get this recipe in the recipe section on my site.