Celebrate Cooking Together

One of the highlights of my week is Wednesday night church supper. I don’t know that it’s inherently Southern – I’m sure there are churches outside of our region that do weekly meals. However, at our church, it feels like the most classically Southern thing I do each week.

For starters, there are sweet Southern ladies, most of them grandmas, who gather during the day on Wednesday to prepare the meal. The menu rotates, and they do have the option of a healthy choice grilled chicken salad for anyone watching their waistlines. These workers spend hours diligently chopping, sautéing, and preparing the meal for our church.

After work and school, slowly a crowd gathers in our gym. By 5 p.m., the smell of the meal is overwhelming. You can always tell what’s for supper long before you ever get to the buffet line.

A crew of servers happily fills plates while those waiting in line catch up on life. We are treated to Southern fare – chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, poppy seed chicken with green beans and bacon, and the crowd favorite – breakfast for dinner. On that night, we are treated to biscuits, gravy, and everyone’s beloved hash brown casserole.

Once we fill our plates, we gather around big tables to talk, laugh, and share life while breaking bread. We make trips to the dessert table and choose from a plethora of goodness including homemade pies, cakes, bread pudding, cookies, and my favorite, a Butterfinger ice box pie. We drink lemonade and sweet tea. We help feed each other’s babies. We watch kids as they play around the periphery of the gym. We hug the senior adults like they’re our grandparents. We hear about work, about life, about cars breaking down, and kids having fits. It’s around these tables and these meals that we share life together. It’s the best gathering each week.

I managed to wrangle the top secret hash brown casserole from our head chef, Monica. She makes enough to feed 100+ people each week, but she gave me recipe to make enough for our family. It’s great for breakfast or as a side dish. We love it with a roast or ham. I love it leftover for breakfast. I just love it. It’s easy. It tastes great. And it reminds me of sharing so many meals with my church family whom I love.

Church Supper Hash Brown Casserole

2016-02-23 10:05:52

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Ingredients

1. 2 lbs frozen hash browns thawed (either microwave them or let them thaw in the fridge)
2. 16 oz. sour cream
3. 1 10.5-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
4. 1 10.5 -ounce can cream of chicken soup
5. 2 Tablespoons dried onion flakes
6. 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
7. 1 cube chicken bouillon (liquid bouillon may be substituted)
8. 2 teaspoons black pepper
9. 2 cups crushed corn flakes
10. 1/2 cup unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Mix hash browns, sour cream, soup, onion flakes, cheese, bouillon, and black pepper.
2. Spread in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan.
3. Bake at 350 for 1-1.5 hours until bubbly and potatoes are soft.
4. Melt butter and mix in corn flakes.
5. Sprinkle casserole with crumb topping and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes until browned.

Note from Debbie

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP SUBSTITUTE

Ingredients

1. 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2. 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3. 1/2 cup any broth (beef/chicken/vegetable
4. 1/2 cup milk
5. mushrooms, chopped and sauteed (how ever much you desire)
6. salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Stir in flour a little at a time until smooth, then remove from heat.
3. Add broth and milk a little at a time, whisking to keep mixture smooth. Stir in mushrooms.
4. Return to heat and bring sauce to a gentle boil; stir constantly until sauce thickens.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP SUBSTITUTE

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons butter
2. 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes (or 3 Tablespoons fresh)
3. 1⁄2 teaspoon minced garlic
4. 1⁄4 cup milk
5. 1⁄4 cup heavy cream
6. 1 cup chicken broth
7. 1⁄3 cup flour
8. 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
9. 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Over medium heat combine butter, onion, garlic, milk, heavy cream, and chicken broth in medium sauce pan until combined.
2. Add flour, salt and pepper and stir until it thickens. (About 3 minutes).
3. Just add more flour if you want it thicker.
4. Use in any recipe you need it for.

By Brittney Lee: Razorback Britt

Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/