Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

I love that the recipe uses real ingredients and doesn’t required any canned soup!
Makes a 9×13 pan (8-10 servings)
INGREDIENTS:
  • 8-9 medium large potatoes OR 2 lbs. frozen shredded hashbrowns
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or any kind of cheese or mix of cheeses you prefer)
  • 2 cups milk
  • 4 Tablespoons butter (I only use 2!)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
If using whole potatoes scrub potatoes: Place whole unpeeled potatoes in a large pot of boiling water. Boil for about 15 minutes, or just until starting to get tender. (NOTE: I’ve tried skipping the boiling part and just using shredded raw potatoes and it doesn’t taste the same. So don’t skip this step!)
Rinse in cold water and peel (the skins will fall off with just a little bit of pressure – it’s not necessary to get every little piece of skin off). Let cool and then dry the potatoes (I use a paper towel to do this) Once potatoes are dry, grate them to resemble hash browns.
Place shredded potatoes or frozen (unthawed) hashbrowns in a 9×13 pan. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and stir lightly to combine.
Heat milk, butter, and salt in a separate pan until butter is melted (I do this in the microwave). Pour over potato/cheese mixture. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until cheese is browned (I usually turn the broiler on high for the last 1-2 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.