Jalapeno Popper Casserole

Here is my Jalapeno Popper Casserole.  Just a heads up - I have tweaked this over the course of about a year to get it just right . . . FOR ME.  Which means that some of the ingredients no longer have valid measurements.  So if you are going to cook it up, you may want to do some tweaking of your own.

So here we go (insert drumroll sound here) with my version of this tasty dinner:

Makes 1 13x9 inch pan

1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese, divided
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
4-6 Jalapeno peppers (depending on the size of the peppers and how much of that flavor you want.  Just keep in mind that once the seeds are out, they aren't as hot as you might think), deseeded and diced (after I deseed the peppers I throw them in that food chopper attachment thingy that came with my blender. Also, I use latex gloves for the seeding and all touching of the peppers, because  . . . you know . . . I'll get that stuff in my eyes for sure)
1 bag of hash browns (I don't know the size of bag, enough to fill the bottom of the pan, and I use the cubed kind)
Green onions (quantity depending on your love - or not - of green onions)

Preheat the oven to 425.  Fill the baking dish with hash brown, and put them in the oven until they are warmed up.  While the hash browns are warming, cook the bacon and crumble it into small pieces.  Dice the peppers and slice the green onions.  Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, 1.5 cups of cheese, green onions and bacon (keep some bacon and green onions for sprinkling on top).  I use a hand mixer to blend it all up.  Spread that mixture on top of the hashbrowns.  Top with the rest of the cheese, bacon, and green onions.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.


It takes 2 of these to feed my family.  My family of 4.  2 pans.  4 people.  I'm not kidding.

Yes, one of those people is Jack, but I'm not sure that 1 pan would satisfactorily (is that a word?) take care of the family sans Jack.  We kinda like it.  It's yummy.  And warms up nicely.  Or so I've heard.  I've never actually had any to warm up for myself.  But that's the rumor.


The actual recipe that I started with uses twice as much cream cheese and tater tots instead of hash browns.  It was too much cream cheese, in my opinion, so I kept whittling it down until I got to where we are now, which is perfect.  Someone else would probably like the full cream cheese portion.  And lest you ask, you could probably use the low fat cream cheese and sour cream. I've never tried.  Why would I do such a thing?  Low fat = low flavor = sadness for everyone.