Halloween Hash

 

 

  So, it’s the night before Halloween, I have my bowls of candy ready for my Trick or Treaters, and I’m trying to decide what kind of casserole or soup I might make for Halloween the next day.  As I always do, I did some googling, but then I also did a few searches on Youtube.
 Well, I happened upon a channel that was taking part in a slow cooker collaboration, where a different channel would post a slow cooker recipe each day for the month of October, or rather Crocktober, as they were calling it. . So this recipe comes from a channel called Souper at 60. I thought, “oh that sounds simple enough,” so I decided to give it a try. I know, I know, why post a Halloween recipe AFTER Halloween is over? Well, I figured this would be a good one to make anytime and not JUST for Halloween. It turned out great! Very easy to do, no muss, no fuss, and it tasted great, especially with a little extra ketchup over the top. Very cheeseburger-ish. What’s not to love?
 So, the next time you’re looking to feed a crowd, give this one a try. Very delicious, and worth sharing, even on the day AFTER Halloween!



1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 10oz can cheddar cheese soup
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 tbs brown mustard
2 tbs ketchup, plus more for serving
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 (30oz) pkg frozen  hash brown potatoes
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Brown beef in large skillet. Add onion, cheddar cheese soup, sweet relish, mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce until blended. Arrange 1/2 bag of potatoes in bottom of sprayed crockpot. Top with 1/2 meat mixture. Sprinkle 1 1/2c shredded cheese 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Repeat layers beginning with remaining potatoes and beef. Sprinkle with 1/2 c cheese, and remaining salt and pepper. Cover: Cook on low 3 to 4 hours OR on High for 2 hours. Top with additional ketchup and green onion, if desired.


Tips:
Be sure to drain any excess fat from the pan after you brown the meat. Otherwise, you might wind up with a very greasy dish (depending on the fat content of your ground beef).
The pkg of ground beef that I used was more than a pound, so I wound up doubling everything except the potatoes and cheese. it turned out fine!
Be sure you season it to your taste as you layer. I found that it definitely needed more salt on the potato layer.
I added some diced red bell pepper to the party, and I also did half Cheddar and half Mozzarella cheese, just because I happened to have some on hand. Feel free to tweak it to your heart’s content!