loaded baked potato casserole

This was so easy it was criminal and yet flavorful and yummy. If you make it on a weeknight, leave yourself some time to make the bacon and do some chopping–but it’s definitely doable. Literally a meat and potatoes meal, and delish to boot. Enjoy!

Originally found on A Household Almanac Rachel Schultz

Ingredients

• 4 russet potatoes, cubed
• 4 chicken breasts, uncooked and cubed
• 1 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 and 1/2 cups cheddar
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter, sliced
• Salt & pepper
• Season Salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place potatoes in a 9×13 baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Stir to coat potatoes. Mix in bacon, raw chicken, and cheddar.
3. Lay butter slices over casserole. Season with salt & pepper.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes.
5. Top with green onion.

tara’s tips: I used kosher salt on my potatoes and chicken instead of table salt. And when it came to mixing things up, I used my hands–sometimes there’s just no better way. I used salt, pepper, and season salt on my chicken. I fried 7 pieces of bacon and then crumbled it. Once again, I used thin sliced chicken breasts, which for recipes of this nature, does not make for easy chopping, I’d recommend using regular chicken breasts. Because I seasoned my chicken and the potatoes, I did not season with salt and pepper after adding the butter slices. It goes without saying, I grated my own cheese, in this case, an entire block of mild cheddar. And I admittedly forgot to cover with foil, so I baked for 70 minutes uncovered and it still came out yummy.