Cheesy Baked Potato & Ham Casserole

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 425-degree Fahrenheit.
2. Bring water to boil in a large stockpot, add potatoes and cook until tender (about 15-minutes). Meanwhile fry bacon in a skillet until crisp, remove bacon from skillet and drain on a paper towel and crumble, reserve 1-Tablespoon of the bacon grease. Sauté onion in bacon grease until tender (about 2-minutes), add cubed ham and cook until browned; remove from heat and set aside.
3. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer blend potatoes with butter, milk, salt and pepper, then whip potatoes until almost smooth and few lumps remain. Fold in crumbled bacon, sour cream, chives, cheese, ham and onion mixture.
4. Transfer potato mixture to a greased 9”x9” baking dish and bake for 45-minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Note

This rustic casserole is great on its own or served as a hearty side dish.