Funeral Potatoes: On Being a Real Mormon Woman

A real Mormon woman knows how to cook. And in her vast arsenal of delicious recipes, there is none so delicious and so revered... as the funeral potato.

Now, the funeral potato need not be served only at funerals (though a funeral is certainly an appropriate place to eat this delectable dish). It's perfect for potlucks, picnics, and Saturday-nights-when-you're-hungry-and-want-real-food-and-all-you're-doing-tonight-anyway-is-homework-and-laundry-(and running into your ex-boyfriend who is now married while wearing your scrubbiest scrubs, wet hair, and no makeup, but whatevs. NBD.)-and-you-just-went-to-the-grocery-store-today-and-you-have-all-the-ingredients-on-hand. Last Saturday was one such night.

There are many recipes for the funeral potato, but this is my version. Typically, these recipes call for some sort of top crust made out of corn flakes or crackers. I personally find that to be gross, so I choose to leave my funeral potato crustless. My measurements aren't exact, because I'm Latina, and we don't measure when we cook, OK? But here's what you'll need and what you'll do with what you'll need:

The Funeral Potato

INGREDIENTS

• Potatoes (Fancy that! I used 7 regular sized potatoes for a 9x13 casserole dish)
• 1/3 of an onion, finely chopped 
• Olive oil (enough to sautee said onion)  
• Sour cream (I used somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 regular 16 oz. containers)
• 1 1/2 cans, cream of chicken soup
• salt and pepper to taste 
• a few handfuls of your favorite cheese (I used Colby Jack)

The funeral potato, pre-oven

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil, peel, and grate potatoes. Put the grated potatoes into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Preheat your oven to 375.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, sautee the chopped onion in olive oil until it's cooked but not burned. Wipe the onion tears from your eyes.
3. In a bowl, combine the sour cream, cream of chicken soup, salt and pepper until smooth and creamy. Taste test to see if you need more salt or pepper. My mixture seemed a little thick, so I added a splash of milk, too. You can also just add more sour cream and/or soup.
4. Add the onions to the creamy mixture. Then add as much cheese as you'd like. (I think I used 3 handfuls? My size handfuls, not your 6'6" linebacker boyfriend's hands.)
5. Pour the creamy/cheesy mixture over the grated potatoes, and stir until all the potatoes have been creamed/cheesed. 
6. Put the mixture into your greased baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
7. Let the dish sit while cooling, then ENJOY!

And THAT is how I make a funeral potato. (And how I preserve my hope of becoming a REAL Mormon woman.)

* Bonus: Since I'm not-yet-married and have no one else for whom to cook, I got to eat this whole pan all by myself! Funeral potatoes all week long! Yessss!