Cheesy Steak and Bacon Hashbrown Casserole

It's brunch time with the Creole Contessa, and I am making some Cheesy, Steak and Bacon Hashbrown Casserole. Yes...that's cheese oozing out the side of the dish...just YUM!

Start off by frying some bacon...yes a whole pack of bacon...save the bacon grease people! Next, we make the cream sauce, allow it to cool, then fold in the sour cream.

While the sauce cools, we're going to take the remaining bacon grease, and fry the steak in the bacon grease!

Yes,I said that...fry the steak in the bacon grease...hey, it's not like you eat this everyday, well, I hope you don't eat like this everyday...lol...it's a special occasion brunch item.

Look at what we have...all the cooked veggies, potatoes, more cheese, steak and don't forget to add the bacon, mix well and pour the cream sauce on top and mix again. 

I topped the casserole with more cheese, a little reserved bacon and steak and baked for about 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly...

Garnish with a little green onions, and you could really top this off with more sour cream or Greek yogurt before serving.

Hot, cheesy, beefy, and bacony, just like I like it! Eat Up people!

Steak and Bacon Hashbrown Casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

32 ounces, frozen grated hashbrown
1 pack bacon, sliced
1 lb. sirloin steak, diced into 1/2 inch chunks
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups jack cheese, grated
2 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon creole seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/4 cup flour
1 bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded, diced
extra virgin olive oil
green onions for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix seasoning blend together and set aside.

Mix grated cheese together and set aside.

Rinse, pat dry and dice steak into 1/2 inch chunks, season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend and set aside. It's easier to dice a slightly frozen steak.

In a skillet add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, add diced bacon and fry until crispy about 7 minutes, remove bacon from pan, drain on paper napkins, reserve bacon grease.

In a stock pot add 3 tablespoons of bacon grease and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat, whisk in flour and 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend and cook, whisking constantly for about 1 minute.

Lower heat to medium-low and add milk and heavy cream to stock pot and whisk well. Add in 1 cup of grated cheese and whisk until melted. Remove sauce from fire and set aside. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Spray a 13x9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray or butter the casserole dish and set aside.

In skillet with remaining bacon grease, turn fire to medium-high, once grease is heated add diced steak and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, remove from pan, add chopped vegetables to pan, season with 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend and mix well. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes, add frozen hashbrown to vegetable mixture and mix well. Season with remaining seasoning blend and continue to mix and cook for about 5 minutes more. Melt remaining butter and pour over hashbrown/veggie mixture and mix well.

Add sour cream to cooled cheese sauce and mix well. Pour cheese sauce over hashbrown and mix well. Mix in 1 cup of grated cheese, steak, and bacon to mixture and mix well.

Place mixture into greased casserole dish and top with remaining cheese, bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes are until golden brown. Allow mixture to rest for about 15 minutes before serving. Top with green onions if desired.