Cheesy Hash Brown Bake

It's true that delicious food doesn't have to be associated with complicated ingredients or recipe instructions.  This Cheesy Hash Brown Bake is a perfect example.  I only used 3 main ingredients - vegetarian chili, shredded hash brown potatoes, and vegan mozzarella cheese.  The only additional ingredients were salt and pepper.  The original recipe called for cilantro, but I didn't think it would taste great with the ingredients.  In the end, it turned out to be a spicy delicious comfort food.  It was supposed to be lunch for my boyfriend and I tomorrow, but I really couldn't resist eating a chunk out of the bake.  I'm sure my boyfriend wouldn't notice if his lunch wasn't the normal serving amount ;).

For my vegetarian chili, I used Health Valley's Spicy Tomato Vegetarian Chili because I was craving something spicy.  It tasted pretty good, but I am still on the look out for vegetarian chili with the least amount of sodium.  I purchased this at Micronesia Mall Pay-Less Supermarket.  For my vegan cheese, I used Daiya Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, which I posted about here.  They taste great by themselves, but I really prefer them in melted form.  They also make great cheddar cheese so you can definitely use that if you prefer it over mozzarella.

Cheesy Hash Brown Bake
Serves 2

2 cups prepared vegetarian chili
2 cups fresh or frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed if frozen
1/2 cup shredded vegan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F, with rack set in upper third.  Place chili in a baking dish.  Set aside.  Place potatoes in a double layer of paper towels; squeeze out as much liquid as possible.  This is key if you want your hash crunchy.  In a large bowl, combine potatoes and cheese; season with salt and pepper.  Scatter potato mixture over chili.  Bake until potatoes are golden brown and chili is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.