"The Works" Baked Potato Casserole

An easy make ahead side dish that would be perfect for the holidays.
The leftovers are fantastic for breakfast too...

Last night, after a cold and foggy day, we decided to stay in and have a good ole fashioned steak dinner.  Usually we just have veggies and salad with our steak, but I just wanted a cozy side dish to warm things up. I didn't have anything specific in mind, but I have been looking at a huge package of pre-cooked bacon that someone bought for a fishing trip and didn't use. Go figure, right? It's a good problem to have.

So here's what I made up... maybe not entirely that original or unique, there must be thousands of "works" potato dishes out there.  But I'm pretty happy with what I whomped together late last night. 

I'm in love with this now.

 Serves 6-8
Ingredients

4-8 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed, about 4 cups
1/2 onion, diced
2 leeks, sliced, and diced
1/4 cup green onions, minced, plus more for top
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
6-8 slices of bacon, cooked, diced
2/3 cup whip cream
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated, plus more for top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Dice up the onions, leeks (the white part and a little bit of the pale green part), garlic and bacon.  Saute in a fry pan over medium high heat, stirring, until the onions and leeks start to get a little color and soften.  

Be sure to heavily salt and pepper the potatoes when you mix everything together so you get enough flavor.

Add in the uncooked potatoes, green onions, cream, cheese and salt & pepper and toss to mix.  Add to a greased baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Uncover, add a bit more cheese and green onions, if desired, and bake for 15 more minutes.

I think this could be done in the crockpot too.  I'd cook it on low for 2-3 hours after sauteing the onion/bacon mixture and then adding everything to the crockpot.

This casserole works well to make ahead and reheat too.  Great for dinner, or brunch!