RECIPE DOCTOR
Put hash-browns on your Easter menu

By Elaine Magee
Knight Ridder News Service

Q. Easter is just around the corner and my family traditionally serves this hash-brown casserole. Can you lighten it up without anyone noticing?

A. My family serves something similar, but it uses the O'Brien cubed hash-brown potatoes instead. I can't guarantee that no one will notice it's light — the missing french-fried onion topping, at 90 calories and 7 grams of fat per serving, may be a dead giveaway. But I can tell you this version is really delicious and the baking dish will be licked clean within minutes.

Changes: Use lower-fat cream of celery soup from Campbell's, cut the cheese from 3 cups to 2, use reduced-fat sharp cheddar and fat-free sour cream (I like Naturally Yours in the black-and-white cowhide-colored container). Also: cover the lightened version to increase moisture factor.

The original recipe had 330 calories, 22 grams fat, 11 grams saturated fat, and 41 mg cholesterol per serving.

Hash-brown Casserole

• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Healthy Request Cream of Celery soup, condensed
• 2 cups (8 ounces) reduced-fat grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream (light can also be used)
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 30-ounce (or 2-pound) bag of frozen shredded hash-brown potatoes, unthawed
• 1 ounce regular or reduced-fat potato chips, crushed into coarse crumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray.

Combine first four ingredients in extra-large bowl and stir to blend well; stir in the hash browns. Blend ingredients well.

Spread into prepared baking dish, cover with foil, and bake about 1 hour. Sprinkle top of casserole evenly with potato-chip crumbs and bake uncovered until golden brown and bubbly, about 5-10 minutes.

Per serving: 186 calories, 8 g protein, 24.5 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (3.3 g saturated fat, 0.3 g monounsaturated fat, .07 g polyunsaturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 392 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 29 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids: 0.1; Omega-6 fatty acids: 0.3. Weight Watchers points, 4.

Elaine Magee is author of "The Recipe Doctor Cookbook" and "Tell Me What to Eat If I Have Acid Reflux." Her new book, "The Flax Cookbook" is available at bookstores and amazon.com. Write to her through www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided.