Potato and Chorizo Casserole

Description
I love the smoky flavor chorizo gives this dish, but I’ve also made it with Italian sausage and substituted an Italian blend cheese for the Mexican cheese. For a vegetarian option, you can use cream of mushroom soup and fresh mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh chorizo or bulk spicy pork sausage
- 1 package (32 ounces) frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
- 1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
- 2 cups shredded mexican cheese blend
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1 small green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- chopped fresh parsley and cilantro
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°. In a small skillet, cook chorizo over medium heat until cooked through, breaking into crumbles, 5-7 minutes; drain. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the hash browns, soup, cheeses, onion, peppers and pepper flakes. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with panko.
- Bake, uncovered, until golden brown and bubbly, 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and cilantro before serving.