Southwestern Potato Stack -- Snow Day Comfort When the World Goes White

A winter storm hit Tuesday and dropped eight inches of snow on Grand Island in twelve hours, which is a lot of snow even by Nebraska standards. The schools closed. The roads were terrible. I was parked at home because my dispatcher had the sense to cancel my Tuesday run, which does not happen often but happens when the highway patrol closes sections of I-80, which they did, because eight inches of snow plus forty-mile-per-hour winds equals a wall of white that even an eighteen-wheeler cannot push through.

Snow days with four kids are a lesson in patience, creativity, and the strategic use of hot chocolate. I made hot chocolate three times on Tuesday alone, the from-scratch kind, because snow days demand real hot chocolate, not the powdered kind that tastes like a lie. Milk, cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt, heated until steaming. Marshmallows on top for the kids. A splash of coffee in mine because I am forty and snow days require fortification.

The kids went outside and built a snowman that was more ice sculpture than man, because Nebraska snow is dense and heavy and does not cooperate the way movie snow cooperates. Tyler built a snow fort. Justin threw snowballs at everything that moved and several things that did not. Josie made snow angels until her snowsuit was so wet she looked like she had been swimming. Amber read a book by the window and watched the snow fall and looked peaceful, which is my favorite Amber expression.

I made a big pot of loaded potato soup for dinner, the kind that could warm a glacier: potatoes, bacon, cheddar, sour cream, chives. The kids came in from the snow red-cheeked and starving, and they ate the soup like it was the first meal they had ever tasted, and the kitchen was steamy from the stove and the wet coats drying on the hooks and the specific heat generated by four children who have been outside in the cold and are now inside in the warm, and the gap between cold and warm is the space where happiness lives.

Dave came home from the truck stop late, the roads still bad, and I had saved him a bowl. He ate it standing at the counter in his work coat, snow melting off his boots, and said best soup you have ever made. He says this about everything. I believe him about everything. The snow kept falling. The house was warm. The soup was good. Nebraska winters are brutal and beautiful and I would not trade them for anything.

That loaded potato soup I made on snow day Tuesday got me thinking about all the ways potatoes can carry a family through winter. This Southwestern Potato Stack hits the same notes—cheese, bacon, sour cream, warmth—but layers everything up in a way that feels like a whole new meal. It’s the kind of dish four frozen kids will demolish after building snow forts, and the kind Dave will eat standing at the counter in his work coat and call the best thing I’ve ever made. He’d be right again.

Southwestern Potato Stack

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Season the potatoes. Toss the sliced potatoes with melted butter, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
3. Build the first layer. Arrange half the potato slices in the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping slightly. Top with half the cheddar, half the pepper jack, half the crumbled bacon, and half the green chiles.
4. Build the second layer. Add the remaining potato slices on top. Pour the heavy cream evenly over the potatoes. Top with the remaining cheddar, pepper jack, bacon, and green chiles.
5. Cover and bake. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly and the potatoes are fork-tender.
6. Finish and serve. Let the stack rest for 5 minutes. Top with dollops of sour cream, sliced green onions, and fresh cilantro. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 32g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 680mg