Season to Taste | 2025
A laughing young woman and an older woman stand in a kitchen, together holding a large foil pan of potato casserole.
A teal vector digital illustration of potatoes
Kaitlyn Goodman headshot
Season to Taste

Gigi’s Potato Casserole

Junior Kaitlyn Goodman shares classic side dish from in-laws’ family cookbook
While most college juniors are still figuring out what comes next, agricultural communications major Kaitlyn Goodman is already building a life with her husband, Paul — one that comes with a kitchen full of tradition.

Opelika natives Kaitlyn and Paul married in June 2025 after five years of dating. She and Paul’s grandmother Ginger Goodman — affectionately known as Gigi to her grandchildren — have been fast friends since they met six years ago.

“She just turned 80, and we threw her a party,” Kaitlyn said. “I made her wear a party hat. It was a great time.”

In the Goodman family, when one of Gigi’s grandchildren marries, she gives the new wives a handmade cookbook full of the family recipes that have been go-tos for family events for generations. She’s given her own granddaughters a handmade name doily with their new last names upon their marriages. For Paul and Kaitlyn, she gave her own.

“I told her ‘Gigi, you don’t have to give me this,’” Kaitlyn said. “She’s big on tradition, on passing down family traditions in a way that is very sweet.”

Gigi couldn’t have found a more receptive granddaughter-in-law than Kaitlyn, who loves to cook and bake.

“Me and Gigi have so much fun in the kitchen,” she said. “Taking these pictures, we were just having a fun time. I felt like I was on a cooking show with her.”

“She’s big on tradition, on passing down family traditions in a way that is very sweet.”

—Kaitlyn Goodman

A young woman in a green sweater uses a red spatula to scrape sour cream from a glass measuring cup into a foil pan of melted butter.
A young woman in a green sweater pours shredded cheese and diced onions into a foil pan filled with a creamy potato mixture.

Gigi’s Potato Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 bag (2 lb) frozen hash brown cubes
  • 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
  • 4 oz chopped onion
  • 10 oz mild cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Melt the butter and pour it into the 9×13 pan. Tilt the pan to coat the bottom.
  3. Mix the sour cream and cream of chicken soup in the pan until smooth.
  4. Add chopped onions and potatoes. Stir until well combined.
  5. Add shredded cheese and stir again.
  6. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan.
  7. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
  8. Remove foil for the last few minutes to lightly brown the top.
  9. Let cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!
A teal vector digital illustration of a cheese grater and a block of cheese

Gigi’s Potato Casserole

A teal vector digital illustration of a cheese grater and a block of cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 bag (2 lb) frozen hash brown cubes
  • 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
  • 4 oz chopped onion
  • 10 oz mild cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Melt the butter and pour it into the 9×13 pan. Tilt the pan to coat the bottom.
  3. Mix the sour cream and cream of chicken soup in the pan until smooth.
  4. Add chopped onions and potatoes. Stir until well combined.
  5. Add shredded cheese and stir again.
  6. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan.
  7. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
  8. Remove foil for the last few minutes to lightly brown the top.
  9. Let cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!
A young woman in a green sweater uses white pot holders to pull a foil pan of potato casserole out of a black oven.
A younger woman and an older woman stand in a kitchen, smiling and looking at each other while holding small plates of potato casserole.
open quote

Cooking Tools

  • Spatula
  • Foil
  • 9×13 foil pan
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