Baked Potato Casserole

1 pkg. instant potatoes
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheese (divided)
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (divided)
green onion tops, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a sauce pan heat evaporated milk and water.  Stir in instant potatoes, sour cream, cottage cheese, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 4 slices bacon.  Mix until well blended.  Pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish.  Bake 20 minutes or until cheese has melted and dish is bubbly.  Remove from oven and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, remaining 2 slices of bacon and green onion tops.  Turn oven off.  Return dish to oven and allow to sit 5-10 minutes.  Cheese will melt and the dish is ready to serve.

Comments:  The original recipe came from Carnation Evaporated Milk.  I used the package of instant potatoes instead of the 8 med. potatoes in the original version.  I added the 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and used an Italian cheese blend instead of the cheddar.  If you decide not to use the cottage cheese, no problem.  I added it for another taste.  This dish came out simply delicious.  The instant potatoes made it a lot quicker to make and it also give you a choice of adding other flavors by using different flavors of instant potatoes.  This dish is a winner for a quick after work, in a hurry dish!  Bet this would be good with a little broccoli added before baking.  If you decide to make this using real potatoes, eliminate the cup of water and mix your potatoes with the evaporated milk and sour cream using an electric mixer until creamy.