PEI Bacon Cheddar Potato Pie

This was a perfect dish to serve for my Easter Brunch. It's impressive looking and tastes as delicious. I was asked for this recipe from many of my guests. It may seem intimidating, but is actually quite easy. You'll need a deeper casserole dish or even a pie plate would be fine.  I've made just a few adjustments from the original recipe, like, no salt!  The bacon I find is salty enough, but adding pepper is perfect.

An important note:  please don't line your potato slices as I did around the edges.  This made the pie, while still lovely and delicious, a little harder to hold its shape when serving.  I've made the adjustment in the 

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees 

1 pound bacon - depending on the size of round casserole dish you are using, you may need more.

4 cups strong cheddar cheese

6 large potatoes, scrubbed clean but left unpeeled, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1-2 onions, sliced or diced

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder or 4 cloves garlic, minced

pepper

Line a round casserole dish with bacon slices, arranging them in a radial pattern and starting with one end of bacon in the center of the pan and the other end draped over the edge.

When the entire surface of the casserole has been covered, sprinkle with pepper, squish the center of the bacon down, then add a layer of sliced potatoes, over lapping to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and add slices of onion and some garlic. Add some more pepper and repeat layers until they are slightly above the top of the pan. Fold the bacon, one slice at a time up and over the potato mound into the center so it looks kind of like a pinwheel or a pouch. Press down and cover with a lid. Now here's the great part. You bake this tart for 3 hours at 325 degrees. Once it's done, take off the lid and let it cool for a while, then carefully put a plate over the top and turn the tart over onto the plate. It will look so cool. It will be a little greasy too so just sop it up with some paper towels and turn out onto another beautiful plate - surround with orange slices and parsley if you like!. You can reheat later on, or serve room temperature.