Have ready a large casserole dish, a large bowl, and a medium bowl.
Grease the casserole.
Put the bag of potatoes in the large bowl with the chopped onion and ham, and mix them together.
Put the sour cream, chives, and soup in the smaller bowl. Mix them thoroughly.
Put half of the potato mixture into the casserole dish. Put half of the sour cream mixture over it. Add half of the cheese. Mix all of this together well.
Now, put the rest of sour cream mixture into the large bowl with the remaining cheese, and mix that up as well.
Put this mixture on top of the mixture already in the casserole.
Top with the Panko breadcrumbs, and drizzle the butter over it.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely tan. Remove from the oven, a let stand a few minutes before serving. It will be very hot.
Notes
Variations You can omit the ham if you want to make this vegetarian. If you want to make it Southwest, add a can of diced jalapenos.
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