mmm, yummy... my first dinner blog!

OK, so, I am NOT a master chef - by any stretch of the word. My husband taught me some cooking basics when we got married (he loves to cook), and I took it from there. I can now follow a recipe and turn out a pretty tasty meal!

I hadn't thought of dinner all day - I spent most of my computer time looking for preschool stuff (I'll blog about that later). So, when 6:00 rolled around I thought it would be good to start planning - LOL!

Potatoes Au Gratin is what I came up with. I had four potatoes and as I perused recipes online I found one using ingredients that I have! Potatoes Au Gratin may be old news for some of you, but it is the first time I have made it. and my skeptical boys loved it!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/scallopedpotatoes/r/r91013a.htm
  is where I found the recipe and it only takes simple ingredients found in most of our cupboards:

• 4 cups diced potatoes (about 1/2-inch dice)
• 7 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 3/4 cup milk, low fat is fine
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• dash nutmeg, optional
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan or Peccorino Romano cheese, divided
• 1 cup soft bread crumbs

I added paprika instead of nutmeg...

Preparation:

Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Heat oven to 400°. Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium, cover, and continue boiling for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir until blended and bubbly. Add the milk and continue cooking, stirring, until thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if using.

Reserve about 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan or Romano; set aside. Add the remaining Cheddar and Romano or Parmesan cheese to the sauce and continue cooking, stirring, just until cheese is melted. Add the drained potatoes and stir gently to coat thoroughly. Transfer the potato mixture to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the reserved Cheddar and Parmesan or Romano cheeses over the potato mixture.

mmm, comfort food at its finest!

enter the 400 degree oven

Melt the remaining butter and toss with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the cheese layer.
Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven on broil and broil for a minute or so, just until nicely browned.
Serves 4 to 6.

Potatoes Au Gratin Demolished!

 My tip, get your pans ready ahead of time, and all ingredients, including spices. After all was said and done, this was fairly easy to make and a big hit! I used the remaining bread crumbs to bread chicken and pan fried with lid. Great veggies with this would be broccoli or green beans, maybe asparagus...

Bon Appetite!