Meatless Monday - Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

One thing that I've missed so much since giving up heavily processed food is Au Gratin Potatoes.  I’ve never been a patient person and making the cheese sauce required for this type of dish and other dishes like Mac & Cheese were a struggle for me.  I’d always end up separating the sauce somehow.  It was so frustrating and after two or three tries I gave up.


I decided to give it one more try and it was sooooo worth it.   The amazing recipe is below.  Enjoy!




Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Ingredients
4-6 large russet potatoes, cut in ¼ inch slices
1 small onion finely diced
3 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups of milk
2 – 2 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper



The Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Wash your potatoes
Butter a 1 – 1 ½ quart casserole dish

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Slice potatoes to about ¼ inch thick

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Layer the potatoes in the pan

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Finely dice the onion

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Alternate the potatoes with the diced onion

Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Season with salt and pepper

The Sauce

Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium sauce pan

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Mix in the flour and salt and whisk for one minute



Stir in the milk and whisk

Cook and stir until the sauce has thickened

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Grate 2 - 2 1/2 cups of cheese
Photo Credit - Renee Olson

Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted

Photo Credit - Renee Olson


Pour over the potatoes and cover with foil

Bake for 1 ½ hours

Photo Credit - Renee Olson



Serve

Photo Credit - Renee Olson






This dish can easily be modified to include meats such as sausage or diced ham or perhaps adding a meat substitute.   Next time I’m going to try switching up the cheeses.  Maybe try a Gorgonzola mixture with sharp white cheddar.

Love to hear what you think of this one!

Namaste & Blessed Be
Sosanna
)O(

1 comment

Unknown said...

Cabot extra sharp cheese is one of the best cheeses in the world to me. I adore sharp cheddar. The sharper the better.

Gorgonzola is soooo good too. Man, I am getting hungry just thinking about this, I am going to try it! Thank you for the recipe!