Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version

*Serves 6-8

Potatoes:
3 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
26-ounce bag frozen shredded hash browns
1/2 cup light sour cream

Topping:
3 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent,a bout 5-6 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Combine the chicken broth and milk in a liquid measure and slowly whisk in the mixture. Add the salt, pepper and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth. Mix in the frozen hash browns, lifting and folding the mixture until well combined. Finally, stir in the sour cream.

In a medium bowl, toss the lightly crushed cornflakes with the butter until evenly combined. Scoop out the potato mixture into a 9X13-inch baking dish and top with the buttered cornflakes. If baking the potatoes by themselves, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly around the edges. If baking the potatoes with a ham (my ham recipe bakes at 300 degrees), bake the potatoes for 90 minutes at 300 degrees then crank the oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 10 minutes more. In both baking situations, let the potatoes rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Farmer's Casserole

3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup diced ham or Canadian style bacon
1-4.5 oz can mild green chiles (optional)
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 beaten eggs (or 1 cup frozen egg product)
1-12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt

Assembly:Grease a 2 qt. square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with cheeses, ham, green chiles, and green onions. In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish. (If not freezing, cover and chill several hours or overnight, then follow serving day instructions.)Freeze.

Serving Day:Thaw completely. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. If you prefer, extra shredded cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

CHEESY HAMBURGER HASH

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 bag frozen O'brien diced potatoes (with the onions and peppers)
1 can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs (undrained)
2 TBSP parsley
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
1 - 2 cups shredded colby jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Cook ground beef (seasoning it with salt and pepper). Remove beef from pan to drain, but leave a small amount of the fat in the pan to cook the potatoes in (the beef's lean, so this should be a very small amount). Heat remaining fat in pan on medium heat. Add frozen potatoes, cover and cook 10 minutes; stir occasionally. Season potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. To the potatoes, add beef, tomatoes, parsley and garlic powder; stir well. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Stir and pat mixture down. Sprinkle with cheese and cover and cook an additional 5 minutes.

I got this from Heidi over at Tried- and- True cooking!

Crunchy Potato Salad

9 medium potatoes
1 can cream of celery soup
3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 stalks celery
1 small green pepper
2 green onion
2 hard boiled eggs

Cook potato's
Mix soup, mayo, vinegar, and pepper.
Toss all together. Chill for 3 hours or overnight

**from campbellkitchen.com**

Bacon & Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

1 1/2 lb. potatoes, unpeeled, quartered
1/2 cup salad dressing (like miracle whip, mayo would probably work, but wouldn't be as sweet)
1/2 cup milk
6 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crubled
1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

Mash potatoes, mix in everything but cheese and beat until smooth, add cheese.

**Awesome as a Twice Baked Potatoes.

Oven -Roasted Potatoes

1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
4 medium all-purpose potatoes, cut into large chunks
1/3 olive oil

Combine all ingredients, (a large ziplock bag works great) and place in a large pan
Cook at 425 for 35 minutes, stirring occasionaly.