Ah, comfort food. Is there anything better some days? Scalloped potatoes has always been one of my favorite go-to comfort foods to make when life feels heavy or the weather seems dreary or I just need a kid-friendly but adult-pleasing meal or side dish. Since we just celebrated Easter last week, we had some extra ham leftovers, so I added some diced ham to our potatoes. It was delicious! Scalloped potatoes are notorious for taking “FOREVER” to cook, so I wanted to share my much FASTER and EASIER recipe. It has taken me several attempts over the years to get it just how I like it, but now I want to share my recipe with you!
I was just telling my friend the other day that I didn’t realize how much I “eyeball” measurements when I’m cooking until I decided to start sharing recipes on this blog. I had to go through this recipe step by step and actually measure out the amounts, so I would know how to have other people replicate it.
SO here it goes!
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
*BTW-The ham in this recipe is optional. My old pastor used to say in a ham and cheese omelet the cow and the chicken were involved but the pig was committed. Well in this recipe, the pig’s involvement is completely optional! haha!
Ingredients:
3TBS butter
1 small onion- chopped
3 cloves of garlic- finely minced
3TBS of all purpose flour
1 Cup of Chicken Stock
2 Cups of milk (2% is fine or evaporated milk)
1 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Nutmeg (trust me, it’s yummy!)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
5 Medium potatoes- washed and thinly sliced
2 Cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 Cup of freshly shredded parmesan cheese
2 Cups chopped Ham (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 365F.
2. Bring a large stockpot of water to a rolling boil. Lightly salt the water.
3. While waiting for the water to boil, slice the potatoes thinly. You can peel the potatoes first if you want, but I don’t. I prefer to leave potato’s skins on whenever I can. I used a mandolin slicer to cut my potatoes.
4. Once the water is boiling, carefully add the potato slices. Let me just tell you from my experience, boiling water splashing in your face or on your hands does NOT feel very good! Let the potatoes boil for 10 minutes. *(This part is my magic trick for cutting the baking time in HALF compared to other recipes I have tried.#yourewelcome)
5. Grease a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray or soft butter while you wait for your potatoes to boil. You can also take this time to chop your onion and garlic cloves, shred your cheeses, and measure your milk and chicken stock. I’m all about saving time where you can. This will also make it easier to just “throw” the ingredients together when it’s time.
6. Drain the boiled potatoes in a colander, and let them cool while you follow the next steps.
7. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes until tender and translucent. Stir in the flour until it’s evenly combined. Pour in chicken stock, and whisk until it’s combined. Add in milk, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine. Let the ingredients cook for another couple minutes until it is beginning to thicken and simmering- NOT BOILING. Remove from heat.
8. Time to put all the pieces together! Layer evenly half of the sliced (and boiled) potatoes along the bottom of your greased 9×13 casserole dish. Sprinkle 1 cup of chopped ham (if you’re adding ham).Then gently top with half of the cream sauce. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheddar cheese evenly over the top. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese over the top. Layer with the second half of the potatoes. Sprinkle with other cup of ham. Add the second half of the cream sauce. Sprinkle with 1 Cup of cheddar and 1/4 Cup of parmesan.
9. Cover with tinfoil and bake in your 365F oven for 20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melty and glorious. MMMMM!!!!
10. Serve it up!! I always add some sort of vegetable dish on the side because vegetables rock, and it’s important to eat them as much as we can! I cooked some frozen peas and corn to go with our meal. I also had leftover banana bread that we spreaded with cream cheese and cinnamon. (It’s okay to be jealous. The banana bread was scrumptious!) You could also put a fresh tossed salad with this meal or some sort of fruit salad. The choice is yours.
Enjoy! I know we sure did! And so did Charlie, our golden retriever, as he “helped” me do the dishes.
Not to intimidate you, but I do want to shed light on the reality of making a delicious home-cooked meal from scratch… it is MESSY!
But I think it is totally worth it. Also, I was able to clean it all up in 15 minutes! I know because I set a timer. Well, actually that’s not entirely true. To be honest, I timed it to the “The Lion Guard” which is a 30 minute show my kids watch. I had the kitchen cleaned and made a cup of tea to sip by the time it was only half way over. So don’t get overwhelmed by the mess. Little by little, you’ll get it straightened up. I believe in you! And just remember- SCALLOPED POTATOES are your reward! mmmm!! Let me know what you think!
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