Scalloped Potatoes

Vickie’s Scalloped Potatoes
One of our favorite items to set beside a great family feast. Not everyone in our family likes stuffing. So I began making a special potato dish to go along with those family holiday meals.

I’ve always loved scalloped potatoes, but it took some time for me to find a recipe I liked. And then longer to get that recipe just right.

Over time, with a little tweaks here and there, I finally settled on a hit. But after our young son decided he loved the dish too, I knew we finally had the right recipe. Not an easy task for a parent with a picky eater!

Preparation time: 90 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes
• ¾ c. Minced onion
• 2 tblspn butter/margarine
• 3 tblspn All purpose Flour
• ½ tspn salt
• ¼ tspn pepper
• 1¾ c. Milk
• Paprika

Directions:

• Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice them into ¼ inch slices.
• Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.
  Make sure the water covers the slices completely.
• Cook on medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the slices are tender.
• In a separate deep skillet, melt butter and add onions, salt and pepper.
• Stir and saute the onions until tender.
• Add flour and milk to the onions. Stir until the flour has become smooth.
• Let stand and cook the onion mixture until it the gravy becomes bubbly and thick.
• Set the gravy aside until the potato slices have been cooked.
   .
• Remove the potato slices and drain. Place slices into a deep oven safe casserole dish.
• Cover the potatoes with the onion gravy.
• Dash Paprika over the top and place uncovered in the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve:

• Serve hot.

Alternatives:

• Add sliced mushrooms with the onions and saute together.
• Add ¼ cup sweet sage or parsley to the onions to add an alternative flavor.
• For a colorful alternative, add ½ cup cubed tomato pieces after the milk mixture has boiled and become thick.

Common Problems:

• If your potatoes are not tender, it simply means they have not been cooked long enough. You can boil them longer, and check on them 10 minutes at a time, until they are done. If you have already combined the potato slices with the gravy mix, cover the dish with aluminum and return them to the oven. Again check on them every 10 minutes to determine their tenderness, and to ensure they are not burning.
• The gravy is too thick or thin:
  If it’s too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk and stir the gravy. Continue adding 1 tablespoon of milk until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
  If it’s too thin, add ½ tablespoon of flour and thoroughly mix it into the mixture.  Give the mix about 3 minutes to thicken. If that doesn’t correct the issue, add another ½ tablespoon and repeat this process. Don’t be impatient, it’s easy to go from too thin to too thick. Give each addition of flour a little time to do its job, before you add more.

© 1997-2018 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D., Springwolf’s Creations. All Rights Reserved.