If you have been following along, you probably realized last week you didn’t see a post come through on Monday! That’s because my two oldest daughters and I left for a quick Disneyland trip with my mother in law and left The Rancher and littlest rancher daughter at home to hold down the homestead! Such a fun trip with my big girls but it was exhausting and now we are back to the grind here on the homestead.
The garden is starting to really take off for the season and while I was gone The Rancher and his side kick finished all my watering systems out there so no more watering by hand…. Woohoo!! I should leave more often!😉
Anyways when we got back, I was able to get right back into my meal plan. I love how they work so well that I am able to pick back up where I left off without skipping a beat! If you haven’t had a chance yet to read my post on how I meal plan, you can go and read that here.
How to Create a Successful Meal Plan
One of the first things to make on the first day back was my oldest daughters most favorite side dish. This side dish won’t disappoint, so if your looking for a dish to bring to the neighborhood BBQ or a family gathering, you have come to the right place!
This dish is not a dairy free dish but can easily be made into a gluten free dish! Of course, in this house it is only made gluten free and not a single person can tell the difference 😊 I have fed a whole crowd of non-gluten free people on Christmas day with this side dish and not one person knew it was gluten free!
What is it you ask?
Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
These potatoes are the perfect side dish to compliment a good steak, a set of pork chops, or any kind of meat! They take a little bit of time because of peeling and slicing all the potatoes but so worth it for the good wholesome comfort food.
Here’s what you need:
6-9 medium sized russet potatoes (depends on how big your potatoes are and how many people your feeding)
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour (use Cup 4 Cup if you need to be gluten free)
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 cups of shredded mild cheddar cheese (I use mild, but you can substitute with any kind)
A little more shredded cheese to sprinkle on the top
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Here’s what you need to do:
First, you need to wash, peel, and slice all the potatoes. As I am slicing, I will toss them right into a greased 9×13 baking dish. No need to dirty another dish!
Once you have peeled and sliced all the potatoes you are ready to make the cheese sauce for the potatoes.
In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk this around for about a minute until it is well blended. Add in the milk, salt, and cayenne pepper. Whisk together until the whole mixture begins to thicken.
Now add both cheeses and whisk around until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce has no lumps in it.
Pour the cheese mixture over the sliced potatoes and give it a good stir so that all the slices are covered with cheese sauce. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on the top.
Bake in a 400-degree oven for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Stick a fork in a thicker sliced potato to make sure it is soft, and the top should be golden brown when they are done!
Remove from oven and enjoy right away!
Now here is a little tip on the cheese selection. I have made these with a variety of different cheeses and the ingredients I listed above is the type my family, here on the homestead, like the best. Feel free to experiment! You can try with Colby jack, sharp, mild, medium, a little bit of all of those, and I have even left out the parmesan because we were out. All turned out delicious but slightly different in taste. Hands down when I use mild cheddar cheese and parmesan, they always turn out great and are a family favorite!
Bonus tip! Season a couple pork chops and lay them right on the top of the potatoes or slice up some ham and mix it in the potatoes while they are cooking. Now you have a complete meal instead of just a side dish! That’s what I did when I made these potatoes in the pictures above, so I forgot to take a picture of the finished product! Sorry!
So now go ditch the boxed scalloped potatoes and enjoy some hot, creamy, homemade scalloped potatoes instead!
Enjoy!
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