Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tonight's Dinner: Beefy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

About 5 o'clock, my sister-in-law and I decided we'd make dinner together for the whole crew. We initially decided on stroganoff, but by the time we got around to fixing it, the thought of stroganoff made me feel quite nauseous (ah, pregnancy). Hannah brilliantly asked me what I could think of that DIDN'T sound repulsive, and the list was short: a hamburger and fries. However, we didn't have enough meat on hand for hamburgers for the whole crew, so she suggested a cheeseburger casserole. All the recipes we could find had pasta, which had no appeal whatsoever (period). I finally decided scalloped potatoes sounded really good, so we just added meat to them to make a meal. And, it was just as good as I expected (the only upside to pregnancy food aversions--when something is actually good, it is really good.) Here's the recipe we came up with. It's pretty frugal, quite tasty, and fed the whole family of 10.


-1 stick of butter (8 T)
-6 tablespoons flour
-9 cups milk
-10 oz. grated cheese
-5 lbs. potatoes, washed and thinly sliced (we left the skins on, but you can peal if you want)
-1.5 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
-salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350*. Make a roux out of the butter and flour. Slowly add the milk; heat and stir until thickened. Stir in the grated cheese, and try not to let it boil. Season with salt and pepper. Grease two 9x13 baking pans and layer with half the potatoes, half the meat, and half the sauce. Repeat. Bake covered for one hour. Then uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.

We didn't end up eating dinner until 9 o'clock, but I thought it was worth the wait. :o) Did y'all eat anything delicious tonight?

3 comments:

  1. That sounds really good. I actually made a Shepherd's Pie recently that had the same basic ingredients. I mashed the potatoes with some butter, milk and herbs and then layered it on top of ground beef that had been browned with some veggies. I also broke an egg on top to give it a little crust. Baked for 25-30 min.

    I also like making homemade flour tortillas in a frying pan (minimal oil needed) and filling them with whatever I'm in the mood for.

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  2. Mmmm, that sounds good. I so feel for you with sickness and this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my first, third and fourth I was horribly sick (lost weight and never gained it all back) and my husband very sweetly picked up the slack without ever uttering a complaint. Now, with our first, that wasn't a big deal...but by the time #4 was in utero, it was a really, really big deal! I was so appreciative to the Lord for giving me such a kind, dear man! I'm glad He has done the same for you.

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  3. I will give this a try but half it for us and maybe freeze half of it:)

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