Rustic Au Gratin Potatoes

It's definitely fall when fresh fruits and salads give way to comforting casseroles like this:

Rustic Au Gratin Potatoes

4 large russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and sliced into 1/4" slices*

1 medium onion, minced

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup heavy cream**

1 cup milk

2 cups shredded cheese of choice***

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 13 X 9 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place sliced potatoes in prepared dish.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in the cream, milk, and onion. Cook until mixture has thickened. Add cheese all at once and stir until melted, about one minute.
3. Pour sauce over potatoes, making sure that they are evenly covered. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake 1 1/2 hours, removing aluminum foil for last 20 minutes of baking.

Kitchen Tips:

*You might notice a recognizable shape to the potatoes in the photo above. That is because I am horrible at peeling potatoes. Therefore, I always use one of these to peel my potatoes for this recipe:

An apple peeler? Yes, an apple peeler. It peels the potatoes just like it would peel an apple AND it cuts them into the 1/4" slices. All of which I would have a hard time doing with (gasp!) a knife.

Sure, potatoes are sometimes wonky and the peeler may leave on some of the skin, but that's why my recipe is called "rustic." :-) Your kids will think it's bacon. (I promise - mine did!)

If you don't opt for this method, make sure to slice and quarter the potatoes so that you can just pour the sauce over them at the very end. If you just slice them, there won't be enough nooks and crannies for the sauce to go between.

**I have made this recipe before with two cups of milk, and it works just fine that way too!

***I have used both cheddar and a blend of cheeses before with this recipe, and both taste delicious.

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