New Potato Recipe

A few summers ago, Mike and I were visiting his family in Milwaukee and we had a wonderful dinner with his brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Barb. Dave made spectacular steaks on his grill and Barb made the nicest, creamiest potato casserole I ever had. So, when I was making it again here in Rochester it occurred to me that I had never shared the recipe with all of you.

I know there are a lot of potato casserole people out there and I am happy to give you a new recipe since frankly I am getting really tired of that cream of mushroom soup and cheese one everyone makes. No offense, but let’s try something new.

Barb's Parmesean Potatoes

24 oz. frozen hash browns, thawed and drained – I buy the country style ones that are not cubes, but shredded
2 ½ - 3 c. half and half
1 stick butter melted (hello Paula Dean)
¾ c. parmesan cheese
¼ c. diced onion
Salt and pepper and seasoned salt

I leave the hash browns out in a bowl early in the afternoon, then spread them in a 9x13 pan. Toss with onion. Pour on the cream and butter. Sprinkle on the cheese, salt and pepper (about ½ tsp. each and a sprinkling of seasoned salt for color) and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. These are so nice. They are not too thick and are creamy without being too rich! Give them a try!

Mike Loves Potatoes

Sounds like a dippy idea for a blog, right? But the truth is my husband loves potatoes of any kind as long as they meet a few of his conditions. They must be in some type of sauce or have gravy or have some sort of topper like cheese or cream. Something simple like a plain baked potato with butter just won't do. Sour cream is a necessity and creamy mashed potatoes are his favorite. I think mashed potatoes topped with cheese and bacon would thrill him. I recently came across a new recipe for scalloped potatoes and I am sharing it with you. He loved it, but if you are hoping for something healthy you need to check a different blog!

Sensational Scalloped Potatoes

4-5 large baking potatoes or russets, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green onions, sliced
4 oz. Colby Jack cheese, shredded
2 c. whipping cream
¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper
¼ c. parmesan cheese, grated

Slice potatoes thinly and rinse in cold water. Pat dry.

In a casserole dish (I use my large quiche dish but a glass pie pan will work too) layer the potatoes, Colby Jack and onions. Sprinkle each layer with the salt and pepper. Pour on the cream and top with the parmesan cheese. Put the dish on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the top is brown, bubbly and beautiful. YUM!

*Becky Knows Everything: I know, I know - everything is good when it has whipping cream and cheese on it, but did you notice there is no BUTTER? I just lost the respect of Paula Dean, the Butter Queen.