Easter Potatoes Au Gratin - Great Accompaniment for Baked Ham

If you like Potatoes and you like cheese, you will love these Potatoes. They are a great side dish for an Easter ham but they are also great with grilled steaks.

This potato casserole goes well at any holiday or other family gathering. They are a nice change from mashed potatoes that are often typical on holidays. These cheesy potatoes are great with grilled steaks or pork chops also.

Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe – Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 8 medium white Potatoes
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 8 oz cream Cheese
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ lb cheddar Cheese, grated
• ¼ lb Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
• ¼ lb Velveeta Cheese, cubed
• ¼ cup onions, thinly sliced
• 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 cup butter, sliced
• ½ Tbsp salt
• ½ Tbsp white pepper
• No-stick spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° and coat 13”x9” pan with a non-stick spray (butter can also be used in place of the spray)
2. Peel and slice Potatoes - approximately 1/4" thick
3. In a medium sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter; add flour to the melted butter and stir until the consistency is thick and smooth
4. Add heavy whipping cream to the butter / flour and stir to make a thick sauce; turn burner to low
5. Add grated garlic cloves and ½ of the white pepper
6. Add ¼ cup of cheddar Cheese and all of the remaining Cheeses to the sauce, stir until melted
7. Layer ½ of the sliced Potatoes in coated pan, sprinkle with ½ the salt and ½ the remaining white pepper
8. Top Potatoes with ½ of the sliced onions
9. Layer ½ of the sliced butter on top of the onions
10. Pour half of the Cheese sauce over the Potatoes / onions in pan
11. Repeat layers, using remaining Potatoes, onions, butter, salt and pepper; top with remaining Cheese sauce
12. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of cheddar Cheese on top of the casserole
13. Cook for approximately 1 hour, until Potatoes are tender
14. Check every 20 minutes and if grated Cheese on top browns too quickly, cover casserole with aluminum foil.

The calories and fat in this dish can be reduced by using milk or evaporated milk instead of cream and using low fat Cheeses and low fat butter. It is not recommended to use any fat-free Cheese or butter products because the fat-free products do not melt as smoothly as products containing some fat.

The cheese sauce can also be used to serve over broccoli or other vegetables.

When serving this dish with a baked or grilled meat, it is recommended to accompany with a steamed green vegetable such as asparagus, broccoli or green beans to balance the rich flavor of the Potatoes.

For this year's Easter Dinner, consider this menu as an option:

- Baked Ham (cook in a slow cooker with pineapple slices on top and the juice of the pineapple poured over the ham while it cooks)
- Easter Potatoes Au Gratin
- Steamed Green Beans or Steamed Asparagus
- Yeast Rolls
- Angel Food Cake with the family's preferred topping or another light dessert