Scalloped Potatoes

Mmmm....scalloped potatoes. 

They're one of my favorites and one of the ultimate comfort foods. Cheesy, creamy, potatoe-y, hot, crunchy on top. So good. 

And so bad!  Tons of butter, cream, CHEESE!  Carbs and fat, people.  Carbs and fat.  The stuff that dreams are made of, really. 

Luckily, this lightened up recipe contains very little butter, skim milk and only a small amount of cheese!  It still has some carbs and some fat but I've done my best to make sure most of it is healthy, and it's a great option to serve with your Christmas ham! 

What you'll need: 

4 medium potatoes (I used red skinned) 

2 tsp butter

2 tsp olive oil 

1/2 large onion, minced 

2 tbsp whole wheat flour 

1 1/2- 2 cups nonfat milk or unsweetened almond milk (be careful which almond milk you choose.  The one I used the first time had a hint of vanilla even though it was unsweetened and it wasn't great). 

3/4 cup cheddar cheese 

A tsp each of fresh thyme and parsley

Equipment you'll need: 

A mandolin (I got mine for $10 at Sears.  You can also just slice the potatoes yourself, just make sure they're thin and even slices.  And wear a wrist brace). 

A small saucepan 

A medium sized casserole dish (mine was 6X6) 

A whisk  

To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Use your mandolin on a medium thickness setting and slice your potatoes and place in a large bowl.  Once they're all sliced and in the bowl, cover with cold water and allow to soak for at least 15 minutes. 

While the potatoes are soaking, heat a medium saucepan to medium heat.  Add the butter and olive oil to the the pan, then add minced onions.  Saute gently until the onions are softened (do not allow to brown), about 5 minutes. 

Once your potatoes have soaked, drain in a colander and place them on a dry, CLEAN kitchen towel to dry. (You can use paper towels if you'd like). 

While the potatoes are drying (I know we're multi-tasking, get your act together). Add the whole wheat flour to the oil/butter/onion mixture.  Keep stirring on medium heat for a few minutes and let the flour cook and brown a bit. 

Add your milk slowly, a little bit at a time and whisk to incorporate before adding more.  Lower the heat to low-medium and keep whisking until all the milk is added and the mixture is bubbling a little bit.  Start with just 1 1/2 cups of the milk, if the mixture gets too thick then you can add the other 1/2 cup.) When the mixture is thick and creamy, add your herbs and remove from the heat. 

Place a layer of the potatoes in your casserole dish (sprayed with coconut oil).  Spoon some of your cream sauce on top...

Then sprinkle 1/4 cup (1 blue container) of your cheese...

Add another layer of potatoes, then another layer of cream sauce, then more cheese. Do this until you have no more potatoes to add and your casserole dish is full.  Pour ALL remaining cream sauce over the top, then add the last 1/4 cup of your cheese.  (I did this in 3 layers).  

Place your casserole dish in the oven and allow to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Place on a cookie sheet or lay some foil underneath it so it doesn't bubble over and mess up your oven. 

Drumroll.....

Creamy and delicious scalloped potatoes!  I served with some lean strip steak and broccoli but as I said, this will be a great addition to my Christmas dinner!  

For the full recipe, please see below:

Scalloped Potatoes:

4 medium potatoes 

2 tsp butter

2 tsp olive oil 

1/2 large onion, minced 

2 tbsp whole wheat flour 

1 1/2- 2 cups nonfat milk or unsweetened almond milk

3/4 cup cheddar cheese 

A tsp each of fresh thyme and parsley

Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, slice potatoes into thin slices.  Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water.  Allow to soak for 15-20 minutes.  Drain and place between two kitchen towels to dry.  

In the meantime, bring your olive oil and butter to medium heat in a small saucepan.  Add minced onions and saute gently until softened.  Add whole wheat flour and stir constantly, until mixture is thickened and fully incorporated (about 5 minutes). Slowly whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk, and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer gently until the sauce is thickened.  (If it thickens too much, thin out with the remaining milk.)  Add fresh herbs and remove from heat. 

Spray your casserole pan with coconut oil (or olive oil spray) and layer 1/3 of your potatoes.  Top with 1/3 of the cream sauce, then 1/4 cup of cheddar.  Then add the next 1/3 potatoes in the next layer, then the cream sauce, then the cheese.  Keep doing this until your potatoes are gone and your casserole dish is full.  Pour remaining cream sauce on top, and the rest of your cheese. 

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Tip- Try adding some cooked, crumbled bacon in the layers! Mmmm! 

21 Day Fixers- I filled my yellow container and counted 1.5 yellow, 1/2 blue, 1 tsp.  There's a lot going on with the flour, milk, butter and olive oil- this is definitely not a dish you want to over do it with.  Well, you'll want to but you shouldn't. :) 

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