Au Gratin Potatoes: Prepped, Cooked, and Baked by Meagan and Rachel!

So I had this huge bag of potatoes just sitting in my fridge. Thinking of what to do with them, I had been browsing through Allrecipes and found the recipe, “Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes.” Normally, I try to stay away from the creamy dishes, but this was something I always wanted to try and I knew David would love it because, well, it contains a lot of CHEESE. Perfect! I found something exciting to do with all the potatoes!

My friend Meagan, a grad student who works in my lab (well, one of the labs I work in), was coming over for dinner and I knew Au Gratin potatoes would go really well with our dinner: grilled, barbeque chicken and grilled veggies (tossed with olive oil and a special seasoning, “Bone Suckin’ Sauce”)! And of course I must give a big thank you to David for grilling! He may not always be the best in the kitchen (shall we say a little accident-prone?), but he was definitely born to grill!

I sliced 5 Idaho potatoes (small to medium size) with a mandolin, while Meagan cooked the cheese sauce. The sliced potatoes were placed into a casserole dish with some seasonings (onion powder, salt and pepper). To make this dish a bit healthier, the sauce consisted of nonfat milk and reduced fat cheddar cheese, as well as a limited amount of flour and margarine. When the sauce became thick and ready, it was poured over the potatoes. The dish was covered with tinfoil and baked at a high temperature for roughly an hour and a half (long time, right?). Oh boy were our bellies growling as the time slowly passed and the kitchen filling with a wonderful aroma!

The potatoes were definitely worth waiting for! They were delicious! Thank you Meagan for all your help!

Here is the link to this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Au-Gratin-Potatoes/Detail.aspx

Enjoy!