Scalloped Potato Casserole

This recipe is a concoction that my mom came up with and I have made it several times since Jeff and I got married.  I like this dinner dish because #1. Its super EASY.  #2.  It is made with ingredients that I always have on hand so it's a great dish for days when you need to go to the grocery store and the cabinets are a bit bare.  #3. Its cheap.  Nuf said.

What you will need:

One of the following meats: diced ham, 1/2 lb to 1lb ground beef, diced chicken breast (you could even use leftover rotisserie chicken.)

1 box of scalloped or au gratin potatoes.  I have even used Rosemary herb potatoes before and it was delicious.  You can really use any kind of box potatoes that you like. 

1 can of cream of mushroom soup.  You could also use cream of celery.  Again, its whatever you like (or have on hand.) 

1 can of green beans (or peas if you like)

I also add a can of sliced carrots.  I love canned carrots in this dish.  Today when I made it I only had frozen diced carrots and I like the sliced ones better :)

Shredded cheese

Butter, milk and water for the potatoes.

Cook the meat (unless you are using pre-packaged ham which is my favorite meat for this dish, I just think it goes great with the potatoes.)  I ended up using some sliced spiral ham that I had in the freezer today and it worked fine but they have the packaged diced ham in the lunchmeat section and its perfect for this dish.  1/2 a package is more than enough.  Just measure out however much you want.   

Prepare the potatoes according to the instructions on the box.  Add the soup, meat and veggies.  If needed, add a bit more milk (I usually do not.)

Add the shredded cheese to the top and bake at temp suggested on the box but add more time due to additional ingredients.  I usually bake mine for about an hour.  You can check it after 45 mins or so but make sure the potatoes are fully done (soft) and aren't still firm.  

The cheese will brown so if you want, you can add it after 20-30 mins of baking.  You could also cover the dish, but I think that prevents the potatoes from cooking as quickly (or at least that is how it seems to me.)  

Yields at least 4 hearty servings.  I make it for just us so it's perfect for leftovers the next day!   This dish is great with biscuits so be sure to bake some up while the casserole is cooling (it comes out piping hot and will need to cool for several minutes before serving.)    

Enjoy!

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