Au gratin Potatoes

Au gratin potatoes are a delicious side dish. Don't bother with buying the boxed variety that you add boiling water, butter and milk to. Use your own fresh potatoes and cheese and make it at home! You leave the skin on with this easy recipe which adds to the vitamins.

Potatoes Au Gratin Recipe

Potatoes, sliced, peels on

Yum-Cheese sauce

Ready to be covered and baked or put in the refrigerator for later.

Delicious. Variations to this recipe?? Well. firstly, you can make your own white sauce and add twice as much cheese as this recipe called for. This would mean skipping the can of cheddar cheese soup.
Don't know how to make a white sauce?? It is super easy. Find out how by clicking here.
The second variation is one of MommaVicky's Favorites- add bacon. Toss in as much crumbled bacon as you would like. Scared of bacon? Try turkey bacon. It really is tasty and "healthier" than regular bacon even though I recently tried low-sodium bacon and it was really tasty.

Yesterday's stromboli turned out great. Here are some pics of the finished product. (it was lunch for some lucky people today)

Spicy Potato Pancakes/Hash Browns

Find potato pancakes to be too bland? You will love Momma Vicky's Spicy Potato Pancakes. They kind of cook like hash browns and you use your spatula to break them into serving size pieces. These are easy to make and you can adjust the spices to make them even hotter!

This recipe will serve 4 as a side dish for a big hearty breakfast.

3 medium to large sized Russet potatoes ( use whatever potatoes you have- I had Russets)
1 tablespoon minced onion  (if you are using fresh use a little less)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon I can't believe it's not butter (it isn't butter- it is butter substitute,LOL!)

First peel and wash your potatoes.
Once that is done grate the potatoes into a bowl.
Add the olive oil and butter to a nice deep, large frying pan.
Sprinkle all spices on top of shredded potatoes and mix together.
Heat the frying pan and then add the potato mixture.
Flatten occasionally using your spatula.
Allow it to cook over a medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes and then flip them over. Continue until both sides are browned.
This should take about 20 to 25 minutes.
Break into serving size using your spatula.
Delicious and quite a kick.

Momma Vicky served these this morning with scrambled eggs and low-sodium bacon. Wow, what a nice way to start a busy Saturday. Leftovers can be heated in the toaster oven or microwave or even eaten at room temperature.

Potato Skins - Made How You Like!!!

Potato skins make a great appetizer and they are so easy to make at home! They can be a tasty side dish to a meat entree like a grilled steak. They are easy to make ahead of time and all you need to do is heat them through.

This recipe calls for using a baking potato but if you prefer, you can use a sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are very nutritious and they work well with this recipe.

The recipe below is for Bacon and Cheese Potato Skins. As with many of my recipes, there is always room for variation and substitutions. Turkey bacon works just as well as regular bacon. With cheese, you can get creative also. Just don't forget if you serve these as appetizers to have dipping sauces such as sour cream, salsa and ranch dressing.

Ingredients needed:
4 baking potatoes or sweet potatoes
8 oz. shredded cheese
1/2 lb.bacon

Step 1- Scrub the potatoes. When the skins are clean, place them on a paper towel and microwave using the baked potato setting. Allow them to cool and slice them in half length-wise.
Step 2- Using a spoon, scoop out most of the potato and set aside in a bowl.
Step 3- Line your potato skins on a cookie sheet.
Step 4- Meanwhile, chop your bacon and fry it until crisp. Remove the bacon to a towel lined plate to drain.
Step 5- Layer your potato shells using equal amounts of cheese, bacon and cheese.
Step 6- These are now ready to be put in a hot oven (about 375 until cheese melts) or frozen for later use.


Variations to this recipe include Italian skins- use Mozzarella, Provolone cheese with chopped pepperoni
Mexican skins- use a taco blend shredded cheese mix, shredded cooked chicken that you season with taco mix or Veggie skins- Steamed broccoli topped with cheddar cheese

Skins ready to be filled

Ready to be baked or frozen