From Scratch Creamy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

From Scratch Creamy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

First of all, let's talk about the fact that it's Friday! To top it off, it is 3-day Friday, and let's face it, it doesn't get much better than that. In honor of this wonderful 3 day weekend, I decided that I would let you in on a top secret recipe for the most amazing homemade scalloped potatoes ever.  Seriously guys, these potatoes are like crack in the form of food. They are creamy and cheesy and my hubs is in love with them (and I can pretty much bet yours will be too)!

Side note---these potatoes take about 90 minutes to cook so make sure you have plenty of time!! They are definitely worth it so don't let the time scare you away! Another side note is that we bought the BIGGEST potatoes known to mankind, so that is why I only used 2 for the recipe...seriously, they were as big as my head.

Creamy Scalloped Potatoes From Scratch
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Feeds 3-4

Ingredients
4-5 Russet potatoes
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (or so) or Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp Crushed red pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400º
2. In a saucepan, melt butter with garlic & crushed red pepper on low.

3. While butter is melting, peel potatoes and slice them SUPER thin (almost as thin as a potato chip, about 1/8 inch)

4. Add milk & Worcestershire sauce to melted butter & cook for about 5 minutes (be careful not to scald the milk)

5. Add 2 cups of shredded cheese to butter/milk mixture and cook until thick, about 5 minutes

6. Place sliced potatoes in casserole dish & pour liquid mixture over, making sure to fully coat potatoes

7. Cover with foil and bake for 90 minutes, removing foil for last 10 minutes.

OMG my mouth is watering just thinking about it!!! And just to prove how big the potatoes really were, I took a picture...did you expect anything less?

HUGE potatoes!!!!

I hope everyone has a GREAT three day weekend!!!

Day 29...5 things I love about....me!!!

Day 29...5 things I love about....me!!!

 Everyone has those things that they HATE about themselves...for example, I wish I was a little taller, I wish my abs were just a little more washboard-y and there is this blemish on the right side of my face that no amount of make-up will ever cover. But that's not what we are going to talk about today. Today is all about the things I love about myself. Let me start by telling you a secret. When I was a teenager an into my early 20's, I was obsessed with myself. Seriously, conceited was a huge understatement. As the years have passed that has faded away, but there are a few things that I will always love about ME! And here are 5 of them:

1. My intelligence. My entire life I was a straight-A student (chemistry aside..seriously, who needs that crap?) and it has helped me so much as an adult. Rather than screw around in school, I studied as hard as I could and learned as much as possible, hoping that at least half of it would stick around. One of my favorite favorite things to do is sit around and watch Jeopardy, shouting out every answer that I know. I would seriously go to school just for fun, if I didn't have to worry about all the paper writing and cramming (ain't nobody got time for that).

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 2. My personality. I have always tried to be the perfect mix of outgoing and mysterious. I am definitely not one of those in-your-face people who will run up and introduce myself immediately, sharing my life story over hugs and giddy screams. On the other hand, I am far from the type of person who will sit in a corner and keep to themselves. I will be the first to break out in a song in the middle of an antique store to win a candle (true story), and I have no problem breaking out some dance moves in the middle of a restaurant if it will make one of my nieces or nephews happy. I'm pretty much an awesome person to have around.

3. My uniqueness. I have a very different, eclectic taste in pretty much anything. I believe the gaudier the better. When it comes to clothes, I will be the first person to mix a green shirt with some purple skinnies, throw on a pink scarf and some sparkly jewelry and head out the door. My taste in shoes and purses is pretty much the same. When it comes to decorating inside of the house, anything goes. For example, in my living room, as soon as you walk in the front door, I have the most amazing mirror you have ever seen. It is covered with like 50 gigantic rhinestones and matches zero other things in the house. But ya know what? It is fabulous!!

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4. My cooking. Call it my Italian heritage, my grandmother's cooking lessons or just my plain old love for food. I am an awesome chef! My gravy (or spaghetti sauce for all of you non-Italians) is top notch, and is pretty much everyone's favorite thing that I make. I am also a huge fan of taking a bunch of stuff from the pantry, throwing it in a skillet with some garlic and wine and Voila! And OMG I hate recipes!! Seriously, I will take a recipe and substitute like 5 items to add my own twist. This is probably the reason why I cook 20 times more than I bake. You have to have just the right amount of pinches and dashes when it comes to baking. Cooking is a different story. Sure, that looks like half a cup. Eh, go ahead and add a little more.

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5. My OCD. Ok, so I haven't officially been diagnosed with OCD, but a self diagnosis is pretty much the same thing. I am ridiculously organized and I hate when things re out of place. My closet is color coordinated and all of the items in my pantry have to be facing the same way (label side in). I am always over prepared for everything, packing for a vacation 5 days before we leave. I make checklists for EVERYTHING, always making sure that I don't forget something. We went to Tennessee last year and I literally had a folder that contained directions there and back, directions to all of the attractions we were visiting, gate passes, the contract that I signed to rent the cabin, coupons for all of the attractions, a notarized letter from my mom that we were allowed to take my brother out of state, and a printed receipt that contained all of the reservation info. I will never be under-prepared for anything, and that is so comforting to me. Trust me, I am a great person to have around on a rainy day (I keep a poncho and a deck of card in my purse).

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I hope you all enjoyed getting to know me a little better, and I am super excited to learn more about all of you. Only 2 days left in the challenge guys!!!!! We can do it!!