Old Family Favourites - Scalloped Potatoes

Back when I was a kid, I wouldn't eat potatoes. I hated them, unless they were in the form of french fries or potato chips (crisps, for you Brits). My parents would always put them on my plate, and night after night I'd leave them there. Finally, they decided that maybe I'd eat them raw, so every night they'd save a bit before cooking them, and I'd get a bit of raw potato on my plate. I ate that for a while, but then decided it was pretty disgusting and started leaving it on my plate until my parents went off to watch the news, then I'd bury it in the garbage can. It was when they discovered that little trick that they stopped trying to force it and let me just not have any!

Even now, I'm not much of a potato eater. If I'm going to have them they must be coated in some kind of fatty deliciousness such as gravy, sour cream, or cheese. Obviously that makes them less than healthy, so mostly I just don't bother.

When I was visiting home, my Dad mentioned scalloped potatoes, which has been one of his favourite dishes for about as long as I can remember. Mom used to make them for him regularly, so when they split up he got the recipe from her and now makes his them himself. I do like scalloped potatoes, so I got the recipe from him and made some for myself. However, as I said above, I cover them with cheese, which Dad says is sacrilege! I say it's delicious.

I started by peeling two potatoes and slicing them nice and thin like this...

...then layered them in my bowl until it was about 1/3 full.

Then I added some diced onion (don't worry Dad, I didn't skimp!), sprinkled on about 1 tsp of flour, dolloped a bit of butter on top, and added salt, pepper, and paprika.

I did this two more times, until the bowl was mostly full, then added milk almost to the top.

I then put it in the oven at 350°F for about 75 minutes. I added some grated cheese after about an hour, just enough for it to melt and get a bit crispy on top. I have to say though, that even before I did that, it smelled divine.

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that these photos aren't the most appetizing. But believe me when I say that these were delicious. And pretty easy to make!