Recipe #1--Ritzy Potatoes Au Gratin Cassarole

Hello Readers!

Well, here it is, time for my first recipe! As many of you know, finding foods for a picky kiddo is ROUGH. Ava's difficult because she will eat fruit and veggies all day long. A parent's dream right? WRONG! Because all she wants is celery sticks and cutie clementine oranges, she has a lot of trouble gaining weight. Couple this with the baby/toddler food no-no's (this has a great list with all of the unsafe foods from birth through age 3) and we're very limited as to what goes in her tummy. To help with this, I came up with a special potatoes au gratin recipe which she loves and is calorific enough to pack on an ounce or two. It's great for the whole family (my husband inhales it) and can be blended up to a paste consistency for itty bitty diners. Give it a try, let me know how you like it and, most importantly, ENJOY!

Ingredients

·  5 yellow (or Russet, whatever your preference) potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

·  6 tablespoons butter

·  6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·  1/2 teaspoon salt

·  1/4 teaspoon onion powder or granulated onion

·  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

·  4 cups milk

·  2 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

·  1/2 sleeve Ritz crackers

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Coat a 1 quart casserole dish (glass is best) with cooking spray, olive oil or butter (whatever you prefer). 
3. Layer half of your sliced potatoes into bottom of the prepared casserole dish.
4. In a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Mix in the flour, spices and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. It will be a paste-like consistency. Pour in milk SLOWLY, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Cook until mixture has thickened (about 3-7 minutes). Stir in all but 1/2 cup of your cheese and continue whisking until melted (about 1-3 minutes).
5. While still hot, pour half of your cheese sauce over the potatoes and then layer the other half of your sliced potatoes. Crumble Ritz crackers on top layer of potatoes and pour remaining cheese sauce over it. Sprinkle with leftover 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
6. Bake 1and 1/2 hours in the preheated oven and then remove tin foil. Bake for an additional 25 minutes or until the top layer of cheese is melted and slightly browned. Enjoy warm and refrigerate remaining portion immediately after.