Easy cheesy potato gratin

https://www.dairycarrie.com/2019/06/04/easy-and-cheesy-potato-gratin/

She recommends a strong cheese and real cream.  Read the full directions at the link.  Sounds yummy. 

8-12 servings, can pair with ham or bacon

Ingredients

• 5-6 large russet potatoes

• 1 large onion

• 2c heavy cream

• 2Tbs butter, softened

• 2c Gruyere or other strong cheese, shredded

• Optional- ham, cooked Bacon, or other meat

• 1tsp Dried thyme,

• 1tsp Dried rosemary

• 1Tbs minced garlic

• Salt and Pepper

• Directions

• Scrub your potatoes. This dish can be made with skins left on, but you’re welcome to peel them if you like.
• Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes very thin. Not able to see through them thin, but close.
• Slice your onion in long thin strips.
• Place potatoes, onion and garlic in a pot and cover with water. Bring pot to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
• Use butter to grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13 pan.
• Put slices of potato in a single layer in the bottom of the pan and along the sides.
• Going in layers, add onion and optional meat then sprinkle with cheese until you’ve used up all your potato slices. Top with remaining cheese.
• In a small pan, heat cream on medium heat and whisk in seasonings. Stirring regularly let cream thicken slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Pour cream over the top of the potatoes.
• If you are freezing this for later, wrap pan in plastic wrap and place in freezer.
• Otherwise, place uncovered pan in oven heated to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn oven to broil for 5 minutes or until cheese on top is brown.
• Let potatoes sit after removing from oven for 20 minutes before serving.

If you freeze this for later, allow the potatoes to thaw completely before following the cooking directions.

White Trash Sliders

 

I saw this recipe on my great nephew Jacob's Facebook wall--"White Trash Sliders."  Really simple.  But I added a few veggies to make it a bit more nutritious/delicious. 

1 lb. sausage (I used Bob Evans mild natural)
1 lb. hamburger/ground beef
1 lb. Velveeta
Use your favorite seasonings, but I then added

half a chopped onion
2 stalks of celery cut fine
sliced button mushrooms

I cooked the meats over low heat, and drained off the fat and added the veggies. Then cut up the Velveeta in smaller chunks and add it, stir over low heat, turn it off, and put the lid on.

This is to be served on small buns, but my husband is out with another woman for lunch, so I'm going to mix some chopped lettuce and cooked rice, and put it over that.  Yummy.

I bought a copycat Feta cheese

Real Feta cheese is made with goat or sheep's milk, according to this article, but I bought a "copycat" Feta made with Buffalo milk from Bulgaria. Didn't know there were buffalo in Bulgaria, but apparently the Indian breed has spread around the world. From 1962 to 1990, Murrah buffaloes from India were imported into Bulgaria and a new population of buffalo was created by upgrading the local buffalo.  https://www.marketdistrict.com/foodie/foodie-focus/a-betta-feta

Today I bought Velveeta labeled, “original”

Photo from Gr easy

Generally, I buy real cheese, but it is difficult to resist, and it is quite fattening.  Also, it makes my atrial fibrillation kick in, for some reason.  But I do remember the wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and scalloped potatoes my mother used to make. How did she get such simple foods to taste so good?

I also remember the great stuff she could make out of the wooden box!  Sometimes it would have wheels, we could paint it, put dollies in it, make houses, etc.

Today’s Velveeta still comes in 32 oz packages, and is labeled “pasteurized prepared cheese product.”

Helping Wisconsin stay competitive in the global market

Somebody needed to help--might as well be me. Yesterday I bought an 8 oz tub of Rondole spreadable cheddar with horseradish. My goodness that is yummy on Ritz crackers. Not everyone enjoys reading the genealogy of American companies--but I do. Even the companies the libs love to hate, like McDonald's or Wal-Mart started out small with a better idea and better product until they were hated by competitors and socialists.

But what about Rondole Cheese? Here's what I found out and have pieced together in a few minutes.

At around the turn of the 20th century, three cheese factories were established in Wisconsin's rural North Central region--the Hamburg Cheese Manufacturing Co., the Cornbelt Cheese Factory and the Riverside Cheese Factory. These were known for producing outstanding bulk cheeses.

As these factories were handed down through generations of family ownership, competition became increasingly fierce, but not from one another. Family-run cheese companies were under pressure from cooperatives and large processors that had taken cheese production to new levels. Modern manufacturing facilities, huge investments in research and development, and even larger investments in marketing and distribution were challenging the capabilities of many family-operated companies.

In 1969, in an effort to remain competitive, Hamburg, Cornbelt and Riverside merged to create Wisconsin River Valley Cheese Inc. The new concern constructed a manufacturing plant on 80 acres in central Wisconsin, where production would continue on the high-quality cheese products for which the three predecessor companies had become known. Production began in 1970, but just two years later, Wisconsin River Valley Cheese was purchased by Connecticut-based Anco International. In 1974, the company was renamed InoFoods and the Rondele brand was born.

In 1974, InoFoods introduced its first product, a soft spreadable gourmet cheese named Rondele. Soon after its introduction, Rondele began competing favorably against the European imports that had long dominated the spreadable category. Kraft acquired InoFoods in 1990 making enhancements to the production facility, but in 1996, its focus on gourmet cheeses changed and sold InoFoods to Vermont-based Waterbury Specialty Foods.

Waterbury's interests were then acquired by the independent Rondele Specialty Foods, which re-established the product line, refocused distribution and initiated manufacturing initiatives, while driving brand equity. Facilitator Capital Fund, a Wisconsin-based private equity fund, and a group of private investors acquired rondelé in 1998. In late 2004 Lactalis USA, a subsidiary of Groupe Lactalis, the world's 8th largest dairy manufacturer, which included President’s brand, acquired Rondole Specialty foods.

In August 2010 it was announced that Lactalis American Group, which operates manufacturing plants south of Merrill and in Belmont, Wisconsin, received $57,000 in Dairy Manufacturing Facility Investment credits for the $2.7 million expansion at both locations.

“Agriculture and dairy are the backbone of Wisconsin’s economy – contributing more than 10 percent of the jobs in Wisconsin and about $59 billion to our economy every year,” Governor Doyle said. “The Dairy Manufacturing Facility Investment Tax Credits we are announcing today are helping Lactalis stay competitive on the global market, so that it can continue to thrive and support jobs here in Wisconsin.”

Bella Stuffed Banana Peppers

The September/October 2010 issue of Lake Erie Living is out with an article about the Lakeside/Marblehead Fall Festival (p.50) on October 9, and a recipe for stuffed banana peppers. I don't think I'd ever used many banana peppers until my son began growing them in his garden, and he's so successful, I decided I needed a recipe, and this one looks pretty simple.

Bella Stuffed Banana Peppers
(Serves 6)
8 to 10 large locally grown (from Phil's garden for me) sweet banana peppers, tops removed and seeds scooped out
1 pound mild or hot Italian sausage, sauteed and drained
1/2 cup freshly shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese (plus extra for top of casserole) [salty Italian cheese, suitable primarily for grating, made from sheep milk--I had to look it up]
2 or 3 eggs
1/2 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
2 cups homemade tomato sauce (he makes that too)
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sausage, provolone, pecorino Romano, eggs and bread crumbs together in a bowl (mixture should be moist). Stuff into cavity of banana peppers. Lay peppers flat in a large 13" x 9" casserole dish. Pour tomato sauce over peppers. Drizzle with the olive oil and grate a generous amount of pecorino Romano on top. Cover with foil and bake about 1 hour, until peppers are soft. Serve with a green salad and good crusty bread (he makes that, too) to soak up the sauce.

This recipe is on p. 27, along with "Grilled summer peaches with pound cake." I've never grilled pound cake, but sounds good, too!