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.

The recipe search

Who has a breakfast potato sausage casserole recipe that uses NO prepared/frozen potatoes, NO Campbell's soup? I've made something up, but would prefer a recipe. I have even gone back to my 1942 Inglenook Granddaughter's Cook Book (found a potato dish recipe by the grandmother in-law of my college roommate, Mrs. Charles Weybright, Syracuse, IN),  Taste of Home annual editions, and old recipes from the 1960s recipe cards from my mother's friends in extension. Potatoes are cheap and nutritious, but rather expensive if you buy them prepared.

Here’s what I’ve made up—expecting 8-9 for brunch on the 6th. I saw a video using instant mashed potatoes and borrowed the idea.

Sausage potato egg breakfast casserole with parmesan cheese

Ingredients: 1 lb roll sausage, peppers and onion, 8 Idaho potatoes, 1 pint sour cream, Panko (break crumbs), parmesan cheese shredded, 8-9 eggs. 10 x 14 pan or dish, 400 degree oven

1 lb roll of cooked crumbled sausage placed in 10 x 14 casserole

Add some red and yellow chopped peppers, and about ½ cup chopped onion--optional

8 cooked and mashed large potatoes mixed with pint of light or regular sour cream.

Spoon the potato mix on top of Sausage

Mix 1 cup Panko with 8 oz. shredded parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the potatoes.

Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees

Make 8 or 9 indentions with a wooden spoon

Crack 8-9 eggs into the indentions

Salt and pepper to taste

Bake for another 30 minutes at 400 degrees

Back to veggies for lunch

 

Wednesday is volunteer day at PDHC, so I pack a lunch. Lately I’ve been eating too many sandwiches and cookies because it is easy and quick. Sometimes I take a Hormel dinner which can be warmed up. I gained weight while I was sick in January and February.

So it’s back to veggies for lunch. I like to steam vegetables and then use the broth as a nice hot drink to replace coffee or tea. It’s also very fast—about 5-7 minutes. I prefer something warm for lunch on these cold days, so I steamed a cut up potato with a little onion. I put it in a container and added a hard cooked egg with a few olives. Then steamed some cabbage and corn together and put in another small container, all of which I can warm up in the staff room at PDHC.

• There are 164 calories in 1 medium potato (flesh and skin). Calorie breakdown: 1% fat, 91% carbs, 8% protein.
• One large hard-boiled egg has 78 calories and 6 grams of protein with all of the essential amino acids. An egg is a good source of vitamins B12 and E, folic acid, iron and zinc. The egg yolk also provides vitamin D.
• A 1/2 cup of steamed cabbage has about 20 calories, and probably 20% of vitamin C for the day. I mixed in about 2 tablespoons of frozen corn.
• At about 20 calories for a very small amount corn, it is rich in vitamin C, magnesium, B vitamins and carotenoids, such as leutin and zeaxanthin. Corn contains very little fat, less than 1 gram per serving (without toppings), and in a full serving is a good source of fiber, clocking in around 3 grams per half cup.

So that’s 282 calories, plus all that other good stuff like protein and fiber and vitamin C and B. A Hormel ready to eat dinner has about 300-400 calories and is high in fat (contains meat) and salt. USDA clocks a ham and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with a little mayo and mustard at 461 calories. A single slice of ham has 4.7 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of fat, while a single slice of cheese has 5.2 grams of protein and 1.5 grams of fat. And of course, I’m not taking a couple of cookies or carton of yogurt with me.

Today's new word--Metabolomics

Metabolomics is the large-scale study of small molecules, commonly known as metabolites, within cells, biofluids, tissues or organisms. Collectively, these small molecules and their interactions within a biological system are known as the metabolome. https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/course/introduction-metabolomics/what-metabolomics  There is a whole course at free at Creative Commons on this subject, which I looked up because it came up in an article about blood pressure and potatoes at World's Healthiest Foods. 

"UK scientists at the Institute for Food Research have identified blood pressure-lowering compounds called kukoamines in potatoes. Previously only found in Lycium chinense, an exotic herbal plant whose bark is used to make an infusion in Chinese herbal medicine, kukoamines were found in potatoes using a new type of research called metabolomics.

Until now, when analyzing a plant's composition, scientists had to know what they were seeking and could typically look for 30 or so known compounds. Now, metabolomic techniques enable researchers to find the unexpected by analyzing the 100s or even 1000s of small molecules produced by an organism.""Do potatoes have a potential for helping lower blood pressure," World's Healthiest Foods

A powerhouse of nutrition:
"One medium potato (5.3 ounces or about 1 cup) contains almost 30 milligrams of vitamin C, which is half of what you need in a day. It has more potassium (620 milligrams) than a medium banana. We should get about 4,700 milligrams of potassium each day to protect our heart,  keep our blood pressure in a good range and ensure that our muscles don’t cramp and our nerves send the right messages. Only about 1 percent of Americans meet their potassium needs.

The potato is a good source of vitamin B6, meeting almost one-third of our daily needs. This vitamin is needed to utilize protein and carbohydrates in our diet as well as to manufacture most protein-related compounds, such as hormones, in our body. A fresh potato is low in sodium, fat-free and gluten-free.

The sweet potato is promoted as much healthier than the potato. The USDA Food Database shows the sweet potato is slightly higher in calories, carbohydrates, fiber, natural sugars, calcium and vitamin A. Vitamin A is the biggest nutritional difference from the regular potato. But the regular potato is lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein, iron, potassium, vitamin C, niacin, vitamin B6 and folate. Yes, the sweet potato is healthy and so is the potato." http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/features/3776076-nutrition-humble-potato-nutrition-powerhouse

POTATO PUFFS

I’ll probably never make this, but it sounded good. Potatoes combined with milk are practically a perfect food, but this may be gilding the lily. Potatoes are high in vitamin C, have no cholesterol, are fat-free, have many vitamins and minerals and are cheap and easy to store. It's the gravy, cheese, sour cream and sides that give it a bad name

Ingredients

• 3 cups of mashed potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sour cream (optional extra for serving)
• 1 heaping cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives or parsley
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly grease with butter 8 - 9 of the wells of a nonstick muffin  pan.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs then mix in the sour cream. Stir in both cheeses and the chives. Add potatoes and mix well. Spoon them into the pan filling the cups to slightly below the top. Bake 25- 35 minutes until they pull away from the sides of the cup and are golden brown. Remove from oven and let them cool 5 minutes in pan. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Hot smashed potatoes

Ingredients
12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Might be a fun way to serve potatoes.  This was shared by cousin Sarah Strauss on FB.

A very filling lunch

No vegetables, but I had two at breakfast.

I attended a noon lecture at the veterinary college at Ohio State at noon, so was a bit hungry when I got home about 1:15. So I decided to fry up half an onion, a medium sized potato with the skin, and a hard cooked egg in a little olive oil. It tasted so good, and was so filling, I decided to look up why.

Onion--11 calories. This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin C. Amino acid (protein quality) score: 22; completeness score (nutrient balance) 53; inflammatory factor 65. Onions contain a variety of other naturally occurring chemicals known as organosulfur compounds that have been linked to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Hard cooked egg--77 calories. This food is a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein and Selenium. One egg contains 6 grams of high-quality protein and all 9 essential amino acids. Amino acid score: 132; completeness score 43; inflammatory factor -51. Although egg yolk contains much cholesterol, it also contains a lot of lecithin. Lecithin is an emulsifier, which can lower blood cholesterol. Eggs contain a lot of vitamin A, which can rarely be found in meat. Vitamin A can not only maintain the integrity and promote the growth and development of the epithelial cells, but also can increase the immune function of the body. In addition, the content of vitamin E and B2 in eggs are higher than the meat. Eggs hold great satiety powers (they will stick with you for a long while after you've eaten them).

White potato, medium, with skin-- 130 calories. This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin B6 and Potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin C. Amino acid score: 83; completeness score 49; inflammatory factor -78. Eaten with its skin, a single medium sized potato of 150 g provides nearly half the daily adult requirement (100 mg) of vitamin C. The potato is a moderate source of iron, and its high vitamin C content promotes iron absorption. It is a good source of vitamins B1, B3 and B6 and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium, and contains folate, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Potatoes also contain dietary antioxidants, which may play a part in preventing diseases related to ageing, and dietary fibre, which benefits health. Potatoes rate high on the satiety index.

1 tbsp olive oil--124 calories. This food is rich in monounsaturated fat, rich in antioxidants and phenolic compounds with a variety of protective effects for the heart, low in Cholesterol and Sodium. Vitamin E and K. Amino acid score: 0; completeness score 3; inflammatory factor 4.

Some links.
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/home
http://www.potato2008.org/en/potato/factsheets.html
http://www.herballegacy.com/Wilson_Medicinal.html
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-eggs.html

If I had $542 to spend at the grocery store

with or without food stamps ($542 a month for a family of 4 earning $26,856 per year), here's what I could get in Columbus, Ohio, shopping at a store within 2 miles of my home that doesn't require a loyalty card. Then I would have about $282 left over for the rest of the month. Everyone has something in the frig or cupboards, and I'm assuming catsup, mustard, margarine, and pickles are residing in mine. Indeed, I probably need to look at the expiration dates! I also seem to have an awful lot of rice and canned beans and miscellaneous canned fruits. And I've got frozen peas and corn in the freezer because I use them when I don't have fresh. But if I had to buy smart and buy cheap, I'd go for real food. And I wouldn't confuse shampoo and toilet paper with food--which is what many journalists do when they write about soaring food prices.

The quantity listed here is a bit unrealistic for my small condo kitchen, but it could be done in 2-3 trips to the store over 2 weeks, and without purchasing too many perishable items in quantity. Apples, cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onions last a long time--asparagus and bananas don't. And you'd need a decent size freezer compartment to hold the meat.

I often buy marked down meat on Monday, but didn't see any today, so these prices are from the flyer. This list also contains things I rarely buy like spare ribs and bacon--but they were on special this week, and bacon can go a long way in flavoring other items or as a garnish for salads. Also, I rarely bake anymore. I just put the flour and sugar down just in case Mom's watching from heaven.

Dairy
2 gallons milk (6.00)
3 (24 oz) real cheese (9.60)
3 doz eggs (6.00)

Fruits and Vegetables
16 lbs potatoes (5.00)
3 lbs cabbage (1.50)
3 lbs tomatoes (4.50)
10 lbs apples (Braeburn)(13.90)
10 lbs peaches (14.90)
4 cartons orange juice (10.00)
3 lb carrots (1.00)
2 cantaloupe (4.00)
8 corn on cob (2.00)
3 lbs asparagus (5.00)
bag of onions(3.00)
2 cukes, seedless (2.50)
5 lbs bananas (2.50)
seedless grapes (3.00)
asparagus 3 lb (5.40)
green salad mix (3.00)
broccoli (1.00)
cauliflower (1.00)

Meat
Brats (2 lbs) (6.00)
5 lb chicken breast boneless 2.29/lb (11.45)
bacon (2 lbs) (4.00)
ground chuck 5 lb (7.50)
3 lbs hot dogs (5.00)
10 lb boneless ham (11.90)
10 lb spare ribs (9.90)
8 lb hamburger (frozen patties)(11.90)
canned tuna 24 oz (3.00)
fresh fish 3 lb. (21.00)

baking, condiments, semi-processed
raisins 24 oz (2.50)
peanut butter 16 oz (2.00)
Miracle Whip 32 oz (2.50)
jam or jelly 32 oz (2.70)
broth for soup 2 cans (1.60)
pasta 5 lb (4.00)
salad dressing(1.50)
olive oil l lb (5.00)
shortening 3 lb. (2.50)
10 lb Flour (5.00)
10 lb sugar (4.00)
walnuts l lb. (6.00)
green olives, large jar, salad (3.00)
coffee 39 oz (6.90)
oatmeal, old fashioned, lg. (3.00)

Treats
Ice Cream (3.00)
Cool Whip (1.25)
popcorn (jar or bag, not mw) (2.00)
peanuts dry roasted, jar (3.00)

TIP: A potato combined with milk (or cheese) is nutritionally a near perfect food. And very cheap. 8 lbs of potatoes will cost you about the same as 10 oz. of potato chips which have no nutritional value at all.

My blog on the thrifty plan.

The Thrifty Plan and me in 1982.