Harwichport Potatoes

Ingredients:
Potatoes:

• 4 cups raw potatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 pimentos, cut in strips
• 2 cups thin white sauce (recipe follows)
• 1/2 pound American cream cheese, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

White sauce:

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

How to Prepare:
Cook the potatoes, onions, and pimentos in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain and pour into a buttered casserole.

Add the cheese to the white sauce and pour over the potatoes. Bake in a moderate oven (350°) for 45 minutes.

White sauce (thin):
For this potato recipe, make a double batch of white sauce.

Melt butter and add flour and blend. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add seasonings.

Note: thick white sauce is exactly the same directions, using 2 Tablespoons of butter and 2 Tablespoons of flour instead of 1.

Ham and Potato Casserole

This is a casserole my mother-in-law made from leftover ham and some potatoes that had to get used up.  It turned out so good - it is basically a scalloped potatoes recipe but we never had an actual 'recipe' for this.  Try sprinkling in some dried minced onion as you layer in the flour, salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium-large baking potatoes, I prefer them peeled
• 2 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, longhorn cheddar, sharp cheddar, etc)
• 2 cups cut up cooked ham (leftover works great for this)
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• Seasoned salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups milk

How to Prepare:
Slice potatoes thin. I use a food processor to do this. Place potato slices in a large bowl, cover with water, to prevent potatoes from "browning up" in the air.

Assemble casserole: In a large (3-4 qt.) casserole dish, put a layer of 1/3 of the potatoes at the bottom.
Drain as much water off the potatoes as possible before transferring them to the casserole dish. Cover it with 1/2 the cheese, and 1/2 the ham. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons flour, a few dashes of seasoned salt and some pepper. Cover with another layer of 1/3 of the potato slices, drained, and then the other 1/2 cheese, and ham. Sprinkle with another 2-3 tablespoons of flour, a few dashes of seasoned salt, some pepper. Cover the top up with the last 1/3 of the potato slices, drained.

Make a small well in the corner of the casserole, and carefully pour the milk in, until the casserole is about 1/2 full with milk. (I'm guessing about 2 cups)

Bake at 350° for one hour covered, then one half hour uncovered, or until the potatoes are soft, and browned a bit on the top. Watch for milk to boil over, if there's too much milk in the dish. I place a piece of foil on the bottom rack to catch the drips.

Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Ground Beef and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 c. boiling water
• 1 c. uncooked wild rice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 lg. can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in 1 c. water
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 3/4 c. chopped celery
• 6 Tbsp. chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

How to Prepare:
Pour 4 cups of boiling water over wild rice and let stand 15 minutes, or until rice starts to "pop" open. Drain and add mushroom soup, chicken soup, sliced mushrooms, beef bouillon dissoved in water, bay leaf, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper.

Saute celery and onion in butter until transparent and add to the above mixture. Brown ground beef, drain and add to mixture. Put into a casserole. Bake, uncovered for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Add more bouillon if it becomes dry while baking.