Good morning and Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is hanging in there, I know I say that every week now but I don’t know what else to say. I am going on week 5 of working from home, I think I have left my sanctuary maybe 5 times over the last month. The last time it was for my husband he injured himself and ended up having surgery; he is fine and not taking it easy as instructed insert eye roll here. 

How will you be spending your Easter this year? How much different will it be for your family? Will you be having some sort of virtual Holiday? We have been doing virtual happy hours with some friends and family and it is fun for now but it will get old soon. Though I am sure we will continue to do so with the ones who live far away. We have always done pancake breakfast with my kids and in-laws. Then everyone would disperse and come back later for Easter dinner. This year will be a little different, no plans for breakfast and dinner will just be with the kids. I am still going to set the table so it will be a little special. 

Since this is a cooking blog I should probably talk about cooking a little right? We all like ham and don’t really have it too often so we will be having ham, these scalloped potatoes, carrots and roasted asparagus for dinner. I am still thinking about what to do for dessert; it will have to be something that I have all the ingredients for since all of our stores close to us are closed today. Yeah I know I should have planned better but I can be pretty resourceful when it comes to using what I have on hand.

preheat oven to 350’F

Ingredients

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions – making a roux

In a small sauce pan, melt butter and whisk in the flour. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour taste. Add all of cold milk at once stirring with a whisk; season with salt and cayenne. Cook sauce on low until smooth and boiling, stirring occasionally with a whisk and it thickens a bit. Reduce heat and stir in cheese.
Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish. Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes.
repeat with second layer of potatoes and cheese sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake uncovered for an hour at 350°F