Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Cheesy, Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

I love scalloped potatoes, but get inpatient waiting for them to bake.  I came up with an easy way to make scalloped potatoes in my electric skillet with about half the usual cooking time.

Potatoes and onions in skillet.
Potatoes and onions in skillet.

2 lbs. potatoes (about 6)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 ½ cups milk
½ cup finely chopped onion, optional
1 cup cooked ham, cubed or
1 ea. 5 oz. can smoked ham
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

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Flour and butter bubbling nicely.
Flour and butter bubbling nicely.

Peel potatoes and slice thinly. [I put the peelings in the composter.]  Add a little oil to the electric skillet. Set on lowest setting, about 150°.

Add potatoes and onions to skillet.  Turn occasionally as you’re preparing the white sauce. This speeds up the cooking process as the potatoes are about half done by the time the sauce is ready.

Melt butter in 2 qt. saucepan over low heat.  Blend in flour using a whisk.

Stir well to coat
Stir well to coat.

Continue cooking over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.  Add milk.  Increase heat to medium high.  Stir constantly until mixture begins to boil.  Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add ham to skillet.  [If you’re using canned ham, use two forks to shred and pull it apart in a small bowl before adding to skillet.]  Pour sauce over potatoes, onions and ham.  Mix well.  Put lid on skillet and check every 10 minutes to stir and turn the potatoes.  Cooks in 30 – 40 minutes.

When potatoes reach the desired doneness, turn off the electric skillet. Add cheddar cheese and put the lid back on (to speed up melting of cheese.)

The cheddar melts in 3 – 5 minutes.

 

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham – Ready to dish up and enjoy.

*A note about electric skillets.

Recently, I replaced my old faithful skillet with one of those where the cooking pan lifts off from the heating base.  It was a little more expensive than the other models, but I thought the removable base was worth the added expense.  Wrong.  It lasted exactly one use of frying chicken at 350°, then warped.

So buyer beware.  You do get what you pay for.  The more expensive skillets with removable bases may not warp, but my relatively inexpensive (50.00-60.00) did.

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©2016, My Granny Rocks | Janette Thornton. All rights reserved.

Author: Granny JJ

I live in a rural area of Arizona. I grew up in Iowa and transplanted to Arizona in the early 80's. I moved from a small Iowa farm to Phoenix, Arizona. Talk about culture shock! I lasted a couple years in metro Phoenix, then looked at a map and chose a small town. I live with my husband, Ken, and dog, Maggie, on an acreage just outside town. So much of what I learned by doing, as a way of life, is being lost. Everyone has something to offer the younger generation, so here I go...