Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Happy day after Easter! While I didn’t celebrate in any religious aspect, I do embrace a good holiday meal and love the opportunity to whip up a somewhat fancier than normal meal. Even if it is just for me and my roommate, and our dog if you’re like me and dumb enough to leave chicken sitting on the counter where she can reach. Lucky for the dog, it was just some pieces of thigh meat that I didn’t really want anyway.

Backing up for a minute though, my weekend kicked off with a trip to the liquor store after having a particular bad day on Friday. I was all set to get vodka drunk and most likely cry, and then after receiving a few quick texts my mood took a complete 180. My friend surprised me with a visit for the night, because he knew I was in a terrible mood (even if he might have had a little to do with said bad mood in the first place). All was very quickly forgiven, and we got vodka drunk together and watched Pitch Perfect. I even gave them permission to cover my mouth when I inevitably started singing along and quoting the movie. It was a pretty perfect evening.

However, when you go vodka drink for vodka drink with someone who has 80 lbs on you it takes a toll and I was hurting a little bit on Saturday. After a quick lunch and goodbye, I relegated myself to the couch for the rest of the day/night. It happens. Just left me with more energy for cooking on Sunday; which started off with some banana chocolate chip muffins to make use of some disgustingly over-ripe bananas. My favorite part of Sunday’s Easter meal though (which consisted of roasted chicken, asparagus, and scalloped potatoes) were the scalloped potatoes. It was my first time attempting the dish, and I have to say I think they came out pretty well. And I used my Mandolin without losing any fingers, which is huge.

I started off by slicing some Yukon Gold potatoes into thin slices, and then boiling them for a little while to speed up the casserole cooking process. While that was happening, I buttered my casserole dish, placing a layer of potatoes on the bottom once they had cooked slightly.

For the sauce, I melted one stick of unsalted butter in a saucepan, added 8 oz of sour cream, 8 oz of shredded sharp cheddar, pepper and seasoned salt. Once thoroughly combined, I poured 1/3 of the sauce on the first layer of potatoes.

Add another layer of potatoes, more sauce, and a final layer of potatoes and sauce, which I then topped with breadcrumbs just because I felt like it. Bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes, and uncover for the last 20 until bubbly and brown around the edges.

Now if anyone wants some potatoes… I have leftovers.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
3 lbs Potatoes (russet or yukon gold)
8 oz sour cream
1 stick unsalted butter
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
seasoned salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350, wash and slice potatoes about 1/8 inch thick with a Mandolin or a very sharp knife, be careful. If you have the time, boil your potatoes after slicing for about 5 minutes, drain and cool. In a medium saucepan melt the butter, stir in the sour cream, add the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Butter the bottom and sides of a casserole dish, arrange the potatoes in a thin layer, pour 1/3 of the cheese sauce over top, repeat twice more. Bake covered for 40 minutes, uncover for another 20. Slice and serve.

xoxo

 

 

I Actually Did Things!

You guys want to see something funny?  Not funny “haha”, but funny “just my luck”.

At least it will be nice the day we leave?  Seriously though, I think the weather is going to be better in DC this weekend.  Sigh, that’s typical.  You have 4 days to get your act together Vegas and act like a desert.  Do it.

Anyway, no news on the house yet, apparently the seller is now getting his own estimate to replace the roof in hopes that it will be less than the one we submitted.  Good luck dude, we didn’t even send you the highest bid we got, that one was about $2000 more.

This past weekend was a combination of relaxation and fun, with excessive amounts of champagne thrown in.  Friday night I stayed in and made some homemade chicken fried rice and banana chocolate chip bread.  Both things were delicious and I’m hoping they last me until at least Wednesday since I have no plans to grocery shop this week.

Saturday morning I was woken up bright and early by the sounds of a table saw and home construction.  There should be laws against that kind of thing happening during the 7:00 hour of a Saturday morning, just sayin.  Thanks to the home renovations on the street over, I was bored out of my mind by 12 pm, and had already painted both my fingers and toes an obnoxiously bright color.  Cue text from one of the roommates, “Do you want to drink with me?”

One bottle of champagne and a few mimosas later, I was feeling adventurous and decided to head out for the evening.  Nachos were consumed, a lot of Corona Lights imbibed (we were sitting outside it was necessary), and hours and hours past my bedtime later I face planted into my pillow for a solid 7 hours of sleep, only to begin the madness again at noon yesterday.

I crashed my other roommate’s Easter celebrations with her family, where more mimosas were enjoyed along with some wine.  I also ate a lot of delicious food over the course of the day at their house including french toast casserole, bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes, and crescent rolls the size of my face.  The drive back to Arlington last night was long (ok it was 45 minutes but it felt long), and I once again could not wait to face plant into bed.  That seemed to be the theme of the weekend.

Thank baby Jesus that my next three weeks of work are all 4 day weeks, because I don’t know if I’d make it otherwise.  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend as well, now who’s in for a group detox?

Exhaustion

So, I’ve learned my lesson.  Anytime I plan on making the trip home and there are going to be family functions to attend on a Sunday, take the following Monday off from work.  Driving back to Virginia from my aunt’s at 7 pm last night was not fun, not fun at all.  Especially since I encountered thunderstorms and slow moving traffic the entire way.  One of these days I’ll figure out the best time to make the drive, leaving work on Friday at 2 pm was no good, and leaving NJ at 7 was pretty shitty too.  Sigh.

My Easter weekend was a whirlwind of eating, drinking, and activity.  Champagne was popped the second I walked in the door Friday evening, and I put my last glass of wine down about an hour before hitting the road to come home.  I also couldn’t have picked a better time to finally retrieve my summer wardrobe to bring back to VA with me.

I’ll give you three guesses to figure out which day Darren is supposed to fly in.  Typical.  Anyway, I feel like a zombie today, and am just now getting my coffee, so instead of blabbering on for another 300 words about my weekend I’ll give you some photos, and captions.

Saturday day drinking at Michelle's

someone must have told a good joke

somehow still drinking on Sat night with my sis

Easter Sunday at my Aunt's

I’m so happy that my boss is on vacation this week, because seriously, I’ll I’m going to try to do today is stay awake.  That is a tall order my friends.  I see another iced coffee in my future.  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  Happy Monday?