Not bad, surprisingly

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter’s Cookbook Copyright 2003

½ cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ cups reduced-fat milk I used Super Skim
2 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed Oops! I forgot this
1 ½ pounds potatoes (4 to 5 medium)
5 ounces low-fat, reduced-sodium cooked ham, cut into thin strips I used more, about 8 oz.

1. For sauce, in medium saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir in thyme.
2. Scrub and thinly slice potatoes. Arrange two-thirds of the potato slices in a 2-quart casserole; cover with two-thirds of the sauce. Top with ham. Top with remaining potatoes and remaining sauce.
3. Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Let potatoes stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 side-dish servings. Per serving: 145 calories,
5 g fat, 19 mg chol, 399 mg sodium, 20 g carbs, 2 g fiber,
7 g pro
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This turned out a lot better than I started to think it would. I had to bake it the night before and when I took it out to reheat it, it looked sort of gray and unattractive. I wasn't hopeful at all. Surprise! It was fine. Nothing to rave about exactly, but a perfectly tasty and filling weeknight dinner, that didn't use a lot of meat (ham was on sale so this was less than $1.50 worth of meat). Obviously these potatoes weren't as creamy as a more traditional scalloped potato recipe but I felt they were creamy enough. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Last night was grocery night and I didn't enjoy it. I had to shop at my 'B' store since I needed a prescription next door to that grocery store and it would have been silly to drop off the Rx and then trek all the way to my 'A' store in the next town to do my shopping and then go back to pick up the Rx. So I bit the bullet but I didn't like it. Even though the 'B' store looks nicer and there's not a huge price difference between the two, I prefer the other store and I regretted not trekking over to my preferred store.

Blast From The Past: Cavatappi with Pepperoni, from January 2006. Gosh, I didn't think I made this that long ago. This was another dish that doesn't need a lot of meat and we really enjoyed it.

Question of the Day: Do you have any meat-stretching recipes or hearty vegetarian recipes that even a meat-lover would enjoy?