What's For Supper: Cheesy Potato Casserole

Casseroles are simply the best time-saving idea since sliced bread. The one pot, set it and forget it way to prepare a healthy dinner in a short amount of time. Working full-time means meal time preparation is limited to a few minutes, unless we want to eat at 8 o'clock at night. That is just too late for supper.

The cheesy potato casserole is a great do-it-ahead dish that pops in the oven and bakes in an hour. The great thing about this recipe is the way it is adaptable for everyone's taste and life-style. This recipe is the one I make when we want a little bit of comfort food.

The ingredients include potatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, cream of mushroom soup and thinly sliced ham. The ingredients are layered into a buttered casserole dish and baked in a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

Peel about 6 large potatoes and slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with a single layer of potatoes. Add a single layer of sliced ham over the potatoes and top with shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat the process until you have three layers of potatoes. Combine one can of cream of mushroom soup with 2 cups of milk. Pour the soup mixture over the potato layers. Bake for 50 minutes. Add a topping of shredded cheese and return the oven for another 10 minutes.

Substitutions make this a versatile dish. For instance, use sliced turkey breast instead of ham and Monterey Jack cheese instead of cheddar. You can also add a layer of broccoli or carrots to the casserole. For a spicy twist, use smoked sausage and pepper jack cheese. You may even want to substitute sweet potatoes and use cream of chicken soup. One other substitution for potatoes is thinly sliced squash. Like I said, the dish is extremely versatile. Be creative, make it your own and; Enjoy!