The taste was really good and the meal was filling. However, it took more than 2 hours to cook rather than 1 hr and 15 minutes. I suggest cooking the potatoes and then, make the dish. If it had not been for that, I would have given five stars..
My family loved this recipe. I did make a couple of changes I used 8 oz of sharp cheddar and fresh garlic. For those of you who have never made a cheese sauce before you do need to sauté the onions (and fresh garlic if you choose) first then mix in flour and spices then slowly add the milk then cheese. A whisk works best to stir the sauce. Sauce is ready when the cheese is completely melted.
First time making this, I took it to a pot luck and not a drop was left.
On dishes like this, I seldom measure so I know I added a lot more cheese but was careful with the garlic powder.
Two easy tricks: Just mix the potatoes with the cheese mixture and put it all in the crock pot. Then I poured the mushroom sauce on top and worked it through the dish. Saves a lot of unnecessary fussing.
Also, I put the entire dish in the microwave for 20 minutes. It ensured that the potatoes were fully cooked without pre-cooking them. I let it cook the full 4 hours which made it cheesy.
This is a keeper - winter or summer.
This is a great recipe- I didn't change a thing. I'm so glad to find one that doesn't include a cream of _____ soup in the ingredient list. Thanks for sharing this, Suz!
Tasty and easy recipe! A great way to use up left over ham and cheeses. I didn't have 1/4 pound of cheddar so I threw in the last small chuck of cheddar I had, a bit of Havarti I needed to use up, and chunk of colby jack. Fantastic! I will definitely make this again!
I did change a few things, but the basics of this recipe are great! (As a side note, I did not taste the completed dish as I'm vegan, but made it for my husband, who raved over it). I fried four slices (chopped) of thick-sliced bacon, drained, and set aside. I then fried my ham slices in the bacon drippings to caramelize them for extra flavor. For the sauce, I added the bacon along with the other ingredients. I omitted the peas, used 1/4 tsp. of both garlic and onion powders. I didn't have any cheddar, so I used a 2 C. bag Mexican cheese shredded blend. I also used a whole medium/large onion, instead of a 1/2 C. So, in essence, all I did was add bacon, a little extra seasoning, and extra cheese. I baked it for about 1 hour 15 min., and my husband said the potatoes were cooked perfectly- cooked, but not falling apart. Oh, and I left the skins on the potatoes (used organic). I did as another reviewer said and poured half the sauce over the first layer, the other half over the top of the whole thing. I took the foil off about the last 45 minutes or so, and it browned up great. Thanks for the great recipe!
Our whole family of 7 loved this! Had scaled it to feed 13 or so. and there's only a small bowl's worth left to put up. Only things done differently were: layering the sauce and using a bag of mixed veg. As we are currently broke as a joke, we made this with powdered milk, dried minced onions (put in w/ sauce) and a really plain, cheap, fully-cooked boiled- type ham. Unbelievable! Put it all in my biggest glass baking dish, upped the temp to 375, and it cooked perfectly in 1 hr. Thanks for the recipe, we will be making this again!
I am so excited about this recipe. I followed it to a T. If you are tempted to sauté the onion I would advise against it--the raw onion adds so much flavor while it's baking and it softens while cooking. It's also not necessary to toss the ingredients first--they all blend together while cooking and as you serve it out. With out a doubt this will be my new go-to. It might be fun to add some bread crumbs to the top sometimes but really it isn't necessary at all!
Easy and good comfort food on a cold night! I was rushed for time, so I sliced the potatoes and threw them in the microwave for about 10 minutes while preparing the rest of the ingredients and sauce. Also put the onions in with the sauce to make sure they were tender. Baked at 400 for 45 minutes and potatoes were perfect. Also added a little leftover crumbled bacon to the top before baking - yummy. Sprinkled a little cheddar on top before serving.
Knowing our taste added some carrots celery and mushrooms. I can't say this was my favorite. However I do think it would make the good filling for a pot pie but as a casserole I wasn't thrilled. Just left some of my tastebuds unfulfilled.
