How to make Potatoes Au Gratin from scratch

 This recipe is "from scratch" - no boxes, so you can control what ingredients you eat.

My wife and I are potato lovers... and she challenged me to make Potatoes Au Gratin... and oh.. not too much dairy this time.  But, but the sauce is mostly dairy - if you make it the regular way. The main substitution I made was using Almond Milk instead of regular milk, but had to make some other alterations to make sure it will thicken up properly.  You can also substitute half the regular cheese for a non-dairy (soy) cheese.

I will post the recipe I used... with the substitutions I used for Low Dairy in italics for those who are trying to do it with 50% the diary of the normal version...

This is a VERY TASTY version - and goes perfect with a ham and some steamed asparagus.   However, if you are on a date, I would consider some Chocolate-Mint ice cream for dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE PAN

• 4-6 baked potatoes (white or red... thinly sliced)
• 1/2 medium size onion (white or red)
• 1.5 Cups Cheddar Blend.  (Normally cheddar/jack but all cheddar is fine also.)  LOW DAIRY: substitute half the regular cheese for a soy cheese variety.

FOR THE SAUCE

• 3 cloves garlic (pressed with garlic press)
• 1 green onion (for color/flavor combo)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2-4 TBS flour (LOW DAIRY: You will need 4 to help thicken it)
• 1 TBS corn starch
• 1-2 eggs (LOW DAIRY: You will need 2 to help thicken it)
• 1 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or sour cream)  (LOW DAIRY: Substitute 1 can Coconut Milk for VERY low dairy)
• 2 1/2 Cups 2% milk (LOW DAIRY: 2 1/2 Cups Almond Milk instead)
• 2 TBS Butter (LOW DAIRY: 1 TBS butter and 1 TBS Coconut Oil with a splash of butter flavoring)

SPECIAL TOOLS:

• Garlic press
• 12" square/round metal or glass pan

STEPS

1) Preheat oven 425 degrees.

2) Slice the potatoes very thinly (about 1/8 inch thick) and layer in the pan.  They should overlap each other about 30-40%.

3) Add a thin layer of cheese over the potatoes, covering them mostly.

4) On top the cheese, put a layer of VERY thinly sliced onion circles.

5) Repeat layering so you have about 3 layers of potatoes (and 2 layers of onions and cheese).  If the top layer has less potatoes, its ok... but it has to end with potatoes (not onions).

6) Blend all the ingredients for the SAUCE with a wire whisk or a fork.  Pour over potatoes.   Help them get into the cracks of the potatoes by shaking the pan a bit... and using a spatula to carefully lift the bottom layer slightly to let sauce in.

7) Put a thick layer of cheese mix on the top.  This helps get a fine crust on top.

8) Bake in the oven for 30 minutes covered in TIN FOIL.  Then bake for  15-20 minutes uncovered.  It needs get real bubbly... while cooking and get brownish on top... but not too dark brown.  

9) Let the finished rest (sit around in your kitchen) for 10 minutes before serving.