Bakin’ With Bacon and King Teddy

Castle Baconia Kitchen Is Open For Business!

And as the business owner (aka King) I feel it is my duty to provide my kingdom with a wonderful recipe every single Saturday that includes bacon.    I will say that the Royal Mom had a bit to do with this one – why?  Because she is a “Potato Princess” – she loves potatoes…..french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, twice baked potatoes – she’s never met a potato she didn’t like.    She particularly loves Potatoes Au Gratin but this recipe kicks it up a notch…………..it includes bacon and a couple of other things that aren’t in our “regular” potatoes au gratin recipe.   SO LET’S DO THIS!

Easy Creamy Potatoes Au Gratin With Bacon

INGREDIENTS

• 8 Ounces bacon
• 1 Cup whole milk
• ½ Cup butter
• 3 Garlic cloves smashed
• 6 Large russet potatoes
• ½ Cup onion sliced
• ¾ + ¾ Teaspoon salt
• ¾ + ¾ Teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ + ½ Teaspoon black pepper
• 1 + 1 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Teaspoon dried parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lay bacon on a pan sprayed baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Chop when done and set aside. Once the bacon is out of the oven, increase the temperature to 400°F.
• While the bacon is cooking, heat a small saucepan on medium heat. Simmer the whole milk, butter and smashed garlic for 5 minutes. Remove the garlic.
• Peel and rinse the russet potatoes. Slice the potatoes very thin, about ⅛ inch thick. Also, slice the onion thinly.
• Using a pan sprayed 13×9 baking pan, cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of half of the potato slices. Then, cover the potato slices with half of the sliced onions. Cover with half of the milk and butter mixture. Season with ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
• Cover with 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Cover with the remaining potato slices and repeat the other layers. Cover the final cheddar layer with grated parmesan cheese, dried parsley and the chopped bacon. Bake for 1 hour.

OK – did I knock your socks off with this recipe?   Good!   You won’t want to serve “just plain” mashed potatoes again – this really is delicious and I’m sure you’ll love it – those of you who can’t eat bacon will be happy to know that while bacon is always better (!) it’s not necessary – these potatoes are JUST THAT GOOD that they stand on their own!

“I’m definitely standing on my own!”

We’ll be here again next Saturday with another exciting baconized recipe – so tune in won’t you?     There’s always something exciting happening in the land of bacon!

Next Week!    Your King……………..