Mexican Potato Casserole

I saw this recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook and thought it looked yummy! My version is slightly different but was a big hit and tasted delicious. I have made this several times since finding it.

MEXICAN POTATO CASSEROLE

4 to 5 medium potatoes, with peel
2 T butter
4 1/2 T taco seasoning
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers, any color
1 1/2 cup grated jack or cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in greased casserole dish. Melt butter...stir in 2 1/2 T of the taco seasoning. Pour over the potatoes and stir to coat well.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir...bake 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese

Brown and crumble beef; add onion and cook until soft...then drain. Sprinkle 2 T of the Taco seasoning, stir in salsa and chopped peppers. Mix well and cook until peppers are tender. Pour over potatoes.

Top with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes.

Serve with salsa and sour cream (optional).

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Great for those crisp Fall evenings and the perfect accompaniment to ham, this side dish is comfort food at it's best. Creamy and cheesy and the onions add such great flavor to it. Actually it makes a great side dish for just about anything but it seems to just naturally go with ham. Because most of us in the house have to watch our salt intake we don't have ham to often but when we do I love to make this as a side dish.

CHEESY SCALLOPED POTATOES
1 1/2 cups low fat cheddar cheese, shredded - divided
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
2 1/4 cups skim milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 medium red potatoes
2 small onions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add in flour and whisk til blended. Add milk and whisk/stir until it starts to thicken and get bubbly. Add pepper and 1 cup of the cheese. Stir until cheese melts and is well blended. Remove from heat and set aside,

Wash the potatoes and dry but do not peel. Slice the potatoes and onions in thin slices. Spray a 9 X 13 shallow baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour just enough of the cheese mixture to coat the bottom of the baking dish. Spread potato and onion slices evenly in the baking dish and pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top of the potatoes and onion slices.

Cover with foil and bake about 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Let sit about 15 minutes.

NOTE: Any kind of potato is fine for this recipe but red potatoes seem to taste the best.