Dish served with a side of nostalgia

Knowing I would be home by 5 tonight, I decided to cook. I know, I know. It's been a while.

I quickly scanned scalloped potato recipes at work knowing I had a bag of potatoes at home and a ham steak. I picked one of the first recipes I saw, and I made it. This dish reminded me of many a lunch meal at St. Mary's. Mine was good; I think the sweet cooks at St. Mary's did better.

Without further ado, here's the recipe. I pretty closely followed the ingredient list, but I've added notes in bold anyway.

Ingredients
1 pound fully cooked ham slice, 1/2-inch thick
5 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (I didn't have any peppers.)
Dash pepper
2 tablespoons butter (I forgot to add. Whoops!)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, optional

Preparation
1. Cut ham in bite-size pieces.
2. Place half of the potatoes in a greased, shallow, 2-quart baking dish.
3. Cover with ham.
4. Top with remaining potatoes.
5. Dot with butter. (Again, I forgot to do this.)
6. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 
7. Remove covering; bake 30-45 minutes longer, or until the potatoes are done. (I baked for 45 minutes.)
8. If desired, sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese over the top of the potatoes and continue baking for the last 15 minutes.

Serves: 6 (I don't agree with this estimate, unless it is used as a side dish.)

Do you have a favorite comfort food recipe? If so, post it in the comment section. 

***P.S. I miss Milk Duds. I can't wait for Easter to arrive and for Lent to be over.

A forehead-slapping moment.

I'm sitting on the couch, reading various blogs and social networking sites when I realize I'm hungry.

The oven is on, and I wonder, "How much longer before the potatoes are done?"

Then it occurs to me, "Oh yeah, I haven't put the potatoes in the oven yet."

And my stomach growls.