Aside from confections, baking also includes a variety of savory dishes such as loaded scalloped potatoes, a classic casserole dish that’s dressed up with the essential loaded baked potato fixings. Whether it’s as an entree or a side, it’s sure to feed five or more given the richness of the dish.

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices of bacon

3 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 ⅓ cup whole milk

⅔ cup melted butter

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ⅛” thick rounds

1 cup (4 oz by weight) shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup chopped chives, optional

Sour cream for serving

RECIPE:

1. To begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, cook your bacon strips in a large, greased skillet over medium heat, for about ten minutes, until dark and crispy. Remove the bacon and chop into fine bits before setting the bits aside in a small bowl. Remove all but 3 Tbsp of the bacon fat left in the pan.
2. Mince your garlic cloves by chopping with a knife until very fine, then cook the garlic in the bacon fat until fragrant (about one minute). Next, whisk in your flour and continue cooking until there’s no dry flour left in the pan (one minute).
3. To finish your sauce, add all of your stock, milk and melted butter. Bring this mixture to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper, but go light on the salt—cheddar and bacon already have high sodium contents, so you shouldn’t need much.
4. In a large, greased casserole dish, spoon a thin layer of sauce followed by a layer of scalloped potatoes in a roof shingle-like pattern, with slices overlapping slightly to cover the area of the pan. Repeat alternating these layers three to four times and top off with sauce, shredded cheese and bacon.
5. Bake this dish for 1 hour 15 minutes in your 400 degree oven, then remove to cool for at least 20 minutes. If desired, feel free to top individual slices with sour cream and chopped chives for more brightness of flavor and color.
6. Enjoy! Make sure to grab a big enough slice on your first go-around or there might not be enough left if you want seconds; these potatoes are addictive!