Potatoes Au Gratin with Vegetables and Chicken

What's my inspiration for a dish?  Well, as a home cook sometimes the honest answer is that I've got stuff in the fridge that I have to use before they go bad. Such is the case this week for this take on potatoes au gratin. 

Earlier this week, I had a guest over for dinner and I baked some potatoes. When I went to the store I noticed that five russet potatoes cost the same as a five pound bag of russet potatoes. So now I've got about three quarters of a big left. I also had half a yellow bell pepper. My son loves his fried chicken. But he doesn't always finish all of it when I buy ten or more pieces.  

When you have leftovers like this, a casserole seems like a good choice. As long as you have milk and cheese on hand, a casserole is easy enough to do. Plus, I always have fresh rosemary and thyme in my garden (my favorite herbs).

Since I had a pot luck church luncheon coming up, potatoes au gratin seemed a good base. 

Ingredients:

5 Russet Potatoes

2 1/2 Cups Milk

2 Cups Mexican Cheese Blend

1 Stick of Butter

1/2 Cup Flour

Sprig of Rosemary

Sprig of Thyme

Frozen Vegetables

1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper

Red Onion

2 Fried Chicken Thighs

Salt and Pepper to Season

Preheat oven to 350. 

Make a roux. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan and medium low. Add flour slowly. Add salt and pepper. 

Slowly add milk. Dice rosemary and thyme. Add to the roux. Add the cheese slowly. Leave enough cheese the garnish the top of the dish before putting it in the oven. 

Cut the potatoes to 1/4 thick slices. It takes about 5 to line the bottom of a pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them. 

Dice pepper and onion. Now, the last time I made potatoes au gratin, I found the onion overpowering. So I only used about a half inch cross-slice from the main onion, and diced it. Sprinkle pepper and onion pieces over the potatoes. 

Next, layer a little but of the roux over the potatoes. Add a layer of the vegetables. At this point, I added some more bell pepper pieces.

Remove the skin from the chicken thighs. Take the meat off the bone. Dice the meat finely. Add to the dish with the vegetables. (My dogs enjoyed the leftover fried skin.)

Add another layer of potato slices. 

Spread the remainder of the roux over the top. Sprinkle the last of the cheese, some more pepper and rosemary pieces over the top. 

Bake for 1 hour.