Battle Potato Casserole

We had a great Easter Sunday yesterday. Both families came over, with kids in tow, to celebrate the holiday--as well as my niece's first birthday. We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids and bowls of candy out for the adults. (Including those wonderfully awful marshmallow Peeps.) Topped it all off with a great dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes and spinach salad. But I couldn't decide between a couple of potato casserole recipes I had found. So I fixed both and took votes from the crowd.

One was an easy "dump" casserole of frozen potatoes, sour cream and cheese. The other was slightly more complicated. Sliced potatoes and onions. And a homemade cream sauce.

They were both fantastic, but the more complicated recipe won with most of us. (The ham really adds a nice rich sweetness.) I've posted it below. Stay tuned though. I'll be posting the runner up next week.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
Adapted from Cooking Light
Makes 12 servings.

2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion (about 5 1/2 ounces), thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups), divided
6 ounces diced ham (about 1 1/4 cups)
3 pounds peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat olive oil and melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Combine milk, salt, pepper, and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan. Bring to a simmer; cook until slightly thick (about 2 minutes), stirring frequently. Add 4 ounces cheese and ham, stirring until cheese melts.

Stir in potatoes. Place the potato mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle remaining two ounces cheese over top of casserole and bake an additional 30 minutes or until lightly browned and potatoes are tender. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.