Day 19: Heavenly Potatoes and Ham

Today's recipe is another one out of a Relief Society cookbook. (Relief Society is the women's organization in the Mormon church.) This particular cookbook is a favorite. The town I live in is very rural and the main industry is agriculture. We are a little behind the times in that most women I know still bake most of their bread, use dried beans instead of canned, and cook from scratch. I sometimes compare it to Mayberry, and there are plenty of "Aunt Beas" here. As a result, the cookbooks that are put together are amazing. It is nice to live where things move at a slower pace. We don't even have a gas station, and the only store-"The Mercantile" or The Merc for short--(and yes, that is what it was really called) closed several years ago. It is a great place to live. Anyway, back to the great cooks. This recipe is very easy and has great taste. I added a little bit of dill to the sauce, and I liked the results.

Heavenly Potatoes and Ham

10" Dutch oven

2 lb. potatoes, cubed

2 1/2 Tbs. melted butter

2/3 cup shredded cheese

2/3 cup cooked ham, cubed

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 Tbs. green onion, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. dill

1 1/2 Tbs. melted butter

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Boil potato cubes until slightly tender. Drain and put back in dutch oven. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, 2 1/2 Tbs. melted butter, soup, cheese, green onions, ham, salt and pepper and dill. Mix in with the potatoes in the dutch oven. Mix Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and 1 1/2 Tbs. melted butter; sprinkle over the top of the potato mixture. Bake using 14 coals on top and 12 on the bottom.

The Finished Product

What I learned

I am still learning to adjust the heat to cook foods properly. I started with to few coals and halfway through cooking I added a few more. So much of learning dutch oven cooking has been learning to adjust the heat according to the weather and the food you are cooking. This isn't something you can learn out of a book. It is mostly experience. Just get out an do it. If I haven't totally ruined something by now, then anyone can do it. Don't be intimidated by the coals. It is so much fun and so frustrating at the same time!

The Review

This was really good. It is total comfort food, and the dill was a nice addition. My family really liked it and it worked well in the dutch oven. Next time I will add more ham, maybe increase it to 1 cup. This recipe gets an A-.