Scalloped potatoes and ham

I don't know how well this dish is known, but it is something I grew up with and it is definitely in the comfort food category. I think I saw a version in an Amish cookbook and since my mother made it, I guess it may be German in origin. When Mom made scalloped potatoes, she just sprinkled flour over cubed potatoes and some butter, then poured milk over the top and baked it. For a main dish she added ham cubes. Me, I gotta have a recipe. Following is my adapted recipe from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook Mom gave me when I first moved out on my own:

2# white potatoes (about 6 medium)

4 T margarine

4 T AP flour

1 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

3 C milk

1 small onion chopped

2 C cubed ham

1 T margarine

Melt 3 T margarine in a small saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add milk, cook and stir over medium heat to make a white sauce. Lightly grease a 2 Q casserole with lid. Pare and slice the potatoes thin. Put a thin layer of sauce in the casserole. Add 1/3 of the potatoes, half of the ham and onions. Top with 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat. Add the remaining potatoes and sauce. Dot with the 1 T margarine. Bake covered for 40 minutes at 325. Remove lid, bake for 60-70 minutes more. Remove from oven. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Mom has been gone about fifteen years now. The foods I learned in her kitchen remain my most cherished connection to her.