Bacon & Maple Scalloped Potatoes

Alright, to get things started today - please defer to my last post for my excuses for the horrible photo quality and lack of photos in this post. I wouldn't be sharing this with you except that it tasted so good that I just can't resist.

I made these Bacon & Maple Scalloped Potatoes for our Easter dinner and they were soooo unbelievably delicious. I normally don't like Kraft recipes because of the overabundance of processed food they promote, but this recipe wasn't too bad and with a few minor swaps I found myself a dish that I will make over and over again.

Bacon & Maple Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe minimally adapted from Kraft Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 oz low fat cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 7 slices lazy maple bacon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:

1. Heat oven to 400F. Cook bacon until crisp in a frying pan over medium heat. Set aside on some paper towel to drain. Remove all but 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings from the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add the onions. Sautee five minutes until very tender, stir frequently. Remove the onions from the skillet and set aside.
2. Add the cream cheese, broth and milk to the skillet and heat until the cream cheese has melted nicely into the sauce. Stir with a whisk until sauce is smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and crumble the bacon into the sauce and add the maple syrup. Stir well.
3. Place half the potatoes in a 9x13" baking dish in an even layer. Cover with a layer of onions and sprinkle with cheddar. Top with a layer of potatoes and repeat layers of onions and cheddar. Finally end with a last layer of potatoes. Pour bacon-maple sauce over potatoe layers. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, removing the foil after 50 minutes in the oven. Potatoes are done when top is golden brown and potatoes are tender.

We really, really enjoyed this one! My hubby doesn't normally eat leftovers, but he eagerly gobbled these potatoes up in the few days following Easter. :) I love the new twist on what is usually such a tried and true classic dish.

This post has been linked up with the Recipe Party over at the Sweet Spot. Stop by and check out what other bloggers have whipped up this week.
Happy Cooking my Friends!