Left Over Cheese Au Gratin Potatoes

Not a very inspired title, but this is an excellent and hardy one dish meal. What does a carnivore love next-best to meat? Potatoes.


INGREDIENTS:

Several large POTATOES with thin skins, washed well
I medium sized yellow ONIONS, sliced.
2 cloves GARLIC, minced
Three links of apple vegetarian SAUSAGE sliced thin, (for a sweeter taste), or 1/2 package Gimmee Lean sausage
1/2 stick MARGARINE
1/2 cup FLOUR
6 cups MILK
All the leftover CHEESE you can find in the fridge (within reason) and of any variety, the more mix the better! Shred it. About 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese is a good amount.
1 Large "head" of  fresh BROCCOLI, most of stalk discarded and florets sliced in half.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place broccoli in steamer, start steaming. Keep an eye on it, you want it about 80% cooked. 

Meanwhile, in 1/4 stick of margarine saute sausage until a little golden, add onion and saute over medium heat until carmalized. Add garlic, saute another minute or two. Put aside.

Melt remaining 1/4 stick butter in good sized pot over medium heat.  Pour 4 cups milk in with melted butter and when it is heated but not boiling, add cheese and stir while melting. In separate bowl or large measuring cup whisk flour into 2 cups cold milk until dissolved into a thin paste.

When all the cheese is melted, slowly pour flour/milk mixture into the pot, whisking as you go to incorporate and thicken milk/cheese sauce. Remove from heat.

Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Put down a layer thick enough to cover bottom. Spoon all of broccoli onto the layer of potatoes in the casserole. Next, put down another layer of potatoes. 

Spray deep casserole dish well with Pam on bottom and sides. Ladle some cheese sauce evenly over potatoes. Add all of sausage and onion mixture and spread out evenly. Ladle generously with sauce.  Add one last layer of potatoes, ladle remaining sauce over it, allow to soak down through the layers. Look at sides of casserole.  If there is not enough sauce to reach almost to the top layer, slowly pour in 2% or whole milk so that it comes up enough to see it touch the bottom of that last layer of potatoes.

Place in oven, bake an hour or more until the top is golden and the sauce bubbly. Probe to the potatoes in the inner center layers with a fork to make sure they are cooked soft and poke easily. If they are not done and the casserole is looking dry, add some more milk and return to the oven, cover top with tin foil if it is danger of burning.

Let set a few minutes after removing from the oven and serve. Enjoy!