Au Gratin Potatoes

Jeff loves Au Gratin Potatoes so I decided to make them from scratch for his b-day dinner.  Everyone who would try them loved them...i.e. me, Jeff and Amelia.  : )  And they're really not hard to make. 
The original recipe calls for sliced onions to be layered with the potatoes, but I just used a little onion powder in the sauce instead, since Jeff would not have eaten these otherwise.  : )

Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
1 onion, sliced into thin rings (or about 1/4 tsp. onion powder)
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. milk
1 1/2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese *

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
Layer 1/2 of the potatoes into the bottom of the prepared dish.  Top with the onion slices, if using, and add the remaining potatoes on top of the onions. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Mix in the flour and salt, and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute.  Stir in milk.  Cook until mixture has thickened.  Stir in cheese all at once, and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds.  Pour cheese over the potatoes, and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Bake 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until potatoes are done.

(To speed it up a bit, I pre-cooked the potatoes in the microwave for about 10 minutes and then sliced them up.  Then I only had to bake this for about 30-40 minutes in the oven.)

Serves 4

Recipe from allrecipes.com