8ouncessharp cheddarshredded (or cheese of your choice)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, brown the hamburger/turkey. Drain off any excess fat, and mix in the onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
In the meantime, place a layer of potato slices in the bottom of a 2- to 3-quart casserole dish with a lid (it's fine if the potatoes overlap a bit if you have lots).
Dump half the meat mixture on top of the potatoes and spread it evenly.
Place another layer of potatoes in the dish and cover with the remaining meat mixture.
Finish out with a final layer of potatoes.
Set the dish aside and make your cheese sauce (you can use the same skillet).
Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour to make a roux and stir for about a minute to cook the flour taste out.
Add the milk and salt and pepper and whisk to break up any clumps.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to stir regularly to keep the milk from scalding. Once the mixture is thick and bubbling, remove it from heat (mine would not thicken to save my life, so I ended up adding quite a bit more flour, a little at a time, until I got a “sauce” consistency).
Add the cheese and stir until it is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the cheese sauce over top of the potatoes and meat. Shake the dish a bit to help work the sauce down into the entire dish.
Place the covered dish in the oven for about 1-1/2 hours, taking the lid off for the last 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender and the top is browned.