Recipe Background
Grandma's Bologna & Potato Casserole: layers of nostalgia and coziness.
The first time I made Grandma's Bologna & Potato Casserole, it was in the midst of packing boxes during my college move. Whisking together mismatched crockery and palpable anticipation, this dish became my go-to for sustenance and nostalgia. Amidst the chaos of moving into that tiny apartment, I discovered that peeling russet potatoes had a meditative quality. Adding a dash of nutmeg to the mashed potatoes sparked a brightness that cut through my homesickness. I always had cheese, whether sliced American or parmesan, to melt into the comforting layers. It managed to turn those simple ingredients into something celebratory, like a crown for new beginnings.
After a day of hauling furniture and realizing just how few hangers I owned, I whipped together this casserole. Using a dishtowel to help secure the saucepan, I mashed the potatoes to the rhythm of traffic outside my window. Layering buttery potatoes with creamy cheese and bologna slices felt almost like painting a canvas of familiar flavors. A quick tip I picked up: letting the mashed potatoes cool slightly before layering helps them keep form. As the scent filled every corner of my new space, my heart felt like home again. The first bite was a miraculous blend of cheesy warmth and anticipation for what lay ahead.
It's in these moments—carefully folding potato layers and sprinkling with nutmeg—that I found a fresh chapter minting a way-back-from-class comfort, a dish that somehow made an unfamiliar place my own.
Ingredients
- 3 medium potatoes such as russet, peeled and quartered
- water to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- ground nutmeg to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- cheese slices such as American, to taste
- bologna slices to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Coat a 9x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the potatoes and enough of the water to cover them.
- Add the salt to the water, then boil until they are fork-tender.
- Drain the water and return the cooked potatoes to the saucepan.
- Use a potato masher to mash the cooked potatoes.
- Add the butter, the milk, the nutmeg, the salt, and the black pepper to the mashed potatoes and stir to combine.
- Place the saucepan over low heat. Add the parmesan to the mashed potatoes and heat, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted and combined.
- Evenly spread a layer of the mashed potatoes on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Add some of the cheese slices and some of the bologna slices in an even layer on top of the mashed potato layer. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients until all of the ingredients are used and the baking dish is full.
- Bake the casserole until it is heated through and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
- Serve.
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