Popalak AKA Potato Pizza

I don't know where the name Popalak came from except that I know it from my mother in law. This is what my husband's family calls it. This post is dedicated to her with great amounts of love.
My MIL was able to feed a very large family for very little money with her creative recipes. Sometimes I have learned that what she calls something isn't what other people think that thing is.
For Popalak, I don't even see it being something that other people think is even a thing : )
I tried to Google it.
It's really good, pretty easy to make, inexpensive for a large family.
It also probably has almost zero nutritional value. When we make this, it's because it's a comfort food on a cold winter day. Not for healthy eating reasons.

Here's what you need:

1 pizza crust in a tube (like a crescent roll container, only it's pizza crust)
5 lbs potatoes. You can use which ever type you like best.
10 slices of American cheese.
Onion salt 
Pepper
20 oz shredded mozzarella cheese.
Paprika
Baking spray

Baking spray, aluminum foil or a cover for your pan, and a 13x9 glass pan. 

Cut your potatoes in half and then quarter them again. Plop them into a pan of water (make sure the water covers them)  and get them boiling on the stove. Your going to boil them until they are just tender when stuck with a fork.

In the mean time, spray the bottom of your 13x9 baking pan and lay the pizza crust over the bottom only of the pan.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Lay your slices of American cheese over the pizza crust. Now you wait until your potatoes are ready.

Again, you want to boil them just until a fork can easily be stuck in them, but don't go too far or they'll be mushy.
Drain your potatoes, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and drain all water.
Use your shredder and grate the potatoes over the pizza crust and cheese in the pan. You will be making an even layer here, Maybe an inch tall.

Most of the parts of this recipe can be adjusted for your taste. Less potato, more potato. Less cheese, different cheese. Add diced onions, what ever you want. 
Season with onion salt and pepper.
Once you have your potato layer, you will add your mozzeralla cheese layer.
Add paprika, cover with aluminum foil and bake for about a half hour.
You will know it's done when the pizza crust is a beautiful golden brown on the bottom.

While the oven is already hot, why not make a Cherry Dump Cake for dessert?



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