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You Probably Already Have These Ingredients In Your Pantry!

I love budget-friendly dinners! I grew up in a home where I learned to appreciate everything I had. My parents were farmers (we had a very small farm) so from the early years of my life, I learned what it took to provide for a large family. I also learned that a great meal, or a great life in general, is never about how much money you have and how expensive things you can buy. Even when I have some extra savings, I like to purchase inexpensive things and keep the money in my bank account for something special.

That’s why I got so excited when I came across this recipe! It uses the simplest of ingredients that you’ll probably already have at hand, or you can get them for just a few bucks. This casserole is easy to prepare and it’s a hearty meal for your whole family, as the recipe serves 4-6.

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Quick Tip: You can use any ground meat for this dish.

Just The Way My Mom Always Made This!

Many, many years ago (I had to be honest there, even though it seems like yesterday) my Mom used to cook this lovely dish that was one of my absolute favorites.

My parents had a small farm, where we grew a lot of our own vegetables, including potatoes. Needless to say, we ate a lot of potatoes throughout the year! But I never grew tired of them – I guess it’s because my Mom is such a great cook. She always turned the simplest of ingredients into these dinner masterpieces that I am now desperately trying to copy.

This dish was something that certainly didn’t last long, and there was no hope of having leftovers the next day! Some people call this moussaka but we didn’t – to me moussaka has always been the Greek dish with eggplants and white sauce.

This one we just simply called potato casserole, and that’s what it is. A simple, layered potato casserole – so delicious that you wish you could lick the casserole dish clean when it’s empty!

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Quick Tip: You could sprinkle a little bit of grated cheese on top, for the last few minutes of baking.

Works EVERY Time!!

Last week I was going through my freezer and pantry, in hopes of having at least something dinner-worthy somewhere, in a hidden corner of my kitchen cabinets… I was having an extremely busy day working from home, and I really didn’t want to spend an hour of my precious time going grocery shopping. Lucky me, I was just able to find the right ingredients for this quick and easy casserole!

I absolutely love recipes like this. That day was crazy and this was such a lifesaver in the middle of all the chaos! It only took a few minutes to throw everything together, the oven will take care of the rest for you. And don’t worry if you don’t happen to have the exact same ingredients at hand! This is a very versatile recipe and you can tweak it as you go, it’ll still be totally delicious. Plus, your kids will love this!

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Quick Tip: Add some frozen veggies into this casserole and you won’t even have to make a side salad!

You Better Not Take My Tater-Tots!

But if you do, throw them in this delicious cheesy casserole! This one takes out some of the guilt of making tater-tots your main staple at dinner time. Once you taste this dish, however, you’ll be thinking up all sorts of ways to eat those favorite tots.

This recipe is obviously a kid pleaser, and is simple and quick to whip up even on a busy weekday. You can hide the veggies under the crispy tots, to fool the kids into thinking they’re not eating healthy! Either way, young and old alike, love this dish. There are many easy ways to make sure this casserole is good for you. You can use lean ground beef, or switch to ground turkey instead.

Use low-fat soup and cheese to cut down on the calories. And, of course, you can add pretty much any of your favorite veggies to make this dish super healthy and lean! I love making a double batch of this and heating the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

Recipe courtesy of Cool Like Dad. Image courtesy of Cook Diary.

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Quick tip: Use your favorite cheese for this casserole.

Here’s a Really Quick And Easy Formula For a Tasty Meal!

I am so in love with slow cooker recipes right now! With all the big family gatherings and huge dinner preparations lately, it’s such a relief to just throw a bunch of ingredients into the crockpot and let it do all the work instead.

Not that I don’t enjoy cooking – I really do, but sometimes other things in life just get in the way. If you want a hearty, “meat and potatoes” sort of meal, this Cheesy Potato, Bean, and Beef Casserole is a great choice. The slow cooker does most of the work for you, with only a very modest amount of prep required. This would also make a wonderful addition to your next BBQ party. It’s filling, warming comfort food, made really easy with the Crock-Pot. Heck, how can you go wrong with just seven ingredients (plus water, salt, and pepper) and four easy steps?

Give this one a try – and don’t forget to let us know in the comments how it turned out for you!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Tasty Gluten-Free Meals

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Quick tip: Serve with fresh, green salad.

If you are itching to make use of some ground beef but want to get away from the usual hamburger or beef taco meals, this Southwest Beef & Mac Casserole is a nice alternative. It gives you the cheese-loaded flavors of the Southwest in about an hour (about half an hour of prepping and cooking and half an hour of baking).

I like to grab a batch of ground beef when I see some on special (yes, it still happens, though you really have to look out for it), but there are only so many burgers and beef tacos that I can handle in a short time span. Don’t get me wrong, I love tacos and certainly enjoy a good burger, now and then, but too much of a good thing in too short a period of time can get really boring, you know? This casserole recipe is a straightforward way to make creative use of that ground beef and put a hearty, filling meal on the table. It also happens to smell nice while you are cooking it and to look really pretty coming out of the oven.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Amanda’s Cookin’

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This curious-looking but delicious-tasting casserole takes only 45 minutes of baking time and about half an hour of prep. And it packs a lot of good flavor in one easy dish without breaking the bank, making it a good family-friendly meal. This casserole may look about like someone slapped a bunch of things against a pile of salty rocks, but trust me: it tastes amazing. All of that cheese really brings everything together nicely!

I went with cheddar, for a bit more of an intense cheese flavor, but I am sure that you could substitute a milder cheese if you prefer. There aren’t any super-fancy ingredients necessary, and since you are browning the ground beef before putting it into the casserole, you just use the most inexpensive grade of it that you can find and drain off the excess fat. You’ll be just fine serving this casserole by itself, though if you like, it also goes nicely with corn, green beans, or most any other simple greens.

Recipe and photo courtesy of 5-Dollar Dinners

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Quick tip: Add a bit of your favorite hot sauce for a spicier flavor!