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Aunt Marge knows when to make her succumb and she will never have the choice but to say yes. By “she” I mean Lizzie. And Lizzie is my favorite cousin. Lizzie and I have a lot of things in common and that includes our taste in music, our taste in food, our taste in guys, and even our taste in clothes. The only difference between the two of us is that I am still quite scared of my parents and she isn’t. She was a bit of a rebel when we were young. Not really the “I’ll-break-my-parents-hearts” type of rebel, but more like she doesn’t really go with the norm. She didn’t wear skirts, which her sisters always wore. She never learned how to cook because that wasn’t what she wanted to do. She never listened to anyone except to herself.

Aunt Marge and her husband have long since stopped asking her to do things. But whenever they needed to, she has a secret weapon in hand—her potatoes au gratin. Other than the fact that Lizzie loved potatoes, Aunt Marge’s version was to die for, I swear! I almost asked her to adopt me until I remembered that I would miss Mom’s fruit pies and meat stews. Whenever Aunt Marge served Lizzie her favorite dish in the whole world, she could make her do anything. Even if it’s to wear the loveliest purple gown in her sister’s wedding.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Confessions of a Confectionista.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: You can substitute some ingredients with your preferred ones.

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.

We Guarantee There Won’t Be Any Leftovers

My life is all about quick and easy recipes! At least on weekdays, when I am swamped with work.

I’ll save the more time consuming recipes for the weekend – although I must say this particular dish is so yummy, I would happily serve this for a special occasion! You only need a few minutes to prepare this, and just a half an hour in the oven to bake it. I call that a winner recipe for all the busy moms out there!

The original recipe used homemade buttermilk biscuits but since time is of the essence here, I used canned ones instead. This dish turned out so beautifully my husband would have eaten it all at once! I basically had to hide it from him before that happened… Feel free to add more of your favorite vegetables to make this even lighter, or just to change the flavors a little every time you make this.

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Quick Tip: This recipe serves 6-8.

If It’s This Delicious, It Can’t Be Healthy… Right?

My younger brother was the pickiest eater on the face of the Earth when he was young. Seriously!

He had about 5 to 10 dishes he liked (very carefully chosen, of course) and everything else was just inedible to him. My Mom would stress over his health because he sure wasn’t going to eat his veggies, no matter what she tried to serve him. That’s why we were stunned when we found out there was this one vegetable dish he really liked.

I remember my Mom telling me it was a pure accident she discovered that veggie dish. She happened to have potatoes, tomatoes and onions and decided to make a veggie casserole as a side dish for the salmon she was cooking. My brother didn’t even touch the salmon but for some reason I can’t understand, he wanted to have a taste of the veggie casserole. He loved it!

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Quick Tip: Oven timings may vary. Note the browning on top to know when to stop.

My Grandma Used To Make These All The Time, Yummy!

I love all kinds of vegetables, but I know quite a few people who are not as fond of them as I am.

I have no idea why – at first I thought maybe they didn’t have that many vegetable dishes when they were growing up. Then again, I’m not sure I did, either. Growing up on a farm we obviously ate them, but vegetable were never emphasized in our diet, in any way. Even when we had veggies, there was always some kind of meat mixed into the dish.

So I never had vegetable patties at home. The first time I ever tried them was in school and I immediately fell in love! And you can imagine they weren’t the fresh type of veggie patties one makes at home – no, they were those industrially made, frozen patties and yet, I loved them. So, this recipe right here? This one totally blew my mind.

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Quick Tip: You can make these with any type of veggies – use a different mixture each time!

Enjoy a Delightful Dinner Without a Massive Clean-Up!

Did Christmas eat a hole through your pocket? If you’re anything like me, you probably spent way too much money on presents, good food and excellent wine.

Which was lovely, but now it’s going to take until March to get things back the way they used to be. For me that means trying to find ways to get my budget back on track – and most importantly, trying to find ways to fit into my jeans again.

This is a great example of simple, yet delicious meals that can help you out in these kind of situations. This lean meat and potato casserole is such a budget-friendly dish; it’ll only cost you a few bucks to make dinner for your whole family! And let’s not forget about the waistline… Since this casserole is made of low fat ingredients, it’s the perfect meal for anyone who wants to lose a pound or two.

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Quick Tip: Instead of cheese slices, you can use any shredded cheese on top of the casserole.

I am not a veggie person. Never have been, and I never will. At least I think I will not, anyways. Well, my husband is. He loves a good hearty serving of veggies with every meal I serve. Pasta? He wants some broccoli. Mashed potatoes? He wants some corn. Burgers? He wants a good side salad. Anything I can make, he wants a side of veggies with.

That is why I learned to put together dishes that require veggies to be put together with the meat immediately and all cooked at once. It saves me time and makes less mess and I absolutely love how easy it is to put together. My husband really loves dishes like this, too. If he had to choose, all his meals would be one pot meals where all the food is mixed together into one big hearty mess! That is his cup of tea, and still not mine, but I will make it for him often. I have grown to like dishes like these, thanks to recipes like the one I am sharing with you today. I love that it is a big pot of veggies with meat. It is easy and delicious.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Teaspoon of Goodness

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Quick Tip: Stir occasionally and add a bit of water if you feel it is getting dry.