It's Not About Nutrition

You ever have one of those weeks where everything in the fridge is just… staring at you? I had one of those last Tuesday. I’d done the big grocery run on Sunday—full of ambition, full of ideas. You know how it goes. But come midweek, I was tired, dinner needed to happen, and I had exactly 20 minutes of energy left in me. What I did have? A handful of zucchini, a splash of cream, and half a block of Parmesan that needed using up. And let me tell you—this casserole? It turned my tired, slightly cranky evening into the …

There’s something about cheesy potato casserole that just… feels like home, doesn’t it? I can’t even count how many times I’ve made this dish — holidays, Sunday suppers, potlucks, “just because it’s Tuesday” nights. And you know what? It never, ever lasts long. Someone’s always scraping the corners of the dish, trying to sneak “just one more spoonful.” My mom used to make something like this — creamy, cheesy, bubbling over the edges of her old Pyrex dish. It was the kind of recipe she didn’t even need to write down. And now? It’s one of those comfort dishes I …

I’ll tell you right now—this recipe is pure comfort with a green twist. And every time I make it, I think of my Aunt Lou, who used to cook like her oven had healing powers. One spring, after a rough week—my youngest had the flu, the fridge broke, and I spilled coffee in my purse (yes, inside my purse)—I opened my freezer and found a foil-covered surprise from Aunt Lou: her asparagus casserole. I cried into my dinner that night, not because I was sad, but because it tasted like someone had wrapped me in a blanket and said, “You’re …

I’ll be honest — I didn’t grow up eating onion casserole. In our house, onions were something you cooked with, not the star of the show. But years ago, I was at a potluck down in Mobile, Alabama, and this sweet little church lady handed me a scoop of something golden and bubbly and said, “Just try it, sugar.” Lord have mercy. One bite in, I had questions. What is this? Why have I never had it? And how soon is too soon to go back for seconds? Turns out it was a Vidalia onion casserole — creamy, savory, sweet, …

Like, the kind of night where your socks don’t match, you’ve opened the fridge 12 times like something new’s gonna appear, and you’re this close to ordering something sad and soggy online? Yeah. That was me. Standing there, blank stare, freezer door open, wondering if string cheese counts as dinner. But then I spotted that bag of frozen spinach I’d been avoiding (I mean, why does spinach always feel like a commitment?), and I remembered a thing I made once that actually turned out really, really good. Like, “huh, I’d serve this to someone else” kind of good. So I …

A warm, saucy hug on a plate So, let me just paint you a picture: It’s 5:23 PM, I’m still in my yoga pants (and not a lick of yoga happened), the kids are suddenly starving, the laundry’s yelling at me from the hamper, and I’ve got exactly zero energy left. Sound familiar? That’s when this beauty of a dish swooped in and saved my night. I threw together some frozen meatballs, slathered ‘em in marinara, made a gooey cheese sauce, and layered it all on top of crispy Texas toast. Baked it up, and bam — it tasted like …

The one side dish I didn’t expect to love this much, but now I can’t live without. I’ll be real with you: I wasn’t planning on impressing anyone when I made this the first time. It was the day before Thanksgiving, I was already knee-deep in pie crusts and to-do lists, and I had two bags of frozen spinach in the freezer that had been sitting there since… well, let’s just say they’d been there a while. I was tired, the dog was barking at nothing, and my kitchen timer had just broken. But I needed a green veggie dish. …

A cheesy, golden bake that saves the day when your garden won’t stop spitting out zucchini. Let me just say this: if you’ve ever stared down a pile of zucchini and thought, “I cannot sauté another one of you,” this one’s for you. A few summers back, I had more zucchini than sense. I was digging through the freezer looking for something—probably a pie crust I never found—and spotted a bag of corn. My brain just kinda… connected the dots. I grabbed a box of Jiffy cornbread mix from the pantry, shredded a couple of squash, tossed in a jalapeño …

Okay… you know when the day’s been a lot? The kind where the laundry’s still on the couch, your phone’s buzzing with things you forgot to do, and everyone in the house somehow expects you to still make dinner like it’s not a circus in here? Yeah. That’s exactly when I reach for this Mexican Ground Beef Casserole. It’s not fancy. It’s not one of those recipes with a bunch of words you gotta Google. But Lord, is it good. It’s cheesy and saucy and full of bold, warm flavor. It tastes like something that took hours — but really, …

It was one of those chilly Saturdays in late October. The kind where the trees are showing off, the dogs are curled up in every warm patch of sun, and all you want is something that makes the house smell like you’ve been cooking all day (even if you’ve barely been out of your slippers). I had a few sweet potatoes on the counter and some lonely Brussels sprouts in the fridge — and before I knew it, this casserole was born. And honey, let me just say — this one’s a keeper. It’s got everything: savory chicken, caramelized veggies, …