Recipe(tried): WWII Casserole for one (or more)

Funny you should post the same day that I was thinking about this recipe. My mother got it from a lady on the bus during WWII when meat was rationed. It is inexpensive, nourishing, filling, and tasty--one of our favorite family recipes when money was tight! It is easy to cook enough for a couple meals and by choosing lowfat ingredients, you can cut calories. Size it to your needs.

WWII Casserole

One potato for each serving (decide how big an eater you are--I like russets for this)
Carrot (one per serving)
One hot dog per serving
Onion
Milk
Flour, salt, pepper, butter

Peel the carrots and slice them thinly. Sometimes they don't cook as fast as the potato, so you might want to par-cook them in the microwave briefly.

Slice onion thinly. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (the wide slicer on a four-sided grater is perfect for this--they aren't too expensive in outlet stores). Slice the hot dog thinly.

Butter a small casserole (for one person I sometimes use a grab-it bowl). Layer some potato, onion, carrot, salt, and pepper, then some hot dog slices. Sprinkle with a little flour (I use a total of about a tablespoon for a one-person serving). Continue layering potatoes, etc. ending with a layer of potato on top. Gently pour milk down the side until it doesn't quite come up to the top. Dot the top with some butter, salt, and pepper. Be careful--if it comes too close to the top of the casserole, it might boil over. Protect your oven--burned milk smells!

Bake this in a 350 degree oven for an hour or so. This will thicken up as it bakes. Poke a fork into the potatoes--if you don't feel resistance, it's done.

Variations:

Sprinkle with grated cheese about 10 min. before it is done.

Use 4 oz. of hamburger broken up and fried until it loses it's pink instead of the hot dog. Drain well.

You might add leftover vegetables--be careful they aren't too juicy or you will have soup.