When I was growing up, I thought I hated scalloped potatoes. I don't know if it was the name of them (It kind of sounds like scalped), or I once had some bad ones, or what, but I was convinced they were repulsive. Then I actually tasted them, and discovered just how very wrong I was. Scalloped potatoes, in fact, may be among the all-time best dishes ever concocted.

Creamy, cheesy, and rich, scalloped potatoes are perfect for holidays and any day really. They compliment most simple meat dishes, and they're so versatile, they can be adapted to accommodate most tastes. Here are seven great scalloped potato recipes to try:

Dear Maker of Peeps,

You create, possibly, my favorite candy of all time. It just doesn't get any better than marshmallows covered in sugar ... in the shape of cute little bunnies. And to top it all off you deliver so many fabulous colors of bunnies! You really bring out the kid in me — every. single. year!

You see, as a child I was deprived. We don't celebrate Easter and so there were never any peeps to hunt for in our backyard. But as an adult I have taken things into my own hands. I go peep crazy ... but I do it the day after Easter! Tomorrow, when Easter is officially over, I will head out to my local supermarket and get my peeps at a sweet 75% off! And then I will share them with my kids, and maybe even do a little bunny show with them.

You say Easter (or any holiday), and I say, I'll bring the green bean casserole. Not because it's one of my favorite dishes to prepare, but because I must eat it on every holiday and want to make sure it's served. It's tradition, and it's good.

Sure some may eschew and mock it as not being fancy enough fare, but you know they all secretly love it.  Of course, there are ways to make it beyond the whole condensed soup and canned onions method to please a more sophisticated palette. Here are six alternative recipes for green bean casserole to please almost any eater.

By now, the bonnets should have been bought, the eggs dyed, meal prepped, and the Easter Bunny fully prepared with loot for your little ones' baskets for the big day tomorrow -- Easter Sunday. Only if you're like me, you have a crowd of people coming for dinner and nothing yet to serve them, dye-less eggs begging for some color, and an ongoing prayer in your head: Please let there be jelly beans left when I make it to Target sometime tonight.

What can I say; it's been a busy week. I love Easter Sunday and all its traditions, and one way or another I'll get it all done. But it will be a race to the festive finish line, for sure. If you're like me, and still have a few things that need to be wrapped up before tomorrow morning (or all of them), here are some last-minute Easter tips.

Eggs are yummy scrambled, fried, and especially baked inside a chocolate cake -- but lots of people draw the line at hard-boiled. This writer included. And that's a shame because besides being such an easy dish, hard cooked eggs are so nutritious and a great lunch or snack, packed with vitamin A, protein, B12, and omega-3s if they are fortified.

So today's egg hunt included recipes that even the most die-hard, hard-boiled egg-phobes would sample. You gotta cook the main ingredient first and there are lots of opinions on what works best. (This is what I do for Easter eggs and it's usually foolproof: Submerge eggs in a saucepan of water, cover, bring water to boil, turn off heat, let eggs sit for 15 minutes, remove from pan, and let cool for 2 minutes before peeling.)

With that out of the way, on to 3 really yummy hard-boiled egg recipes I'm even tempted to try:

Can you find the Easter egg in the picture? I know, it's a bit tough to spot. See, who said an indoor Easter egg hunt was no fun?! For city kiddos that live in apartments or those that live where there's snow on the ground come Easter Sunday, an indoor hunt is their only option. Sigh.

Don't feel bad for them though ... the parents, that's another story. Trying to come up with good hiding spots around the house can be challenging, but leave it to us here at The Stir to help out. We have the best indoor hiding spots for all of your eggs -- dyed, plastic, and chocolate!

Although the "Get Up and Go!"-themed White House Easter Egg Roll this coming Monday, April 25 will feature 14,500 traditional hard-boiled eggs, the souvenir ones for the kiddos aren't going to be the kind that spoils. Instead, children (under 12 years old) will receive take-home eggs made from sustainable wood. The wood used to make the colorful egg-replicas was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which verifies the wood's sustainable production from the forest of origin through the supply chain.

The souvenir eggs will be available in four different pastel colors and feature the stamped signatures of President Obama and the First Lady.

Plus, the packaging for the souvenir egg is also designed to be recyclable. It's made from paperboard, "uses no wood fibers from controversial sources," and features eco-friendly vegetable oil-based inks and water-based coating.

There's nothing that says "SPRING!" quite like seeing that brightly colored aisle in your local drugstore filled with Peeps and Cadbury Creme Eggs. But by now, that aisle's been there for a few weeks, and if you jumped to buy the first batch laid out in stores, you may even have stale Easter candy lying around. What's one to do with that?? Make other food, of course!

It seems there's a counterculture of chefs out there who have been going out of their way to multitask with Easter candy. Why not? These candies only come around once a year (well, with the exception of those silly Peeps that have infiltrated holidays like Valentine's Day and Halloween in recent years), so why not use them up in loads of creative -- albeit somewhat crazy -- ways?