One of our staples when I was a child was potatoes. My Dad sometimes did the cooking for all of us. One of his favorite dishes was what he called "potato cakes".
He grated raw potatoes, placed a layer of potatoes in a cast iron skillet (it took two to feed all of us), shredded left over meat on top of the layer of potatoes, added left over vegetables and placed another layer of shredded potatoes on top and covered.
When the potatoes were golden brown on the bottom, he slid the contents of the turned over skillet unto a plate and slid the un-browned side of the potato cake back into the skillet. When it was browned on the bottom, he sprinkled cheese onto it and sliced like a pie to serve.
We usually had baking powder biscuits to go along with it and home canned applesauce.
My Dad was a logger and I was the oldest of six children, money was scarce. My mother seemed to be able to make simple foods taste good and we always had something to eat, but we always liked it best when Dad cooked. He was an old hillbilly.