What's Cooking at the Smiths: Happy New Year!

It's so hard to believe that 2012 has come and gone! I guess the old saying is true, "time flies when you're having fun". We were so blessed in 2012 and I know 2013 will not disappoint! I began tracking my love of cooking on here in 2012 and plan to continue this year as well. I already started the year {well technically ended the year and started the new year} with a few new recipes!

While most people were out and about on New Year's Eve Britt and I were at home. We chose to cook at home and enjoy each other's company instead of going out into the crowds! We also saved A LOT of money by cooking at home...one of our new year's "resolutions" is to be more money conscious. We had steak, twice baked potatoes, and cheesy asparagus for dinner {our meal total was less than $25!}. The meal did not disappoint, either.

Steak, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Cheesy Asparagus

We marinated the steak in olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder {Britt was in charge of the meat, so no pictures...sorry!}.

Twice Baked Potatoes
2 large baking potatoes
Butter
Sour Cream
Cream Cheese
Milk
Cheddar Cheese {shredded}
5 slices of bacon {crumbled}
Green Onions {diced}
Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash potatoes and pierce witha knife. Wrap the potatoes in foil and bake for about an hour. I had to nuke them in the microwave after an hour because of timing with the other food.

Let the potatoes cool for about 10 minutes on a baking sheet. Once potatoes have cooled a bit, cut off the top 1/3 of the potatoes and scoop the "pulp" into a bowl. Put oven on 350 degrees F.

Add butter, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, cheese, 3 slices of crumbled bacon, green onions, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the potato "pulp". Use an electric mixer to whip the potato mixture until smooth.

Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Then sprinkle more cheese and the remaining bacon on top of potatoes and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Top with remaining green onion and serve.

Cheesy Asparagus
I got this recipe from Marlye Armstrong back at New Year's last year. It is so good that Britt and I continue to make it!
2 lbs. of asparagus
3 cups of water
2 tbsp of unsalted butter
2 tbsp of flour
3/4 cup of parmesan cheese {shredded}
1/2 cup of monterey jack cheese {shredded}
Salt and Pepper to taste

Snap ends of asparagus off and set aside. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add asparagus ends and 1/4 tsp of salt and cook for 5 minutes. Remove ends and add asparagus stalks to the water. Cover and cook for 4 minutes.

Take asparagus out of the water and let cool on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 1 cup of the water that asparagus was cooked in.

In a medium size skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir until golden {about 1 minute}.

Whisk in asparagus water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture becomes thick.

Take mixture off of the heat and whisk in 1/2 cup of parmesan and 1/2 cup of monterey jack. Mix until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Put asparagus in a shallow baking dish and drizzle the cheese sauce over the center of the asparagus. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Broil on high until asparagus is tender and the cheese is golden {about 5-10 minutes}.

Add some bread to this meal and you have a home-cooked gourmet meal for a 1/3 of the price you would pay in a restaurant!

Our New Year's Eve meal was great. But we didn't want to stop with the good food there. We ended the year with a tasty meal, so why not start the year with tasty treats too?! My mother-in-law sent me the Southern Living Christmas cook book back at the beginning of December and we were too busy to try any of the recipes. So Britt sat down when we got back from all of our Christmas happenings and found a couple of recipes he wanted me to try on New Year's Day.

First thing's first, breakfast! We had cheddar cheese grits casserole and sausage.
Cheddar Cheese Grits Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring milk just to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in butter and grits. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly for 5-7 minutes or until grits are done. Remove from the heat.

Stir in egg, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Pour into an 11x17 greased baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until mixture is set. Serve immediately.

Being that it's New Year's Day we all know that there is A LOT of football on TV today! Britt requested a snack to eat during the games. He found a loaded baked potato dip in the SL Cookbook, too. It's so easy to prepare. I made it while the grit casserole was baking.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip