New Year's Party

I remember New Year's Eve of 1989. I was living in Wilmington, DE, and my friends and I got dressed up and hit the city. We counted down to midnight, drank and danced until the band packed up and continues the festivities back at our apartment.

And while some things are the same 20 years later, many things have changed.

I'm back in Delaware, after 18 years in Virginia. But this year our New Year's celebration involved a homemade dinner with a dear friend from high school and his 5-year-old son who were visiting for the night. The kids were asleep by 9, and the only way we knew the calendar had switched to the beginning of a new decade was when we heard the neighbors outside counting down the last 5 seconds of 2009.

I think it was a change for the better!

For dinner I figured I'd try out a few new recipes, and I have to thank Tracy for this one.

New Year's Eve Potatoes

1 2-lb. package frozen shredded hash browns

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 stick butter, melted and divided

Preheat oven to 350 F. Thaw potatoes enough to separate (see note). Mix together potatoes, cheese, sour cream, soup and 4 T butter. Spray a 13x9" pan with baking spray. Spread potato mixture evenly in pan. Drizzle with remaining melted butter, spread and bake until golden, about 1 1/2 hours.

Note: The store was all out of frozen shredded hash browns, so I substituted 1 1/2 bags of the fresh shredded potatoes that you can find in the refrigerator section.