This casserole belongs on a plate with roast beef, rice, and gravy for Sunday lunch. We probably didn’t have it every Sunday, but it was often part of the standard after-church meal. I’m a little surprised that as children we ate asparagus, but Daddy always said we’d eat anything with Mama’s cheese sauce on it!

　　

Ingredients

serves 8

　　4 tablespoons butter

　　4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

　　Asparagus liquid plus enough milk to equal 2 cups

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　5 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

　　2 15-ounce cans asparagus spears, drained, liquid reserved

　　4 hard-boiled eggs, cracked and peeled

　　1/2 cup saltine cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

　　

Step 2

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for 1 minute, and then whisk in the milk and the asparagus liquid. Add the salt and continue cooking until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the grated cheese and stir until it’s melted, about 1 minute.

　　

Step 3

Arrange the asparagus in the bottom of a 9 x 12 x 2-inch baking dish, alternating the stem ends so each serving includes both heads and stems. Thinly slice the eggs and arrange them over the asparagus. Pour the cheese sauce over the eggs and asparagus and sprinkle with the cracker crumbs. Bake the casserole for 20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned and bubbles appear around the edges.

　　

From Beth

Step 4

You can substitute fresh asparagus for canned, but be sure to trim the tough ends and steam before using. Because you won’t have any extra asparagus liquid from the can, use 2 cups milk.

　　

From Gwen

Step 5

Using the liquid from the canned asparagus intensifies the flavor of the sauce.

　　Reprinted with permission from Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen: Recipes from My Family to Yours by Trisha Yearwood with Gwen Yearwood and Beth Yearwood Bernard. Copyright © 2008 by Trisha Yearwood. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Trisha Yearwood is a three-time Grammy-award winning country music star and the author of the bestselling cookbook Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. She is married to megastar Garth Brooks.