Easy Asian Stir-Fry

This recipe was in the Sunday paper's Parade magazine not too long ago. It uses all my favorite veggies (asparagus, broccoli and zucchini) so I had to give it a try. It was surprisingly flavorful despite being pretty much veggies and soy sauce. I loved it and I loved that I felt good eating it! (and it makes lots, so be prepared for leftovers!)

Ingredients:
1 each green, orange and red bell pepper (I used yellow instead of green)
2 large zucchini
1/2 onion
1 head broccoli
15 asparagus spears
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil (I used sesame oil)
2 T soy sauce (I used low-sodium)
salt and black pepper
(I also sprinkled some ground ginger on it)

Directions:
1. Chop or slice all of the vegetables into bite size pieces.
2. Lightly oil a wok or skillet; heat over low until very hot.
3. Add the garlic; saute to a golden brown.
4. Add all the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste. Increase the heat to medium and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the veggies are crisp-tender.
5. Add the soy sauce and stir well to blend.
6. Transfer to a large bowl, adjust season and serve with rice (I used jasmine rice).

Asparagus Carbonara

I loved the asparagus in this Rachael Ray pasta dish...and the garlic! It was pretty light and a great summer dinner, not to mention a yummy lunch the next day. I'll sub turkey bacon next time to keep it lighter.

Ingredients:
* 2 large eggs
* 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 3/4 pound spaghetti (I used gluten-free)
* 1 bunch asparagus, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 5 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 1/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
* Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and cheese. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, adding the asparagus during the last minute of cooking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the hot pasta and asparagus to egg mixture; toss to coat.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, stir in the garlic. Add the wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta, adding enough of the reserved pasta water to moisten; season with salt and pepper.

My Favorite Roasted Asparagus

After discovering recently how much I love asparagus I began trying out different ways to prepare it. One of those used soy sauce and I really loved the salty, tangy flavor it added. Now whenever I make it to go with a dinner (which is pretty much anytime it goes on sale...and hooray it's coming into season now!), this is what I do...

*Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
*Take one bunch of asparagus and lay them out on a foil lined baking sheet.
*Drizzle with olive oil and soy sauce (approx 1-2 T of each depending on the amount of asparagus).
*Sprinkle generously with freshly ground pepper and sparingly with kosher salt.
*Roast in oven for 7 minutes, stir them around a little bit and then bake 3 more minutes.

Seriously SOOOO good! I could eat the whole pan by myself, I LOVE it!

Spring Brunch Bake

This was my contribution to our family Easter brunch yesterday (hence the hurried picture before it was devoured :-). I knew it was risky trying a new recipe to share with everyone, but I just thought it looked so good (and I'm on an asparagus kick right now), so I went for it. Luckily, it was delicious. It was also easy to prepare and not too bad for you in comparison to most breakfast bakes. (the recipe was in some junk mail trying to get me to buy a Taste of Home cookbook)

Ingredients:
8 cups cubed French bread
2 cups cut fresh asparagus (1-in pieces)
1 cup cubed fully cooked lean ham (I just realized I put in 2 :-). I used lunch meat)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
6 egg whites
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups FF milk
2 T lemon juice
1/4 t garlic powder

Directions:
-In a large bowl, combine bread, asparagus, ham and cheese.
-Whisk egg whites, eggs, milk, lemon juice and garlic powder; pour over the bread mixture and stir until blended.
-Transfer to a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.
-Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
-Uncover and bake 8-10 minutes longer or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
-Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Sesame Asparagus

Since asparagus is my new favorite vegetable, I was excited to try this as a side when I saw it on Favorites. It was REALLY good! I added some extra soy sauce to ours. The girls still don't want much to do with asparagus besides their required one bite, but I'm hoping eventually they'll learn to love it...I know I do!

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus, ends snapped off
2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Mix sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, sesame seeds, water, salt and pepper. Place Asparagus in a skillet and pour sauce over the asparagus. Heat to boiling. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

Amazing Beef Stir Fry

After reading all about how delicious this was on Taste Buds I couldn't wait to give it a try! And it was definitely a winner! As it was cooking I had the thought that it would have been a good St. Patrick's Day dinner too with all the green veggies. The sauce was flavorful but still light and a cinch to make. You could put any veggies/meat you want with it and I'm sure it would be delicious, but these ones made me feel nice healthy for having eaten them :-)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin, top round or flank steak
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic; minced
2 cups asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup edamame

3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp corn starch
2 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
Combine ingredients for stir fry sauce and set aside.
Thinly slice steak across grain into strips (you can place meat in freezer for about 15-20 min to make this a little easier.)
Heat a large skillet over med heat. Add olive oil and onions and cook until onions are soft. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add beef and cook to desired doneness (3-7 min) Add asparagus, broccoli and sauce and cook until crisp tender, stirring frequently. Lower heat and if needed put a lid on skillet and steam vegetables until done. Add edamame and warm through.
Serve over or along side rice (I used jasmine).

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

SOOO good, SOOO easy, SOOO flavorful! LOVED them! Thanks to The Sister's Cafe for this recipe!
(we had it with Blackened Chicken and Individual Potato Gratins....an awesome combination of flavors!!!)

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh asparagus
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. butter
1 T. soy sauce
1 t. Balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Snap ends off of washed asparagus and place on baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes or until tender. Melt the butter in a sauce pan or in the microwave. Stir in soy sauce and Balsamic vinegar. Pour over baked asparagus and serve.

Blue Cheese Asparagus Rolls

My sister in law Cheryl made these for one of our parties over the holidays and everyone loved them. They are SOOOO good, easy and a nice change from the usual party food.

Ingredients:
One 5 oz. tub of crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
One pack of (about 15-20) large asparagus stalks
One tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls

Directions:
Mix together the blue cheese with the 2 tbsp. of mayonnaise
Wash and trim asparagus
Unroll crescent dough
(I unrolled it onto my cutting board covered with saran wrap so it wouldn't stick)
Roll dough until thin
Spread blue cheese mixture over dough
Place asparagus stalk onto the dough and roll until it is covered
Cut the dough and proceed to cut the covered stalk into bite size pieces
Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes
(makes about one and a half of the 9" x 12" pans)

Festive Chicken Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my new favorite things so I was excited to try this recipe. I thought the bleu cheese gave this sauce a great, yet different flavor. LOVED it! How can you go wrong with the word "festive" in the name :-)?!
(this is the last recipe I'm trying from the Lone Star cookbook for now)

Ingredients:
-1 package (10 oz) frozen asparagus (I was going to use frozen asparagus since I didn't see fresh on sale anywhere, but then I never found frozen so used fresh anyway and they worked great)
-2 chicken breasts, halved
-2 T. flour/cornstarch
-3 T. oil (I used 1 1/2)
-1/4 c. dry white wine (I used white cooking wine)
-1/4 c. bleu cheese
-1 can cream of chicken soup (I used 98%FF)
-1/2 t. salt
-1/4 t. pepper

Directions:
-Thaw asparagus. Coat chicken with flour and brown lightly on all sides in oil.
-Meanwhile, in shallow casserole, combine wine, bleu cheese, soup, salt and pepper.
-Place chicken in soup mixture and spoon sauce over chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
-Separate asparagus into individual stalks. Remove casserole from oven and arrange asparagus between chicken pieces.
-Spoon some sauce over the chicken and asparagus. Cover tightly and bake an additional 30 minutes.
*We served over rice.

Asparagus in Wine

I started browsing through some of my mom's cookbooks the other day and brought home Lone Star Legacy because there were many, many recipes that sounded good enough to try out. I had some asparagus and when I saw this recipe it looked quick and easy and it ended up being really tasty too! Asparagus is one of my new favorite things! There will definitely be more recipes from this book in the future!

Ingredients:
-1 lb. fresh asparagus
-1 T. olive oil
-1/4 c. dry white wine
-1/4 t. salt
-garlic powder to taste (I used lots)
-juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:
-Break off tough ends of asparaguss and wash. Slice large stalks in half.
-Slowly heat olive oil over low-medium heat; add asparagus. Add wine immediately.
-Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Simmer until tender, approximately 10 min.
-Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over asparagus just before serving.

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

Asparagus was on sale for a steal this week so I bought some and set out to find a tasty way to make it. I must say this was, hands down, my favorite asparagus EVER!!! I loved it and it was super, super easy too! I found the recipe on My Kitchen Cafe. As for the catfish, well, we just used this lemon fish fry that I got free when I bought the fish and it was delish too, although no comparison to the Broiled Parmesan Tilapia in my opinion!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus (about 30 large)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 lemons cut in wedges, for serving (I just squirted some lemon juice on them before roasting)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
If the stalks of the asparagus are thick, peel the bottom 1/2 of each. Lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.
Sprinkle with the Parmesan and return to the oven for another minute.
Serve with lemon wedges.

Thai Chicken Curry

This recipe comes from Jamie's Cookbook and it is DELICIOUS! I seriously had to come upstairs to get away from it and stop eating :-)! Thai inspired dishes are definitely her speciality, so check it out (most are gluten free too). Yum, Yum, YUM!!!


Ingredients:
- 1 large chicken breast
- 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup golden raisins (I used 1/3 and was pleasantly surprised, we are not raisin lovers over here!)
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut into wide slices
- 1 medium tomato, cut into thick 1 inch pieces
- 1 bunch asparagus or green beans, ends cut off and then cut into thirds (I used green beans)
- 1 1/2 T. Thai red curry paste
- 1-2 t. curry powder
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t.pepper
Optional Ingredients:
- pineapple
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup water (I added the water and a little more curry powder to provide some extra sauce and was glad I did!)
INSTEAD OF CURRY PASTE: 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne

Ingredients:
- Cut chicken into thin strips. Season with curry and broil on low, DO NOT overcook as it will simmer later.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan. Saute onions first, add asparagus/beans, then add tomatoes.
- Add the following ingredients one at a time and taste it as you go: raisins, curry paste, coconut milk, curry powder, salt, pepper, chicken.
- Simmer and taste and re-season until you can't wait anymore. (I thought it was great as is)
- Serve with steamed rice.

Mushroom Asparagus Quiche

Ingredients:
- 1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
- 2 t. mustard (I used honey Dijon)
- 1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 in. pieces
- 1 med. onion
- 1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (I put extra in)
- 1/4 c. butter, cubed
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 c. (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/2 t. pepper
- 1/4 t. each garlic powder, dried basil, oregano, and rubbed sage (I didn't have sage and it was still tasty)

Directions:
- Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles; place in an un-greased 9-in. pie plate with points toward the center. Press onto bottom and up the sides to form crust (I don't own a pie plate...maybe I should get one!...I used a square casserole dish and it turned out fine; you just have to be creative in putting the triangles in).
- Spread crust with mustard and set aside.
- In a large skillet, saute the asparagus, onion and mushrooms in butter until asparagus is crisp-tender.
- In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients; stir in asparagus mixture. Pour into crust.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 min. (or until knife comes out clean). Let sit 5 min. before cutting.