Tag Archives: asparagus

What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Asparagus saute

7 May
This was such an enjoyable lunch!

This was such an enjoyable lunch!

I was having one of those days.

I was starving. It was lunchtime. I didn’t know what I wanted to eat.

Open the fridge, close the fridge.

Open the freezer, close the freezer.

Nothing seemed appealing at all.

I’d been having a crazy craving though: asparagus.

My family doesn’t love it, so I don’t get it often. I order it in restaurants whenever I can, for that very reason.

Recently however, my niece had asked us what our favorite vegetable was as part of a school project. I answered asparagus, qualifying that answer with “I’m the only one who likes it very much, so I don’t often get to eat it.”

Ever since I’d sent her that message, I’d been craving it.

When I looked in my freezer, I saw I had some in there. I decided to start there and build my lunch from the ground up.

I threw my asparagus in the cast iron skillet.

Opened the fridge (again) to see what else was there.

Half a tomato. That works. I chopped that up and once my asparagus was almost cooked to perfection, I threw the chopped tomato in and sauteed it in with the asparagus for the last few minutes.

I toasted my new favorite kind of bagel: honey oat and added some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on top.

I thought my lunch was complete and I couldn’t wait to eat it, but then I remembered a friend had posted a photo of a meal that included eggs and asparagus. Her eggs were sunny side up, but I had hard boiled in my refrigerator (I almost always do) so I decided just to chop that up and throw it on top.

It was a most enjoyable, relatively healthy lunch!

I showed one of my daughters with a more adventurous palate, and she declared that it did in fact look delicious and that in the future she’d like to try it herself, subbing in spinach for the asparagus.

So although it’s not a true dinner, this could be a healthy side dish or a breakfast for dinner meal, or as I had it for a lunch.

Give it a try!

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Asparagus Polonese

1 Aug

Asparagus: always looking for new ways to prepare it!

Earlier this year I posted about asparagus and the fact that I needed to find some new ways to prepare it since my family liked it so much. I also noted in that post that I’d long forgotten about a recipe my mom used to make when we had asparagus at home growing up. I promised that when I made it, I’d post it.

In keeping with that promise, here is my mom’s recipe for Asparagus Polonese, which got thumbs up from my family when I made it earlier this summer. It’s not something I’d make all the time because of all the butter in it, but it’s a great way to mix things up when you’re looking for some variety in your meals.

ASPARAGUS POLONESE

Simple ingredients are all that’s needed for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound asparagus

5 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine

1 mashed hard cooked egg yolk

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons bread crumbs
DIRECTIONS

Place butter in a small frying pan.

When hot, add mashed yolk and bread crumbs.

Cook two minutes.

Pour over steamed (or sauteed) asparagus, serve immediately.

Make sure you have a hard boiled egg for use with this recipe!

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Another great recipe from The Budget Gourmet Mom

1 May

Do you ever get tired of the same old thing?

I love asparagus! I found out earlier this year that most of my kids like asparagus, so I was so thrilled when Aldi’s started carrying it in their frozen veggies section because it meant that we could afford it and afford to have it any time we wanted to.

I bought it by the boatload. We had it all the time.

I’m tired of asparagus now.

Well, not tired of asparagus so much as I am tired of cooking it the same old way every time, which everyone likes: sauteed with oil and garlic in a frying pan on the stove, which is also the same way we make our green beans because it’s everyone’s favorite way.

I was happy to see a new cooking suggestion a few weeks back from The Budget Gourmet Mom blog that I follow. It was a recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Red Onions and Garlic and it made me wonder why I’d never thought to roast my asparagus before.

Sometimes you just need it to hit you over the head, I guess.

It also reminded me that I have another recipe for preparing asparagus that my mom used to make, so when I make that one, I’ll post it as well. I haven’t made it in years and years.

So here is Krista’s recipe for you for Roasted Asparagus with Red Onions and Garlic. If you’d like to see her beautiful photography to go along with her preparation of the asparagus, head on over to her blog. I go there EVERY day and I always love her posts.

Thank you Krista!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb asparagus
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • a few thin slices of red onion
  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400°
  2. Wash and trim the asparagus. Lay out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
  3. Mince the garlic and sprinkle over the asparagus. Top with red onion rings.
  4. Bake 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta

10 Apr

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I really love the “Daily Recipes” that I get in my email inbox from Allrecipes.com. I’m constantly making a note to try one out “some day” and last week I had a chance to try a new one. I had everything on hand with the exception of one ingredient: mushrooms, which I had actually had on hand but it turned out they weren’t good anymore so we threw them out. The recipe was fine without them but I’d add them in if I had them next time.

Everyone loved this recipe and I’d definitely make it again. I made some notes and adjustments below.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus (I used a bag of frozen from Aldi’s.)
  • 1 (16 ounce) package egg noodles (I used a pound of wheat spaghetti.)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (This was a lot. I’d do less next time and add a bit more lemon juice instead.)
  • 1 cup butter (I think you could cut some of this out as well. Maybe down to  1 1/2 sticks instead of two.)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 pound medium shrimp – peeled and deveined (I used a bag of frozen from Aldi’s.)
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a small saucepan, boil or steam asparagus in enough water to cover until tender; chop and set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to full boil, place the pasta in the pot and return to a rolling boil; cook until al dente. Drain well.
  3. In a large saucepan, saute garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat until the garlic is golden brown.
  4. Place butter and lemon juice in the saucepan. Heat until the butter has melted. Place the shrimp in the saucepan and cook until the shrimp turns pink. Place the mushrooms and asparagus into the saucepan, cook until mushrooms are tender.
  5. Toss the shrimp and vegetable mixture with the egg noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

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