Oven-Roasted Asparagus

I am always on the hunt for quick, easy, healthy side dishes. I always seem to make the same ones over and over again (roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli are my faithful standbys), but as much as we like them, sometimes you just need something different.

And that's where this recipe comes in. I usually only make it in the spring and summer. Something about asparagus just says "spring" to me. I have no idea if asparagus has a season or not, but I say it's spring!

Until I made and ate this asparagus, I had no idea that I liked it so much. This recipe is super easy, quick and delish. The asparagus gets nicely roasted but doesn't get soft - soft asparagus is a no-no in my book.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Oven-roasted asparagus
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living
3 pounds fresh asparagus*
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted*

Wash and dry asparagus. Snap off and discard tough ends; place asparagus on a lightly greased baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or to desired degree of tenderness. Transfer to a serving dish; sprinkle with almonds. Makes 8-10 servings.

*Patrick and I certainly can't eat 3 pounds of asparagus, so I usually buy just shy of 1 pound for the two of us. I eat quite a bit with dinner, and then we have a few left for leftovers. When using less than 3 lbs. I just reduce the rest of the ingredients as needed. For example, I made this the other night and used just under one pound of asparagus. I used a little less than a tablespoon of olive oil, one garlic clove, 1/4 tsp. salt and just a couple of shakes of pepper. I don't use almonds because I'm not a fan of nuts with my veggies, but if you like them, have at it!

Spicy Black Bean Salad

This is, hands down, one of my favorite side dishes. Ever.

I will admit that all the chopping of veggies is a little time consuming, especially for someone as anal as I, but the end result is SO worth it. It's so fresh tasting, and is a wonderful accompaniment to burgers, BBQ, grilled chicken ... almost anything, really!

This dish is actually more a side dish than a salad, but it is chock full of veggies, so call it what you want. I call it delicious. It's a family favorite.

I made this Saturday to take to a church potluck/picnic on Sunday, and by the time I got through the line there was only about one spoonful left, so Patrick and I split it so we could each get a little tiny taste. I wish I had more...


Spicy Black Bean Salad
My mom's recipe
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red onion, minced
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (wear gloves!)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Rinse and drain beans. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. Stir before serving. Enjoy! (We think this tastes best made the day prior to eating; it gives all of the flavors time to meld.)

Marinated pork chops, roasted corn & potatoes

A few weekends ago we had a smidge of sunshine in the forecast, so I asked Patrick to fire up the grill. We love to grill, but we've been getting such amazing amounts of rain lately that it seems almost impossible to find a dry time to grill. Thankfully, the rain held off until about five minutes after Patrick got done grilling our dinner that evening.

Sidenote: we have a charcoal grill, and while we love the flavor it imparts on food, we don't like how stinking long it takes to heat the coals. It makes weeknight grilling impossible. So, we're thinking about a future purchase of a gas grill. My family is partial to Weber grills. Anyone have suggestions?

I don't make pork too often for some reason, but when I do, this marinade is my go-to marinade of choice for tasty grilled pork chops. And, of course, it's easy. (That is, if you're not the one grilling. If I were grilling, we'd end up with undercooked meat or overdone meat. Thankfully Patrick likes to grill.)

Oh, and how can I forget -- the CORN. Oh my goodness gracious. The corn is so yummy!! I grew up eating boiled corn-on-the-cob, and man alive, this blows it out of the water (sorry, Mom). It's also healthy, with about 109 calories and 4 grams of fat per serving.

The potatoes are roasted rosemary-onion potatoes. I love roasted potatoes, and addition of rosemary and onion gives these nice flavor.



Pork Chop Marinade
My mom's recipe
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon dry mustard (or regular yellow mustard, both work great)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients in a dish large enough to accommodate all of your meat. Score meat deeply and place in dish with marinade. Marinate for two hours in the fridge, turning frequently.

I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about grilling, but from what I've read, grill your pork chop until it registers 135 degrees in the center and then let it stand for 10-15 minutes. The heat will continue to cook the pork, but will leave it juicy instead of dry and overcooked.

Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob
Weight Watchers recipe - 2 points per serving
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
4 ears of corn on the cob, shucked

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Tear off 4 (12-inch-square) sheets of heavy-duty foil.

In a shallow bowl (I use a glass pie plate), combine the cilantro, lime juice, oil and water. Roll the corn in the cilantro oil, then place on the foil; brush with any remaining cilantro oil. Wrap the foil around the corn securely, then place directly on an oven rack. Bake, turning occasionally, until tender, about 25 minutes.

Roasted Rosemary-Onion Potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a jelly roll pan (15 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 1). Cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Mix onion, oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add potatoes; toss to coat. Spread potatoes in single layer on pan.

Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until potatoes are light brown and tender when pierced with a fork.

Note: Be careful not to do what I often do when making these. We like our potatoes darker and crunchier, but the onion does tend to burn when I leave these in for much longer than the 20-25 minutes, and then you're left with little black specs of burned onion instead of nicely browned onion. The potatoes are still good, but you miss out on the onion and have to pick through the burned bits to get to the potatoes. Not fun.