Roasted Cauliflower and Asparagus

This easy to prepare side dish is healthy and tasty. A perfect compliment to grilled chicken, baked fish or pan fried pork chops.

1 small head of cauliflower
About 10 thick asparagus spears
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
½ lemon
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
½ tsp garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cauliflower into florets and place into a shallow casserole dish. Snap off ends of asparagus, cut into 1 ½” pieces, and add to casserole dish. Drizzle with EVOO and lemon juice. Then sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Toss ingredients together.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Variations:
Try adding freshly minced Rosemary, parsley and/or garlic.

Wild Rice

I found this gourmet blend of wild and whole grain brown rice from Lundberg Wild Blend at the grocery store. I’m not usually a fan of brown rice since the texture can sometimes be tough. I cooked the rice according to the directions and it this was actually tasty (and of course healthy, which is the point of eating this in the first place, right?).

½ cup Lundberg Wild Rice Blend

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
¼ small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Salt to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper

In a pot, add rice, broth and EVOO. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, turn heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan with EVOO, sauté carrots, celery and onion. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook for about 5-7 minutes.

Once rice is done, stir in veggies and fluff rice. Set aside and let sit covered for 10 minutes.

Serve with grilled salmon and asparagus. Garnish salmon with a lemon slice.

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with Vegetable Stir Fry Rice

2 salmon filets
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Juice from one lime
1 cup white long grained basmati rice
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, peel of ribbons
½ yellow onion, sliced
About 5 asparagus, cut into ½” pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Sea salt
EVOO

In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice until combine. Marinate salmon for 30+ minutes.

Cook rice in chicken broth in rice cooker until done.

Preheat grill to med-high heat. Grill salmon skin side down until crispy. Flip filets and turn heat to med-low. Remove skin and cook until just flaky, but not over cooked.

In a wok or large sauté pan over med-high heat, drizzle EVOO and cook vegetables, garlic and cilantro for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and drizzle with a few dashes of extra soy sauce. Add cooked rice and mix together.

Serve grilled fish over a bed of vegetable stir fry rice.

Note: If you’d like to spice this up a bit, add freshly sliced jalapenos to the vegetable stir fry or add pepper flakes when seasoning.

Loaded Potato Cake Benedict

There’s a lot going on here, but worth all the effort when you hear your husband say it’s the best breakfast ever. It consists of my Loaded Potato Cakes on a bed of sautéed spinach and steamed asparagus, topped with a fried egg and homemade Hollandaise sauce. Enjoy!

Loaded Potato Cakes (I had some leftover from this recipe and froze them for future use. I thought this would be a delicious substitution for hash browns.)

5 eggs, separate the yolks from 3 eggs, save the whites
3 tsp butter, sliced, room temperature
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp water
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
6-8 thick asparagus spears, ends trimmed
2-3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

In a double broiler, add 3 egg yolks, 1 slice of butter, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper. Whisk rapidly. Once butter melts, continue to add another slice of butter until it’s all whisked in and sauce thickens. Do not let sauce curdle or scramble. Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside.

NOTE: If you don’t have a double broiler, just use a large pot, fill with 1” of water and bring to a boil. Then place a glass bowl over the pot. The glass bowl has to be larger than the opening of the pot so water does not get into the bowl.

Once the Hollandaise sauce is done, add asparagus to the pot of boiling water, add a little salt and cook for 2-3 minutes, until tender. Drain and place asparagus in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, drizzle EVOO over med-high heat. Fry potato cakes on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until crispy and brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil.

Once potato cakes are done, add a little more EVOO to the same pan and sauté spinach until wilted. Sprinkle with a little salt to season. Once spinach is finished, start to plate by creating a little bed of spinach on each plate. Stack a few asparagus spears on spinach. Top with two potato cakes.

In the same frying pan, add more EVOO over high heat. Add remaining egg whites and two whole eggs to pan. Let eggs bubble and edges turn crispy and golden. Flip eggs and fry for another 1-2  minutes, depending on how soft you want your yolks. If the egg whites spread and all run into each other, use your spatula to cut in half and flip one half at a time.

Top potato cakes with eggs (you might need to fold it in half if it’s too wide). Spoon Hollandaise over eggs. Stack nice and tall for an extra wow factor.

Green Vegetable Rice

I love making this rice because it’s a great way to add tons of veggies to a meal and use up veggies if you need to. It’s a perfect side dish for any protein: pan fried pork chops, grilled chicken or sautéed salmon.

1 cup long grained basmati rice

2 cups chicken broth (cooking rice in broth adds extra flavor)

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 small leek, sliced (or 1 small onion diced)

1 small zucchini, diced

About 10-15 asparagus stalks cut into ½” pieces

1-2 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

In a rice cooker or over stove top, cook rice in broth and 1 tsp EVOO until tender. While rice is cooking, prepare vegetables.

Over med-high heat, drizzle EVOO in a large sauté pan. Sauté leeks or onion, zucchini and for 3-4 minutes. Add spinach and garlic; sauté until spinach is wilted.

Once rice is done, add to sauté pan and combine with veggies. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy as a tasty and healthy side dish for any meal!

Shrimp & Asparagus Pasta with Goat Cheese

 About 3 servings

½ lb medium shell pasta (go for the whole grain to add fiber!)
5 strips of bacon
1 large leek, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
5large asparagus spears, sliced into 1” pieces
Salt
6 oz herbed goat cheese
½ cup dry wine or chicken broth
1/3 cup of fresh mixed herbs, minced (parsley, thyme, basil and chives)
1 tsp butter
½ lb uncooked shrimp, deveined with tails on

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to directions. While pasta is boiling, cook bacon.

Once bacon is crispy, move to a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil; set aside. Coarsely chop when bacon has cooled.

In a small bowl, combine herbs. Set aside.

In a medium sauté pan, heat a couple drizzles of EVOO over med-heat. Sauté leeks until tender. Add asparagus, season with salt and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in goat cheese and wine. Stir in chopped bacon and herbs. Save a couple teaspoons of herb mixture for shrimp.

In a small sauté pan, heat butter over high heat. Add shrimp. Sprinkle with extra herbs. As soon as one side turns pink, turn shrimp and sprinkle other side with herbs. Once both sides are pink, remove shrimp from heat immediately, to prevent over cooking.

Once pasta is al dente, drain and mix directly into vegetable goat cheese mixture. Plate in a shallow bowl and top with shrimp. Serve with garlic bread.

NOTE: Make sure there is no dirt in the leeks, by slicing then soaking in water with a couple extra rinses.

B.L.A.S.T. (Bacon Linguini Asparagus Spinach Tomato) Pasta

I went to the store with the idea that I was going to attempt to make carbonara for dinner, but ended up making this. I can’t help adding veggies to my pasta!

4 thick slices of bacon, diced
½ package of linguini
About 10 stalks of asparagus, cut into 1” pieces
2 handfuls of raw baby spinach
1 small tomato, chopped
1 packet of dried Alfredo sauce

1-2 Tbsp pesto

In a frying pan over high heat, cook bacon until crispy. To avoid burning bacon, turn heat to medium and stir frequently. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and to a paper towel on a plate, to absorb excess grease.

In a small bowl, add asparagus and ½” water. Cover with saran wrap and microwave for 2 minutes and 30 seconds to steam. Remove cover, drain and set aside.

Boil and cook pasta according to directions.

Make Alfredo sauce according to directions; whisk in pesto sauce.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Toss with Alfredo pesto sauce. Mix in raw spinach until it welts. Stir in bacon and asparagus and top with diced tomato.

Plate pasta and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper.

Teriyaki Pork Loin with Roasted Asparagus Pasta

This is a tasty one. The hubby said 'thank you' like 4 times afterwards. :-)

1 ½ lb pork tenderloin
Teriyaki sauce

About 10 sprigs of asparagus cut in 1” pieces
EVOO for drizzling
Salt and pepper

½ lb bowtie pasta
1/3 cup EVOO
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 large garlic clove, minced
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 Tbsp minced chives
A few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

½ cup of feta cheese or 4 oz of crumbled goat cheese

Marinate pork tenderloin in teriyaki sauce over night, or buy pre-marinated pork at the store.

Over medium heat, grill pork for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

In a medium pot, boil salted water and cook pasta for 7-9 minutes; drain and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-12 minutes, until tender. Remove and set aside to cool.

In a small mixing bowl, combine EVOO, mustard, garlic, lemon zest & juice, chives, pepper flakes and S&P; whisk together. Toss dressing with pasta salad. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in cheese and asparagus.

Plate sliced pork with pasta salad. Drizzle juice from meat over pork.

Shrimp and Asparagus with Pesto Totillinis

This is a quick, easy and elegant meal.

Grilled Chicken with Rice Pilaf and Asparagus

I've never tried nuts in a rice pilaf but it really makes the dish. It adds a tasty crunch and delicious nutty flavor.

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts

Grill seasoning

1 cup of basmati rice

2 cups of chicken broth

1/4 cup pecans, or walnuts, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 Tbsp parsley, minced
S&P to taste
EVOO

about 10 asparagus spears

In a medium sauce pan, sauté nuts until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. Add EVOO to pan and toast rice until slightly browned. Add toasted rice and chicken broth to rice cooker and cook until done. In the same pan, add more EVOO if necessary, add carrots, zucchini and garlic. Sauté until veggies are tender. When rice is done, mix in veggies, parsley and S&P.

Season chicken with grill seasoning. Grill chicken over medium heat until cooked all the way through and no longer pink in the middle.

Steam asparagus until tender.

Serve chicken with rice pilaf and asparagus.

Asparagus, Apple and Avocado Dip

1 bunch of asparagus, steamed and finely chopped
1 ½ green apples, peeled
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ ripe avocados
8 oz sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Spicy option:
¼ cup of shredded Pepper Jack cheese
4 drops of Tabasco

Salty, bacon option:
4 strips of crispy bacon, crumbled

Cheesy option:
4-6 oz of chunky Gorgonzola cheese

In a large bowl, grate apples. Sprinkle with ½ of the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Add asparagus and mix together. In a separate bowl, mash avocado. Mix in the other half of lemon juice. Mix avocado mixture with apples and asparagus. Add sour cream and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Separate the dip into thirds. Mix in Pepper Jack and Tabasco to one batch. Mix in bacon to the second batch. Mix in Gorgonzola to the last batch. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Serve with pita chips, crackers or sliced crusty bread.