Crispy Parmesan Asparagus Sticks

I'm always trying to figure out more ways to feed my family vegetables.  We roast our veggies more than anything else.  I love roasted asparagus and knew I had to try this when I saw it on Pinterest.  I can't wait to try to crunchiness of the Panko on the asparagus!

The case:
Crispy Parmesan Asparagus Sticks from How Sweet It Is
Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 2 egg whites 
• 1/4 cup flour 
• 1 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs 
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with non-stick spray.
2. Snap off the tough ends of each asparagus spear. On two separate plates, add the eggs (lightly beaten) and the panko + flour + cheese. Season the panko mixture with salt and pepper if desires. Coat each asparagus spear in egg whites, then lay in the panko mixture and thoroughly cover. If the panko won’t stick, dip back in the egg and roll in panko once again. Lay each spear on the wire rack. 
3. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

The ruling
Okay so these were a mess to make!  They were good, but I would rather eat them roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper and to sprinkle Parmesan over the top at the end.  Just as good (probably better) and SOO much easier.
The rating: 3
Make again? No

Easy Creamed Corn

Yet another Pinterest dish that I made because I had all the ingredients already in my fridge/pantry.  I knew we were grilling out tonight (marinade recipe to come) and I wanted an easier, lighter side dish.  Plus corn is on sale $1 a bag at Kroger this week, and I decided to stock up!

The case:  Slightly adapted from Budget Savy Diva
Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen corn (I used one that steams in the microwave)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 oz. light cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat corn, butter, and cream cheese.  Stir until heated through and all ingredients are combined.  
2. Stir in cayenne pepper and salt and pepper.

The ruling:
 BEST CORN I'VE EVER HAD!  This lovely dish was beyond simple and actually low in fat.  I'll just make a guess that this corn will be made at least every other week at the Greer household.

Asparagus Bundles

A couple years ago, my friend, Lindsey, made a recipe similar to this using green beans.  One of the foods I loathe in life is green beans.  She thought the bacon and sweet sauce would help me get past the green beans, but nope, I strongly disliked her dish.  I've never known whether I truly disliked the dish or whether it was simply the green beans I couldn't get past.  I am excited to be trying a similar recipe using asparagus (my favorite veggie) instead.  This little beauty came from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook.

The case:
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs fresh asparagus, ends trimmed
- 12 slices bacon
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 1 T soy sauce
- 1/2 t garlic salt
- 1/2 t ground pepper

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 450
2.  Divide asparagus into 12 bundles.  Carefully wrap 1 piece of bacon around each bundle, starting from 1/2 inch from the bottom of the tips.  Lay the bundles in a low sided casserole dish.
3.  In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, soy sauce, garlic salt, and pepper.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Pour the hot mixture over the asparagus.
4.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until the spears have begun to wilt and the bacon is fully cooked. 

The ruling:
Yep, it was just the green beans I didn't like!  This dish was delicious!  Michael raved and raved.  I actually only made 3 bundles since it was only the two of us and I didn't think it would be good left over, plus I wasn't sure if I would like it.  I didn't want to be wasting two of my favorite things: bacon and asparagus.  He was mad I didn't make more.  We both would've eaten several of these!  The only thing I did differently was to broil for a few minutes before I took it out of the oven to get the bacon a little crispy.

Grilled Corn #78

I think I have just about the most stressful job for 9 months out of the year, but for one week in the fall and spring, 2 weeks at Christmas, and 2 months during the summer it is truly the greatest job in the world!  Since school let out I've went from 3 hours available on my DVR to 90-something.  Opps...  Anyways, the majority of the huge items I've been deleting are all the saved shows off Food Network.  I've watched the parts of the shows that I wanted to watch, added the recipes I want to try to by Foodnetwork.com recipe box, and deleted the shows.  So, it isn't like I've actually watched all 90 hours.  I just watched parts of a lot of those hours.   This corn is from one of the Neely shows I deleted.

The case:
Ingredients
4 ears sweet corn, husked and silks removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Seasoning salt, recipe from Grilled Sweet and Tangy Pork chops
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lime, juiced, plus 1 lime, quartered, for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup crumbled feta

Directions
1.  Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
2.  Rub the corn with olive oil and season with seasoning salt, to taste. Grill the corn until it's charred, on all sides, rotating for about 10 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise, chili powder, cayenne, lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste, together in a small bowl. Remove the corn from the grill and brush the hot corn with the mayonnaise mixture. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

The ruling:
I loved the corn grilled with the seasoned salt on it, but the actual mayo-mixture didn't do anything for me.  Michael and several members of the Greer family enjoyed the mayo-mixture, but I don't think any of us felt the Feta added anything.

Baked Creamed Spinach #75

One of my favorite Food Network shows is called Cooking For Real with Sunny Anderson.  This is one of her recipes.  Sunny is one of my favorite Food Network personalities.  She is real and so warm.  You feel like she is your friend when you're watching her.  My absolute favorite vegetable dish is creamed spinach, and I have yet to try one of Sunny's recipes that I didn't like!  I have high hopes for this one. 

The case:

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 red onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup packaged fried onions (recommended: French's)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and red chili flakes and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the heavy cream, Parmesan, and nutmeg. Heat until the cream is just beginning to bubble, stirring often. Turn the burner off and stir in sour cream and spinach. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top evenly with fried onions. Bake until golden and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

The ruling:
This is extremely good.  I've never had fried onions before, and I really like the contrast of the creamy and crunchy.  The pepper adds quite a bit of spice, so if you're cooking for someone who doesn't like things spicy, maybe leave out the pepper flakes.  I halved the amount and it was still pretty spicy.  I will definitely be making this again!

UPDATE: While reviewing this recipe on Food Network I read the 2 Tablespoons of Red Pepper Flakes was a typo.  Instead it  should have been 1/2 teaspoon, which makes a lot more sense.  That's what I get for not reading the reviews first!

BBQ Corn on the Cob #66

This looked like the perfect side dish for BBQ ribs! I love summer time!

The case:

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pinch onion powder
• cayenne pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 6 ears corn, husked and cleaned

Directions

1. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the chili powder, oregano, onion powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Blend in the softened butter. 
3. Apply this mixture to each ear of corn, and place each ear onto a piece of aluminum foil big enough to wrap the corn. Wrap like a burrito, and twist the ends to close. 
4. Place wrapped corn on the preheated grill, and cook 20 to 30 minutes, until tender when poked with a fork. Turn corn occasionally during cooking. 

The ruling:
I love grilled corn.  This was very good.  It wasn't as strong of a flavor as I expected.  We had all our parents over and they seemed to enjoy it.  Michael said a little more salt would have made the flavor pop.  I will definitely  make this again! 


Printable BBQ Corn on the Cob Recipe

Creamed Spinach #52

One of my favorite dishes at restaurants is creamed spinach.  Calhouns in Knoxville has the best!  This is one of the dishes I really want to learn to make.  This recipe came from allrecipes.com.

The case:

Ingredients
3 (10 ounce) bags clean fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced white onion
6 slices shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, stirring constantly. 2.  Remove from the skillet and drain in a colander. Try to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
3.  Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.
4.  Add the spinach and stir in the heavy cream.
5.  Sprinkle in the provolone cheese and stir to melt and coat the spinach. Once the provolone has melted, stir in the Parmesan cheese and continue to cook and stir until thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

The ruling:
This was FABULOUS, FABULOUS, FABULOUS!!!!  I will be making this regularly now!  Michael and I ate every bite of it!   I didn't use the onion, but instead added onion powder.  I also used fat free half and half instead of heavy cream.  It was perfect.  I can't imagine finding a recipe that is any better.