asparagus Archives - The Midnight Baker

Ground Beef and Asparagus Stir Fry

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 23:00:44 +0000

This ground beef stir fry is one of those skillet dinners that comes together in no time at all.

Ground Beef Can Be Fancy

There’s endless things you can make with ground beef. That’s why it’s an ever-popular item on most people’s grocery list.

So you’ve got the pound of ground beef and want to make something that’s not only delicious, but filling and maybe a bit fancy? Look no further than this luscious ground beef stir fry that includes a nice variety of veggies.

It’s not only a complete meal when served over rice, but it’ll likely feed six people and feed them well.

The Veggies

It looks like you can get asparagus year round now and it’s not just a springtime treat–meaning the fresh kind, of course. I wouldn’t recommend using frozen here because it would be a bit limp. However, if it doesn’t bother you if the asparagus is a bit droopy, then use it by all means.

The above would be under ordinary circumstances, but right now, we’re dealing with shortages on many items. Therefore, substitutions come into play.

Broccoli would be an excellent substitute whether it’s fresh or frozen florets. Frozen or fresh green beans are also a good choice. And if you don’t mind that the veg isn’t green, cauliflower or carrots will also suffice.

I haven’t heard of a shortage of tomatoes, so you should be good there.

The Rice And Other Things

My personal preference for rice is either jasmine or basmati. Both have wonderful aromatic flavors that add so much to a meal.

But now, you have to take what’s available. I had no trouble getting jasmine, but if you can’t get a nice aromatic rice, plain old long-grain white will do.

I’ve also not noticed any shortages of sliced (or other forms) of water chestnuts, so they should be available. too.

The Recipe

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Ground Beef and Asparagus Stir Fry

Easy ground beef skillet dinner that's ready in no time

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Course: beef, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: asparagus stir fry, ground beef stir fry, stay safe at home recipes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 1192kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef 90% lean
2 cups cut fresh asparagus 1-inch pieces
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbs cornstarch
1-1/2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp minced fresh ginger

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large skillet or wok, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the same pan, stir-fry the asparagus, water chestnuts and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and broth until smooth. Stir in the hoisin sauce, soy sauce and ginger. Pour over vegetables. Return beef to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in tomato. Serve with rice if desired.

Nutrition

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Asparagus and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 23:02:06 +0000

Asparagus and cheese stuffed chicken is a complete meal in itself!

Complete Meal Bundle

This asparagus stuffed chicken is a complete meal all by itself. How easy is that?

Pretty darn easy if you ask me and the best part is there’s no extra dishes to wash from preparing side dishes. You’ve got it all right here in these neat little bundles.

The chicken stuffs easily and the filling stays put because the asparagus doesn’t melt out; well, it can’t but that’s another conversation. The chicken breasts wrap very easily around it so there’s no frustrating work involved.

The recipe is very simple yet very tasty.

Choose Your Cheese

You can get creative with these stuffed chicken breasts just by varying the cheese.

I used Monterrey Jack since I had a package already open. You want to have a cheese that melts for obvious reasons so very hard cheeses such as Parmesan and Romano are out for that. However, they make a great addition when added as a flavor enhancement to a melting-type cheese.

Cheddar would be an excellent choice for this too. I would tend to use a milder cheddar if you’re serving young children. Reserve the sharper varieties to please adult tastes.

And here’s an idea if you’re going to serve this just to adults with adventurous tastes–try Stilton, Bleu or Gorgonzola cheese!

Asparagus: Fresh Or Frozen

As far as the asparagus goes in this recipe, it’s always best to use fresh. Now that asparagus seems to be available year round, this isn’t a problem.

However, frozen is good too. A high-quality brand of frozen asparagus will work very well. While I’ve never made this with the frozen variety, I think I would not thaw it before cooking. It would be easier to assemble and wouldn’t overcook. Mind you, I can’t state this with any certainty–it’s just an educated guess.

The Recipe

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Asparagus and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

A complete meal in one chicken breast

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: asparagus recipes, baked chicken and asparagus recipes, quick chicken dinners, stuffed chicken breast

Servings: 4

Calories: 280kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts
1 tbs lemon zest
12 asparagus stalks
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tbs olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Cut the chicken breast in half, length-wise, leaving it intact on one side (creating a pocket to stuff). Season the inside of the chicken breast with salt and pepper and a pinch of lemon zest. Lay shredded cheese and 3 to 4 stalks of asparagus in the center of each chicken breast and fold over, enclosing the filling.
Season the outside of the chicken breast with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
Heat a large, oven safe skillet over medium-high heat and add the 1 tbsp olive oil, swirling around to coat the bottom of the skillet. Cook the chicken top side down, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken easily releases from the pan and is golden brown on top. Flip the chicken over and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes to sear the bottom side. Carefully cover the skillet with tinfoil and place in the preheated oven. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155 degrees.
Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes. The temperature of the chicken should rise to meet 160 degrees

Nutrition

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Shrimp and Asparagus Primavera

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 18 May 2019 23:00:16 +0000

It’s the fresh herbs that give this shrimp and pasta dish its great flavor.

Light And Easy

This is such a light and easy “date night” kind of meal! It’s also a great meal to serve in the coming warm weather because it’s quick cooking as well as delicious.

And I have to say, this is one of the best recipes I’ve made in a couple of months. The original recipe comes from Taste of Home–which surprised me because a lot of their recipes are good old comfort food. This is a bit fancy–but don’t let appearances fool you because this is so easy to make, you won’t believe it!

Fresh Herbs

The recipe calls for fresh herbs. There was no, “if you don’t have…” listed and I’m not going to suggest it either. The wonderful flavor this dish has depends on using fresh herbs. So I urge you to buy some specially for this and they can be used in other recipes you make during the week. Remember, they can always be air-dried for use later. The herbs used in this recipe are not anything unusual, in fact, they’re pretty basic so I know you will use what you have left over.

Best yet if you grow a kitchen herb garden, I’m sure these herbs are in what you grow.

Good For Summer

The reason this is good for summer is everything cooks so quickly.

Angel hair pasta cooks extremely fast. You don’t even have to boil it. What I do is boil the water, put in the angel hair, stir it and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Perfect doneness and made that way, it won’t add much heat to the kitchen.

Shrimp as you know, is very quick cooking and here it’s no exception. The asparagus is fast too!

This uses a small amount of wine, which I feel adds to the great flavor. You can substitute water for that if you wish, but I encourage you to use the wine. I used chardonnay–my go-to wine for cooking.

The original recipe called for grated Parmesan cheese, but I forgot to add it and it still tasted great. I’ll leave that up to you if you want to use it.

The Recipe

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Shrimp and Asparagus Primavera

A quick-cooking seafood meal great for date nights.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: asparagus, shrimp

Servings: 2

Calories: 531kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

3 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/2 pound uncooked shrimp 16-20 per pound, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
8 fresh asparagus spears trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped seeded tomato peeled
4 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons chopped green onion
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese optional
Lemon wedges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper flakes. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; stir-fry until pink, 2-3 minutes. Remove; keep warm.
In same skillet, stir-fry the next 5 ingredients in remaining oil until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and seasonings. Return shrimp to pan.
Drain pasta; add to shrimp mixture and toss gently. Cook and stir until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve with lemon wedges.

Video

Nutrition

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Lemon Parmesan Asparagus

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 23:00:39 +0000

Nothing goes better with your Easter ham than this lemon Parmesan asparagus.

Simple And Delicious

Asparagus seems to be available year round now. In the past, this was only available when in season which is around Easter time. After it was gone from the markets, it was a one-year wait to get this beautiful veggie. Of course it was always available frozen or canned (BIG YUCK). However nothing ever beat fresh.

I’ve always served this simply steamed. No sauces, butter, nada. Lately though I’ve been simply roasting it with a bit of olive oil sprayed on which is simple and delicious too. It’s only very recently that I’ve gotten, which for me, is a bit adventurous with asparagus.

Hints Of Flavor

As I mentioned before, I love the taste of asparagus itself so for my tastes it never needed any embellishment.

Lately, I’ve seen interesting things to do with it that don’t actually take anything away from it’s own great flavor. So I decided to experiment a bit.

My first foray was making some Butter Crumb Asparagus which was really enjoyable and didn’t mask but enhanced the flavor. I’ve seen many with cheese accents and that’s how I decided to go this time.

My favorite flavoring hard cheese is Romano–and you can use it here too–but I opted for the milder and nuttier-tasting Parmesan. It was a good choice!

Lemon To Brighten

Years ago, I learned a lot about how a dash of lemon enhances the flavor of mostly anything. That was when my late husband had to reduce his salt intake because of a heart condition. One of the first things I read in the little guideline book they gave us at the hospital after his surgery was about using lemon juice and zest to enhance the flavor of food.

That was long ago now but it’s a practice I kept up with (along with reducing my taste for salt even though I have no dietary restrictions). And lemon works oh so well here. You don’t use a lot–maybe a teaspoon of zest on the bunch of asparagus–however, it adds just the right flavor. And when it roasts, the zest gets a toasty flavor that’s just magnificent!

The Recipe

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Lemon Parmesan Asparagus

Nothing goes better with your Easter ham than this lemon Parmesan asparagus.

Prep Time5

Cook Time8

Total Time13

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: asparagus

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 lb asparagus woody ends brokem off
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zested
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste if needed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place prepared asparagus on a large bakig sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss until the asparagus is coated.
Sprinkle lemon zest over asparagus then top with half the cheese.
Roast for 5-8 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and beginning to sizzle.
Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese.

Nutrition

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Asparagus Soup

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 00:00:43 +0000

Now that fresh asparagus is available year round, you can make this soup often. Frozen works well too.

Easy And Delicious

There’s nothing better than homemade soup. It’s the quintessential comfort food.

Asparagus has also become very popular lately. I remember the times where this delicious veggie was only available in the spring. However, now it seems we can get this year round and at great prices too. As with any recipe, fresh is always best and that applies to this soup as well. Frozen asparagus will work just as well here too. Just don’t be tempted to use the canned variety. The soup won’t taste the same and won’t even taste good. Asparagus is one vegetable that really suffers a horrible death when canned!

Hot Or Cold

This asparagus soup is what I call an “all-season” soup.

It’s delicious hot and it’s also very good cold. So now we can get this glorious veg in the winter, this soup becomes a hot bowl of comfort. In the summer months, it is refreshingly cool. The preparation is short so it won’t heat the kitchen either.

This soup is really the very best of both worlds!

Vegetarian? No Problem

The base of this soup is chicken stock, but if that’s a no-no because you don’t eat meat, it’ll taste fine made with vegetable stock.

A couple of ingredients are dairy, so if you use those in your diet, you’ll be fine.

Vegans have choices here too. For instance, this tastes absolutely scrummy without the cream. However, to get that bit of creaminess that the heavy cream imparts, I’m sure there’s a vegan substitute for it. Unfortunately I can’t suggest one but I’m sure that anyone who follows a vegan diet will be able to substitute the right ingredient. As for the butter, there is vegan butter and that tastes pretty good. I tried it on the suggestion of a vegan friend (and blogger) a few years ago.

The Recipe

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Asparagus Soup

Now that fresh asparagus is available year round, you can make this asparagus soup often. Frozen asparagus works well too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: asparagus, asparagus recipes, asparagus soup

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

16 oz (1 lb) fresh asparagus or frozen asparagus
1 medium onion finely chopped
12 oz potatoes peeled and cubed
4 tbs unsalted butter
32 oz chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Break off the woody ends of the asparagus (if using fresh). Slice off the tops--these will be used as a garnish. Cut the asparagus stalks into 1/2-inch slices. Set the chopped asparagus aside.
Melt the butter in a medium dutch oven over medium heat. Add the potatoes and the onion. Stir to coat with the butter and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion is softened.
Add the stock and the sliced asparagus stalks. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Using a stick (immersion) blender, puree the soup. If you don't have a sick blender, use a regular blender or food processor. If the asparagus is not young and tender, you may have to put the soup through a sieve to eliminate any woody parts that remain.
Add the cream and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the garnish, blanch the asparagus tops in boiling water for 3 minutes.

Nutrition

*Adapted from Mary Berry

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Butter Crumb Asparagus

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 08 May 2018 23:00:31 +0000

Whether you roast this asparagus on the grill or the oven, the buttery crumbs make it more delicious!

Who Doesn’t Love Asparagus?

I don’t think you’d find many people who didn’t like asparagus.

It seems to be widely available in any season these days. In my youth I remember that it was only available when it was in season–springtime. Nowadays you can find it in the store in any season. Off-season, it’s a bit pricy, but there’s plenty of great sales during the spring.

My late husband used to grow this. Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve picked it fresh and eaten it raw. I don’t remember how he used to cultivate it, only that he didn’t plant it every year. Eventually, it petered out and he never re-planted it.

Favorite Cooking Method

My mother used to use an old-fashioned double boiler with the insert pot inverted to cook asparagus. Mainly because back in the day there were no microwaves and no one thought of any other methods than stove-top cooking.

I would either microwave it or steam it with an insert in a large skillet. Frankly, I never thought of roasting or grilling asparagus–or any other veggie for that matter. However when roasting became a popular method for preparing vegetables, I jumped on the bandwagon and was sorry I waited so long to try this method.

Roasting gives a depth of flavor that cannot be achieved with steaming or microwaving. The reason is that the natural sugars will caramelize with either roasting or grilling since it’s a “dry” method of cooking. I literally flipped the first time I tried roasted asparagus and vowed never to cook it by any other method. It’s probably healthier too since water-soluble vitamins will not be washed away, since there’s no water involved; there’s just a bit of oil so the vitamins will still be in the asparagus.

Oh Those Crumbs!

If the roasted asparagus wasn’t delicious enough, wait till you taste it with these buttery crumbs!

You must use soft breadcrumbs for them since you won’t get the right texture using commercial crumbs and even Panko. They are flavored with fresh thyme, but it’s not overpowering. The herbal flavor is just a slight whisper that adds so much to the taste. The final crowning glory is the tiny spritz of lemon juice! It’s just the right touch to temper the richness of the crumbs.

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The Recipe

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Butter Crumb Asparagus

Whether you roast asparagus on the grill or in the oven, the buttery crumbs make it more delicious

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: asparagus recipes, roasted asparagus

Servings: 6

Calories: 95kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 oz. day-old bread crust removed, or four 1/2-inch-thick baguette slices
1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt
1 1/2 lb. asparagus trimmed
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 250ºF. Put the bread in a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Spread the crumbs on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until they’re dry and lightly crisped, about 20 minutes. Let cool and then grind again in the processor to get a scant 1/4 cup of fine crumbs.
Melt the butter in a skillet over moderately low heat. Add the breadcrumbs and thyme. Cook slowly, stirring often, until the crumbs are a uniform deep golden brown, about 18 min. Season with 1/8 tsp. salt and set aside to let cool. The crumbs will crisp as they cool.
Raise the oven temperature to 450ºF. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with the olive oil. Using your hands, toss the spears to coat evenly with the oil. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt. Roast until the spears are tender and lightly blistered, 12 to 14 min. for medium spears. Transfer them to a platter or individual plates, sprinkle with the lemon juice, and top with the breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

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