Easy asparagus side dish

     My favorite vegetables in the world are roasted broccoli and roasted asparagus.  I came up with this simple side dish to save some fresh asparagus from the trashcan.  I really kind of just threw in some of my favorite things and popped it in the oven.  Now this side dish is a staple in my house!  It's so delicious and easy!

Ingredients: I don't really know the measurements....It's all relative to how much asparagus you are making.  Just eyeball it!
Fresh asparagus, with tough ends trimmed
Black olives, sliced
Lite balsamic vinaigrette
Reduced fat, crumbled feta

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a cookie sheet with canola oil nonstick spray.  Lay asparagus spears in one layer.  Drizzle enough vinaigrette to coated the vegetables.  With clean hands, toss asparagus around but make sure they return to a single layer.  Sprinkle feta and olives over the top.  Place into a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.  You want the asparagus to be soft but not burnt.  There will be a little sizzle from the dressing.

Swiss and Asparagus Pasta...updated 9.16.2013

     I am a huge pasta lover!  I could eat spaghetti every day.  I love lots of cheese and lots of sauce!  Unfortunately spaghetti and many other pasta dishes are not the healthiest.  I have been experimenting with different dishes...switching to whole wheat or veggie pasta, making low fat sauces, and substituting fatty meats with lean meat and/or vegetables.  The sun-dried tomato and spinach pasta (in my "Meatless Meals" post) was a hard competitor, but I think this Taste of Home recipe holds it own!

Swiss and Asparagus Pasta (makes 5 servings)
Ingredients: 6 ounces of angel hair pasta ...I use whole grain rigatoni or ziti
1/2 pound of fresh asparagus, cut into one inch segments
1/4 pound of fresh mushrooms ...one full drained jar of mushrooms works also
1/2 teaspoon of chives
1 1/2 tablespoon of butter ...I use Smart Balance Light with canola oil
1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt-free seasoning blend ...see below**
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup plus a splash of milk ...I use fat free
3 ounces shredded Swiss cheese ...I use 3 wedges of Laughing Cow light Swiss
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional ...Not optional in my house :)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, place asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender.
2. In a large saucepan, saute mushrooms and chives in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, seasoning blend and salt; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the Swiss cheese; cook and stir until melted.
3. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Add asparagus and cheese sauce; toss to coat. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired

     This recipe is pretty easy...the hardest part is making the sauce.  It's so worth the extra steps for lower calorie, delicious, cheesy sauce!  We always have leftovers that are prefect for next week lunch options.  Enjoy!

***Update!***

     Well I put see below next to salt-free seasoning and then forgot to add the "below" (lol).  I actually did not have any salt-free seasoning blend so I simply added a sprinkle of each: basil, oregano, garlic powder, parsley, cayenne, and black pepper.  All are dried spices.  It came out perfect, but use salt-free seasoning if you have it :)

"Clean-out-the-fridge" Stir Fry

     We all have those fresh vegetables sitting in the bottom of the refrigerator just waiting to go bad.  Here's a quick and simple recipe to clean out the fridge.  After making this and getting the seal of approval, I now keep a jar of stir fry sauce in the fridge for days like these!

"Clean-out-the-fridge" Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of stir fry sauce (I use Kikkoman with no preservatives)
2 baked chicken breasts (Bake with salt and pepper.  Cut into strips or any bite-size pieces.)

2 cups of fresh vegetables (Here's where you clean the fridge!  I used baby carrots and asparagus.)
1 medium onion, diced
Tablespoon of Smart Balance butter spread
Teaspoon of minced garlic
Canola oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
First bake your chicken if you haven't already.  They will need to rest in order for the meat to be nice and juicy.  I usually keep some cooked chicken in the fridge for recipes like these (or my Simple Chicken Salad).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop vegetables into equal sized portions and place in a roasting pan.  Drizzle canola oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.  With clean hands, toss veggies around so that the oil coats everything.  This will help veggies to roast without burning to a crisp.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes.  When you start smelling them, they are done!  You want them to be fork tender but not mushy.

While these are working, begin the stir fry.  In a wok or deep skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium high.  Cook onion until translucent and fragrant.  Add garlic.  Add sliced chicken.  Remember that the chicken is already cooked, we're just looking to warm it through and get some of the great flavors into it.  Turn your stove down...again we don't want to burn anything, just keep it warm.

Carefully transfer roasted veggies into the wok or skillet.  These will be very hot!  Add stir fry sauce and make sure everything is combined thoroughly.  I usually cover this and let it sit on low heat for 5-10 minutes.  The longer it sits, the better it tastes in my opinion.

Serve over rice or by itself.  Enjoy!

Simple, Healthy Roasted Cabbage

     One thing that I struggle with each night is coming up with new and exciting side dishes.  One side dish that I'm in love with is my Easy Asparagus.  Unfortunately, I can't make this every single night (well, I could but that would be mean to the other veggies).  I actually read about this roasted cabbage in a magazine and tried it one night.  It's very easy!  After several attempts, I have definitely perfected the sauce and this cabbage has become a common side dish.  Definitely try it out!

Roasted Cabbage

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cabbage, sliced into strips
3 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons turkey bacon bits
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Tin foil
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, sauce, lemon juice, and pepper.  Create a tin foil bag and place it on a baking sheet.  The liquid may leak so we want to catch it.  Toss cabbage strips in the sauce mixture and place inside the foil.  Before sealing it up, sprinkle bacon bits on top.  Seal the tin foil by rolling the edges over to make a little bag.  Place foil on top of a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  The cabbage will be soft and flavorful.

Vanilla Porter Egg Nog

     This year, we started a new Christmas tradition.  Christmas Eve now consists of a nice dinner at home, presents, movie, and egg nog.  For dinner, we recreated our anniversary dinner; bacon wrapped beef filet (recipe located here!) with roasted asparagus (recipe also located here!) and sweet potato fries.  For the movie, we watched "Wolverine."  Not very Christmas-y, I know, but a pretty good movie none the less.
    The main attraction was the EGG NOG!  In my research, I found of lot of different recipes with different key notes.  I originally picked a Weight Watchers egg nog recipe, but... silly me... trying to be healthy during the holidays!  In the decision dilemma, Tory took the cake with a beer inspired egg nog recipe.  Of course, Weight Watchers went out the door (sorry)!  The original recipe can be found at http://www.stonebrew.com/holiday/ along with some other beer based recipes. I will be trying these soon!

Vanilla Porter Egg Nog
Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 ounces Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean...I could not find this one so I used Breckingridge Vanilla Porter.  I also used the whole bottle (oops :)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
Place the egg yolks, vanilla and ½ cup of the sugar in the bowl of an
electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat for several minutes, until
the yolks lighten up and magically double in volume. Add the remaining
ingredients—except for the egg white and the rest of the sugar—and mix
until everything’s fully combined. Transfer the mixture to another bowl and
forget about it for a bit.

Wash the bowl and whisk, then place the egg whites in the bowl and
start whisking them up. Slowly sprinkle in the rest of the sugar and keep
whisking until thick and stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk
mixture and chill.

When you’re ready to serve, pour the nog into stylish goblets or your favorite
form of beer glass, garnish with a little more nutmeg and go spread some
beery holiday cheer.