Last week, I was debating buying asparagus from Whole Foods, as they were having a sale. The sale price was $2.99/lb, so I decided to wait a few more days to finish off the other greens in my fridge. On my way to walk Tucker, I decided to stop by Trader Joe’s to buy bananas, and lo and behold! Asparagus on sale for $1.99/lb! And since I had time this weekend, I decided to create a recipe with all of my favorite things: garlic, olive oil, cheese, zucchini, and asparagus.
Ingredients: salt, pepper, 2 cups of chopped asparagus, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 3-4 cloves of garlic, liberal amounts of any/all types of cheese you like, 1 teaspoon of onion powder (optional), and thinly sliced zucchini (optional).
Note on cheese: It would have been nice to have Parmesan cheese, as it adds more saltiness to the bland vegetables, but I always make do with what I have. I mixed left over fresh mozzarella and Wisconsin extra sharp cheddar.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Finely chop the garlic and put it in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Pour olive oil over and add onion powder (optional). Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds (watch the microwave and the olive oil can burn and ruin the flavor).
- Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly on top of the asparagus and zucchini (optional – I had a bit of zucchini left over and decided to use it up). Put the vegetables on a baking pan and use a spoon to drizzle the warm olive oil mixture evenly over the vegetables.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Take out the pan and spread out the cheese on top of the vegetables. Bake again for 10 minutes (or until all the cheese melts).
Purenbit 