Another Asparagus Recipe Because I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!

More asparagus! ALL THE ASPARAGUS!

This time with MEAT AND CHEESE! I can't even...

My recipe was slightly modified from this one. The "slightly modified" part is kind of standard with Lisa Recipes. Sigh...I just can't keep things simple can I?!

Ingredients
- Phyllo dough. I used 4 sheets of dough. The second time I made this I cut smaller squares and it worked much better!

- Prosciutto. As many slices as you need servings. I got mine cut fresh at the deli, then cut each piece in half when I got home.

- Mozzarella. I buy the gooey-est stuff I can find. Can't remember the brand right now...

- Goat's cheese (or feta, depending on your budget)

- Melted butter. Lots of butter. I use unsalted.

Directions
Pre-prep-step: Thaw your phyllo dough (that's kind of a "duh" step).

1. Preheat your oven to 375F.

2. Follow the instructions on the box of phyllo dough for separating and getting the butter on. I didn't do this the first time, and it was a giant pain in my arse. Second time was much smoother! Essentially, pretend your phyllo is a book that is folded in half. Open the first page and paint it with butter. Now flip to the back and paint it with butter. Now flip to page three...and repeat...

3. Repeat the above step for all your layers. I finished with butter, because butter.

4. Cut into squares or smallish rectangles. Use your best judgement on this. The recipe I read and the reality of my phyllo on the first attempt did not mesh, so I had to improvise.

5. Lay one piece of prosciutto in the centre of the square, followed by a small slice of mozza, a generous smear of goat cheese and the asparagus. I used three small sticks of asparagus, but you can adjust the serving size according to your needs. Wants. Desires.

6. Roll 'em up!

7. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with more butter. More butter.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. I finished them off with a quick broil. Wasn't entirely quick enough.

Let them cool a bit before eating to avoid scalding your tongue on the hot, gooey, mmmmmmm cheesey cheese. Mmmmmmmmmmm....ooh baby...

This one is going into the rotation, that's for damn sure.
Lisa

Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus

This has become my go-to side. And asparagus is in season right now, which means it's super cheap and so very delicious!!

Ingredients
One bunch asparagus spears
One package of proscuitto (don't buy the smoked stuff for this!)
2-3 tbsp Olive oil
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp salt (I like the coarse sea salt myself)
1/2 tbsp fresh ground pepper

One bunch of asparagus makes about seven bundles, depends on how many spears you bundle together.

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep your asparagus by breaking off the bottoms. TIP: Just bend them, and they will break at the right point on their own. Wash and put them aside in a glass baking dish.

Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper together in a large bowl. Add asparagus spears and toss, making sure they get completely coated.

Wrap a small bundle of spears with one slice of proscuitto. Make as many bundles as you need! Lay in glass baking dish and pour any leftover marinade over the top. Let marinate in fridge about an hour, but the longer the better.

Bake in oven for about 7 mins, then broil for 2. You can also BBQ for 2 mins per side. They don't need very long to cook! Nobody likes mushy asparagus...once they turn a nice bright green and the proscuitto starts to brown they are done!

Your mouth should be watering by now. That is the appropriate response.

Thank you again to Karen for passing this along. I am a hero because of this recipe.

A side dish hero, but it still counts.
Lisa

Mmmm..."Bread"

Thanks to this book, I made my first loaf of sandwich bread last weekend! I hate cookbooks...but I love this one.

I picked it up ages ago because I wanted something IN MY HANDS (aka not on the Internet) full of great "paleo" recipes. Grain free, gluten free, whole food kind of stuff. And it had to be simple. I'm not so good with recipes in general, and really terrible at the ones with lots of ingredients, and steps, and special tools. Blargh!

I marked the "sandwich bread" pretty much immediately, and BFF seemed excited to try it as well. But I have been putting it off. Why? Cause I'm lazy, that's why. And also..umm...nope, just lazy!

And then I had a bit of time to spare on a Sunday afternoon, and I was procrastinating washing dishes and this seemed like the perfect task for that! And look at how PRETTY my bread turned out!

Ingredients
3/4 cup almond butter, smooth
6 eggs
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup golden flax seed, ground
3 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 4 x 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and grease well with coconut oil. Getting the parchment paper to stay in the pan was the hardest part of the recipe for me, which is amusing because I used to have a job in paper crafting!

2. In a large bowl, blend the almond butter, eggs, honey, coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar with an immersion blender.
I am in love with my immersion blender. In. Love.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flax, coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix the dry into the wet the immersion blender works great for this (...in love...), pour into the greased and lined loaf pan, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

The flavour is slightly nutty thanks to the almond butter, but not overwhelming. And the honey adds just the right amount of sweetness. It's moist, and dense, and so far it's amazing for sandwiches and snacking!

I have a feeling that I'm going to want to make a loaf every week. Even Dude gave it his approval! I mean...look at this sandwich.......

Yes please!

Power Leopard, I Mean Breakfast

Howdy Peeps! I thought I would share with you today my delicious "power breakfast" that keeps me full until early afternoon. No mid-morning snacking for this gal after a bowl of this! And did I mention it's gluten free and JAM-PACKED FULL of protein and fibre and omegas and fairy dust and unicorn glitter? Well, maybe I made up those last two items, but it's still full of lots of "good for you" kind of stuff!

Ingredients:

Chia Seeds

Quinoa Flakes, Coconut flakes, whole almonds

Raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds

peanut butter, frozen blueberries

coconut milk

keep in mind: If you don't have whole almonds, use slivered ones. Or pecans. Or cashews.

If you don't have pumpkin seeds, don't worry about it!

And if you come from one of those magical places that can purchase fresh raspberries at this time of year without re-mortgaging your house, use those instead!

I like "recipes" that I can fiddle with, and tweak as I go along. It's way better for my sanity and my follow through! And remember that all the stuff you put in shouldn't have any added salt or sugar. Or added anything really. We are looking for real ingredients, real food. All of the ingredients in this recipe are full of vitamins and nutrients and ENERGY that occur naturally! Say what?!

I eat this slowly throughout the morning, and I literally don't feel any cravings or hunger pains until actual lunch time. While all the other ladies at work are eating their lunches at 11:00am, then snacking the afternoon away!

Remember that seeds & nuts are high in fats and calories so you only need a little sprinkle of them. I think I add maybe 5 almonds to the whole big bowl.

First things first, I add some water to a bowl (or plastic container if this is coming to work with me). Then I add my chia seeds to let them soak, usually just under a tablespoon. These guys plump up quite nicely when wet! And then I throw everything else in the bowl and give it a stir! And that is that!

Yeah....I don't measure anything for this recipe, or for most recipes to be honest. I mostly just want to show you that you don't needs lots and lots of each ingredient. It's the combination of everything, the variety that's important!

And I warm mine up, cause I apparently like a warm breakfast!

This is the breakfast that I prep for two days in advance, then take to work so I don't have to mess around with it in the morning. I keep all of my ingredients on the same shelf in my disaster of a tiny "pantry" so they're easy to grab and clean up after. The rest of the ingredients are in the fridge.

Oh, and if you like a little extra sweet, add some maple syrup. And please would you splurge and buy the real stuff, and not that "maple-flavoured" liquid sugar garbage? You'll thank me for it!

Do you have any fun "superfood" recipes?

Do you have any fun recipes involving, say, Cheetos?

we're equal opportunity here on the blog!

later loves