Asparagus with Orange and Basil Sauce [with Chicken]

Note: Delicate asparagus is gently scented with orange zest and basil (mint would also be nice). A sprinkling [or more] of subtle Asiago cheese allows each ingredient to shine equally.

¾ pound pencil-thin asparagus [or whatever your grocer sells banded with a rubberband]

1 garlic clove, finely chopped [or more]

Grated zest of 1 large orange [and the juice inside, you don’t want it to go to waste!]

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper

½ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into strips

¼ cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

1. Bend asparagus gently to snap off the tough ends (they break naturally at the right point); discard ends. Cut spears into 1 ½-inch lengths.  Set aside.
2. Combine garlic, orange zest, [juice from orange that you just zested], butter, salt and pepper in pasta serving bowl.  Set aside to warm to room temperature or, preferably place the bowl (be sure it’s heat proof) over the pasta pot to warm the ingredients and melt the butter while heating the water.  Once the water comes to a boil, remove bowl and set aside. [First of all, I only salt and pepper after the fact and to taste.  Secondly, I’ve only set my bowls on top of the boiling water once and it may be why it cracked.  Not recommended.  Use your brain because evidently I didn’t.]
3. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted [or not] water until almost al dente.  As asparagus and cook until tender, but still bright green, about 1-2 minutes [if it’s thicker than a pencil do 3 minutes].  Drain pasta and asparagus well and immediately add to sauce in bowl.  Sprinkle with basil and Asiago cheese and toss.  Serve at once with [lots of] extra Asiago cheese.
4. [ I use frozen chicken breast strips to add protein to this meal.  Simply place frozen strips on plate in microwave and defrost.  Pour in along with Step #3 above and toss.]

Serves 2 to 4.  Recommended Pasta: 8 ounces bowties (farfalle).  [or whatever kind of “meaty” pasta you have in your cupboard.  I don't recommend spaghetti or linguine type noodles.]

Serve with wine (of course) and enjoy!

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Taken from Rival’s The New Creative Crock Pot Cookbook (2001) by Robin Taylor Swatt.  My notes are in [brackets].

Tuscan Vegetable Torte

3 medium potatoes, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced on the bias (I would not recommend baby carrots, but it can work, what you’re trying to achieve is a layering and the carrots aren’t the ‘correct’ shape)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into rings

1 medium zucchini, sliced on the bias

1 cup fresh or frozen kernel corn

1 cup [or more] mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 cups tomato sauce [Most cans of sauce are 15 oz so I add a bit of water and swirl in can.]]

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, minced

1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, minced

1 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Coat the Crock Pot slow cooker with a non-fat, non-stick cooking spray.  Layer the vegetables in the order given, sprinkling a little of the mozzarella cheese between each layer or so.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the tomato sauce, soy sauce, parsley, thyme, basil, salt, pepper, and cinnamon.  Pour the sauce over the layered vegetables.  Top with any remaining mozzarella cheese.  Cover; cook on Low 8-10 hours or on High for 4-5 hours.  Makes 6+ servings.

Generally I serve this with a big green salad topped with yummy veggies and bread on the side.

Enjoy!

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1) easy

2) tasty

3) kids like it too

4) so very little prep & clean up

Here’s a good recipe from The New Creative Crock Pot Cookbook (2001) by Robin Taylor Swatt (oh thank you Sharon, my MIL, for getting me hooked on slow cooking).  Prep took about 10 minutes.  Throw it in the pot and stir occasionally.  Oh, so easy.

1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts (in my case 2 breasts)

1-14 oz can of tomatoes, drained and diced

1-14 oz can of artichoke hearts in water, drained

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1 cup nonfat chicken broth

1/4 cup white wine (drink another 2 glasses for yourself)

3 Tbs quick cooking tapioca

2 tsp curry powder

1 Tbs fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1 tsp dried sweet basil

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

½ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in the Crock Pot slow cooker. Mix thoroughly. Cover; cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High for 3½-4 hours.  Makes 6 servings; 4 grams of fat per serving.

I served this dish on brown rice with a side of green beans (which were frozen and I simply put in the microwave for 4 minutes).  Also I only cooked the meal in the crock pot for 3 hours and it was just fine and yummy, delicious.

Cheers, friends!

P.S. I’d like to thank The Sister Project for the image that I lifted.  LOVE your site!

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