Baked Asparagus Chips and Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I have to admit that sometimes my cooking techniques are uncreative and boring. Meaning, the majority of the time I settle for boiled or steamed asparagus and baked sweet potatoes. WHY WHY WHY WHY? I have no idea. We all get in our ruts and routines. So, I stepped out of my bubble and tried something new- for me- and by no means a novel idea. I'm sure many have tried this before, but NOW it's our turn!!! :)

Baked Asparagus Chips (inspired by a dear friend)

Preparation: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 1 person

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch asparagus

1 tsp olive or canola oil

sprinkle of salt

sprinkle of pepper

sprinkle of garlic powder

Steps:

1. Buy fresh asparagus and chop off the ends.

2. Place on a baking sheet. Poor about 1 tsp olive or canola oil in your hands and spread over asparagus. Be sure to lay each spear flat on sheet.

3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

4. Bake 30-40 minutes. Time varies based on individual ovens as well if you want yours more/less crispy!! Enjoy!

Uncooked Asparagus

Cooked/baked Asparagus

Sweet Potato Fries (inspired by above Baked Asparagus Chips)

Preparation: 5-10 minutes

Bake Time: 40-50 minutes

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1 small/medium sweet potato, peeled and 1/4 inch long strips.

1 tsp olive or canola oil

sprinkle of salt

sprinkle of pepper

sprinkle of garlic powder

Steps:

1. Peel sweet potato

2. Cut into thin strips

3. Place on baking sheet and cover with olive/canola oil. Be sure to lay flat.

4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

4. Bake 30-40 minutes. Time varies based on individual ovens as well if you want yours more/less crispy!! Enjoy!

Of note: I paired these two side with the garlic baked cod recipe (from yesterday!)

Garlic Baked Cod

Moving away from salmon (because it's over fished...) and moving on to other types of fish, please say hello to Mrs. Cod. :)

Garlic Baked Cod

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Bake Time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 pound cod

Vegetable broth

sprinkle of thyme

sprinkle of black pepper

sprinkle of salt

3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

Steps:

1. Place uncooked cod in a glass baking dish

2. Cover with vegetable broth

3. Sprinkle with thyme, black pepper and salt (Of note, I had to use extra salt b/c my vegetable broth was low sodium and therefore- I have to admit- the flavor was a little bland.)

4. Thinly slice 3 cloves of garlic and add to fish/broth.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 3o-40 minutes

6. Enjoy with your favorite sides!! (See tomorrow's post for my side dishes!)

Tasty Tofu Broccoli Pasta

So first-up in 2011 is the infamous tofu. I know. I know. Tofu is SO hard to work with, right. NO! Wrong. It gets easier the more you practice. Practice makes better.

For my recipe, I was inspired by this tofu recipe.

Tofu Broccoli Pasta

Serves: 2-3

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 block extra-firm tofu

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp dried/powdered ginger

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

bag of frozen broccoli (sauce/salt free)

1/2 box wheat pasta

Steps:

1. Drain tofu. Place tofu in-between 2 dishes. Place something heavy on-top of tofu to aid in squeezing out the liquid. Let stand for 15 minutes or so.

2. Slice and dice tofu into equally sized cubes (probably medium sized, but your choice.)

[See below for preparation steps for broccoli and pasta which can be done simultaneously.]

3. Pan fry tofu in frying pan with oil until light brown on medium heat approximately 10 minutes.

4. Add in garlic, ginger, and chili powder for approximately 5 minutes.

5. Stir maple syrup and lemon juice and soy sauce.

6. Remove from heat and serve!

Making it a meal!

Before you begin pan frying your tofu, boil 2 pots of water- one for the broccoli and one for the pasta. You just want to heat up the broccoli, which probably takes 5-8 minutes. The pasta usually takes about 15-20 minutes. The tofu takes about 20 minutes in total. Time it right and all 3 will be cooked and hot at the same time! Mix together and you have a complete meal! I recommend 1 cup cooked wheat pasta with 1-1.5 cups cooked broccoli, and half the block of tofu! Enjoy! (It's taaaaaastY! :))

Well Hello Again!

Well hello fellow readers. I apologize for my hiatus. What can I say? Sometimes we unexpectedly get trapped by quick sand and as you know yourself, it's not so easy to escape. With that said, I used my magic powers to escape and voila! here I am!! Get ready for some new cooking adventures! Happy Reading