Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Feta

I have been searching for healthy vegetable dishes to serve as side dishes. I love all these flavors and decided to try this recipe I found at myrecipes.com with a couple small changes. You can view the original recipe here.

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes and Feta

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or 1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons crumbled reduced-fat feta

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.

I served this along side meatloaf and we really liked it.  The kids did not eat it, but that was fine because there was more for us. The one part of the recipe I was confused about was cooking the asparagus. I was unsure whether to bring the water to a boil, then add the asparagus, or put the asparagus in the pot with the water, bring to a boil, and then cook for 2 minutes. Well, I ended up putting the asparagus in before bringing the water to a boil, but I was happy with the result.  I like my asparagus a little more tender than crisp, but I don't like it soggy.  So it's up to you to decide how you want to try it.  If you make it the other way, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I saw this recipe and immediately thought of my kids. I am always buying granola bars at the store and they are expensive and full of ingredients I can't pronounce.  I thought maybe these would be a good alternative, and even though they still have a fair amount of sugar, I am in control of the ingredients. 

This recipe came to me from an e-mail from Taste of Home. Click here to go to the original recipe.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

1/2 cup your favorite peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the peanut butter, honey, egg, oil and vanilla together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar and salt. Add half of dry mixture to wet mixture and mix well. Repeat with the other half.  Stir in chips.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan/dish with non-stick spray.  Spread mixture into the pan and pack it down well with the back of a spoon. It is normal for the batter to seem sticky. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until set.  Place dish on a wire rack until cool. Cut into bars. 

My kids are absolutely crazy for these. And they are so easy to make. I have already made a couple batches and have been wrapping some of them in wax paper and placing in a freezer bag and freezing them so when the crazy baseball/softball season starts in March, I will have a head start on some quick snacks.

Enjoy!

Turkey Meatballs

As many of you may know, we have been trying to eat healthier at our house, so I have been making some changes to things we like to eat. I was looking for a good meatball recipe to make with ground turkey, and after looking at several, I put together one of my own. Sorry there is no picture....we were hurrying to eat dinner to make it to basketball on time!

Turkey Meatballs

20 oz. package ground turkey

1 egg

1/4 cup Hodgson Mill Oat Bran cereal

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1.    Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

2.    Mix all ingredients in large bowl until well combined.

3.    Roll into balls using 1 tbsp. of meat for each. (I use a 1 tbsp. cookie dough scoop to measure and then formed with my hand)

4.    Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with non-stick foil or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 8 minutes, turn over.  Bake 8 more minutes, turn over.  Bake 8 more minutes, and remove from oven. Total bake time is 24 minutes.

5.    At this point you have meatballs to use in any recipe you want!  Either eat or freeze for later use.

Makes about 45 meatballs.

These were so good, I'm thinking I won't need to make them with beef ever again. My son was gobbling them up right out of the oven. And my husband even commented on their tasty flavor.  So, this is definitely a keeper recipe for us!!!

Hope you like them, too!!