Thursday, May 5, 2011

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground beef (1/2 lean, 1/2 groud chuck)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 white onion (chopped)
3 small tomatoes (chopped)
3 cloves of crushed garlic
5-6 sprigs of rosemary
1/2 a bunch of asparagus
1/2 a box of cooked, whole wheat spaghetti
Teriaki sauce
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

1. Add some teriaki sauce, salt, and pepper to the meat. Start the sauce by browning the meat in a skillet with a little olive oil over medium high heat. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon until all the meat is brown. Strain the meat and set aside. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees for the asparagus.


2. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and put back on the heat. Add some olive oil, chopped onion, and garlic and turn down the heat to low. Let the onions and garlic cook for about 10 minutes until browned.


3. Add the chopped tomatoes, canned tomatoes, and rosemary. Simmer for 10 minutes.


4. While the sauce is simmering start boiling the water for the pasta. Cook the pasta, strain and reserve.

5. Add the asparagus to a foil lined pan. Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the asparagus. I mixed it up with my hands to get it fully coated. Put in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes until browned.

6. Add the meat back to the sauce and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes to heat it through.

7. Plate with spaghetti and asparagus and serve.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Smoked Shrimp and Asparagus

For this dish the mesquite wood chips gave the food a lot of flavor. We really didn't need to do much to prep the food and only used a few basic ingredients. That is one of the wonderful things about having a smoker.

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. uncooked shrimp
1/2 a bundle of asparagus
Olive oil
Garlic
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Mesquite wood chips
Wood skewers (soak them in water for a few hours before you use them)
Aluminum foil

We got our shrimp at Costco. They even had it deveined.

1. Start by peeling the shrimp. Place the shells in a plastic grocery store bag (I used the plastic bag that came to cover the shrimp package) and the shrimp in a gallon size baggie. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the bag. Seal the bag and shake it up to coat the shrimp. Let marinate for 10-15 minutes.

2. While the shrimp are marinating, make a foil container to put the asparagus in. I fold mine up like a rectangular box.
3. Wash the asparagus; dry it off with a paper towel and place in the foil container. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Crush the garlic and chop; sprinkle over the top.

4. Skewer the shrimp through the middle.

5. Take your food outside and wait for the grill to get hot. Cook the asparagus first... for about 10 minutes. The shrimp will cook very quickly, about 3-4 minutes. Plate and serve!