Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

In my kids book, everything tastes better with Parmesan :) This is a great way to get them to eat their asparagus. Thanks Everyday Food Good Food Fast

2 bunches asparagus
1 TBSP olive oil
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 C finely grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Trim the tough ends from the asparagus.
2. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the asparagus with the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
3. Roast until the asparagus is tender and the cheese is melted, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Corn on the Cob with Basil-Parmesan Butter

Summer can't come quick enough for me. Here is another wonderful recipe for the grill. I would grill all year round if I could but I don't like getting rained on and having to check doneness by flashlight :) Another from Weber's Real Grilling.

Butter:
1/4 C unsalted butter, softened
1/4 C freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 TBSP finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp granulated garlic

4 ears corn, husked

1. To make the butter: In a small bowl, mash the butter ingredients together with the back of a fork, and then stir to distribute the seasonings throughout the butter.
2. Brush about 1 TBSP of the seasoned butter all over each ear of corn. Grill over direct medium heat until browned in spots and tender, 10 to 15 minutes, truning occasionally. Serve warm with the remaining butter spread on the corn.

Artichokes with Oregano and Salt

My family loves artichokes. I have made this many times for company and they always ask for the recipe. Again, from Weber's Real Grilling.

4 large artichokes
Juice of 1 lemon
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Cut the stem off each artichoke, leaving about 1/2 inch attached. Peel off the dark outer leaves until you expose the light green, yellowish leaves underneath. Lay each artichoke on its side and cut off the top half so you have just the firm base to work with. Cut each base in half lenghtwise through the stem and drop each half into a large bowl of water mixed with the lemon juice (to prevent discoloration).
3. One at at time, lift the artichokes from the water and use a tsp to scoop out all the fuzzy choke and purplish leaves. Cook the artichokes in the boiling salted water until you can pierce them easily with a knife, 12 to 15 minutes, but DON"T OVERCOOK them or they will fall apart on the grill (I did this the first time). Drain the artichokes in a colander and place in a large bowl. While still warm, add the oil, oregano, granulated garlic, and salt. Toss gently to coat the artichokes. (the artichokes may be made up to this point and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. Bring to room temperature before grilling)
4. Grill the artichokes over direct medium heat until well browned and warm, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Serve warm with the butter.

"Chevy's" Sweet Corn Cake

If you are like me, when you go to Chevy's you savor EVERY bite of that sweet corn cake they give you a little dollop of on your plate. That's all I get? Can I have more please? I never have asked, but it always leaves me wanting more! I had never made it until this week. Found this recipe on Allrecipes. It came out great. Not an exact match, but that same yum factor! I made it for home group to go with Fajitas. I doubled it, but I still did it in 2 8 x 8's since they needed to be floating in a 9x13 of water.

Sweet Corn Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup masa harina
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions

In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the Mexican corn flour and water and beat until well mixed.

Using a food processor, process thawed corn, but leave chunky. Stir into the butter mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into an ungreased 8x8 inch baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil. Place pan into a 9x13 inch baking dish that is filled a third of the way with water.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven F (175 degrees C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop for easy removal from pan.

roasted balsamic vegetables with penne

Okay Julie, here you go.... It's not that I don't want to share, I'm just slow at this. Don't be turned off by the long list of ingredients, it's just cutting up a bunch of vegetables. The goat cheese mixed with warm roasted veggies is creamy and delicious!

1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices

2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices (about 6 oz.) I find grape tomatoes work too

1 eggplant, cut into bite-size pieces (about 1 c.)

1 medium onion, cut into 1/4 inch-thick rounds

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch-wide slivers

4tbs. chopped basil, divided

4tbs. balsamic vinegar, divided

1tbs. Extra Virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

8oz. penne

2tbs. sour cream

1tbs goat cheese ( I always use more cheese!)

Preheat oven to 500

In a medium bowl, add zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, onion, bell pepper, 2tbs basil, 2tbs vinegar, oil salt, pepper and toss.

place in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake for 15-20 min until vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife and just beginning to brown.

Cook pasta. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add sour cream, vegetables, 2tbs basil, 2tbs vinegar, and toss to combine.

Serve pasta and crumble goat cheese over the top

note* the recipe says to reserve 1/2C of the roasted veg. for another use another day ( put on baguette bread with cream cheese) I think it's fine to add all the vegetables to the pasta.

note* last time I made this I mixed in browned sausage, it was good!