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Oven Roasted Asparagus

This recipe is super easy and so simple. It is my favorite way to prepare asparagus and not sure if I would ever steam again. It’s easy to prepare for a large crowd or small. You could also experiment with different spices to match whatever dish you are preparing it with, I’d love to hear what spices you try.

Oven Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Print recipe
Oven Roasted Asparagus Recipe
Serves 4-6
Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 8 minutes
Total time 13 minutes
Meal type Side Dish
This simple and healthy recipe is the perfect side to any dish. FrenchToasty.com makes vegetables easy to prepare and keeps them delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

Note

The secret here is for the oven to be really hot so the asparagus can begin to brown on the outside without to over cooked on the inside and becoming flimsy, you want it to still have a bite to it.

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Step 2
Wash the asparagus thoroughly then stack a bunch together and cut off the tough/thick bottom an inch or so. Or where they break easily.
Step 3
Pat dry, if there is water on them it will steam them. In a single layer spread asparagus and generously drizzle the olive oil and then with the salt and pepper.
Step 4
Roast the asparagus for 8-10 minutes. Not flimsy, but brown with a bit of a crunch to it.

On the pan before roasting.

Roasted Seasoned Carrots

I was at the farmers market the other day buying some delicious huge snap peas and I looked over and saw these gorgeous carrots, so I grabbed a bunch up. We ate a few as soon as we got home in some dip but I wanted to have them for dinner. So I figured why not bake them and add a little seasoning. They turned out excellent and my whole family loved them, especially my daughter.

I feel like carrots don’t get enough credit, they are often pushed to the side of peoples plates and left :( but that is a shame. Next dinner party you have make these and watch them get gobbled up.

For this recipe you can cut them into spears, slices or leave them whole like I did. If they are really big I’d recommend cutting them in some way for even cooking. You can add a huge variety of spices to change these dramatically. Some suggestions are paprika, thyme, rosemary, cumin, sage, cayenne, crushed red peppers actually anything you can think of would be great just make sure not to do too many at once :) . You could also try pre-made spice blends such as Italian, Old Bay or Mexican. Let me know what spices you experiment with.

Roasted Seasoned Carrots

Print recipe
Roasted Seasoned Carrots
Serves 4-6
Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 20 minutes
Total time 25 minutes
Dietary Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type Side Dish
Website Voracious Vander
This is the easiest way to make delicious carrots for a terrific vegetable side dish. FrenchToasty.com has lots of vegetable dishes.

Ingredients

  • 1lb carrots
  • salt & pepper
  • crushed red peppers
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Step 2
Clean and chop carrots into desired size. Coat carrots with olive oil.
Step 3
Spread onto cookie sheet and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.
Step 4
Cook for about 20 minutes flipping about half way through. Edges will be slightly golden brown.

Turn this…

into this. YUM!

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

My family is getting sick, so my husband requested chicken noodle soup. This is a classic soup that everyone goes to when they are not feeling the greatest, but it’s also great for a chilly day to warm up. Served in our new Buddha bowls that we got for Christmas. They are great and have a little handle to hold.

A classic chicken noodle soup is also great for little ones. My daughter loves to eat the carrots and noodles by them self and tosses them in her mouth as fast as she can chew. I hope you and your little ones can enjoy a chilly day with this soup or as a way to comfort your family if they are feeling under the weather.

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth or water and bullion
2-3 carrots, chopped into bite size pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, cut very small (optional)
2 cups egg noodle
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
2 T fresh parsley, chopped for topping

Directions

  1. Bring broth to a boil. Add veggies and egg noodle. Cook according to noodle package, probably 8-10 minutes.
  2. Add cooked chicken in the last 3 minutes.
  3. Serve in bowl with fresh parsley on top.

Serve with crispy bread to make a complete meal.

Basic Green Kale Salad

Everyone knows how to make a basic green salad, but this is just giving you an idea of some of my favorite ingredients that I like in my green salad.

When making a salad opt for kale instead of lettuce, more nutritious and it holds up nicely and doesn’t wilt. Both perfect reasons to enjoy a salad with dinner tonight!

Basic Green Kale Salad

Print recipe
Basic Green Kale Salad
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Allergy Egg
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Salad
Misc Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
Crisp green salad with nutritious kale and vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch kale (discard middle stem and rip into bite size pieces)
  • 2 small bell peppers (red and yellow) (chopped bite size)
  • 2 medium slices pepper jack cheese (cubed)
  • 1/2 medium cucumber or zucchini (sliced and quartered)
  • 10 cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • dressing of your choice (my favorites are balsamic vinegar, honey mustard and cesar)

Optional

  • 1-2 hard boiled eggs (sliced)

Directions

Step 1
Layer all ingredients in a bowl or on a plate and apply dressing right before serving. Enjoy!

Roasted Browned Butter Balsamic Asparagus

Asparagus is a great vegetable to have, it’s not only fun to eat but very tasty. This recipe is excellent to make for a large group because you apply the sauce over the asparagus and people can serve themselves. If you like balsamic vinegar then you will love this recipe. It’s not an overpowering flavor but a slight hint and that makes it very tasty.

This recipe can easily be doubled for a large crowd, so serve this at your next family dinner.

Roasted Browned Butter Balsamic Asparagus

20 Asparagus spears, trimmed (about 1lb)
dash of sea salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
cracked black pepper, for topping

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Arrange asparagus in single layer on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.
  3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
  4. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes (slightly tender), do not overcook
  5. Remove from oven a lay on platter, pour sauce over the top, garnish with cracked pepper and serve.

Browned Butter Balsamic Sauce

  1. Melt butter in small skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes (lightly browned), make sure to shaking pan occasionally.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
  3. Drizzle over vegetable. Garnish with cracked pepper if desired.

The browned butter balsamic sauce would be excellent on any vegetable. I have tried it on broccoli, brussel sprouts and of course asparagus.

Crunchy and delicious, my 1 year old daughter loved it.