Roasted Carrots

Another winner from Pioneer Woman. Actually, from her friend, Pastor Ryan. Anyway, this recipe is magic. It takes about 3 minutes to get ready, and then for the next 40 minutes your home will be filled with the most lovely aromas...When the carrots are done, you'll be amazed at how sweet they are and you will dream of carrots this way...promise!

photo from here

Ingredients

• 12 carrots
• 1 handful of fresh thyme 
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the ends off of your carrots, then cut them in half lengthwise. It's important to try and make the carrots uniform size, because if they're not, some will be too crunchy and some too soft. 


Next, lay the carrots on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss them around so they all get coated. Next, sprinkle the thyme on them, as well as a generous amount of salt and pepper. Arrange them on a baking sheet and cook for 35-40 minutes.

Sauteed Zucchini!

I have been on a huge veggie kick lately (it's Spring and produce is fresh again!) 

Jase and I made this as a side for my birthday dinner. Neither of us could remember the last time we ate zucchini but I saw this recipe somewhere and thought it looked lovely. It did not disappoint! It was superbly easy to make (under 10 minutes) and is for sure one of our favorite veggie recipes EVER.

photo from here

Sauteed Zucchini

• Zucchini
• 1 tbsp (more or less, to your taste) olive oil
• oregano or other Italian herbs
• 1 glove garlic, crushed
• salt and fresh pepper
• lemon juice

Cut zucchinis in half, and then cut lengthwise until you have pretty thin 3-4 inch strips. Season with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat. Add zucchini to pan, add oregano and sauté about 2 minutes on each side. Add garlic and cook another few minutes, until tender. At the last minute, I added some fresh lemon juice and it was perfect! Enjoy :)

Lemon Broiled Asparagus!

Spring has (almost) sprung and with that means... asparagus is in season! 

I love asparagus so much. Jase and I have eaten it with dinner at least three times in the past week. My favorite (simple) way to make it:

Wash and pat dry asparagus. Cut off the bottom inch or so and place in a single layer on a tin-foil covered cooking sheet.

Drizzle some (I used less than a TBS) olive oil over the asparagus and roll them all around in it so they're equally covered. I have also seen some people simply spray it with cooking spray... but I think that's gross. Go for the olive oil.

Squeeze the juice of half of a lemon over asparagus, then sprinkle lots of salt and pepper on it. Finally, cover with desired amount of grated Parmesan cheese.

Broil on High for about 5 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown and the asparagus is tender. 

Enjoy!

Cornbread muffins

This is an amazing recipe from the Our Best Bites cookbook. It's a cake-like muffin you won't be able to put down! We had them tonight with chili and fresh asparagus and it was delicious. The recipe makes about 3 dozen muffins.


Enjoy! 

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix

2 boxes jiffy cornbread mix

eggs, milk and oil according to both packages (substitute all water for milk)

What to do

Combine and mix well.  
Bake according to cake package.  
Serve with honey butter.