Whole30 Crockpot Pot Roast

Ok, so we all know that Whole30 is simply about veggies and protein ... no sugar, no grains, no dairy, yada yada yada.

Then tell me THIS:

Why is it so hard sometimes to find something to eat?? 

Explain that to me, please?

I see you out there nodding your head in agreement.

The last time I was at Wally-World shopping, I came across some marked down beef. You know me, I'm all about a bargain (hence my Alter Ego, Frugal in Florida) so I scooped up this roast for $9.99.  Not the 'best' price in town, but certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other stores around.  Does anyone else remember when this stuff was like, $1.99 on a fairly consistent basis?

I had picked this hunk of beef up to make a batch of Mexican Beef but I think Hubby is getting burned out on that so I opted for Pot Roast instead on a fine Sunday morning. Because, you know, if you want to use the crockpot, you best get started early in the morning!

It's a simple recipe ...

1 hunk of beef. This was 2 1/2 pounds. I would have preferred a larger roast but it's what I had
1/2 carton (or 16 ounces) Beef Broth (read your labels! Kitchen Basic, no salt is compliant from what I can see)
2 onions, cut in half and quartered
2 stalks celery, cut in chunks (I omitted the 2nd time making this, totally optional)
handful of baby carrots
salt & pepper (or a seasoning concoction of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
3 bay leaves
a sprinkle of thyme

Drop the onions and celery in the bottom of the crock. Aw, what the heck, toss in the carrots too. First time I added carrots to the top and don't recommend that!

Add the hunk of beef to that and season well with the salt and pepper or spice mix.  Pour the broth around the edge of the beef, drop in the thyme and bay leaves to the liquid.

Place the lid on the crock pot and set on high for 6 hours or so.

Once the beef is cooked, remove from the crockpot. IF you want to make a thicker gravy, pour the juice in to a sauce pan and heat on high heat. Make a mixture of 2 tbs arrowroot powder and 2 tbs water, mix well. Once the liquid is boiling, pour in half of the arrowroot mixture and stir til thickened.

Serve up with a side of smashed potatoes or riced cauliflower and call it a meal!

Enjoy!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Hi. 

Are you ready for Friday yet?

Are you nervous about Friday? You know, the beverages, the snacks, just the usual FriYay stuff that comes in to play ... 75% of my standard FriYay stuff is NOT Whole30 compliant ... 

BUT

These little things ARE!  Sweet!

Here you go:

2 cans of WHOLE water chestnuts (not the sliced ones!) 
1 pkg of bacon 
toothpicks

Grab a large baking sheet and lay out a large piece of parchment paper over it. Turn oven on to 375 degrees. I think I may have fallen over that Amazon sells Kirkland's parchment paper (Costco)??!!

Drain the water chestnuts and dump them out on the cutting board (or plate, whatever).  Open your bacon and cut it in half.

Wrap each water chestnut in bacon, as tight as you can, secure with a toothpick pierced all the way through.  Toss the bacon wrapped nuts on to the baking sheet and spread out to give a little room between them.

*Yes, I do stand mine up but it's not a requirement*

Bake for 15 minutes or til the bacon is cooked to your liking. Yes, you can burn these so keep an eye on them ;-)

I serve mine naked. I know a lot of people make these and then douse them with bbq sauce or some other glaze (teriyaki sauce?) which is fine and dandy, but for me, I like them just bacon and water chestnutty ;-)

Enjoy! 

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Cabbage Salad with Almond Butter Dressing

This turned out to be a really GOOD recipe and I'm always grabbing bags of coleslaw and when I see them, the "asian" cabbage mix bags ... just toss the two smaller bags with the dressing and croutons and go to town to make this!

Here's what you need:

Chopped or shredded cabbage with carrots, etc ... in other words, a bag of coleslaw will work perfect!
cooked chicken, chopped, or in my case, when originally made, cooked turkey
cucumbers, chopped
red or any color peppers, chopped

This was from Costco back when I first made this recipe. I see it now in Target and Publix so look by your salad bags! Toss the dressing packet!

Now, time to make the dressing which really is the star of the salad!

1/3 cup almond butter (make sure you stir it well otherwise it will be real stiff)
garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbs white wine vinegar
juice of one lime
2 tbs coconut aminos
4 tbs avocado oil (or olive oil), enough to make the dressing a little pourable
salt and pepper to taste

Just so you know, coconut aminos are pretty similar to soy sauce ... and since I'm sort of/kind of back on Paleo/Whole30, this was fitting the Whole30 bill to a T.

 

                          Whole Foods                Costco (old pic as now I've got the good                                                                            stuff, JUSTINS!)

Dump all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Toss your cabbage mixture into a bowl (serving size or larger to share), top with cucumbers, peppers and chopped turkey. Pour the dressing over all and toss to combine. Honestly? I used my bare hands as my dressing was still a little to thick ... I ended up adding more oil to the dressing to make it thinner.

This is really good and works great with leftover chicken, turkey, pork or, I suppose, even beef if you had!

*I originally made this Thanksgiving weekend and it was PERFECT with the leftover turkey from that big day!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

September 2016 Whole30 Week 1 FALSE START

That seems to be a lot of numbers in a blog title, doesn't it?

#SeptemberWhole30

So, how did you do on your first week?

Did you cave in on Friday night? Saturday? Or, how about Sunday, since it's a holiday weekend?  Monday? Did you hold out??

Ahem. Sorry. Just curious!

Thursday morning started out like any other morning, I'm so glad that I've been skipping the sugar in my coffee for the past few months ... I'm also so very glad that most of my breakfast choices for the most part, are Whole30 approved ;-)

Day 1

Meal 1:

3 eggs cooked in ghee
1 Aidele chicken apple sausage, chopped up and sauteed in ghee
handful of leftover green beans with diced onion
2 cups of coffee with almond milk

Meal 2:

large salad made with ice berg lettuce, half chopped cucumber, 4 cherry tomatoes, chopped, 2 hard boiled eggs chopped, 2 carrots, chopped and then a dose of Tessemae's Lemon Garlic dressing ... yummmm (and again, this is somewhat a standard lunch for me!)

Meal 3:

Hmmm. 4 beers. And a microwave bag of popcorn.  Needless to say, we are starting officially, on Monday, September 5th.

Check back later to see how my first REAL week went ;-)

Cilantro Lime Riced Cauliflower

Did you see my excitement a few weeks ago when I finally found the bags of riced cauliflower at Trader Joe's? I made a bag of that stuff that very night without any thought ... that's how excited I really was ;-)

It was really easy too since the cauliflower was already riced ... all I had to do was zest a lime, chop some cilantro, juice the lime and cook the "rice".

I have turned so many people on to this stuff in the past few weeks
that I may never find it again at the Trader Joe's by my house!
*Type 1 Diabetics should be stockpiling this stuff with only 3 grams of carbs per serving!

This isn't really a recipe, so to speak, but more of a process. And I'm looking forward to making it again!

Here's what you need:

1 12 oz bag of riced cauliflower (or you can certainly rice your own, it's just messy)
handful of cilantro
1 lime

Toss your cauliflower rice into a non-stick skillet over medium heat and allow to heat through without messing with it much. I used my Green Pan and didn't use oil or anything else and it was cooked in 15 minutes.

Add the cooked cauliflower to a bowl and toss the cilantro in. Zest your lime, cut the lime in half and squeeze both halves over the rice/cilantro mix.

Give a quick fluff/stir and serve up ;-)

I had made this for Taco Tuesday (which really was a Taco Wednesday) and had a taco bowl - shredded lettuce, "rice" and meat ... can I just tell you how dang happy my tummy was?? It was pretty tasty and I can honestly say that the day of Taco Salads are gone ... I will forever be having taco bowls (ohhh....a knock of Chipotle bowl is in the future!!)

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!!

Island Shrimp

This recipe comes from a book I got a while ago, Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals. which prompted me to get back in to the actual cookbook mode ... even though I have tons of them, I need more that are on track with this new way of eating!

By the way, in case you didn't know, 450 Swagbucks will  give you $5 in Amazon cash ... and that's how I've been buying the cookbooks ...

Another side note ... I do NOT like to have them on my Kindle. I mean, yeah, it's sort of cool to just open up the Kindle BUT I don't like the layout/format whatever. It's not the same as looking at the 2 pages, side by side ... so I've decided no more cookbooks on the Kindle.

Anyways ... 

It's Whole30 Compliant! Sweet! Perfect for January 2016 which is RIGHT around the corner, you know?

I renamed the recipe to Island Shrimp with Avocado, then, just Island Shrimp ... more appealing to ME than Tropical Avocado & Shrimp. And yes, there were a few modifications along the way ... if you want the real deal, buy the book and flip to page 57 ...

You can easily double, triple or even quadruple this recipe, as I was only feeding myself for a late lunch and early dinner, I made it in the quantities listed below ... Ready? Ready ...

1/4 cup mango, cut into chunks

1 jalapeno, seeds removed

Juice of 1 lime

dash of salt

3 tbs olive oil

1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (personal note, I always take the freakin tail off, it annoys me)

1/2 tsp cumin

1 avocado, cut into chunks

3 radishes, sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced

chopped cilantro (optional but recommended)

Get out the big gun food processor ... add mango, jalapeno, lime juice, olive oil and salt.

Let it rip and make a sauce. 

Put sauce in fridge to chill a little. Trust me. I wasn't crazy when I tasted to adjust the seasoning, but after it chilled for a bit, it was a whole different flavor!

Sprinkle the shrimp with the cumin and saute in a bit of olive oil til cooked (not overcooked!)

In large bowl, combine the shrimp, avocado, radish, onion and cilantro. Toss with the sauce and serve OR you can pour the sauce over prior to serving. Either way, recommend making this ahead of time and letting chill in the fridge for 45 minutes or so ...

Good? Yes it was ... the radishes really tasted good with the mango sauce. I think I was in love for a minute there.

Note: I have made this with cooked shrimp ... in that case I just added the cumin to the food processor when making the sauce ... I'm all about making do, you know?

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post contains affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Making Mayo

I'm a mayo snob, I'll admit it. Do NOT ever put that Miracle stuff anywhere near my plate ... and no, I do not like Kraft either. Only Hellman's ... thank you very much.

BUT ... once I made the stuff from scratch (it's really easy, I promise!) I never ever looked at another sale jar of mayo again.

Oh. Well. Sort of ... I do buy the jar, I think maybe 2 in the last 12 months? Only because if we are doing something with heavy mayo, I'd be dying in the kitchen to keep up, you know?

For the most part though, it's the stuff from scratch. Hubby will even inquire if we have enough for say, Blackened Chicken Sandwiches (birthday party, 10 people), or Blue Cheese Dressing ... or ... well, a lot of stuff ... he likes it as much as I do, and I hope you do too!

The recipe calls for FIVE ingredients, that's all. F I V E! Go grab your jar of mayo from the fridge and look at the ingredient list. I'll wait. Ok, are you convinced maybe you should give this a try?

A few notes:

1.  Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

2.  Give yourself 5 to 8 minutes of undivided attention as you need to do this slowly.

3.  Buy a large bottle of LIGHT Olive Oil. I know, it doesn't have ALL the benefits of extra virgin, but if you use regular, you will mayo that taste VERY strongly of olive oil ... and while some people might be ok with that, we were NOT.

Seriously, this is all you need.

This was made with regular olive oil ... see how it's got a yellowish/greenish tint?

When the oil goes on sale with a buy one get one free, I'm stocking up baby!
 
Ok, are you ready to give this a try?

1 egg
2 tsp lemon juice (yes, I do use the stuff in the bottle IF I don't have fresh lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1 cup olive oil

Put the egg and the lemon juice in your food process and walk away for an hour or so. Seriously. See up there ... PATIENCE? In order for the stuff to incorporate and emulsify, it MUST be room temperature. Honestly, I had mine out for 2 hours the first time, an hour or so is normal for me.

When it's all to room temp, go ahead and cap the processor. Drop the dry mustard and salt in the chute, fire up the machine and pour the 1/4 cup of oil in and let it rip for a minute.

Now comes the FUN part ... roll your shoulders, flex your triceps muscles and S L O W L Y start drizzling the 1 cup of oil down the chute. Be slow about it, you want a very thin stream of oil going in!

The stuff will start spattering around and you'll be tempted to stop and scrape but DON'T GIVE IN, keep drizzling it through the chute.

Suddenly, it sounds like slapping. Keep drizzling.

And just like that, the whole thing changes. The sound, the feel everything will suddenly become a smooth hum. You are almost there. Keep drizzling. Ignore the cramp in you triceps, keep drizzling. This is nothing folks, keep drizzling.

When you get down to that last bit, RESIST THE URGE to just dump. Keep drizzling.

When olive oil is all emptied out, let it continue for about 30 seconds more. Turn off processor and flex arm.

Rub hands together, give an evil grin  to the Hubby and take off the lid.

Hot Diggity Dog!! Creamy. Luscious looking. I slathered some right on a piece of turkey and ate it. Yummm. Oh, how about some deviled eggs using the mustard powder along side?? Oh, I think I might be on to something here!

This made a nice size jar of fresh mayo. It should keep as long as your egg was fresh. I have a feeling it would last a little longer than a week beyond what the egg carton says for the "sell by date" but if you follow food police guidelines, use that for your 'expiration' period.

Can you tell which is EXTRA virgin and which is LIGHT?

Honestly, this is an every 7 to 10 day occurrence in the kitchen. Nobody even thinks to remind me that there is an egg sitting on the counter ... they KNOW its for MAYO and I think do a little skip in their head as something yummy is fast approaching!

Go ahead, whip up a batch. I think you will be oh, so very surprised AND hooked.

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post contains affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Sweet Potato Rounds

I never really knew if I liked sweet potatoes or not ... I mean, heck, who doesn't like something covered in brown sugar (or maple syrup) and then marshmallows over the top? What I didn't like was the stringy-mushy texture of that stuff ... but I would take a little orange stuff and LOTS of toasted marshmallows during the holidays.

Now. Not so much. It does kind of suck when you grow up and learn to read the labels and whats good for you and what's really not. Being an adult does stink sometimes!

So ... with the Whole30 thing coming up September 5th, it's time to get back into the mindset!

And ...

I give you SWEET without the cloying, sticky stuff ...

This was so stinkin easy to do that I'm actually surprised I never tried it before ...

Ready?

Grab yourself a couple of sweet potatoes ... I used 3 here and peel them.

Once peeled, go ahead and slice them thin. I think mine were about 1/4 inch or so thick, I wanted them somewhat thin to cook faster.

Toss them in a bowl and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and season up with some salt, pepper, garlic powder (not salt), and combine with your hands to get them all coated.

Fire up your grill to medium high, and lay them out flat on the grill. I used this nifty grill mat which is about my 5th time using it and I'm in love with it ... I need to do a product review for you as I think it's a great thing to have on hand!

Allow to cook on one side til it starts to get a little charred, then flip. Cook this side til they are tender, but not to the point of falling apart. These took about 15 minutes or so and I was racing against the weather as we had some pretty bad rain this past weekend.

My original plan was to use them as "buns" for the sliders we were having but after the first one like that, I simply ate them plain, like fries.

Yes, I will be making these again in the very near future!

So, tell me, do YOU like sweet potatoes? All mushed up? Or intact, like this?

Looking forward to sharing over at some of these GREAT Blog Parties ... go check them out!

P.S. Are you following my progress over on Instagram? You should ... I'm trying to post my meals as they go!

Shredded Salsa Chicken

We've kind of left the Instant Pot alone for a few weeks and I just felt like I needed to bring it out again ... so what the heck, let's make a super simple meal, shall we?

Just a little inside scoop: Hubby has used the thing MORE than me ... he's become the designated cook lately and well, he doesn't always follow the directions and we've had a few flops ...

Back to an EASY meal that only uses a few ingredients.  All you need is the following:

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
black pepper
generous dash of oregano
1 jar chunky salsa (about 2 cups worth)

Ready??

Mix the salt, cumin pepper and oregano in a small bowl and season the chicken on both sides. *YES that jarred salsa was compliant if I remember correctly. Just check your labels!*

Toss them bad boys in the pot and dump the salsa over the chicken.

Secure the lid, making sure your vent is CLOSED and press the poultry button, adding another 5 minutes so you have a total of 20 minutes cook time.

  

Rule #1 - always make sure the seal is tight  Rule #2 - always make sure your vent is closed!

Let the Instant Pot do it's thing and wait for the pressure to release when done cooking (seriously, this will take a total of  about 30 to 35 minutes. TOTAL time to come to pressure, cook and de-pressurize).

  

Start time                                    Dishing up

Pull chicken out of pot and either chop chop or shred with 2 forks (I like mine chunkier so I chopped) and add salsa from pot to the shredded chicken.

Serve up any which way you'd like:  over zucchini noodles, as a taco lettuce cup filling, over shredded lettuce, over riced cauliflower, or, eat it as is, like Hubby did!

Another side note: did you know that there is actually jarred salsa out there that's Whole30 compliant? This jar of Chi-Chi's is ... as is Tostitos.  Who would have thought! Read your labels, you'll be surprised just what you CAN eat!

Enjoy!

**Yes, this can be cooked in a crockpot instead ... cook on low for about 4 hours**

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

I really love it when I come across a recipe that I have ALL the ingredients on hand to make, except one!  I mean, it's like mandatory that you make it!

This original recipe comes from Skinny Taste (which, by the way, I got her cookbook for Christmas and I'm sad to say I've not cooked ONE recipe from it yet!) and of course, I made a 'few' modifications but the whole idea comes from there!

And yes, it's Whole30 compliant (of course, I made this at the start of Week 2 and was still in the excitable mode!)  It will stay around for a repeat, trust me!

Here's how I did it:

1 lime, juiced (Costco)
1/4 red onion, finely chopped (Aldis)
1/2 tsp avocado oil (or olive oil) (Costco)
dash of salt (Costco) dash
black pepper to taste (Costco)
1/2 pound of cooked, peeled shrimp, cut in bite size pieces (8 ounces or thereabouts) (Whole Foods a while ago)
4 sangria tomatoes, chopped (Costco, these are like little tomatoes)
1 avocado, diced (Costco)
1/2 tbs cilantro, chopped (Publix)

The shrimp was frozen but not to worry, a quick rinse under running cold water 

defrosted these bad boys quickly!

In a small, non-reactive bowl, combine the lime juice, oil, red onions, salt and pepper and let that sit for at least 10 minutes to mellow out the onions (cool tip, dontcha think?)

My lime was pretty juicy so I had a lot of juice but all is well!

In a LARGE bowl, combine the shrimp, avocado and tomatoes. Add the smaller bowl of the onion mixture and combine. Gently stir in the cilantro.

That looks like a LOT of avocado, but again, all is well!

Serve up and enjoy!

Looking forward to sharing at some of these Great Parties ... go check them out!

*Affiliate links are part of this post ... check out my Affiliate Disclosure here!*

September 2016 Whole30

I should have labeled this post as Why I Am Doing a September Whole30 ... because that's really what this post is all about!

Why?

There's actually several reasons, and chances are, if you are here on this little ole blog, you are probably considering doing one yourself, or maybe you are in the midst of a round and just came for some recipes ...

Everyone does the program for different reasons. Some, to lose weight. Others, to figure out what the heck triggers certain things in their body. And yet, others, they do it, just because everyone else around them is doing it.

Whatever your reason may be, let's all just come to agreement on ONE thing. Just one thing!

It's HARD!

Yes, I don't care what ANYONE tells you ... it's stinkin hard. It's particularly more difficult when you are the only one in your household who is doing the program ...

Why is it hard? Well, for starters, you skip out on all sugars (surprise, that is in like 90% of prepared foods), ditch the grains (yup, bye bye corn), legumes (no more black beans OR rice) and that dairy stuff is out the door too (pizza? not happening!). And don't even think about happy hour ... so long beer and margaritas, and wine, and bourbon, vodka, rum ... so at the end of the day, you ask yourself, just what the hell can you eat then?

Veggies. Proteins. Fruits. LaCroix Sparkling Water ...

REAL FOOD

Which sadly, a lot of us have forgotten what that really is, and how it really taste!

I've had a few attempts/false starts/fake endings trying to do this in the past. This time, however, I'm confident that I can do a Whole30 for the duration!  Because, you know what, I'm tired of feeling like crap and I know, for the most part, it's food related.  I eat fairly healthy 80% of the time. That other 20% though? Not so much (I love beer, booze, chips, dip, pizza, etc.) and I can certainly tell when I've eaten certain things!  I also believe that the inflammation I have in my hand and wrist is starting to spread to the knees, feet and shoulders/neck area and that has me concerned as there are days where it's hard to use my hands for much more than a cupped palm. Not exactly how I want to be feeling at 52 years of age!

So ... here you go, my REAL reasons I'm doing this ...

1.  Hopefully tame down the inflammation/swelling I'm dealing with lately. I do know when I've consumed a lot of alcohol, I generally have a pretty severe flare up within 24 hours ...

2.  Let's be honest, it would be nice to lose a little of the fluffiness/muffintop stuff going on ... so yeah, to lose a few pounds if possible

3.  To maybe re-evaluate my habits and deal with stress a little better. I'm the one that grabs a beer within minutes of changing clothes after work. A beer or two wouldn't be so very bad but usually, it's 3 or 4 which is not so very good which either ends with a plate of nachos or no dinner at all

4.  To ignite a little more excitement in food and cooking. Honestly, the Whole30 does take a lot of time in the kitchen with prep work BUT I'm ok with that (so I say at this very minute!) and I love that something so simple taste so good after your mind gets over the fact that it's not salty/sweet/bad for you!

5.  Sinus issues. Probably too much information and actually, may have something to do with the so-called suspect lupus diagnosis that I scoffed at years ago.  See, my nose is constantly wet. NOT MOIST, but actually wet and then I get these raw spots that burn ... and sometimes I think it smells funky. Hubby says it doesn't and I've asked several close friends to be frank with me as well. They all say no but I smell it and it drives me batty. Could be anything but I do know that it seems to flare up at times for unknown reasons. Food/Booze related? Potentially ... and I want to find out!

6.  Attitude adjustment. I'm sure if I feel better physically, look a little better as well (thanks to the fluffy stuff going bye bye) I'll have a better attitude. You think?

7.  To see if it really does do anything more for my skin and hair. I've got great skin and hair, but just really dry. Probably because I don't drink anywhere near enough water during the day, which I'm well aware of but I've found when I'm eating healthier (aka Whole30 style) I do drink more water because I'm making such conscious decisions all around!

So, there you have it!  Absolutely starting September 5th which is kind of cool in that I can at least have Saturday and Sunday for Labor Day ... but I am also slowly moving in to the mindset this week (August 29th) so that come that Monday morning, it won't be such a shock.

Are you doing a September Whole30?

Perfect Grilled Asparagus

For years, and years, like every other veggie out there, I wouldn't go near asparagus ... that's like, a tree stalk, right?  It's right up there with the green tree shrubs (broccoli) and that funky white stuff (cauliflower)!

And then, I tried these little skinny stalks with garlic and olive oil and since then, I've been addicted to asparagus ... I'm the one in the produce section tossing the fat things aside, looking for the wimpy, skinny things.

Yup. That's ME!! Hi! Sorry if I held you up!  If nothing else, Whole30 has made me branch out and try all kinds of different veggies ... that in itself is a NSV, you know?

So a few weeks ago, Aldi's had asparagus. Imagine that!? $2.99 for a one pound bag. Now, mind you've I've seen asparagus there before, but it was either, you guessed it, fat and woody OR the tips were all mush which is a no-no in the asparagus world.

So whenever, I see them model thin stalks, I scoop them up, run home and promptly start cooking ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE these things!

I used to make them this easy way: asparagus, chopped garlic, diced onion, olive oil, salt & pepper mixture ... but then ... I discovered this:

Trader Joe's Lemon Infused Olive Oil  ... uhm ... HELLO!!??

So now, I just skip all that happy chop chop chop stuff and get straight down to this technique:

Snap and rinse your asparagus, toss the tops in a large bowl.

Drizzle with generous pour of that there Lemon Infused Garlic Oil

Liberally season with your salt & pepper mixture (ours is salt, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder poured in to an OLD Badia spice bottle ... we live by this stuff)

With clean hands, fluff and mix to coat all the asparagus.

Fire up your grill and allow to heat on high. Reduce the heat to medium (make sure no flames are hitting the grates) and clean. Put a grill mat down (if you don't have one, you NEED one ... this is what they look like and I really need to do a review on these! I picked this up at Bed Bath & Beyond for like $10 or so but like the link better as there's 3 and they seem to be larger than what I have)

Toss on your asparagus (I did two batches as I made 2 pounds), spread them out a little and close the lid. After a few minutes, check on them, giving them a little toss with your tongs ... keep an eye on them as they will get charry really fast ...

I love, love, love these little things and this is such an easy recipe to make! Go ahead, give it a try!

Enjoy!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)