A Sign of Spring - Asparagus!

The first asparagus of the season is one of spring's signals. It is now appearing at the grocery's produce department even though I've not found it in my roadside patch yet. I will check daily as I'm always surprised when I find an 18-inch spear where I didn't see anything a few days ago.



Asparagus is a tender vegetable and pairs well with cheese. This easy and quick recipe will go with anything and is a favorite at our house. Thanks to Taste of Home for this spring recipe.


LEMON-PARMESAN BROILED ASPARAGUS

¼ cup mayonnaise

4 tsp. olive oil (I used lemon-infused olive oil)

1 ½ tsp. grated lemon zest

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp. seasoned salt

½ tsp. pepper

ready to go under the broiler.

1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed

2 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions: 

1.    Preheat broiler. In a bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.

2.    Spread asparagus in a single layer on a foil-lined 15x10-inch pan. Spread above mixture over asparagus. 

 

3.    Broil 5-6 inches from heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 

Asparagus goes well with anything - especially steak! 

Yummy Brownie Crunch Bars

This is the time of year when the ranch gets even more crazy. Still feeding cattle, burning pastures, giving calves shots, and moving them all from pasture to pasture keeps everyone everyone busy. For all of this I'm the support staff. My job is lunch, treats, and child care. Last weekend was a full one and these Brownie Marshmallow Crunch Bars were appreciated by all who passed through my kitchen.

I had tried several other recipes for the chocolate/marshmallow/crunch type of bar cookie in the past. Mostly with little success -  too gooey to cut, bottom too hard, various other problems. Yet, when these would show up at church coffee time I loved them. So I was glad to find this recipe that works well, I think the success is the marshmallow frosting!

BROWNIE MARSHMALLOW CRUNCH BARS

Ingredients:

1 (18.4 oz) package chocolate fudge brownie mix

⅔ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup water

2 eggs

1 (12 oz) container vanilla marshmallow fluffy frosting

1 cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon butter

1 ½ cups crisp rice cereal

Directions:

1.     Follow package directions and combine brownie mix with oil, water, and eggs. Bake in a 13” x 9” pan, as directed. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about an hour.

2.     Top brownie layer with the frosting, smoothing out evenly.

3.     For topping, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate chips have completely melted and mixture is well combined. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in crisp rice cereal. Immediately spoon the mixture over the top of the frosting layer and gently spread out evenly. Chill until set.

4.     Allow to set out for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars are delicious served cold or at room temperature.

brownies with the marshmallow frosting

wonderful gooey chocolate-peanut butter-crispy rice cereal

All together, ready to chill and enjoy

5.