Rosemary and Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, in bone without skin *

14 asparagus spears **

1 lemon, cut into 5 rinds

2 4-inch Rosemary springs

2 T. olive oil

3 T. butter

1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock

salt and pepper

* I never had chicken in bone, so I just used 3 medium sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts

** I didn't have any asparagus on hand, so we just went without (SO sad. I love asparagus!)

Recipe: (it's kind of unclear so I added what I think should be done)

1. In a small pan, melt the butter in the boil with the rosemary and lemon. *

2. Over low heat, cook the seasoned chicken breasts for about 50 minutes (until done), covered. **

3. Turn a few times, to cook well on both sides.

4. You may need to add a few pours of stock, only if necessary, to create a bit of a sauce for the chicken to cook in. ***

5. After the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan onto a plate and cover with foil. Let it rest.

6. Cook the asparagus in the leftover sauce.

7. Serve.

* I poured the olive oil into a pie plate and added salt and pepper to it. I then rolled the chicken in it until it was completely covered in the oil, salt, and pepper.

** I added the chicken stock to the rosemary and lemons and stirred that all together. Then I added the chicken. I brought the whole things to a boil and then turned it down and let it simmer until the chicken was cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.

*** I took the chicken, rosemary, and lemons out, and then added about a 1/2 c. milk and 1 T. flour to the stock left in the pan until it boiled for a few minutes to make a thicker and slightly more creamy sauce to put on the chicken. If I had the asparagus, I would have done this after I had cooked the asparagus.

Rating: 3 of 5

This one is okay. Not great. I think it would be a lot better if you just juiced the lemon instead of slicing it into rinds. The rind-y taste was too strong for my liking. The sauce turned out great and was really good over rice. Easy recipe, short ingredients list, and almost so delicious. Next time.

Source: shopcookmake.blogspot.com, Rosemary and Lemon Chicken

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 bunch thing asparagus spears, trimmed

3 T. olive oil

1 1/2 T. Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t. sea salt *

1/2 t. ground black pepper

* I didn't have sea salt so I used kosher salt

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place the asparagus in a mixing bowl, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with the remaining ingredients. Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet in a single layer.

3. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until tender. If desired, sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.

Rating: 3 of 5

I actually thought this was a pretty good recipe. The only downer is that I wasn't paying attention to how the "tenderness" was coming along and over cooked. Rather than nice tender asparagus we enjoyed asparagus french fries. Pretty good still. I'd probably choose this recipe over the Garlicky Roasted Asparagus recipe.

Source: AllRecipes, http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/oven-roasted-asparagus/detail.aspx

Garlicky Roasted Asapargus

Ingredients:
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss asparagus with oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper.

3.Roast until tender and browned in spots, 15 to 18 minutes.

4. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

I love asparagus, so there's really no way that it could have turned out poorly. It was a good recipe, but not the perfect recipe that I have imagined in my mind. I guess I'll still have to hunt for that one.

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/garlicky-roasted-asparagus?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/quick-vegetable-side-dish-recipes#slide_1