Lemon Pepper Asparagus

Name: Lemon Pepper Asparagus
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 bunch of fresh asparagus; 1 tbsp hot water; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 lemon, 1/2 sliced and other half for juicing; freshly ground black pepper; salt

6/6/13 • 265 Comments

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I think spring has finally fully arrived here in Texas. We haven’t had any cool weather the last couple of weeks and I’m pretty sure we won’t see those cooler temperatures again until the end of the year. While many of my fellow Texans are groaning and moaning, I’m rejoicing because my hot weather is here to stay!

Spring brings color and life back to the trees and plants that have hidden dormant with the cooler temperatures. The flowers are blooming, the trees are green again and the farmers are busy planting and harvesting their crops.

Since asparagus is in season it is usually much more affordable this time of year. I’m all about using fresh, in season ingredients to help keep our food costs down. Today’s recipe features asparagus which is naturally very low in calories and sodium and is a good source of many vitamins and minerals. It can be prepared many ways, in many different cuisines, which makes it a pretty versatile vegetable. Today I’m keeping it light, fresh and easy.

Oh my yum! Simple, delicate and delicious. What once was a delicacy, can now be enjoyed in kitchens around the world.

Lemon Pepper Asparagus

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Fresh lemony asparagus with a touch of pepper.

Ingredients

1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1 tbsp hot water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, 1/2 sliced and other half for juicing
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash asparagus and pat dry. Trim the bottom of the asparagus to remove the woody part of the stalk. Place trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet. Pour the water over the asparagus.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and drizzle olive oil over the top. Shake the pan a little to make sure each piece is covered in olive oil. You may not need the whole 1/4 cup or you may need more. It depends on how big your bunch of asparagus is.

Squeeze lemon over the asparagus and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and a little kosher salt.

Serve with lemon slices for more lemon juice, if needed.

I told y’all. So simple and easy to prepare this side dish. It’s light, it’s fresh and it’s healthy.

Asparagus is one of those vegetables that doesn’t last too terribly long once it has been harvested. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve brought some home from the store with grand plans in mind, only to look in the refrigerator to see it was no longer good for cooking. I recently started working with Good Cook and I get a first hand look at some of their products (free, or course) before they hit store shelves. The Asparagus Keeper is one of those items.

These vegetable and fruit storage containers are part of the Good Cook ProFreshionals brand are are used to store unused portions of fruits and vegetables. They are bright and colorful and are shaped to represent the fruit or vegetable in which they store. They help in keeping produce crisp and fresh longer which prevents contents from spoiling or smelling up your refrigerator.

I’ve been using the lemon keeper and tomato keeper the most. Before when I would use half a lemon, I’d put the other half down the disposal. Now, I can easily put the lemon in the refrigerator ready for me to use the next day in my glasses of water (that taste much better flavored with lemon).

These have really come in handy and have reduced the waste that comes out of my kitchen simply from produce going bad before we are able to use it. The folks over at Good Cook have so graciously offered up prize packs for four of my readers! YAY!

Buy:

You can purchase the full suite of produce Keepers at www.goodcook.com. Get 25% off your entire order with the coupon code KEEPERS. You will also receive a free Banana Keeper with the purchase of any produce Keeper. Offer only good with online purchases. Offer valid through June 30, 2013.

Giveaway:

Four (4) winners will receive a Good Cook ProFreshionals Keeper Prize Pack valued at $42 which will include:

Asparagus Keeper
Banana Keeper
Bell Pepper Keeper
Citrus Keeper
Grapefruit Keeper
Melon Keeper
Tomato Keeper

How to Enter:

Simply visit Good Cook and leave me a comment below letting me know which Keeper would get the most use in your kitchen!

Extra Entries Available:

After you have completed the first entry, you are eligible for additional entries. Make sure you leave a separate comment for EACH entry. Each counts as one extra entry unless noted otherwise.

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Subscribe to Simply Being Mommy by reader or email.
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Follow Simply Being Mommy on Twitter AND Tweet about the giveaway. Leave the URL to the Tweet in your comment. You can tweet once a day, but remember to leave the URL to each tweet. You must have at least 50 followers for this extra entry. You can tweet ” Enter to win a set of @GoodCookCom ProFreshionals Produce Keepers from @simplybeingmom – 4 Winners! http://bit.ly/10OEX54 #giveaway “

This giveaway will end on June 20th at 11:59 PM Central time. Winner will be chosen via a random number generator. Giveaway is open to US entries. The winner must contact me in 48 hours to claim their prize. Good luck to everyone!

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. I received media samples in order to facilitate this post.