Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

My girlfriends and I started a Supper Club. We meet once a month in the middle of the week. Each meeting is a different theme. We've done Chinese and Mexican. For November, it seemed fitting to make Thanksgiving dinner! Our wonderful host Tiffany made a delicious chicken in the crockpot. Leslie brought stuffing, Rebecca brought the macaroni, Britney brought the gravy, cranberry sauce, more stuffing and rolls, and I brought Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus.  A friend of mine posted a picture of her asparagus on Instagram, and I was instantly inspired to try it myself.  I also whipped up a Chili-Garlic-Mayo dipping sauce for the asparagus. Not only was it a huge hit, it looks really pretty!! This recipe made about 8 bundles.

You will need:

One pack of regular bacon

Two bundles of asparagus

Olive Oil

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Wash the asparagus and trim the ends off. Line the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle the olive oil over it. Then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper, and whatever other seasoning you prefer! Wrap about 7 asparagus tightly in a piece of bacon. Place on a broiler pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, or until the bacon is crispy.  

**I did not have a broiler pan so I placed my drying rack on the rimmed baking sheet. It needs to be elevated because of the bacon fat. 

Here is my plate. Of course it's loaded up in Carbs, but you can see the CHILI-GARLIC-MAYO DIPPING SAUCE

You will need:

1 cup mayo

1/3 cup chili garlic sauce 

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbsp water

1 tsp ground pepper

4 tsp Worcestershire

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 medium onion, chopped (I used dried minced)

1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and chill for at least one hour.

**This is super yummy and very similar to some restaurant's "secret sauce"

Slow Cooker Italian Noodle Soup

Fall means soup weather, so I decided to join in on the fun.  There is nothing better than cooking in a slow cooker. Not only is it super easy, but the flavor after cooking something for five hours is incredible.  I'm told this recipe is similar to Pasta E Fagioli Soup at the Olive Garden.

You will need:

2 pounds of ground beef or turkey

One 28oz can of diced tomatoes, do not drain

One 16oz can of red kidney beans, drained

One 16 ox can of white kidney beans, drained

4 cups of beef stock

3 carrots, shredded

1 cup of chopped celery

1 onion, chopped

One jar of traditional spaghetti sauce. 

A few shakes of ground parsley

A few shakes of ground pepper

Even more shakes of ground oregano

A few squirts of tabasco or other hot sauce

8 oz of short pasta, like ditali 

Brown the beef and then combine all ingredients expect pasta in the slow cooker. Cook on High for 4-5 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.  Once it's almost ready, cook pasta according to directions, drain, and add to the soup. Stir everything together and you're finished!

** This reminded us of chili.  Add some of your favorite shredded cheese on top, if you dare!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is here and that means pumpkins!! Canned pumpkin, carved pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spiced lattes... the possibilities are endless!! In order to start the season off right, I made HEALTHY pumpkin muffins.  I made them in my new mini muffin tin one night after work.  The apartment smelled awesome!

You will need:

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/3 c. water

1 c. canned or homemade pumpkin puree

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine eggs, oil, water and pumpkin puree (use straight pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix). Sift dry ingredients together and gradually beat into first mixture.

Pour into greased mini muffin pans.  Top each with a few pieces of chopped walnuts. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 36 mini muffins.

** I love adding the nuts to the muffins for a little something extra. You can add any type of nut or even dried fruit to this recipe. This went great with my morning coffee!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This dinner was found during one of my many hours spent on Pinterest.  Joe and I wanted something quick and easy and very delicious. This was great because I had all of the ingredients in my fridge and pantry.  Beware though, the cooked brown sugar will start to caramelize on your baking pan, but it smells awesome!!  This serves 2 people.

You need:

2 chicken breasts

A few slices of bacon

Chili Powder

Garlic Power

Salt and Pepper

Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Cut each chicken breast into three pieces and season with garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Wrap uncooked bacon around each piece (you might want to cut some pieces in half), and then coat with brown sugar.  Place on a greased baking sheet with a rim and bake for 35 minutes. 

**This was SOO good. The whole time eating we could not stop commenting on the flavor. It is a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Next time we will try this on the grill!

Ravioli Lasagna

Ravioli is one of my all time favorites. As is lasagna. So I decided to combine the two and make this awesome EASY dinner!  This potential could be healthier than regular lasagna.  The ravioli's serve as your pasta and cheese, and then add ground beef, tomato sauce, and veggies!

You will need:

One pound ground turkey

One jar of your favorite tomato sauce

One bag of frozen ravioli 

One cup of veggies ( I used spinach)

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Brown turkey and drain the fat. Mix in tomato sauce and veggies (I used chopped spinach). Layer ravioli in a greased casserole dish, and top with the meat sauce mixture. Repeat this pattern and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes or until cheese is nice and golden brown.

**This is pretty healthy and very filling. Have fun with whatever meat and veggie you like best!