Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

Here is one of the first recipes I have tried for 2011 and it is delish! It is quick and easy and could be a great side dish to any meal. And I found this recipe on one of my favorite foodie sites.... Meal Planning 101.

2 bunches of asparagus

1 tbsp olive oil

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim the tough ends from the asparagus. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the asparagus with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Roast for 10-15 minutes until the asparagus is tender and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

I didn't measure any of my ingredients so I am sure I added extra oil and cheese (which worked out fine. I love lots of cheese). I also added some herbed garlic sea salt (from Epicure) as well just for extra flavor. Flavor means everything to me when I am cooking. The more flavor a dish has, the better it is :)

I could have this dish at least once every week or two. The one thing I would do different is make sure the oil has soaked every part of the greens, only because as they bake I found if it didn't have the olive oil on it, it got very crispy (mainly the ends) and I found it a little tougher to chew then the middle parts. Hubby loved every part of it!

We paired it with a Tomato Basil flavored rice from Uncle Ben's and a nice seasoned minute steak. It looked beautiful on the plate but I didn't get a picture because my children were crying and freaking out. I guess the world was ending in there eyes...

Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did!!