Best Asparagus!

Best Asparagus!

(ellaclaireinspired.com)

1 lb. Asparagus, washed                                                              1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Cup Water                                                                                 1/4 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1/2 to 1 Tbs Butter                                                                        2 Tbs. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt

A Handful of Shredded Parmesan Cheese

First, chop the woody bottoms off of your Asparagus. Put asparagus in a pan wide enough to hold them without bending their heads. They can overlap each other if they need to. Add 1 cup of water and place on high heat on the stove. Cook, covered, on high for 4-6 minutes, depending on the thickness, until asparagus is tender, yet still nice and firm. Carefully shake your spears back and forth halfway through your cook time. You will have all kinds of steam whistling out of the lid. That's ok! When your Asparagus is finished cooking, discard remaining liquid. (you will be sautéing the asparagus a bit more in the next step, so in this step, err on the side of under cooking it so you don't end up with mushy asparagus). Place butter, garlic salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan over your spears, and begin to sauté them over medium high heat until butter is melted and the Parmesan begins to get gooey and lightly browned, but not burned. Some will crust on the pan and you can scrape it off. Trust me, that is the good stuff. Remove from heat and place on a pretty plate. Sprinkle with a handful of shredded Parmesan.

Pumpkin Waffles

Pumpkin Waffles

(http://www.number-2-pencil.com)

        2 cups of all-pupose flour

        3 tablespoons of firmly packed dark brown sugar

        2 teaspoons of baking powder

        1 teaspoon of baking soda

        1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

        1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

        1 1/2 cups of milk

        1 cup of canned 100% pure pumpkin

        1 egg yolk plus 3 egg whites

        4 tablespoons of melted cooled butter

        2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.

Combine milk, pumpkin, butter, egg yolk and vinegar in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Gently fold in egg whites.

Use batter immediately in waffle maker.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Instructions from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

1 batch sugar cookie dough

yellow and orange food coloring

Optional:

Sanding sugar, coarse raw sugar, or sprinkles

almond bark or white chocolate, melted

Instructions:

Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into three equal portions.  Leave one as is and color one other portion yellow and another portion orange.

Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap.  Gently press layer of uncolored dough into bottom of pan and smooth flat, keeping it at least 1/2-3/4 inches high (you don’t have to use the whole pan if you have a small batch of dough) or larger if desired.  Layer orange dough on top of previous layer and smooth.  Finally layer yellow dough and smooth on top.  Wrap plastic over dough and chill until firm, 30-60 minutes in freezer or 1-2 hours in fridge.  Or you can store the dough in fridge for 2-3 days before baking.

Remove plastic and slice loaf into 1/4 inch slices. Trim top of slice to make straight line.  Cut each slice into triangle shape and dip top side in sugar if desired.  Bake according to sugar cookie directions.  Cool completely and then if desired, dip ends in almond bark or white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.