Bacon Wrapped Asparagus and an Accident

One of this week's Bountiful Baskets add-ons was asparagus - 11 pounds for $16.50. Since it is currently running $3.48 a pound at the local grocery store, I bought two! This is one of the few vegetables Daddy will eat cooked, and the kids and I all like it, too - score! Before I froze most of it, I wanted to find some new (to us) ways to prepare it, so I scoured the internet for recipes - and then, as usual, ignored them all and did my own thing.

 

I saw lots of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus recipes, but I wanted bacon. We all want bacon in this household. The bacon I have is pretty thick, but I was still worried about chewy asparagus, so I cooked it a bit first:

 

1. Melt a dollop of butter in a skillet (if the word 'bacon' didn't clue you in, this is not a heart-healthy recipe.)

2. Add a lot of minced garlic (exact measurements are so important to me), a couple pounds of asparagus spears (ends trimmed), and some grape tomatoes, halved. I actually used the mini heirloom tomatoes from several baskets ago - I love how long everything lasts! - but I'm usually more likely to have grape tomatoes around. Drizzle on some lemon juice, cover, and simmer until asparagus is just tender.

 

Make sure your assistant is alert and attentive.

 

3. Let cool slightly. Line a baking sheet with foil (unless you want to be scrubbing forever). Wrap 3 spears in a slice of bacon, then sprinkle the tomatoes and garlic over the top.

 

Now, that's just purty!

4. Bake in the oven at 350, until bacon is cooked.

 

Now, here's where the accident comes in. I still had half a package of bacon, so I decided to cook the rest of it up, because - you know, bacon! And, because I am too lazy to wash more dishes than absolutely necessary, I cooked it in the same skillet that previously had asparagus, etc. in it, without rinsing out the remaining lemon juice/butter/garlic. Because, garlic goes great with bacon, and because - lazy!

 

When the first slices cooled, of course I bit into one, and - oh. my. gosh. You guys.

 

Bacon! With garlic! And lemon juice! It's AWESOME! I didn't think you could make bacon any better, but - lemon juice - whoda thunk it?! So, now you know how those famous chefs came up with their delicious but off-the-wall combinations: laziness. I cooked a whole 'nother pack the same way, and none of it made it to supper time.

 

My assistant even woke up for it!

 

As for the original recipe, it would have been perfect if I had used regular, thin-sliced bacon instead of thick-sliced. The asparagus cooked much faster, and I had to take the bacon off and finish cooking it separately, which kind of defeats the whole prettiness thing. You might also try them on a broiler pan (but baking them, not broiling) to drain some of the grease off. However you do it, though...it's bacon! So, it's all good!