I have been playing around with the idea of having more meatless meals at our house, and I thought the best way to discipline myself would be to incorporate this practice into my blog. It is my hope that I can keep doing meatless Monday meals for the next several weeks. Hopefully, move this into a regular part of my blog. This practice will be quite the challenge for me, but after watching Food Inc. the other night with Jeffrey I think it is a practice that will be beneficial to my family.

I don’t know if you have seen Food Inc. yet (I know I am a little behind the wagon on this one), but I would highly recommend watching it. I checked the movie out from the local library. I was appalled at the things I learned. I have read several books in the past year about how we eat and how we get our food (The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life) that have helped inform how our family eats. This movie has added a new dimension to my understanding. I don’t mean to be preachy about this, but I would suggest that we all try to be more responsible in what we buy and where we buy our food. I am by no means going vegetarian (I love my meat too much), but I will be making more informed decisions when purchasing in the future.

The good news is that eating good food doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor!  I will get off my soapbox and share this delicious recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as Jeffrey and I did. I will be honest though and tell you that while we were eating it Jeffrey announced that it would be a delicious side to a grilled steak. I told him I was thinking the same thing. I would suggest serving it with a salad and warm bread and you can have a complete meal without steak. 🙂 I received this recipe from one of my friends and I was eager to share with her how much I loved it. So please keep the recipes coming….especially if you have some meatless meals.

Pasta with Asparagus

4-servings  (This dish is pretty spicy so adjust the pepper accordingly. Personally, I really enjoyed it but it may be too spicy for young children.)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3-4 dashes Tabasco pepper sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (bend each stalk to see where the bottom will break off, and discard the bottom before cutting into the 1 1/2-inch pieces)
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. pasta of your choice, cooked and drained (I used penne.)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, cook garlic, red pepper flakes, and hot pepper sauce in oil and butter for 2-3 minutes. Add asparagus, salt and pepper; saute until asparagus is crisp-tender (about 8 minutes). Combine cooked pasta and asparagus mixture together. Add Parmesan cheese and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Saute your garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil and hot sauce for a few minutes.

Add your asparagus peices to the oil and cook for 8 minutes or until it is crisp-tender.