Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

I hosted a party and really wanted to serve something that was light yet filling. This was just the thing. It looked a little fancy and prosciutto is basically bacon and bacon is always good.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 bundle of asparagus

12 slices of prosciutto

olive oil

garlic powder

salt and pepper

Directions:

Wash asparagus and cut off white ends. Lay prosciutto one piece out at a time and place four asparagus spears at the edge of the prosciutto and roll up tightly. Repeat until all the asparagus is wrapped up. Place wrapped asparagus on a plate and brush with olive oil that you can season with garlic, salt, and pepper.

Place asparagus seam down on a preheated grill. Cook for 3-4 minutes then flip over and grill for another 3-4 minutes or until grill marks form. Serve promptly.

Inspired from Annie's Eats

Corn Bread

Growing, I would visit my grandma and she would make this corn bread with beans and caramelized pearl onions. She would use crisco but I have found that butter makes it ten times better (doesn't it always?). It is a sweet corn bread which I think is the best and it isn't dry unlike a box mix. Although, I've noticed it dries out faster after you cut it so I always make it the before or the day of eating it.

Corn Bread

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter at room temperature or Crisco

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand), cream butter and sugar together. Beat in egg. Sift together dry ingredients and stir in cornmeal. Slowly add dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture by alternating between the two (about a 1/3 of each per addition). Do not over mix. Just beat enough until combined. Bake for about 15 minutes in a greased 9 x 9 pan until slightly brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Source: Family Recipe

Watermelon Limeade

I normally do not look through Paula Deen recipes but I was headed to a cookout and I was desperate to find a yummy drink that would fill a pitcher and be light. I adjusted it quite a bit and I must say, I find my version simply better.

Watermelon Limeade

Yields 8 Cups (16, 1/2 cup servings)

Ingredients

6 cups seedless watermelon

3 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1 can frozen limeade concentrate

Directions:

Working in batches, place watermelon, water, sugar, and limeade concentrate in a blender and process until smooth. Press mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over a pitcher. I also placed cheese cloth over the mesh to make sure my drink was not gritty (you can also use paper towels). Add slices of lime to the pitcher and chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies contain crack. Okay so maybe they don't but I have become addicted to them. They aren't too sweet and by far the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons butter*

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 sugar

1 egg plus one egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

*I used salted but the original recipe calls for unsalted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325* and cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Combine dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside. Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Thoroughly, beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients while mixing. Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll a scant half cup of dough into a ball. Break ball in half and place jagged surface facing up onto cookie sheets. Leave plenty of space between balls of dough. Bake until cookies are a light, golden brown with the edges of the cookies slightly hardened while the centers remain soft (11-14 minutes). Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

Source: Annie's Eats "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies"