Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Disclosure ~ This post contains awesome affiliate links to products I recommend. 

 

When I was a kid I can count on one hand the number of times I saw asparagus on our dining table. I didn’t even know what it was until I met my now husband and he asked me to get some at the store one day. Back in the day when he ate the kind that comes in a can. Yikes, never knew there was such a thing. Nor did I know anything about asparagus recipes or how to make it as an amazing side dish.

Fast forward to now, and I totally love asparagus and try to incorporate it into our meals weekly.  I know I could do more, but here in Minnesota it’s not the easiest to find in the winter. And, when one does find it, the quality isn’t the best so I try to buy it from Schwan’s, the frozen kind so we can still enjoy in the winter.  I haven’t found frozen asparagus anywhere as good as theirs.  But, for those of you who live in warmer states, you might be able to find it year round.

Back when my hubby first wanted me to buy him some canned asparagus, I seriously thought he was crazy. I bought it, cooked it per the instructions on the can, and was gagging when he was eating it. To me, it smelled bad, looked mushy and stringy and I just didn’t feel the need to even try it. I am a very picky eater, and since I never saw it growing up, I thought I could go the rest of my life never needing it.

Well, fast forward a to just about 6 years ago, when he asked if I would look for fresh asparagus when I did my weekly shopping, and so I did. But, this time I found a recipe online as to how to cook the fresh and told myself I would try it. It was a balsamic glazed roasted asparagus recipe and I followed it to a T and was super surprised when I ate it, and liked it. Not loved it, but liked it. It took me slowly introducing it in different ways to our meals, for me to really fall in love.

Who can resist bacon and asparagus together as a team. The joy of finding asparagus bundles that are fresh, and creating a yummy side dish with them is so much fun. Cooking the bacon, the asparagus wrapped in bacon, oh my! And, even though this uses flour, you can omit the flour and make it gluten free by using almond flour or gluten free flour. This can also be a great keto side dish, or main meal as it has your veggies, meat and good fats.

Regardless of your eating style, pairing these two greats up is just what the Dr ordered. And, we all know what fun asparagus is after we eat it, right? Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. If you eat asparagus, or if anyone in your family does, you can relate to these funny items I found on Amazon. Grab yourself some and gift another asparagus lover! LOL!

 

 

Now that I made you giggle a bit, Please check out my yummy Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Recipe ~ 

 

Ingredients:

Sauce-

• 2 tablespoons of butter or Ghee 
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• ½  cup of gouda cheese (shredded or in chunks is fine)
• ½ teaspoon of salt (or to your liking)
• 1 tablespoon of cream cheese (softened)

Asparagus Wrap-

• Asparagus Spears  (edges trimmed)
• Uncooked bacon
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take three asparagus and wrap one slice of bacon around the center of them to create a bundle. On a well-greased pan arrange the bundles. Lightly add a pinch of salt and pepper to each bundle. You can also add any other seasonings you love, but I myself stick to the basics on this one. 

Cook asparagus for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

 

 

Sauce directions-

In a pan melt butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, whisk in flour until combined. Next, gently add in milk and salt, whisk gently. Lowering the heat to a slow simmer, add in cream cheese and gouda cheese; gently fold in cheese to the mixture. Let cheese melt, stirring occasionally. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until cheese mixture is melted. Take off heat and let stand a few minutes before serving immediately with asparagus.

 

A person is not complete without a fun Asparagus pun goodie!