Oven-Roasted Asparagus

This recipe was first posted in conjunction with the Meijer Ad Week of 2/26/12 - 3/3/12)

This is one of the fastest vegetable sides ever...preps and bakes in no time for those busy weeknights!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of fresh asparagus, washed, with tough ends broken off
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 of an envelope of dry Italian salad dressing mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a jelly roll pan with foil.  Toss asparagus and olive oil together in a large bowl or gallon ziploc bag, making sure that asparagus is well-coated.  Add Parmesan cheese and dressing and toss until well-coated.  Line up the asparagus stalks on the foil-lined pan.  Bake 10-15 minutes, depending on how thick your spears are, and if you like your veggies crunchy or limp.  Watch carefully, because the flowery tips burn easily! 

Options and Tips

• When selecting asparagus, try to find a bunch that has spears similar in size/thickness.  If you absolutely cannot find a bunch that is fairly uniform, you can still cook it uniformly!  Just remove the pan from the oven after 10-12 minutes, remove the skinnier spears to a serving bowl, and return the pan to the oven for another minute or two to further cook the thicker spears.
• To prep asparagus:  after washing, hold each spear in two hands.  One hand should be about 3/4 of the way down, and the other hand should hold the tough end.  Bend the spear, and it should break in just about the right place.  Discard the tough ends.
• I almost always double this recipe, and if I line it up just right, I can fit two bunches on a jelly roll pan...just barely!  The spears are usually too long to fit two rows end to end but if you put all the tips in the middle, it works (see below).  I'd rather fit them all on one pan if I can, rather than have to rotate pans between racks during the baking time.

This is an original recipe, resulting from conversations with other cooks, researching cooking times, and experimenting with different seasonings :)