Asparagus pasta

Prep time: 10 min with Cuisinart to chop asparagus, otherwise ~20 min. Total time: about 30 min. Serves 2 people, or more if you go heavy on the pasta. 

1lb asparagus	Chop into thin circles, about 1/8th of an inch or thinner.  A Cuisinart makes this a snap!
3 T olive oil (or Butter)	Sauté in pan with oil until asparagus is tender. Butter tastes better than olive oil. Start the pasta
2 cloves crushed garlic 2 T lemon juice 1 T Worcestershire sauce 0.5t pepper 1 t salt angle hair pasta (cooked volume of pasta should roughly equal the volume of the asparagus)	Once all ingredients are mixed in (including pasta) it's ready to serve.  Worcestershire sauce is important to the taste, but soy sauce could be subbed if needed.  salt to taste - 1t is the bare minimum amount  I like to go easy on the pasta - you could easily add more than I suggest here.

You can make it more filling by adding in 1lb of ground turkey. 

(T = table spoon, t = teaspoon)

(c) 2009

Beef stu with beans

This stew is heavy on the veggies, and has zero potatoes (beans fill the starch role).  Yummy!

Prep time: about 1 hour. Total time: about 3 hours, depending on how tender you like the meat. Remember to use a big pot; this makes 2-3 gallons of stew. 

1.5c pinto beans 1.5c red kidney beans	Soak overnight & then simmer for ~ 1 hour
olive oil for pot 2lbs London broil steak 2 medium onions 2-3 garlic cloves	Cut beef into small pieces (< .5in on a side) Chop onions and mince garlic Brown beef in a large pot (cook until water boils off), then add onion and garlic and cook till onion is transparent.
0.25c flour	Add flour and cook until light brown.
beef bouillon (~8000mg sodium) 1t Worcestershire sauce 0.5t ground pepper 0.5c water	Washington's rich brown seasoning and broth is the best, but Wyler's beef bullion is almost as good. I put in enough to get 8g of sodium, but that may be too salty for some tastes. Add all, and mix until bullion is fully dissolved.
7 c water cooked beans	I like to use the water from the beans, which adds extra flavor.  Cook until meat is tender, perhaps 1 hour.
7c carrots  3c celery 1lb frozen peas	Remove peas from freezer to start defrosting them.  7c of carrots is roughly a 2lb bag of carrots.  Chop veggies smaller if you want them to cook faster. If you like crisp veggies, add carrots an hour before you want to eat, celery ~30 minutes before, and peas ~15.

I like to cook the beans a long time so that they split open a bit and thicken up the stew nicely.  If you don't like beans, try it with 8c of potatoes. Finding the right bouillon is key to this recipe. Look for something with MSG and onion powder. Plain old beef flavoring is a bit too dull.