Eat your veggies! Start with this delicious asparagus recipe!

I have decided that I need some to come up with some new veggie side dish recipes. Not only am I starting to get bored with the standard baked/ mashed potato, rice, or frozen corn, I feel I need to get some more healthy, non starchy vegetables in my diet. Being honest, it is really tough for me to eat vegetables without completely dousing them in butter or breading and frying every square inch of green. Take asparagus... normally, I would blanch it, then add half a stick of butter, lemon juice, and lots of salt. Though that method is delicious, I discovered a new (better in my opinion) way to enjoy asparagus and it is surprisingly healthier. Here is the recipe and I hope you all enjoy!

Sauteed Garlic Parmesan Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 cloves of chopped garlic (if you are using pre-chopped garlic from a jar, use about 3 teaspoons)
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Black pepper (I prefer freshly ground for this recipe since there are minimal ingredients but you can use regular black pepper)
Salt (I prefer freshly ground sea salt but you can use regular salt)
Balsamic glaze (I used one from AJ's that has caramelized onions in it) - This is an optional ingredient

To prepare your asparagus: Rinse and then cut off the the fibrous part of the stem. How much of the stem should you cut? I find the easiest way is to take one sphere and bend it until it snaps. Dispose of the stem part and then use the remaining part of the asparagus sphere as your guide for how far to cut down the rest of the spheres.

Directions:
1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Be careful not to burn olive oil, you should only have to wait about 2 minutes for your olive oil to get hot.
2. Place your asparagus and garlic in the skillet. Let it saute for about 3-5 minutes. Ranges can vary but this cook time is for crunchier asparagus. Tip: If you like your asparagus more stringy, you can cook for a bit longer.
3. Remove skillet from heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (amount will depend on your taste buds  ;)
4. Grate Fresh Parmesan over the top of your asparagus. Once the cheese melts, you can drizzle with balsamic glaze, dip the spheres in balsamic glaze, or you can serve it without balsamic glaze.