Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles

A while back my best friend sent me this recipe that she really wanted me to try. She said it was really, really good, but not "low-fat"! Any side dish that has asparagus in it, will be a winner in my book! So the other night we grilled up some steaks and I had wanted to make a simple side dish...then I remembered this recipe. Lucky for me I had all of the ingredients and I also had a new package of prosciutto, so I substituted it for the bacon. I like cooking with prosciutto because it always cooks up nice and crispy!

The picture above is what they look like all wrapped up, but uncooked. I didn't get a picture of them cooked because we were hungry & couldn't wait to eat! The recipe comes from Trisha Yearwood's Cookbook called Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood. I halved the recipe since I was only cooking for the two of us, but I will write the full recipe here.

INGREDIENTS: (Serves 6)

• 2 lbs. fresh asparagus, ends trimmed (I like the skinny asparagus when I can find it)
• 12 slices thin prosciutto (Trisha uses bacon)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide asparagus into 12 bundles. Carefully wrap one piece of prosciutto (or bacon) around each bundle. If you're using bacon, you will need to secure with a toothpick, but the prosciutto is thin enough to hold itself. Lay the bundles in a low sided casserole dish.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil. Pour the mixture over the bundles. Put in oven and roast for 25 minutes, or until spears begin to wilt and bacon is fully cooked. Be sure to remove toothpicks before serving if you've used them.