I don't know why this is. It isn't like I planned to post things that people may not like. It's actually a horrible idea the more I think about it. "Let's start a food blog! OK! I'm gonna pick recipes that a lot of people will take one look at and say, 'Ew. No thank you!'" Genius.
I guess when I was weeding through my ridiculous amount of recipe options trying to pick which ones I wanted to start with, I was (subconsciously or consciously) choosing ones that are so fabulously delicious despite what they may be made out of. They have that little bit of a surprise factor that takes something you've probably had before and may not have liked (asparagus {canned no less}, pumpkin, or brussels sprouts) and turns it into this great recipe that you will make over and over again. In fact, this and the pumpkin squares are recipes my mom got from friends of hers when I was little (which was a LOOOONG time ago) and we still make them.
Now, don't balk at the high-class, fancy ingredients here...
I'm totally joking...these are about as WT as you can get – white bread, canned asparagus... But they are SOOOO good and can be made ahead of time (always a plus in my book). I swear this is another one of those recipes that I take somewhere and people say, "Oh, no thanks...I don't like asparagus" and then someone will encourage them to try it (usually a spouse since we're the only ones who will HOUND the other enough to get them to try something – and then they only really eat it to get us to shut up with plans to spit it into their cocktail napkin) and they ALWAYS like it. I've never had anyone spit them out into their cocktail napkin (that I know of).
And there's bacon in them – that's really probably all I needed to write. Bacon.
~Leah
Asparagus Roll-Ups with Bacon
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8-12
Ingredients
- 12 slices white bread
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 can of asparagus spears, drained
- 1/2 stick of butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Cook, drain, and crumble the bacon.
- Stir the bacon into the softened cream cheese until well distributed. Set aside.
- Trim the crusts from the bread and flatten each slice with a rolling pin (they will get pretty thin and flat).
- Spread the cream cheese and bacon mixture evenly onto each of the 12 slices of bread.
- Lay one asparagus spear in the center of each slice of bread, trimming the ends if necessary so that they are even with the top and bottom of the bread.
- Roll the bread lengthwise so that the asparagus spear runs through the center of the entire roll from end to end.
- Cut each of the 12 rolls of bread into thirds.
- Place seam side down on a foil-lined cookie sheet and brush with the melted butter.
- Bake 12-14 minutes until warmed through then Broil for 2-4 minutes to toast/brown the bread...keep a close watch so you don't burn your bread!
- Serve warm.
Notes
I like to prepare bacon 1 of 2 ways for crumbling. Either put it in a cold oven on a rack over a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or I like to stack the raw slices and cut them up as small as I can and then cook/brown them in a pan and scoop out with a slotted spoon to drain.
If you're having a hard time mixing the bacon in with the cream cheese, you can try using a hand mixer or microwaving the cream cheese for just a few seconds at a time until you can work with it...you don't want to completely melt it though!
These are great to prepare the day before or to bring to a party and then bake. If you do prepare them beforehand, don't brush them with the melted butter and you will need to store them in the fridge. Take them out for at least a half hour before baking and then brush with the melted butter. Also be aware that your baking time will probably be longer if you're using them from the fridge.
I've made these...they are SUPER yummy! They embody many of our favorite things -asparagus, cream cheese, and of course, BACON! So good!
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