Chicken and Asparagus with Asian Dipping Sauce

One of the best ways to stretch your food budget is by eating seasonally, meaning that you consume produce that is is season.

The benefits are twofold: better taste, higher quality produce and much less expensive. That brings us to asparagus season. It has been around 99cents per pound in the stores lately and we really enjoy it in several recipes.

One of our favorites is a TOH kebab recipe that I have changed up over the years. My sister Jill and I have tried many of their recipes and both agree that this one was a keeper. Hope you enjoy!

1.5-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into large chunks
1-1.5 pounds asparagus (not too thin for this recipe)

SAUCE: 1 cup low fat mayo
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs. sesame oil (or more)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

Marinade:
Olive oil
soy sauce
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger or 1/2 tsp. ginger
Mix about 1/2 cup oil and 1 Tbs. soy sauce with ginger. Place in ziploc bag with chicken. Seal and let marinate for about 30 minutes.
Make sauce by blending all ingredients and set aside. Tastes better if you make an hour or so ahead of time. Feel free to add a little more of this or that-I like INTENSE sesame flavor.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss chicken with marinade in baking dish. Cover with foil & bake until chicken is done & juices run clear, about 30 minutes. Steam asparagus or saute in a bit of oil. Serve chicken & asparagus with dipping sauce on side. We love this with fluffy steamed rice and leave the asparagus stalks long-easy for dipping. (Tonight I threw a bunch of sweet peppers in the oven with the chicken-just used an extra large pan and scooted the chicken over to make room for the peppers. They made a yummy side dish).