Giving Thanks for Bacon

I haven't quite gotten all my Thanksgiving photos ready for the blog. What you should be excited to know is that Gus and I ran an unexpected Turkey Day marathon of cooking! I hope to share a complete rundown of that craziness this week on LwA. 

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you a little treat we managed to make amidst the chaos - Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus! So easy, you'll wonder why you ever ate your veggie without bacon to begin with. 

Ingredients:
6 stalks of fresh thin stalk asparagus for every bundle you'd like to make (I used 36 total)
1 strip of bacon for every bundle you'd like to make (I used 6 total)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil (enough for a drizzle of all the bundles)
Toothpicks


Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 400F.
2) Using your preferred method, cook the bacon half-way. I used a cooling rack sitting in a cake pan (so the fat dripped away from the bacon) and let it cook for about 8 minutes in the oven. Don't cook it completely - just half-way.
3) Now it's time to make the bundles. Line a baking sheet with foil.
4) Drizzle olive oil over all of the asparagus stalks. Sprinkle with a light coat (to your taste) of garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
5) Gather six stalks together with your hands. Using one strip of the half-cooked bacon, begin to wrap the stalks together. I usually tuck the top roll under itself to hold things more in place. You can also use a toothpick to keep things really secure.
6) Repeat with all your stalks until you have something that resembles this beauty...

7) Throw the baking sheet in the oven and cook for at least 10 minutes. Once the bacon has crisped up and the asparagus looks about done, you are ready to go. Serve immediately.

8) If you'd like your bundles to go farther, split them in half like I did (though I should have used a toothpick).

Go forth, and give thanks, for the bacon in your life...

and stay posted for more awesomeness du Thanksgiving.