Glazed Shrimp & Asparagus (over Angel Hair)

***This recipe was found in Taste of Home magazine***

Prep/Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

8 oz. uncooked angel hair pasta
1 T. cornstarch
3/4 C. water
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. honey
1 lb. uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tsp. peanut or canola oil, divided
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-3 inch lengths
1 T. minced fresh gingerroot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 T. sesame seeds

Cook pasta according to package directions. In small bowl, combine cornstarch, water, soy sauce and honey until smooth; set aside.

In a large skillet, stir-fry shrimp in 1 tsp. peanut oil and sesame oil until shrimp turn pink. Remove and keep warm.

Stir-fry asparagus in remaining peanut oil for 2 mintues. Add the ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and sesame seeds; stir-fry 2 minutes longer or until asparagus is crisp-tender.

Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add shrimp; heat through. Drain pasta and serve with shrimp mixture.

As far as delicious new recipes go, this one was very easy. The shrimp mixture smelled just amazing so we all couldn't wait to try it. As it turned out, the flavor was awesome but the pasta really made it seem bland when I first put it in my mouth. Then, you could taste the little "kick" from the red pepper flakes as an after-taste and that was actually really good. My husband suggested tossing the pasta with the shrimp mixture to mix all the flavors for a bit instead of serving them separately and letting people put the shrimp over the pasta themselves. I love that idea and I think that's just the ticket to make this an A+ meal.

Family Chef's Grade (as the recipe goes): B+