First things first:  It’s asparagus harvesting time in our garden—the first thing we harvest every year.  I’ve got all the ingredients for my Kick Ass Italian Dish ready to go, but Mrs. Butcher refuses to eat it, so I made this for her instead.

A caveat before we get started:  A reminder that we grow purple asparagus here, but it still turns green when cooking.  You can probably only find green asparagus at your local store.  It doesn’t matter.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1-2 Lbs. Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts, cubed

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

3 Cloves Garlic, minced or grated

1 Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed

½ Cup Chicken Broth or Water

½ Lb. Fresh Asparagus, cut diagonally into 1-2 inch pieces

Crushed Red Pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken and garlic with salt and pepper until chicken is cooked through.  Stir frequently to keep the garlic from scorching.  Scorched garlic is bitter and that’s bullshit.  When done, remove from the skillet and set aside.

Add to the same skillet the sweet potato and the water or broth.  Cook until the potato is tender, but not soft.  This is usually the time it takes to cook the liquid off, but if you need to add more, do it a ¼ cup at a time.

Add asparagus and cook until it turns bright green. 

Turn off the heat, but leave the skillet on the burner, and stir the chicken back in.  Season with a little crushed red pepper.

Serve either as is, or on top of brown rice.  Keitel can feel free to add a bunch of bacon, cheese, butter and have a big, fat cigar afterward.