Crispy (sorta) Edamame

I get together with a group of ladies most Friday nights and like to make something fun for them, because I just like to make something fun to eat.

I found this recipe on  Join us, pull up a chair and Heather had lots of great sounding recipes that sounded so good.

Recipes that would fit perfectly for an NPA get together or one of my Tapas Nights or gee, just ones I wanted to try.

I decided to try  Crispy Edamame  because I’m trying to eat a little cleaner, and I love Edamames and since I had some in the freezer, well, it was a natural choice.

I actually made this over a week ago, but it took me til now to tell you about it, cause I just got caught up in life.
Crispy Edamame

12 oz bag frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, I used the powdered stuff in the jar.  I actually added more freshly grated cheese after spreading the peas out on the baking sheet, but it didn’t coat as well.
salt & fresh ground pepper
Opt. Sliced garlic

Preheat oven to 400 deg.   Take Edamame out of freezer and either rinse it to thaw it or let thaw in a colander.

Once the Edamame is thawed, lay them on a paper towel to dry and remove the excess moisture. Once dry, place in a gallon sized Ziploc bag, add in the tablespoon of olive oil.  Shake to coat.
Then add the 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, shake it again.

On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, pour the coated Edamame. Spread out in a single layer.

 

Sprinkle with a little more Parmesan Cheese. Bake for 15 minutes.
Add the thinly sliced clove of garlic at this point, stir and bake for another 5 minutes.*
Allow to cool slightly before enjoying.

 

You can see the little bits of garlic on here.   And don’t put the garlic in until the last few minutes of baking, otherwise it will get bitter.  As it was there was a slight hint of garlic, nothing over powering.

*I found that I needed to bake them longer. And the next time, I will do the initial bake for about 20 minutes, then add the thinly sliced garlic and bake for an extra 10 minutes or so.  These weren’t crispy, but were tasty.

These were so good scooped up in a Lentil chip and eaten out of hand.   Someone else had brought the Lentil chips, so we tried them together, and I would do that again.   And best of all, this is a healthy recipe.

Spanakopita Bites

I found some Phyllo tart shells on sale a while back and bought them without knowing just what I was going to make with them.   And then I remembered my friend Debi and the great Stuffed Grape Leaves she showed us how to make.   Well, that day we also made some Baklava and since there was a bunch of Phyllo dough scraps left over, Debi made some Spanakopita tarts.  And they were so good and disappeared so fast.

So, guess what?   I was totally shameless and stole her idea so I made some for the Boat Club Potluck this month.   I’m not using leftover phyllo dough, but I am using the phyllo or fillo if you insist, pre-made tart shells I bought.

It just so happened I also had some Feta Cheese in the fridge, as well as some Parmesan Cheese and the tart shells, and onions, and eggs, and I found a package of frozen spinach buried in the bottom of the freezer as well.   I had all the ingredients.    Don’tcha just love it when it all comes together?

   Nice little bites of goodness, well, I thought they were.   Although Debi did tell me I didn’t put enough onion in them, so next time, I’ll up the onion, or better yet remember to put the minced onion and garlic in them in the first place.  I don’t know what I was thinking, but I sautéed the green onions, and totally spaced the minced onion  and the garlic clove,   sitting on the counter all by its lonesome afterwards as well.  sigh.   I was in a hurry to get these made and I forgot stuff.  So here’s the real recipe and do as I tell you, not as I did.  However, the Spanakopita Bites, still tasted good, just not as good as they could have.

30 Mini Fillo Shells, brushed with butter and set aside.

1 8 oz package of Frozen Spinach
4 oz. Feta Cheese, either the block or crumbles
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
4 green onions
1/2 cup onion
2 cloves garlic
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 deg.
Thaw the spinach and put into a colander to drain, then squeeze out the liquid.  Do a rough chop if needed, makes it easier to fill the tart shells if you don’t have to deal with a bunch of stems.
Saute’ the onions til they have softened about 5 minutes, then add the garlic, stir around for about 30 seconds, take off the heat and set aside.
Place the spinach, cheeses, onions and garlic into a bowl, then pour over the lightly beaten eggs and milk, mix together.

Spoon some of the filling into the tart shells, and bake for about 20 minutes or so until they have browned  and the egg has cooked through.

Don’t forget to sample one as you take them out of the oven, you need to make sure they are edible after all.

Serve warm or at room temperature.    You can also make these ahead of time, and just warm them in the oven for a few minutes, they are very forgiving that way.

Bacon Crackers

I was tossing around ideas on what to make for our Boat Club Potluck this month and narrowed it down to three choices.  However, I didn’t want to make something I’d made before. Cause gee, what’s the fun in that?

So I’m looking in my pantry, searching my freezer and pulling my hair out trying to figure it out.
I had some lovely Hoagie rolls in the freezer, as well as some chicken and then there were the club crackers in the pantry.    Decisions, decisions, decisions.   Sigh…

I kept trying to make those three ingredients go together, but nothing gelled.   We don’t eat Club Crackers that often, but I had heard of this appetizer that incorporates Club Crackers, bacon and Parmesan Cheese.

I mean bacon, where do you go wrong with bacon?

So I decided to make these Bacon and Club Cracker Appetizers.   They’re a little labor intensive cause you have to wrap each one of those crackers with bacon, but OMG, they are so worth it.

You wouldn’t believe how good my kitchen smelled.   I did make extra for tasting purposes only, you understand.    Well, gee, you make a new recipe you have to taste it, doncha?

Here’s the how-to’s:

Unwrap the crackers and place them on a large baking sheet.   I used most of one sleeve.

Then top each one of the crackers with a teaspoon, even a heaping teaspoon of Parmesan cheese.    Then take out  your package or in my case, two packages of thinly sliced bacon.   I’m making these for a crowd.   And as I said, I needed a few extra for tasting purposes.
Cut the package of bacon in half, crosswise, then peel off a slice and wrap the cracker very carefully, making sure that the cheese stays mostly on the cracker and that the bacon folds around it, all around it.  Just like this;

Place on a rack on a backing sheet, then place in 250 degree oven for 2 hours.   YUP,  two hours.   Take out and serve.     Or in my case take out and transport immediately to the party.

And there they are, at least for a few minutes before they were eaten.

If I make them again, I’ll use a leaner bacon, and will also use more cheese, and it will be freshly grated, not the powdery stuff out of the jar.   But, it was fun  to try something new.