Girls' Cooking Night

A couple nights ago, my friends and I got together for a girls' "pinterest inspired" cooking night, because our husbands were playing golf. Our menu resembled a cross between a shower and a tailgate but everything was oh-so-good...

Our group has now officially grown by one and come October, baby Evie will make two!

 Teagan thinking "My mom has the coolest friends".

We'll start with the easiest recipe, but to be honest- both of mine were super easy...

Crispy Edamame (originally found here)

• 1 (12 ounce) package frozen shelled edamame
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the edamame into a colander and rinse under cold water to thaw. Drain.

2. Spread the edamame beans into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle cheese over the top and season with salt and pepper.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is crispy and golden, about 15 minutes. 

*After making these, I would probably let them drain a little more after rinsing and flip them over after the 15 min in the oven and then cook them a little bit longer, because they weren't as "crispy" as they should've been.  I also added a little garlic powder, because let's be honest- I add garlic to everything.

Sopapilla Cheesecake (Orignally found here)

-2 cans pillsbury butter crescent rolls
-2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (softened)
-1 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/4 cup butter (melted)
-Cinnamon & sugar

Directions

1. Unroll and spread 1 can crescent rolls on bottom of un-greased pan.

2. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread mixture over crescent rolls.

3. Unroll and spread remaining crescent rolls over mixture.

4. Spread melted butter over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Corn Dog Bites (Originally from here) *These were actually made by my friend, Caitlyn. She doesn't have a blog, but I am posting it anyway, because they were delish. Don't be fooled by their appearance that was slightly altered by the frying process!

• 1 cup flour, divided
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup milk
• 8 hot dogs, cut into thirds
• Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

Directions

1. Preheat about 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees over medium heat.

2. Combine 2/3 cup of flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, garlic powder and onion powder in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the milk.

3. In a pie plate or other shallow dish, add the remaining flour.

4. Dredge each hot dog piece in the flour and then dip it into the cornmeal batter. Shake off any excess batter, but be sure that the hot dog is fully covered in batter.

5. Drop into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown and crispy.

6. Fry in batches, being careful not to over crowd the pan.

7. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until all of the hot dogs are fried.

8. Serve immediately with ketchup and mustard, if desired.

 

Andrea's peach, balsamic and basil pizza 

(she wins the award for the prettiest dish!)

So it's much prettier before it goes into the oven... 

but OH-My-Goodness is was DELISH!

Andrea's Girls Scout Samoa look-alike cookies- YUM!

Heather's bourbon meatballs- a tangy twist on a tailgate classic.

Heather's mozzarella bites- so easy and so good!