Bacon Wrapped Yums, Watermelon Mojitos, ShishKaBobs & Pie...Oh My!

Being that June 30th was the weekend before 3rd of July and many of us were going to be out of town we decided to put Girls Night off until the following week. Soooo, July the 7th we were at my house. The LAST time we will be at this house luckily...as our girls night is growing, I realized that we needed to upgrade to something with a larger kitchen :) Ok, honestly it was for the ever-growing family we have but in the back of my mind was GN when it came to finding just the right kitchen.

I started baking & cooking at nearly 9 am. Even though I had in mind that my DIY (do it yourself) dinner would be the easiest route, I had to bake a pie for dessert.

Appetizers were Bacon Wrapped, Asiago Cheese Stuffed Prunes. Originally I had meant to stuff dates instead but in a hurry grabbed the wrong thing at the grocery store and let's face it ANYTHING wrapped in bacon is A-MAZING, so it worked. This yummy idea courtesy of my friend Cara & her sis. I ate practically all of the ones they brought to a football game party a few years ago. One note: Do buy the chunk of cheese rather than shredded, as it is much easier to stuff into the fruit. Wrap with bacon and secure with a toothpick. Bake at 325 until bacon is golden brown and cheese is oozing out the sides. Now I'm hungry!

Drinks (along with wine - a staple at GN) were Watermelon Mojitos. And although my cookbooks are already packed, I can tell you to puree 1/2 of a small watermelon and a small bunch of fresh mint leaves in a food processor until smooth (this is great because you still get that great mint flavor without having to suck it up a straw or worry that it's in your teeth). Add to a large drink pitcher. Stir in 1/2 a cup of fresh lime juice and 12 oz white rum. Garnish with a small watermelon slice and sprig of mint. Optional is a splash of sparkling water or club soda if you want it to have some fizz.

My DIY dinner was building your own Shish-Ka-Bobs. The key is to cut everything into the same size pieces so that everything cooks evenly. Options to add to your (olive oil soaked) sticks were:

Chicken - marinated with lime juice and minced garlic
Pork Loin - Hormel Italian Cheese
Elk Sirloin - coated with a special Montreal Steak Seasoning. I WISH I knew what was in this because when I run out I'm going to be a VERY sad girl!

White Onions
Crimini Mushrooms
Red & Green Peppers

I had the girls build their masterpiece, brush it with melted garlic & herb butter and put them on the BBQ. Cook them at approximately 350-400 until the meats are cooked all the way through. I served them with Roasted Butternut Squash, which I cubed into 1" pieces, coated with olive oil, butter, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes & chopped fresh rosemary. Roast them in a 350 pre-heated oven for about 30 mins, taking time to turn them once or twice.

After we stuffed ourselves and settled in with some wine I served a Peach, Rhubarb & Nectarine Cream Pie:

Pre-heat oven to 375

1 1/2 lbs clean & dry fruit - Any combo of the 3 or others of your choosing are fine. Blackberries are great!
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

Toss fruit into a bowl of well mixed flour & sugar. Fill into pre-made crust (I prefer Pillsbury flat crusts). Pour in whipping cream. Sprinkle 1tsp flour on top. Put top crust on. Cut slits to allow ventilation. Use marinating brush to apply 1 Tbsp milk or remaining cream. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar.

Heat in 375 oven for 10 mins. Reduce temp to 325 for 40 mins. If edges of crust brown to fast cover with foil, but remove for last 10 mins of baking.

We have since decided that someone each week is going to volunteer to bring a side dish or dessert since our group has been growing. Cooking for 10-12 is fun, but sure is work too. It's great to share the passion of cooking with so many wonderful women!

Thanks for reading! Become a follower of the blog so you don't miss any of the great recipes.

Amanda

Savory Jambalaya & Healthy Rosemary Almond Cookies

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend Girls' Night at Teresa's house on June the 23rd (wow, I am behind on posts) but I was sent the recipes to share with everyone.

Her Jambalaya recipe is as follows:

(Serves 4-6)

4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2#)
table salt and ground black pepper
5 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 pound andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 1/2 c long grain white rice
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8oz) bottle clam juice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 pound large shrimp (31-40 per pound), peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tsp of oil in skillet over med-high.  Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Cook until sides are golden. Set aside on plate.
2. Add andouille and cook in skillet until light brown. Set aside.
3. Add remaining 3 tsp of oil to skillet.  Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt, cook until onion is softened.  Add rice and stir until edges turn translucent.  Stir in tomatoes, clam juice and chicken broth, bring to a simmer. Add chicken. Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender (~35-40mins)
4. Stir in the shrimp and sausage. Stir in parsley. Season w/ salt, pepper and cayenne or hot sauce.

Sounds amazing! Normally I wouldn't have been able to eat this dinner due to a shellfish allergy but T was nice enough to offer to prepare me a serving that was shellfish-free. So, feel free to omit it as well if you have the same problem or just don't care for seafood much. It's sure to be just as delicious.

Now, being the nutritionist in the group, Teresa found a healthy recipe for cookies. I am a SUCKER for rosemary in anything so I will definitely be trying this recipe out in the near future.

Almond Rosemary Cookies:

INGREDIENTS2 cups Almonds (soaked in water ~2 hours)
4 sprigs fresh Rosemary
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Real Maple Syrup
2 Egg Whites or 1 whole egg

DIRECTIONS1) Heat oven to 325
2) Place soaked almonds and rosemary in food processor. Run until a fine meal is produced.
3) Place almond meal mixture in medium bowl and stir int the other dry ingredients, baking soda and salt.
4) Add the maple syrup and mix well
5) Put egg whites or egg in food processor and mix until light a fluffy
6) Add egg to batter
7) Using a tablespoon drop dough onto greased or nonstick cookie sheet.
8) Bake ~15 min or until golden brown

Again I wasn't there to enjoy these but it sounds like they would pair well with a cup of after-dinner coffee (a little Bailey's in there for me).

More great recipes on their way...

Amanda

Summer Salmon Burgers

I have to say I was a little weirded out thinking salmon on a burger was going to be dinner at Danielle's house. It totally worked and tasted amazing! Super simple with a delicious garlic-dill aioli. Make your neighbors jealous as you fire them up on the grill.

Danielle buys the  packaged frozen salmon burgers from Costco and says "It is important
to get wild Alaskan salmon as opposed to farmed Atlantic salmon.".

She grilled the burgers for about 7 minutes on each side and topped
them with provolone cheese. Atop toasted buns we slathered on a garlic-dill
aioli sauce. She found the recipe on food network and modified it
slightly:

Ingredients-
1/2 cup light mayo
2-3 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 small package fresh dill- chopped (about 2-3 oz)
1-2 tsp minced garlic (to taste)
3 TBSP chives
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
lemon juice to taste
-Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Along with the burgers we had a classic fave- Suddenly Salad and a
spinach salad with white balsamic vinaigrette.

The perfect Summer BBQ plate.

We have been asked to review a site on our blog but want to get a few opinions firts. Has anyone used CouponChief.com before? A few of us will be looking into it to see what we can post as far as a review of the site goes. If you are familiar with it please email us with your thoughts (thursdaygirlsnights@gmail.com). Thanks!

-Amanda