Rockin' Edamame

Who amongst us hasn't completely rocked out to Lady Gaga in our kitchens?

Friends, tonight I had the kitchen all to myself for a little while. I was armed with a bag of frozen edamame, my recently updated iTunes, and some dance moves that would make Shakira cry. Armed and dangerous, I enjoyed a "rock out" dance session while I prepared some roasted edamame and entertained Dora with my smooth moves.

Obviously, Adam arrived home from work, only to walk in on me prancing in front of the oven to Justin Beiber's "Somebody to Love." Oh, the shame.

After leaving you with such an awkward image of myself, let's just get to the food, shall we? Roasted edamame is one of the tastiest, easiest side dishes I make, and it has quickly become a new favorite of mine. It's fantastic as a simple accompaniment to a main course, but it also makes a perfect add-in to a big salad. Lately, I've been taking a little tupperware-full to work with me, and snacking on it when I hit the 3pm hunger-attack.

We just buy our edamame frozen (quick and easy!). It's in the frozen veggie section at just about any grocery store. They're loaded with fiber (up to 9 grams per serving!), and are tasty plain and raw if you don't have time to roast them.

After the recipe, I'll leave you with the rest of tonight's cooking-session playlist (it doubles as my new workout playlist). I've already embarrassed myself enough with the whole Justin Bieber thing, why not just put the rest of it out there?

What song gets you dancing in the kitchen?

Roasted Edamame

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. bag of frozen edamame (or more if you want)
• Italian dressing (maybe about a 1/4 cup? A little less? Just enough to coat the edamame very lightly)
• Generous sprinkling of garlic powder
• A bit of salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (only use enough salad dressing to very lightly coat the edamame!). Pour onto a baking sheet, keeping the edamame in a single layer.

3) Roast edamame approximately 8 minutes. Remove from oven, stir edamame. Return pan to the oven and roast for another 8 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, dance around the kitchen a little.

4) Remove edamame from oven and assess for done-ness. I like mine to lightly brown (as shown in the picture above). You can return it to the oven if it still needs to roast for a few more minutes. Just keep an eye on it!

5) Do a celebration dance. Need inspiration? Check out embarrassing-kitchen-dance-playlist:

Tonight's Kitchen-Dancing Playlist

• "Take it Off" - Ke$ha
• "Yea!" - Usher
• "Forever" - Chris Brown
• "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" - Eve
• "Get Your Freak On" - Missy Elliot (Oh yes I did!)
• "If I Had You" - Adam Lambert (the embarrassment is growing as I type this)
• "Tik Tok" - Ke$ha
• "Somebody to Love" - The Beiber-Man