April 21st Exchange

I was a dink and forgot to take ANY pictures this time! The exchange was held at Jayme Welly's house {Thanks again!}, and though it got off to a slow start, we had a decent turn out of 7 or 8 people dropping by. While hanging out and stuffing our faces, we contemplated how we could make these nights even better. A few of the ideas that came up are adding Bunco {prizes $1 or white elephant} or other games to some of the exchanges or having talented women give little tutorials (Jayme does AMAZING things with coupon cutting, Audrey Maycock is a ballroom dancer, I... know how to cut a pineapple or avocado..., etc). Any input??

In regards to the next gathering... The first Thursday of the month falls on May 5th. Growing up in California, this meant celebrating Cinco de Mayo- Mexican Independence day. So, in honor of that, we'll be doing the theme of Mexican food! I'm still working out the bugs on this one, because there is a possibility I will be out of town for a funeral... But bust out a sombrero, put in the Mexican Hat Dance song and get cooking!!

Bird's Nests

I have heard these called several things before, but I grew up on bird's nests. See, ya have a little egg to go in the middle. Cute, right? However, this was not a recipe my mom included in her famous cookbook, so this is the variation I came up with. If you have a variation of this, please comment so we can see what else might be better! It whips together quick for a good, hot breakfast yet isn't as heavy as pancakes or waffles, and it's quicker than french toast. Plus you can make as much or as little as you want, which is why this recipe is not exact...

2 pieces of bread per person
1 egg for every 2 pieces of bread
About 2-3 tbsp milk per egg
Salt and pepper to taste

Using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, cut a hole in the middle of each piece of bread. Set aside. In a small bowl (I like to use a liquid measuring cup, makes it easier to pour), mix the egg, milk, and salt and pepper. Stir well with a fork. Heat your griddle to about 350 degrees and grease with butter. Put the crust part of the bread on the skillet and pour a small amount of the egg mix into the hole, just enough to cover the bottom. Repeat. Then go back and pour a little more into each hole. It's best to do a little egg at first so it creates a little seal. If you try to fill the hole, it will just seep out from under the bread and make a mess. Not that I've ever done that... Place the centers of the bread on the skillet to toast. When the egg is mostly set (2-3 minutes), flip the crust/egg part and the center pieces. It's ok if you end up with egg smeared all over the bread- that part is my favorite! Cook another 3-5 minutes. Serve hot with your favorite syrup and jam for the toasted center pieces.

April 7th Exchange

The first official meeting of this recipe exchange group went great! Alexa Kessler with Mason and Melissa Skinner.

Ohhh... sorry for this picture, Jayme! With Angie Randall and her friend, Emily. Thanks for bringing a friend, it was great to meet Emily.

Jennifer Fulton and Rachel Hutchings made a fashionably late entrance due to a key ingredient to Jenn's recipe crashing all over her driveway! But it was worth the wait!!

We had quite the spread, and I was impressed with the variety of it all. We were all sufficiently stuffed!

After all the great food, my husband, Matt, has offered to host at our house anytime! Since we hadn't all met, or knew each other by face only, we started out with each person introducing themselves, telling a little bit about their recipe and answering a silly question about themselves which led to some great conversations ranging from touching General Conference talks to poop! Personally, I think it went really well and a big thanks to everyone for making it such a fun night! That includes the wondeful husbands who supported us in this and took the kids so we could have a girls night! Also, a good change came out of our first meeting. Since Thursday's don't work for some people, and other nights don't work for other people, we'll be doing the 1st Thursday and 3rd Wednesday of the month to hopefully accommodate as many people as possible! So, mark your calendars for April 20th for more food, friends, and fun! The theme will be Easter so boil your eggs, cook up some ham and potatoes, or sort through your favorite spring desserts and come for more of the wonderful same!

April 7th

Our maiden voyage! Since many of you are looking for something that you can pull together pretty quick with ingredients that you are likely to have on hand, the first theme will be "Go-To's". Please share that one recipe(or two!) that you go to most often. That good old standby. Frozen pizza doesn't count! Here's one of mine:

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped(or about a 3 tbsp dehydrated onion)
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 C bisquick
1 1/2 C milk
3 eggs
1/4 C barbecue Sauce
1 C Cheddar cheese, grated

Brown ground beef with the onion, drain grease. Stir in salt and pepper and spread in a greased 10" pie pan. Put bisquick, milk, and eggs in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds(or beat with whisk until almost smooth). Pour over beef. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, spread barbecue sauce over the top then sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Cool 5-8 minutes before serving. *** To make prep even faster, brown 5 pounds of beef at once then divide the meat into 5 ziploc bags and freeze. Then it's just a matter of defrosting one bag for a recipe like this! Plus, it's usually cheaper to get your meat in larger quantities.