Appetizers

Loved Appetizer night! I'm thinking we're going to have to host a Super Bowl party and have a repeat of these recipes! Sorry it took so long to get them posted... I had some catching up to do! Ya know, leading up to the Exchange, I was wondering if people were getting as much out of these nights as I was. I love the chance to try new things, talk to new people and my favorite not-new people. I love getting out of the house and stimulating my mind in ways other than the most efficient way to change a diaper or how I'll be able to work the kid's naps around my 'to do' list. As hilarious as 4 year old jokes are {What time is it when an elephant sits on your slide? Time to get a new slide!}, I love sincerely laughing at something I haven't already heard 5 times that day! But I always wonder if anyone else looks forward to it the same way!

I'm not as worried about that anymore! It was so much fun with great food, mom talk, jewelry tutorial from Joni, and great conversation. I walked away from that Exchange on a high!

So, I am grateful that this thing is going well. I am thankful for the WONDERFUL friendships I've made because of it. I am thankful for all the AMAZING recipes I've been able to add to my repertoire. And I am thankful to announce the next exchange! Thursday, the 20th, we'll be having a Halloween and Thanksgiving theme! FUN foods for the holidays. Recipes that look as fun as they taste! Trina Bowers will be hosting this time, so we'll see you there!

Fall Favorites Night

It is still in the 100's here in sunny Arizona, so when Joni Joiner requested we do Fall foods, I was a little hesitant. There are no sweaters in sight here! But the closer it got, the more excited I got! Fall food is just so dang good! Pumpkin, apple, hearty soups and stews... I just made sure to crank down the AC so even if it was 103 outside, it felt like it could have been Fall-ish indoors... It was incredible! We were loving all the warm comfort food so much, we may still do Halloween and Thanksgiving nights! Thanks to all those who came and to all those who didn't make it... I'm sorry for you! ;)

Mark your calendar- September 22nd is the next Exchange at Audrey Maycock's house and we'll be doing ApPEtIzeRs! Hey, it's football season! Gotta get some good half-time snack ideas!

Beef Night!

So, what do you get when you put a bunch of home-bound, under stimulated women who have only had children to keep them company most of the day in one room with tons of food and fun questions? Hilarity. And strange new feelings towards coloring... ;) Most of us were wondering how this would go, since beef is so often done on the grill, but it was a very scrumptious night! Jenn Fulton's beef and gravy dish.

Jayme Welly had a hectic day so she brought this beef-free cheesecake. No complaints.

Variations of this punch have popped up at several of the last few exchanges. Molly did equal parts Sprite and sherbet. It was like drinking candy! Thanks, Molly for hosting!

We are starting to have a core group of women who, like me, look forward to these exchanges like a life line! We played Loaded Questions and laughed like idiots about things like "Fatty McFat Fat", what we don't want to admit is lurking in our homes, most embarrassing moments, and why we would or would not like to be on shows like The Bachelor and Bachelor Pad! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! Loved it!

So, at the request of Joni, the next gathering we'll be trying our favorite fall recipes- soups, pumpkin baked goods, Halloween and Thanksgiving fun foods... Fall Favorites on September 7th! See you there!

Chicken Night

So, in case any of you were wondering why I don't include pictures of the women at these gatherings, this is a perfect example. As soon as people realized I was about to get a picture of the food, they all backed far, far away! Except Sheree- Gotcha! Maybe some day. In the meantime, we are just loving the excuse to kiss the hubby goodbye and pat the kiddies on the head to have some very deserved women-time! I was wondering if twice a month was too often, then the exchange gets closer and closer and I find it hard to control myself from starting cooking 6 hours too early! ;) I am LOVING getting to know all these women, many of which I didn't know in the least bit before these gatherings! Every time I am blown away by how fun everyone is and even more so by how open everyone can be when circumstances allow! Again, we talked good and long about the kinds of things that aren't typically shared. I hope this helps some of us feel less alone when we are faced with difficult trials or rough days {or weeks, or years!}. Thanks to all the women who make these nights so unforgettable, and all the husbands {and boyfriends} who step up to let their wives have these nights. Sheree Mowers was an excellent hostess and even with partially dressed children running in and out ;) we appreciated her opening her house up to us for a little escape from reality!

One other extra fun thing we decided was that we are going to start doing a bonus activity at the first exchange of the month where someone comes and teaches us about a hobby or skill. We are all so excited for this new addition. September 7th will be the first go and Sommer Spears will be bringing in her handmade jewelry for sale and hopefully will give us a little tutorial on making our own jewelry. Other ideas we've had are scrap booking and card making, ballroom dance, sewing, photography, couponing, fashion, hair and makeup, zumba, yoga, blogging, gardening, etc. Is there anything else you can think of that you'd like to learn about one of these nights? Pass it on!

Our next gathering will be on the 18th and we'll be highlighting beef. It's what's for dinner.

Carb Night!

Doesn't that look just amazing??? It TOTALLY was! Thanks to Trina Bowers for hosting. We had a great turn out and way more food than was good for us- but it was still so good for us! Many of the women who came said they purposely only ate fruit or veggies today in anticipation of that night. Worth it! So much good stuff and 11 new wonderful recipes! We even had a guy come out this time:

Joni Joiner snuggling Jayme Welly's little Emerson- 2 weeks old and this kid knows how to party!

Fortunately, to offset the mondo calories consumed that night, we'll be doing chicken next time, August 3rd! Not that that will keep me from piling on the calories then, too... Until then, enjoy!

Barbecue Potluck Night!!

This was kind of a crazy gathering- Trina, our original hostess, had to leave town for an unexpected family funeral, so we moved it to my house last minute. It was our first one in a while, and only 2 days after the 4th of July... We had a lot of people forget or were not able to make it at the last minute, but it was still so much fun! I hadn't laughed that hard in a while! Poor Molly was there for the first time and I really hope we didn't scare her away from coming back! Like I said last time, I love the food, but what really makes these evenings awesome are the people and the unexpected and fun conversations we have! I'll just say this: Jayme Welly was REALLY trying to get the baby out and we had fun with the suggestions that were made! Must have worked, because baby Emerson arrived this morning! Congrats, Jayme!

Next gathering is July 21st and the theme is CARBS!!! Bust out the breads, pastas, and cereals- this food group of the Food Pyramid is getting it's moment to shine! Until then, enjoy some of our favorite barbecue potluck foods!

BONUS!!!

The woman's group at our church was having a Do-It-Yourself night. To kick start it a bunch of us signed up to bring side dishes and desserts for sampling and sharing! Sound familiar?? It was like a bonus exchange night! I was super excited when they asked me to grab pictures and share the recipes that were brought. As soon as I get them, they'll be posted. In the meantime, here's a few of the many dishes...

In the meantime, check out this recipe and this recipe that were my offerings. Stay tuned... And if you were one of the people who brought something- I'm waiting! ;)

Breakfast of Champions!

Wow. That's all I've got to say. Wow.

This Exchange has been my favorite yet- even over desserts! Of course, the food was amazing. That's a given. But more than that, I was so impressed with the women that showed up and how incredible they all were! Nothing against those of you who have made it before and couldn't this time, but I was at the tail end of a pretty traumatic family incident, having just earned 'Worst Mother of the Year' award. I was even wavering on making it that night! I would certainly have missed out! The women who came all made me feel so much better and my crazy experience opened up a whole evening of conversations that most people don't have, but everyone needs to hear! I really appreciate how much everyone opened up. I feel so much closer to you all and it was good to know I'm not the only one to have such miserable mom moments! Having a bunch of incredible food to drown my worries in certainly helped, too! I'm still waiting on a couple recipes. Patiently. Waiting. So I can make them again as soon as I have them. Patiently. ;) Teaser of what's coming... Jayme Welly's crepes.

Audrey Maycock's Scones

Jennifer Fulton's Spinach and Egg souffle.

Sheree Mower's Crepes.

Don't forget to check out past breakfast recipes as well... Just click on the "Breakfast" label link to the right of the blog and all the breakfast posts will pull up.

We are postponing our next gathering a bit. Since we're hitting summer, there are a lot of people heading in and out of town. With that in mind, we voted to skip the third Thursday of June and make up for it the first Wednesday of July. Normally, we draw to see what theme each gathering will be, but since it's the middle of summer and right after the 4th of July, I thought it would be fun to do BBQ foods. Potato and pasta salads, baked beans, grilled anything! Whatever recipe you think of when you are invited to a barbecue! Check out the link for Grilling posts for some ideas. I might have to send my hubby this time, since he's The Grill Master... Nah, I just don't see him enjoying talking about postpartum depression as much as I would! ;) Mark your calendars for July 6th!

Desserts!!!

I LOVE dessert, so this was an exciting night for me! We had TONS of good food and lots of fun! Here's some of the food to anticipate as soon as I get the recipes...

Jennifer Fulton's vegetable thing... Just wanted to make sure there was an option or two without so much sugar!

Ruthanne Miller's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies

Jennifer Fulton's Grape beverage

Stephanie Johnson's homemade donuts

Jennifer Fulton's fudge

Next gathering will be June 2nd and we're doing Breakfast! Keep an eye out for more details and sneak peeks! Side Note- We don't care if you don't get a chance to make something- there's always plenty of food so come with or without! If you don't get a chance to make something, but have a recipe that's good enough to share, just bring a copy of the recipe and we'll still post it for you!

Cinco De Mayo

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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!!

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!