Last night about nine or ten gals came over for a Recipe Swap and Menu Planning Party that I hosted. The group was mixed, consisting of friends from all different compartments of my life, including local bloggers.
I didn’t really plan to have a format, so everyone just brought their cookbooks and notebooks and index cards and we swapped swapped swapped. We mingled, and chatted, and nibbled on veggies and called out things like, “Anybody need a good enchilada recipe?” or “Does anyone know how to make pesto?” or my personal favorite, “Tell everyone about that great chicken dish YOU make, Jen!” (Nothing like a little flattery to get you multiple dinner invites).
We had great fun, and I hope to do something like it after Thanksgiving – maybe something crafty-like, or maybe we can all get together and address our Christmas cards together. Or whatever. I just think it’s fun to get together!
Leah of My Pink Toes had to cancel at the last minute, but she wrote up a blog post about it and left us with a few recipes.
Annagrace at Love Drunk lives a little too far to attend, but coincidentally, she had this recipe on her blog this week.
And Dacia also posted many of her favorite recipes at her lovely craft blog, here.
If you have a favorite recipe to share, leave it in the comments or link to your own blog.
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I will also take this time to point out a few things about this picture (click to enlarge if you care to indulge me).
First of all, you will notice the pieces of orange streamer paper taped into each corner near the ceiling. These are left over from Ruthie’s birthday party TWO YEARS AGO when I yanked them down. The pieces stuck to the tape didn’t come down, and here they still sit.
Secondly, you will notice the faux iron plate rack hanging off center above the piano. This used to hold a giant white platter, as I have storage issues in my kitchen. I have since decided to go completely IMpractical and hang a piece of art there. However, I cannot get the plate rack down. The screws are stripped or something, but the damn thing will not come off the wall.
You may have also noticed my latest organization project, which was to remove all the random photo frames off the piano and put them on the wall in hopes of eliminating clutter on the piano. They just always looked so terrible on the piano, and besides, that area needed some height. Hopefully I didn’t just make my wall look cluttered – what do you think?
And what you can’t see in the picture is that I rolled my kitchen island over to the wall under the window, opening up the kitchen wide and spacious. Wow! What a difference that made, and nobody was bumping into each other trying to pour a drink! I think I may just keep it over there and roll it back out into the middle when I need to cook.
that was super fun. thanks, jen!
For the record I like the photo frame collage on the wall…looks like something I had up in my living room before I had to take it all down to patch holes and touch up the paint.
Here’s my easy, fake my way recipe:
Easy Crock-pot Chicken:
Ingredients:
Small chicken fryer (no innards)
2 cups of Coke
1 c. ketchup
1 small sliced onion
Salt and pepper
Directions: Spray crock-pot with non-stick spray. Salt and pepper fryer to taste. Place all ingredients into crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Thanks, Jen, for the shout-out–looks and sounds like so much fun, just might have to host one myself one of these days!
I like the frames on the wall–I tend to like decorating that’s a little imperfect, if you know what I mean, I think displays like this feel nicely organic.
Okay–more later. Screaming, foaming-at-mouth toddler is attempting to climb into the computer chair with me…
Jen, I had an awesome time at the recipe swap! I got a bunch of great recipes that I can’t wait to try out on my hubby! Thanks so much for inviting me to your lovely home and introducing me to some of your friends. I’m always up for chatting about food and meeting fellow bloggers!
What a great idea – this recipe swap!
And I love your walls, Jennifer!