Okay, I confess: I’m totally stealing this idea from my friend Traci.
She had a recipe swap at her house last week, and it was so much fun - and so simple. If you like to cook and would love a fun night with “the girls,” this is perfect.
Here’s what she did.
She invited 12 people, and each person brought five recipes (with copies of each for everyone). Some people copied their recipe cards, some people typed all five recipes on one sheet of paper, some people printed each recipe on a separate sheet of paper (in other words, the format of the recipe is up to you) - and then Traci provided us with folders so we’d have a way to keep all the recipes organized until we got home.
But before we swapped recipes, we had dinner. We each made one of our recipes beforehand, took it to Traci’s, and shared it with the group - which means we had 12 wonderful dishes to sample. Traci set up three tables - with china and crystal and placemats and flowers and everything - and the 12 of us fixed our plates, sat down, ate wonderful food, and TALKED WITHOUT BEING INTERRUPTED BY CHILDREN.
Maybe you didn’t catch that last part: WE TALKED WITHOUT BEING INTERRUPTED BY CHILDREN. That alone was a little slice of heaven.
And in addition to some relaxing time with friends, I came home with fifty-five new recipes. FIFTY-FIVE!
That most definitely works for me.
For more great WFMW ideas, go see Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.
Rebecca says:
Ack! That sounds like so much fun! Oh, I am so borrowing this idea!
August 30th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Eagles Wings says:
Great Idea,,,I’m submitting this one to our Ladies Ministry for our Fall Carry - In luncheon….
Thanks for sharing…and blessings
August 30th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Mama Duck says:
Oh wow. Not only wonderful new recipes, but time away from the child…. a dream indeed! Our tip is up and we’re also hosting the Carnival of the Vanities today - busy day in duck-land!
August 30th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
suzanne says:
What a wonderful idea for a group of Ladies to do!!! thanks for sharing it! And yes, the talking amongst yourselves with NO interruptions is needful for young mammas….
August 30th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
heather says:
This sounds like fun. How on earth did you manage the without children part? All my friends have 4 or more kids and I can’t imagine any of us being able to find and afford babysitters. *sigh. So much for that one. :)
August 30th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Mom2fur says:
Wow, what a blast you must have had! And now you get to try all those cool recipes, too! What a party!
August 30th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
ek says:
Care to share any yummy ones!!!!Easy, you know, no more than 5 or 6 ingredients please!:)
August 30th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
ek says:
O.K. I see that I added a smiley face! How exciting! Have NO idea how that happened!
August 30th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Barb says:
I’ve heard of recipe exchanges before but never really knew how they’re done. You laid it out clearly and what a great idea! The receipes are the ones people actually make and it’s even better if you get to sample them before your try them.
It sounds like this was a lot of fun and wouldn’t be difficult to set up at all. What a great tip.
August 30th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Becky says:
That sounds like a FUN idea!!!!
August 30th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Shannon Kerr says:
Love this idea! Another variation we use during the holidays is to have a cookie swap - invite several friends and ask them to bring cookie or dessert recipes, as well as samples. Everyone leaves with lots of yummy treats to share with family and friends - without having to bake all of them.
August 30th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Heather Smith says:
Great idea! I may have to do this!
August 30th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
Shalee says:
I’ve done this before and it is fantastic! Plus, it always helps to have some new things to try to break the routine.
So glad you ladies we’re able to eat a meal the way it was intended - warm and completely.
The only thing I get to eat warm is ice cream…
August 30th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Katrina says:
Oh yes, this idea is wonderful. I’ve done this same thing with some ladies from church. they usually pick a theme and have a swap every couple months - cookies, salads, 5-ingredient recipes, Christmas desserts. They are all so much fun - and you get to take home terrific recipes! We also vote for “yummiest” recipe and the hostess presents the top three with wooden spoons spray-painted with glittery gold, silver, and bronze spray-paint, with pretty ribbons tied around them.
August 30th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Blesssed Beyond Measure says:
I think I could do this with maybe 6 of us. One table, six dishes, all those new recipes. What a great idea, and a fun evening. Where’s my calendar -
August 30th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
Susanne says:
I am so gonna host one of these! Sounds like so much fun!
August 30th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Jodi says:
What a great idea!! I am so gonna steal this too! Thanks for sharing!
Happy Wednesday!
August 30th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
GreenGenes says:
I’m going to do this too–maybe a fall-themed one! So fun!
August 30th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
allison says:
What a wonderful idea! I think recipe swapping parties will be the next trend to sweep across the country. Thanks for sharing!
August 30th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
kelli says:
You do realize that you have somewhat commited yourself to share these FIFTY FIVE recipes with us .. right?!
Have to admit, food can take better when you are only cutting up your own :)
Glad you had a night where you TALKED WITHOUT BEING INTERRUPTED BY CHILDREN.
Everyone needs that once in awhile.
Hugs
August 30th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
boomama says:
Heather - Everyone left their kids with husbands or friends - except the ones with little babies who needed to be nursed and fed - we had a couple of those, and they were happy as could be. :-)
August 30th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Rebecca says:
That’s such a cute idea. I think I might try it with only 4 or 5!
August 30th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
Paulette says:
Sounds like a dream, and I would love to do this. Unfortunately i do not have that many friends, Ill work on that!! sounds like a blast.
August 30th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Pastomac's Ann says:
This sounds really fun. I might try to do something like this with our women’s ministry at church.
August 30th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
momrn2 says:
Oh my goodness.. that is such a fabulous idea! I love it. I may have to borrow it for as an idea for the laides group at our church. How very fun it sounds!!
August 30th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
Stacey says:
That is totally awesome! I’m going to check with my friends and see if they would be intersted in doing something like this. What a fun way to come up with new meals and recipes for my family!!
August 30th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Barbie says:
What a GREAT idea. I have a Mom Time group and we are going to have to give this one a try:)
August 30th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
Overwhelmed! says:
I’ve done something similar with a cookie exchange (it was lots of fun) but I’ve never tried it with a dinner. Thanks for the idea!
I’ve also posted a WFMW tip involving creating blogging categories. Stop by and take a peek. :)
And, If you’re so inclined, stop by this coming Friday and share one of the new recipes you got in my Five Ingredient Friday recipe exchange! :)
August 30th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
PaxilPrincess says:
I’ve done something similar…through mail, but I like your idea better b/c you get to taste the yummy recipes, visit with friends and NOT BE INTERUPTED BY CHILDREN *lol*
Thanks for sharing & happy Wed!
August 30th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Kathy says:
I would love to share my “Gone In 5 Minutes” Brownie recipe - my family cleared out that brownie pan so fast, I’ve never seen anything like it
August 30th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Jennifer, Snapshot says:
I thought that this sounded cool when you mentioned it in passing recently. Thanks for giving the details. I would love to give it a try, too.
August 30th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Larae says:
I’m throwing one of these parties right away! =) Thanks for the tip!
August 30th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Lolly says:
You are always so creative with your posts, can you come up with a way to have a blogging recipe swap?
August 30th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
heather says:
Sigh. All of my friends have extra busy hubbies (since we all stay at home and hae large families it means the hubbies are extra busy bringing in the money to find such large families.) When we get together we usually bring some activities for the kids or a movie and end up hanging out for a bit with relatie silence (relative as in 3 mommies and 14 kids) :).
August 31st, 2006 at 2:10 am