December. Gingerbread Houses

Decembers cooking group will be hosted by Amy S. We will be meeting at her house at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2nd. We are going to be assembling and decorating gingerbread houses!! There is a great recipe for the gingerbread and some frosting at the bottom of this post. We are asking everyone that comes to bake and cut out their gingerbread prior to Wednesday night. We will have some frosting available there, but if you want to make your own feel free. Then if everyone can bring a bag of candy to share, we should be set!! We will have a few gingerbread sleds available for anyone to use...so if you don't have time to make your own gingerbread you can still participate. Also, if you want to just grab a bag of candy and come enjoy some great conversation and help decorate those that we have...we'd love to have you! Please don't feel like you have to bring something to come. Just come enjoy a great evening of candy filled fun to help kick off the holiday season! To get a pattern for the gingerbread house, please see Heather R. at church or call Alexis N. 912-4414. Hope to see you all there:)

Gingerbread

2 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
2/3 c molasses
1 egg
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil

Mix thoroughly (with dough hooks in mixer if you have one) then chill overnight. Roll dough on a greased 17x12x1 cookie sheet and bake 300 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Place pattern on hot bread and cut immediately. Lift out carefully and cool on cake rack. The bread should be very hard when cool. If necessary, the pieces can be laid back on sheet and baked 5 minutes more. The roof section will break if not thoroughly baked.

Royal Icing
3 egg whites at room temp. (I use meringue powder instead--makes it safe to eat for little ones with sneaking fingers)
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar

Beat thoroughly in mixing bowl until the icing stands in peaks, then keep the bowl covered at all times with a damp cloth as the icing dries quickly and becomes very hard.

November . Rolls

November's cooking group was hosted by Tara L. and Sarah A. showed us how to make some awesome crescent rolls! Click on the comments below to get the roll recipe and if you have a recipe you'd like to share with us, you can leave one by clicking on comment and posting it there!We are trying something a little new and you may notice some changes with our cooking group. Each month we will be trying to learn something new from the host or a guest chef to better our skills in the kitchen! It should be fun and if you are interested in learning more about something specific please let us know. Just the same if you have a something you enjoy making that you would be willing to share with us...let us know!! If you have any questions, let us know!

October.Halloween Treats

Our host in October was Jody Clark. The theme was Halloween Treats! What a fun idea! If you came, share your treat recipe below as a comment. If you have a favorite family Halloween treat but you were unable to come, we'd still love for you to share the recipe! HaPpY HaLLoWeeN!!

September.Chocolate

Okay people...so better WAY late than never...right?? In September our lovely host was Donna G. and she picked a great theme...Chocolate!! It was a sweet evening and there were some great dishes, even some chili with chocolate. So if you were there, post your recipe as a comment below. Thanks for a yummy evening!

August - Blueberries

This month we were unable to get someone to host cooking club. I think we are all busy with summer coming to an end, trying to get all the family fun in that we can!! But, this week for playgroup we are going blueberry picking. So, we are asking everyone to leave their favorite blueberry recipe here on the blog so that we all have some great recipes to try out with all the yummy berries we'll be picking. All you have to do is click below on comment, and in the space provided leave the recipe. For details on blueberry picking see the Relief Society blog at http://www.fortlewisrs.blogspot.com/ and watch for details coming soon on Septembers cooking club! If you are interested in hosting cooking club in the coming months, please contact Alexis Newville at 253-912-4414 or at a_newville@yahoo.com. Happy blueberry picking, and hand over those yummy recipes PLEASE!!

July - Summer BBQ

This month's cooking club will be hosted by Jody Clark on Thursday, July 9th at 7:00 p.m. The theme will be Summer BBQ! So bring your favorite bbq dish and come out for some good food and great company. Even if you can't get a dish together, come and chit chat...there is always enough food to go around!! Jody does live on post, if you need help getting on post please contact Alexis Newville at 253-912-4414. Hope to see you there:)

June - Cool Treats

Okay so better WAY late than never:) In June we met at Kellie Atkinson's house and had some amazing cool summer treats! Now that this is posted here, I expect to see some of those yummy recipes posted...Heather R. this means you ;)

May - International Dish

Karin Huillet will be our host for the month of May. We will be meeting at her home on Tuesday, May 5th at 7:00 p.m. The theme will be your favorite International Dish. If you have a dish you like to make from you or your husbands mission, or just a family favorite...it's time to dig out the recipe!! Bring your dish and be ready to share the story behind it. This should be a fun night of good food and great conversation!

April - Mexican Dish

Well, better late than never!! This month's cooking club was hosted by Connie Hall. The theme was Your Favorite Mexican Dish! If you have a great recipe you'd like to share with us, go ahead and leave it in the comment section below. Thanks!!

March ~ Anything Green

This month's cooking group will be hosted by Kori Lopez! It will be held Tuesday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. In the spirit of St. Patricks Day, the theme will be Anything Green! The possibilities are endless...fruit, veggies, drinks, jello! So bring your favorite dish with something green in it and come enjoy!! We hope to see you all there. If you need help getting on post or directions to Kori's house, please call me...Alexis Newville 912-4414!!

February - Sweetheart's Favorites

February's cooking club is being hosted by Holly Mesarch. The theme is Sweetheart's Favorites!

What a wonderful theme for the month of love. So here's what you do...go and ask your sweetheart what his favorite dish is that you make. If your husband is anything like mine, he'll ask if this is a trick question:) Assure him there is no wrong answer (unless he says he doesn't like anything you make). Then make that dish...appetizer, casserole, salad, main dish, dessert, drink...whatever his favorite is. This should be a fun turn out with a variety of dishes!! Hope to see you all there...February 3rd at 7:00 p.m.

January - New Years Traditions

This months cooking club is being hosted by Lesa Miller. The theme is New Years Eve/Day Traditions. Bring out your families traditional dishes, desserts, drinks...anything will do. If you don't have a traditional food, maybe a New Years Resolution Dish would work! We can all use one of those after the holiday:) Hope to see you all Tuesday, January 6th at 7 p.m. If you need access to Fort Lewis, please call Alexis at 912-4414. I can get you a pass or just come pick you up at the gate, which ever works best for you...all you need is your I.D. See you there!!