Dinner Trade, Dinner Swap, Dinner Group
It doesn’t matter what you call your Dinner Trade. For me, I call it a life changer. It has saved me money, time, and weight gain from eating so much fast food. I’m loving the family time we’re getting by sitting down to have dinner each night. My friendship with my neighbors has grown. My kids are experiencing a variety of new foods and recipes, and I can rest assured they’re not going to be limited to chicken dinos and hot dogs for the rest of their life. Once you start a Dinner Swap Dinner Group, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start it before.
This site is a work in progress. You can learn more about Dinner Groups by reading the Startup Guide. New recipes will be added each week as well as new tips and experiences from being part of a Dinner Group. You can view my group’s meal calendar with links to each recipe. Click the “Print this post” option on the recipes and try them out. Then come back to the site and leave your comment and rating.
Too many members in your Dinner Group?
So what do you do if you have too many people who want to join your dinner group? The simplest solution would be to break the group up into two Dinner Groups. But let's say you have five members, but you only want to do meals Monday - Thursday, so the weekends are...
5 Tips How to Start and How to Last
We can't help but emphasize the importance of eating dinner together with your family. And we can't help but emphasize also, the importance of having a dinner group for you to actually realize the benefits of togetherness every night. We have seen it, we have...
8 No Brainer Guide to Cooking for Many
First time dinner group members and those contemplating joining a dinner group usually have the same complaint: “I don’t know how to cook by the bulk!” or “I always end up cooking too little or too much!” This is understandable of course. Cooking by the bulk is a lot...
Especially 4 You
I always smile when I remember my friend Fannie. She was my dorm mate in college. When we were working already, the two of us with a couple of our friends started our dinner group. Even with both of us married, our friendship and dinner group continued. The day she...
5 Things You Can Do If You Don’t Like Something
“My friend always cooks meatloaf. I have nothing against her but it’s just that my kids don’t like it! What should I do?” a frustrated dinner group member emailed us. Everyone is unique. And so are the members of your dinner group. Some may have multi-racial members...
On Working Moms, Dinner Swap and Beethoven
Starting to play the piano at a late age is very hard. It requires putting pride aside (for a younger teacher to be able to teach you), bumbling incoherently through music sheets, feeling frustrated, but the rewards of being able to play a difficult piece flawlessly...
Vegetarian Dinner Group: Not an Impossibility
You might have typed the word vegetarian the reason why you landed on this site. You might be a vegetarian already or just planning to be one. Whichever you are, you're probably shaking your head at the thought that you can have a dinner group with your seemingly...
Cook and Click
Photography is an art. Its also a practical way of storing vital information such as dinner trade recipes. In an age where everyone has virtual storage, pictures can greatly help dinner groups. Here are tips on how to use this tool: 1. If recipe books are used, try to...
Getting Bored? Here’s the solution to that!
The solution? Set a monthly theme for your dinner group!
Bring Your Family Back to the Dinner Table
Better than the time and money I save, the greatest thing that has come out of doing a Dinner Group is that I know that four nights every week we are going to sit down together and enjoy dinner as a family. Before Dinner Group I would fix something quick and easy for...
A Series of Unexpected Events
Dinner Swap story from Kathryn I grew up in a not-so-typical-family. While everybody around was rushing to and fro, my parents were discussing what happened the previous day over a cup of tea. While everyone was twiddling with their Blackberrys, cellphones were a...
A Neighborhood Affair
Dinner Swap story from Grace Being a single mom isn’t an excuse not to join a dinner group. That’s what Gina believes, anyway. Just like most single moms, she had double jobs, hardly had time to grab a sandwich for breakfast, let alone cook dinner for her kids. But...
The Calendar that Saved a Friendship
Joy's Dinner Swap story Anne and I were worried that we weren’t as close to our kids as we should be anymore. They were growing up so fast and we didn’t want them to drift off without doing something about it. Together with three of our friends, who had the same...
A Single Dad’s Tale
George is single. George has a kid. George is a typical guy. I am George. Being a single dad is no picnic as everybody knows. Even though I am very busy working I had to find time for my son which was quite difficult because I had to work on graveyard shifts...
From Picky to Happy!
Dinner Swap story by Kate My four year old daughter is a picky eater. I often get frustrated coaxing her into eating what I cook. I would scour cookbooks by the dozen and ask her what she wanted but what she usually picked out was something I didn’t want to cook for...
It Runs in the Blood
Dinner swap story from Jane My sister and I didn’t know how to cook. Our parents were great cooks though. They would usually be the ones cooking for big gatherings in our church. When both my sister and I moved to another state, we realized a little too late that we...
Chinese Take Out No More
Dinner swap story by Rb I should have expected it. But unfortunately, I didn't. When my husband and I moved from Malaysia to the States after staying there for almost 8 years, I had already gotten used to the slow paced life there.I had time to work yet I still had...
Mom the Chauffeur
Natalie's Dinner Group Experience Our dinner group is a life saver for the whole dinner experience at our house. My kids are 12, 10, 8 and 10mths, which translates to being a personal chauffeur from 3:30 to 7 or 8pm Mon through Thurs. I drive them to and from...
Recipe: Cucumber and mango salad with chili-spiced pork
Ingredients 2 T. plus 1 t. olive oil 2 boneless pork loin chops coarse salt and ground pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder 4 t. honey 2 T. fresh lime juice 1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1" pieces 1 English cucumber, cut into 1" pieces 1 large head...
Recipe: Pork Carnitas
These marbled chunks of pork shoulder are first simmered to ensure they become tender, and then browned so they develop a flavorful crust. 6 pounds pork shoulder (butt or picnic roast), bone removed, meat cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 2 tablespoons coarse salt 2...
Recipe: Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Ka Gai)
Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Ka Gai) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoons ginger; grated 5 teaspoons red curry paste 6 cups chicken broth 3 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar 28 ounces coconut milk 1 pound chicken breasts, cut thin in strips 1/2 pound...
Recipe: Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients Pumpkin Base 4 eggs 3 cups pumpkin 3/4 cup oil or applesauce 2 cups sugar 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda Frosting 8 oz cream cheese 1 stick butter 1 tsp vanilla 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar Instructions Preheat the...
Recipe: Chinese ham and egg fried rice
Ingredients 1/2 c. frozen peas 3 tbsp. vegetable 2 eggs, lightly beaten 3 c. boiled rice 1 tsp. salt 2 oz. boiled ham (1/4" cubes) 1 scallion Instructions Prepare ahead: Place frozen peas into 4 cups boiling water and cook for 5 minutes until tender (defrost). To...
Recipe: Corn Chowder
Ingredients 6 potatoes peeled and cubed 3 carrots diced 6 tablespoons butter 2 jalapeno seeded and minced 1 red onion chopped 3 cups corn 4 tablespoons flour 4 cups chicken stock 2 ounces Canadian bacon 3 cups half and half 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated 2 teaspoons...
Recipe: Pot Sticker Dumplings and Soy Vinegar Sauce
From Martha Stewart’s Website Ingredients Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce 1/2 cup soy sauce 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 2 teaspoons sugar 1 whole scallion, trimmed and sliced 1 hot green chili, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons water Dumplings 1/2...
Recipe: Sausage Bread Stuffing
From Martha Stewart's Website Ingredients 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 onion, chopped 3 celery stalks, sliced on the bias 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh...
Recipe: Brined and Oven-Roasted Turkey
From Martha Stewart's Website Ingredients Brining Liquid 2 quarts water (at the very least) 1 1/2 cups coarse salt 1/2 cup sugar 1 large red onion, sliced 1 head of garlic, smashed (8 to 10 cloves) 2 bottles white wine Brine Add-Ins (Optional) 2 tablespoons crushed...
Recipe: Garlic Rosemary French Bread Pizza Dough
From Jessica Bybee Ingredients 1 ½ C. Warm Water 1 T. Fresh Rosemary, chopped (generous T.) 2. T. Oil 1- 1 ½ T. Garlic (I used the pre-chopped stuff- if yours is fresh you will want to use less) 2 T. Sugar 1 ½ tsp. Salt 4-5 C. White Flour 1 ½ T. Gluten Flour 1 T....
