A few weeks ago, we hosted a game night to celebrate the move of our friends and just to hang out. I always love hosting- it gives me a chance to try new recipes and it gives Mike a chance to get new games. This time I made my favorite beer dip, caramel gingersnaps, skinny taco dip, and strawberry oolong tea.

My first new recipe was Caramel Gingersnaps. I've been waiting to make these for a while, but the recipe was a little time consuming and I only bake when I know I have plenty of people to share with. Mixing the dough was easy, but then it needed to chill for 3 hours, which is sometimes the tricky part for me. After chilling for 3 hours, I rolled them in sugar, flattened them, and baked them. I really like them. They were a little out of place though, they tasted like fall in a cookie with the ginger, caramel, and cloves. It made plenty so I was able to share some with my friends at the mall, too.

The next recipe I tried was the Skinny Taco Dip. This was a very easy recipe to make. First, I mixed together some sour cream, cream cheese, and taco seasoning. Next, I layered tomatoes and lettuce. Finally, I topped it with cheese. Each ingredient I used was reduced fat or sodium. I really liked this dip and it paired nicely with tortilla chips.

Finally, I made some tea to share with our guests. I got the Strawberry Oolong tea from White Cloud World Teas, my friend Lauri's company. I recently got a new tea pitcher with infuser from Costco that I love. I boiler my water, filled the pitcher halfway, infused the tea, added ice, and then the tea was ready. It has a sweet strawberry taste and I didn't even have to add any sweetners.

Good food, good friends, and fun games made for a great evening. We will miss our friends as they move on and hope to continue on with the game night tradition.

The New Austonian