Our Wedding Weekend, part 1

I just realized today when I was playing with the layout of the blog that I've never done a post on our wedding.  I am going to do highlights from the whole weekend (with pictures of course).  We got married on December 19, 2009 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at First United Methodist Church.  We had our reception at the wonderful North River Yacht Club.  Throughout the planning process we knew that we wanted to make sure that we were able to relax and enjoy the weekend when it finally arrived.  We planned so many pre-wedding and post-wedding activities, and we are so thankful that we were able to enjoy that time together with our family and friends.

On Friday morning, we had the Bridesmaid Brunch which was hosted by one of our minister's wife (who happens to be one of my mom's good friends).  It was fun.  I wanted to do a brunch because I love brunch food, and who doesn't love a Mimosa in the morning?  While we were having brunch, the boys were playing golf together at the Yacht Club (in the cold rain).  Who do you think got the better deal?  I'd argue it was the girls, but Greg insists that they had fun.

I would say this isn't the most flattering picture, but it is one of the only ones I have from the Brunch.

The Moms had a fun time at the Brunch too!

Friday night we had the rehearsal at the church.  I wanted it to be FUN.  I feel like I have to been to a ton of wedding rehearsals that were boring and no one paid attention.  I made so many jokes, and at one point Greg looked at me and asked me to try and be serious.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend.  Dan had just said, "and this is when I'll say you may kiss the bride."  Greg's response was, "do I have to?!"  Dan said, "If you don't, then I will!"  Needless to say, we all got a good laugh in!

This is Greg's grandmother and his cousins.  I love this one because they were obviously having a good time.

And of course, there was the on-going joke that Greg would pass out during the ceremony.  Cody was practicing how he would catch Greg if he went down.

I mean, can't anyone be serious!?

Greg's favorite type of food is Bar-b-que, so when we talked about where to have the rehearsal dinner he knew immediately that it had to be Dreamland Bar-b-que.  I mean how could you pass up their sauce and banana pudding?

Ralph and Linda were wonderful hosts!  Ralph was giving a toast, and thanking everyone for coming.

I might venture to say that my dad had the most comical toast of the night. 

We really enjoyed ourselves!  

After dinner, we had invited everyone (who was over 21) to hang out at one of my favorite bars in Tuscaloosa, Innisfree Pub.  We all had a few drinks, and a few laughs.  And for some reason... I don't have any pictures from this!  In the invitation that I sent to everyone I made sure to remind them not to drink too much because we had a day full of pictures the next day.  haha!  

What a fun Friday we had.  I'm going to post the rest of the weekend later on.  I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me.  Love!

Amazing (and easy) Roast Chicken

Part of my job is to cook dinner for the family that I nanny for.  I cook 2 nights a week for them.  I've been exploring different recipes and trying to cook a variety of different things.  I love cooking, and so I was pretty excited when we agreed that this would be part of my duties.  The really fabulous part is that they buy enough for 4 people, and I am able to take half home for Greg and I to have.

I have been working for three weeks now, and here is what I have cooked:
- Lasagna
- Roast Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Pork
- Ground Turkey Enchilidas
- Pizza (mushrooms and spinach)
- Greek Chicken and Veggies

The roast chicken that I did is an Ina Garten recipe, and it's called Engagement Roast Chicken.  I think that she jokes that if you cook it for your boyfriend that he'll propose to you because it is so good.  Let me tell you, it is so good!  AND it is super easy to make.

Ingredients:
- 1 (4-5 lb) roasting chicken
- kosher salt and ground pepper
- 2 lemons
- 1 whole head of garlic (cut in half, crosswise)
- olive oil
- 2 Spanish onions sliced thickly
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Remove and throw away the giblets (gag).  OR buy a chicken without giblets.  Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken, don't be stingy!  Quarter the lemons, and add one to the inside of the chicken along with the head of garlic.  Next, rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil and then salt and pepper (I use a good bit on the outside too).  Tie together the legs with kitchen string and tuck the wings behind the body (this helps to make sure that everything is cooked evenly).

Put the chicken in a roasting pan (11x14 inch).  Put the onions and the remaining lemon pieces into a bowl and toss with olive oil, 1 tsp of kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp of ground pepper.  Then add the lemon and onions to the roasting pan (around the chicken).

Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  It is going to make your house/apartment smell heavenly!  Take the chicken out and place it on a plate, and cover with aluminum foil.  Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. 

She just puts her roasting pan on the stove top, but for some reason that makes me nervous, so I poured the onions, lemons, and all the juices into a sauce pan to make the gravy.  Put the heat on high/ medium high.  Add the wine and chicken stock.  Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until the sauce is as thick as you want.  Make sure that before you carve the chicken up that you pour the juices on the plate into the gravy.

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That's it.  Super easy.  The main change that I would make is reducing the amount of lemons.  I felt like it was too much lemon.  I would do 1/2 of a lemon inside the chicken, and the other half in the roasting pan with the onions.

I made mashed potatoes and green beans with it.  It was so good.  If you want an easy meal to impress whoever you are having over for dinner then this is it!

I wish that I had taken pictures of everything that I've made, but I have been slacking. I promise to do better!

What have you been cooking lately?  Is there another recipe that you guys want me to post from what I have already cooked?