Chris & Jen

So it has been a month full of weddings!! My cousins (both from the same family) choose to have their weddings a week a part! It was a whirlwind for the family, but well worth it! Unfortunately we could only make it for one wedding and since I was helping in another wedding (Jamie & Brad) the same weekend of Chris & Jen's wedding we decided to attend Joanna & Frank's. I was sad to miss Chris & Jen celebrate their marriage but Samara took a bunch of pictures and sent them to me so I could help her to share them in a fun way (if you haven't noticed, I love Animoto:) www.animoto.com). it is a fun and fairly easy way to share photos and video clips! I love how it captures the moments in just a few short minutes! Here is to Chris & Jen!

Jamie & Brad

I had the pleasure of serving as mistress of ceremonies for a good friend of mine, Jamie as she married the husband that she has waited so many years for. Congratulations Jamie & Brad - it was a beautiful day!

10 years

10 years ago I walked down the isle to marry Christopher Roberts. Here we are 10 years later. We have a beautiful daughter and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. Here are some memories of that day (photography by Dee Akright Photographers) and some photos of our honeymoon in Jamaica!

Joanna & Frank

My cousin Joanna married Frank on May 14th. Their outdoor ceremony was moved inside due to spring showers but the ceremony ended up being so romantic and intimate indoors that I couldn't imagine it any other way. Congratulations Joanna & Frank!

Spring Has Sprung

I stole that title from my amazingly talented friend, Stephanie of Lifeography. She recently invited Hannah, my niece, Haley, and a friend Abby out for a photo shoot with another equally talented friend and photographer, Deb Schwedhelm.

Their photographs were spectacular!

You can check them out at Deb's post: Here today, Gone Tomorrow
and at Stephanie's page: Spring has Sprung

Here are a few of my favs (although it was hard to pick).

Merry Christmas

I've done terribly at keeping our family blog updated. We've had a busy year! We had so much to update you on that in lieu of a traditional Christmas card, we put together a compilation of our year using an Animoto to share some special pictures, videos and memories.

New Fall Recipes

I've just turned the heat on in my house! It's getting nice and chili outside and I'm in the mood for some comfort food. Here are 2 of my new favorite recipes. I did not write these - just adapted both of them and changed some ingridents:)

Sausage & Barley Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
By adapted I just mean I doubled parts of it. It's so good - fast and easy and all my family loves it. Serve it with some nice crusty bread or Chris' favorite - grilled cheese.

Fresh, delicate baby spinach doesn't hold up to hours of cooking, so it is added at the last minute. Pureeing the vegetables allows you to drastically cut cooking time while maintaining all the rich flavors of the vegetables.

Prep: 5 minutes; Cook: 18 minutes

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingridents
Cooking spray
* 6 ounces turkey breakfast sausage (or sweet Italian sausage)
2 1/2 cups frozen bell pepper stir-fry (such as Birds Eye) (I use trader Joe’s tri colored frozen peppers)
2 cups water
* 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
* 1/4 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley
* 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach

Directions

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Remove from heat.

2. While sausage cooks, place stir-fry and 2 cups water in a blender; process until smooth. Add stir-fry puree, tomatoes, and barley to sausage in pan. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts.

ADAPTED: When I made this soup, I made some adjustments and doubled parts of the recipe. The *starred ingredients I doubled – made this soup even more hearty!

Email me if you want a PDF that you can print!

Beef Stew. Make this. It's delicious. It is adapted from a receipe from the Food Network by Paula Dean called Old-Time Beef Stew

Ingredients
2 pounds stew beef (I use Kosher Beef from Trader Joe’s)
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 ¾ Cup Low Sodium Beef Broth
¼ Cup Dry Red Wine (I use a merlot)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper (I use white pepper)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Dash ground allspice or ground cloves (I use allspice)
3 large carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions
In a heavy bottom Dutch oven, heat oil (till you drip some water on it and it sizzles) Brown meat on all sides until you have a nice sear. Add broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove ½ cup of hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly and slightly thickened. Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.