Picture Perfect Tuesday :: Mr. & Mrs. Bradley Opitz

Photo Courtesy of Man in the Moon Studios

Congratulations to my dear friend Megan for marrying the man of her dreams. Bradley is such a wonderful guy and I couldn't be happier for the both of them. Their wedding was beautiful, so I though I would share some pictures of their big day.

Photo Courtesy of Man in the Moon Studios

We had so much fun, the ceremony at Brophy Chapel was just gorgeous. From there, we had some time in between the ceremony and the reception so we headed down light rail to Seamus McCaffrey's Pub just off Central Ave. I have decided that all weddings need to incorporate this little extra play time. After we had a few Irish Car Bombs and a Guiness we headed to the beautiful Heard Museum. The cocktail hour was delicious, the dinner was phenomenal, the cake and mini-milk cartons were awesome and we had so much fun dancing the night away to the live band.

Photo Courtesy of Man in the Moon Studios

Thank you Megan and Bradley for allowing us to share in your special day! You are going to have such a wonderful life together. Now all I have to do is figure out when I'm coming to Georgia! :0)

Tasty Thursdays :: BBQ Chicken

I saw this recipe on Home Made Simple and it looked delicious so I took a stab at it and it WAS delicious! This sauce is great with other meats too and makes a great dipping sauce. So here it goes.

Tip: I put the chicken in the oven first and then started to make the sauce for timing sake. Also, you can make this with boneless skinless chicken breasts or bone-in chicken pieces. Directions are the same for both. For two of us, I halfed the sauce recipe and did three chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs.) Enjoy!

P.S. This one's for you Dani!


BROWN SUGAR BBQ SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
1 32-oz. bottle of ketchup
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke (mesquite or hickory)
1 bay leaf

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan and simmer on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Spoon generously over Perfectly Baked Chicken and serve.

PERFECTLY BAKED CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
6 lbs. chicken, cleaned
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Rub each piece of chicken generously with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
2. Place chicken pieces in a 9”x 9” (or larger) baking dish and place in oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until skin is golden brown and meat is cooked through.
3. Remove baking dish from the oven and coat generously with Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, then serve.

Picture Perfect Tuesday :: Wicked

So my wonderful husband took me to San Francisco for our one year anniversary. Part of the plan was a night out to see, my favorite musical, Wicked. It was my second time seeing the show, but Chris' first. We had front row seats. It was amazing. To top it off, one of my old choreographers was in the show. It was so great to see him up on that big stage. After the show I begged Chris to hang out by the Stage Door with me to see if we could catch Alex (my choreographer). Unfortunately after about a half an hour we figured out that he had snuck out fast! Fortunately, as we decided to leave, Vicki Noon came walking out and I got a quick picture with her. She played the role of Elphaba and was absolutely amazing! Her voice was phenomenal! So here is my Wicked picture. :0)

Chicken Garcia

One of my favorite types of foods is casseroles...all of them. If it has some sort of creamy soup as an ingredient and involves layers and baking, count me in. That being said, this recipe is one of my favorites. Just a warning, like most casseroles, it makes a TON of food and makes great leftovers.

Chicken Garcia
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

4lbs chicken tenders, boil the chicken and then shred it (if chicken is frozen, be sure to thaw first) 1 lg bag of shredded cheddar cheese

1 family size can cream of chicken soup

1 family size can cream of mushroom soup

1 lg jar Pace picante sauce (mild, medium or hot)

2 dozen corn tortillas

Cut the tortillas in triangles
Combine soups, picante sauce and cooked/shredded chicken
In a casserole dish cover bottom with a layer of the cream and chicken mixture, then a layer of cheese, then a layer of tortillas, repeat all layers until everything is gone, then cover entire mixture with cheese
Cover with tinfoil and bake 30 to 40 minutes @ 375 degrees

So You Think You Can Dance

Summer is here and so is my favorite TV show, So You Think You Can Dance. I am loving every minute of it, especially when one of my long time fellow dancers, Ade, made the top 20 last night. If you don't watch the show, you should and if you watch it this season you should vote for Ade.

So here's my shout out to Ade. You are amazing and I can't wait to watch you rock that stage!

Things I love :: A Great Party & My Mom

This was a whirlwind of a weekend, but it was an unforgettable one. First, we had a fabulous block party for my Stepdad Gary. He is finally retired from serving 30 years as a Phoenix Firefighter and man did he go out with a bang! We had two live bands, some amazing food, and plenty of liquor for everyone. Without exaggerating there at any one time were 300-400 people there to celebrate. It was a fabulous party and we plan on finding an excuse to throw one every year. Here are some pictures from the party.

My cousin Katie & I pretending to be firefighters

Cousins


Gary & Friends


Mom's work friends


Chris, Kent, Jaci & I

My cousins Pat & Staci with my Aunt Jodi & second cousins Elle & Patrick

Mother's day was a blast too! We had lunch with the in-laws at McCormick & Schmick's, one word, delicious! Then Chris & I went to see Star Trek. Now I'm not much for movies like that, but I have to say it was pretty good. A girl can only take so many fight scenes and laser guns before it gets old. Then I wrapped the night up with a spaghetti dinner with my mom and family. It was a pretty nice little weekend.


I hope you all had a great weekend, especially all you mothers!

Love,

Nicki

Tasty Thursdays :: Creamy Pear, Mint & Lemon Tortellini

My amazing husband decided to make this dish for dinner last night and it was delicious. We both agree that it needed some chicken, but other than that it tasted amazing!

Creamy Pear, Mint and Lemon Tortellini
1 pound cheese-filled tortellini
2 unripe pears, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 pound grated Gruyere cheese, plus two tablespoons to garnish
1/4 pound Taleggio cheese
Salt and pepper
10 large mint leaves, chiffonaded (cut into thin strips)
1 lemon's worth of grated zest

Set a large pot of salted water to boil and follow directions on the tortellini package to cook. Meanwhile, In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté pears until they begin to soften about two to three minutes. Add cream and cheeses to pears and cook, stirring often until sauce begins to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain pasta, toss with olive oil to keep from sticking and add to pan. Toss to coat. Turn off heat and add mint and zest, tossing to distribute evenly.

Distribute evenly on plates and garnish with remaining cheese.