Winner Winner

I'm sure by now you've seen the pin for chicken and artichoke that seems to have taken over pinterest lately. Well I jumped on the bandwagon and tried it out. If you been thinking about making it, you really need to give it a shot because not only is it easy, it really is delicious. The original recipe is from ABC's The Chew, but the recipe that you've been seeing is from Stacey Snacks. My version, with a few small changes, is below!
The Chew's Artichoke Chicken
Ingredients
3 1/2-4 pound chicken legs and thighs
1 can artichoke hearts (quartered) (The original recipe called for 1 cup. Instead one can wound up being 1 cup, plus 3 or 4 more artichoke quarters. And I think it that still could have used more artichoke. The original recipe called for them halved, but I thought quartered was the perfect size.)
1 medium onion (cut into chunks)
1/2 pound white button mushrooms (quartered) (Originally it called for 1 pound. But I'd rather increase the artichokes and decrease the amount of mushrooms.)
2 tablespoons brown mustard
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (This is what I used because it's all we had, while the original called for red wine vinegar.)
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper (to taste)
green olives (I didn't actually add these, but the entire dish reminds me off one my mom used to make with olives, and I think they'd be perfect in here.)
rice (for serving) (I'm in Southern Louisiana after all, and according to the boy this means everything should be served over rice.)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the artichokes, onion, and mushrooms in a roasting pan.
3. Add the chicken skin side up into the pan.
4. Combine all other ingredients (except the rice).
5. Mix and pour over chicken.
6. Cook for approximately one hour basting every 20 minutes (My chicken was slightly frozen when it went in the oven, so I cooked it closer to 80 minutes, basting twice throughout.)
7. Enjoy the chicken and vegetables over a bed of rice.

Again, I will say this is one of the easiest meals I have in a long time. Plus it turns out delicious, so it's well worth your time to make. I think we made this Tuesday night, and ate it as leftovers every other night of the week.

Have you pinned this meal yet? And when was the last time you found a winning dish on pinterest?

From Miss to Mrs: The Final Minutes

Now that our ketubah and license were signed, and I was wearing my veil, we were officially ready to get married.
The guests were arriving and taking their seats. They even made use of the programs I had so painstakenly slaved over.
I remember waiting in the front hallway of the house when our coordinator came over saying we were ready to start and asking where the groom and members of the bridal party were. Except they had gone back to the turtle bar for one final drink. I think she may have yelled then, and sprinted out of the house to round everyone up. But thankfully at this point I wasn't worried about things going wrong, after all we were seconds away from getting married, and worst case scenario we would have to start the ceremony a minute or two late.
But in what felt like no time at all to me, everyone made it back, we all lined up, and we were ready to officially become husband and wife.

Did you have anything go wrong to delay the start of your wedding? And do you think you would have gone back to the bar for one final drink if you were getting married or even in the bridal party?

All photos in this post courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details
From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?
From Miss to Mrs: A Bridge-y First Look
From Miss to Mrs: Couple Time
From Miss to Mrs: Just the Two of Us
From Miss to Mrs: Grouping the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: Ain't No Party Like a Bridal Party
From Miss to Mrs: Fun with Family
From Miss to Mrs: Making it Official
From Miss to Mrs: The Bedeken

Monday Movie Review

Warm Bodies
I really, really enjoyed this one. To be honest, it's been a while since I've had as much fun in a theater as I did watching this. And while the boy won't admit it, I think he liked it too.

It took me a while to realize it, I was maybe halfway through when it hit, but this is basically a reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet. The characters names are Julie and R, but even that knowing their names, it still took one pivotal scene to make me realize it. (I'll let you guess which one that is.)

I thought this one had the potential to be cheesy, but it definitely lived up to, if not exceeded my expectations. Now I guess I just need to read the book, and hopefully I'll enjoy it just as much.

Mailbox Monday (22)

Mailbox Monday is a place for bloggers to share all the books they picked up the past week. Originally started by Marcia of The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday travels each month. For February, out host is Unabridged Chick!
For Review from the Publisher
Whip Smart by Kit Brennan
This is a historical fiction that takes place in the mid 1800s in England, France, and Spain. I'm about a third of the way through it so far, and while it's different from what I expected, I'm enjoying myself so far.

For Review from TLC Book Tours
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski
This looks to be a fantasy type book, but what I'm most excited for is the fact that it takes place in New Orleans.

What did you find in your mailbox this week?

Sunday Social (11)

Sunday Social is a weekly gathering place to meet new bloggers and to get to know better the ones you're already familiar with. It's hosted by A Complete Waste of Make-Up, and this week the theme is "twos."
1. If you were stuck on an island what are the two material items you would want to have?
I'd probably say sunscreen, since you're stuck on an island you might as well try to avoid getting burned, and a good book to keep me entertained.

2. What are two TV shows you'd watch over and over
For a current tv show, Sixteen and Pregnant, and for an all time favorite, Party of Five.

3. If your house was on fire what two things aside from family, pets, etc would you grab?
My normal answer for this was always photos, but with technology most of our photos are digital and exist online. So instead, I'd probably say the t-shirt quilt my mom made me and the maybe the signed ketubah from our wedding. (Basically irreplaceable sentimental items.)

4. What are your two most favorite articles of clothing?
I'm not sure I have favorite articles of clothing. Maybe my LSU sweatshirt that I always wear and... not sure what else. Clearly, I'm not much of a clothing person.

5. What two movies that you saw in the past year would you recommend to us?
I really loved Frankenweenie. Granted it brought back memories of my mom, who passed away about a year ago, but still I think circumstances different, I would have loved it. I also really loved Les Miserables. I think it's one of the few movies I actually saw more than once in theaters this past year.

6. What are your two biggest guilty pleasures?
Definitely candy and creme brulee.

If you haven't answered this week's Sunday Social questions, feel free to answer your favorite in the comments. And if you have, please let me know so I can stop by and say hello.

Project 365: Days 25 Through 32

This year my goal is to complete a Project 365, which means I'm taking a photo everyday of the year. So far I've been able to keep up, but we'll see how long that lasts!
January 25, 2013 - 25/365: Baby shower gift for a coworker.
January 26, 2013 - 26/365: Finally purchased the Nashville soundtrack!
January 27, 2013 - 27/365: Made the chicken & artichoke dish that's been all over pinterest lately. (Full post on this to come!)
January 28, 2013 - 28/365: Lemon Zest Luna Bar for breakfast.
January 29, 2013 - 29/365: Had a blogger meet-up with Melissa of Little Mrs. Married over dinner. I had a blast and hope that we're able to plan to hang out a lot more. (And it also goes toward my 101 goal of finally meeting more blog friends.)
January 30, 2013 - 30/365: Finally using our wedding present salad spinner.
January 31, 2013 - 31/365: Hot Mess Baked Potato (roast beef, onions, & gravy) with a slice of banana bread from Three Bones food truck.
February 1, 2013 - 32/365: Brandywine Mushroom Soup (Not really a fan of this though, and don't expect to be buying it again.)

When was the last blogger meet-up you had, if ever?

I'm linking this post up with Random-osity & Kleinworth & Co. for Project 52!

From Miss to Mrs: The Bedeken

The Bedeken, or veiling, is a tradition that stems from the biblical story of Jacob, Rachael, and Leah. In case you're not one to remember religious stories, Isaac worked for Rachael's father for several years, and based on their agreement he and Rachael were finally able to marry. Except after the ceremony he lifted his bride's veil to find that he instead had married her older sister, Leah. Although there is still a happy ending, since he was able to marry his chosen bride, Rachael, after several more years of labor.
Since then Jewish weddings have traditionally had a bedeken, where the groom places the veil over his bride to ensure that the one walking down the aisle is the one he wants to marry. Hence the reason the groom seeing the bride before the wedding isn't bad luck with Jewish weddings. After all, he's supposed to see his bride first to make sure he's marrying the right person.
While I think most grooms would easily notice the wrong brides going down the aisle, it is a fun tradition to carry out. And while I knew I wanted to do one, I don't think most Jewish brides have them unless they are quite religious.
At first the boy threw my blusher over my face, but after I gave him a hard time he attempted to lower my veil more gracefully, which is what you see in the second photo above. From here I was officially veiled, and we were finally ready to get married!
What traditional aspects did you choose to include into your wedding day? And has anyone heard of a bedeken before?

All photos in this post courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details
From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?
From Miss to Mrs: A Bridge-y First Look
From Miss to Mrs: Couple Time
From Miss to Mrs: Just the Two of Us
From Miss to Mrs: Grouping the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: Ain't No Party Like a Bridal Party
From Miss to Mrs: Fun with Family
From Miss to Mrs: Making it Official