Boo's Bridal Shower

In mid-August, Talisa and I threw a bridal shower for the beautiful Stephanie Godinez, aka, Boo. We held it at her fiance, now husband, Phillip's home. It was fun to organize and get together with friends that I hardly ever see. We had a backyard bbq with various skewered meats, veggies, fruits, and cupcakes for desert. Here is the cute couple



Stephen was kind enough to do all the bbq'ing for us. He did a wonderful job too!Talisa and Brittany skewering veggies, and our cupcake tower. Brittany brought Funfetti, Talisa brought Chocolate Turtle, and I brought Lemon Cream cupcakes.

Phil set up the music while we waited for the rest of our guests.

Then the bride arrived! I would post pictures of the gifts, but I would like to keep this blog G rated.

Summer Weddings

Stephen and I had the privilege to attend the weddings of several of my friends this summer. Here are some pictures from the happy moments.

Caitlin Perkins & Jason Bahr--Provo Temple

Caitlin held a beautiful luncheon at the mouth of Rock Canyon in Provo with close friends and family. Stephen and I were very happy we could attend.



My cousin Garrett Bodine & Andrea Forsyth--Mount Timpanogas Temple
Me with a cut-out of my cousin Jason who is serving a mission in Italy.


Evelyn Guanuna & Andrew Paulos--Provo Temple

My best friend from jr. high/high school Stephanie Godinez & Phil Manwaring--Provo TempleStephanie looked absolutely beautiful. They are a very handsome couple!
Stephanie held her reception in the Manwaring's backyard. It was very beautiful!

Sunday Dinner

Since I've been married I've been cooking a lot. Its not because of my new responsibility to feed another being, because really, Stephen will eat almost anything, but because I've been gifted all sorts of neat cooking things. I thought I should post a few recipes I have enjoyed so far.

We usually go to Provo or Highland for Sunday dinners with family, but this Sunday, we stayed in and cooked a yummy Sunday dinner. We had Salmon, twice baked patatoes, and green beans.

I've used this recipe for Honey Dijon Salmon several times--it is really delicious and simple!



Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, stir together butter, mustard, and honey. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.
3. Brush each salmon fillet lightly with honey mustard mixture, and sprinkle the tops of the fillets with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with a wedge of lemon.

For the Green Beans I just steamed enough for Stephen and I in a saucepan until it was cooked but still firm then added butter, salt, and pepper.

Stephen was incharge of the twice-baked potatoes, and he did an amazing job! He tried this recipe for the first time

Ingredients:

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Use a fork to pierce the potato skins.
2. Bake the potatoes unwrapped for about 1 hour, or until soft, in the preheated oven.
3. Slice open the baked potatoes and, keeping the skins intact, scoop the insides into a medium bowl. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl. Mix in the sour cream. Pour in 1/2 of the cheese and continue mixing until all ingredients are well blended.
4. Using a large spoon, fill the potato skins with the mixture. Top with cheese and chives.
5. Return the potatoes to the preheated oven and continue baking for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the filling is slightly brown.

Our Apartment

Here are some photos of our little apartment in married student housing. It took us a while to get settled, we were unpacking boxes up until about a week ago. Our apartment is very basic, cinder block walls, linoleum flooring, no a/c, dishwasher, or washer and dryer. But we have come to call it home!