Wedding Wednesday {Engagement Chicken}

Once a year Glamour Magazine prints their recipe for Engagement Chicken.  Legend has it that when a woman makes the Engagement Chicken recipe for her boyfriend he soon after pops the "big" question.

Me being the crazy girl that I am, set up a science experiment using 4 of my very best friends. I emailed all of them two weeks ago the recipe and game plan. The 4 of them would cook the Engagement Chicken recipe for their boyfriends and we would sit and wait to see what happens. (Sounds a lot crazier as I am typing this!)

The reason I chose these 4 friends in particular is because all of them have been with their boyfriend for more than a year and all of them co-habitate. Top two reasons on why it should be completely acceptable to make the Engagement Chicken.

With making the Engagement Chicken comes a lot of responsibility. You have to plan out when you are going to make it, plan your trip to the grocery store, buy all the right ingredients, plan the perfect night for just you and your man, put the effort into carefully reading the recipe to make sure you make it just so, and last but not least make the chicken.

As you can see the Engagement Chicken recipe is not for couples who just started dating or are still in that "not sure" about each other stage. You have to have dedication to make this recipe.

Once I emailed my 4 friends all of them emailed me back immediately that they were in. One said "I am making it this weekend" another said "I am not sure when I will make it. I don't have time this weekend!".

None of the 4 girls have made it as of today but will doing so soon!! I will make sure to keep everyone posted on their progress and if any of them get engaged prior to making the chicken then we know it was just because they were thinking about making it! (insert laugh here)

If anyone reading has made the chicken and it worked, I want to know. I am a bit skeptical how an easy chicken recipe can make your man propose......

And posted below is the recipe for Glamour's Engagement Chicken recipe, just in case anyone is itching to try it out!!

Happy Cooking!!

Engagement Chicken

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons—including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch fl at-leaf parsley)

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fi tted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the counter top with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)
4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken— this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.


Read More http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2006/07/engagement-chicken#ixzz1MkzasgyP

A Little Thank You {Note}

I received my Paula Deen Newsletter today and it had a very interesting article over thank you notes.  I have always been big on thank you notes, my friend's used to give me a hard time for giving them thank you notes.

Even if writing someone a quick thank you  note seems silly, it is not something to be overlooked. When someone gives you a gift or does something nice for you, they put a lot of thought into it. Writing them a 3 sentenced paragraph on a cute card and mailing it to them is the least you could do!

My future mother-in-law shares this strong opinion of sending thank you notes. She has even given thank you notes as presents to some of Zach's friends who have not sent her one in the past. I have also come to expect a thank you note.

Here is a suggestion from Cindy Edwards', Is The Thank-You Note Still Relevant Today?  on how to write a thank you note.

Five easy steps to the perfect note:

Step 1: Greeting
Dear Mary
Step 2: State what you are grateful for
Thank you for the lovely flowers that you sent for my birthday.

Step 3: Write two or three sentences of why it was special
You know how I adore roses.  They were so beautiful and made my house smell divine.

Step 4: Repeat your thanks
Thanks again for remembering me in such a lovely way.

Step 5: Closing
Fondly,
Cindy

and when to send them...

Following the receipt of a gift
To express sympathy
Following a dinner party or overnight stay
To express congratulations
Any time someone does something nice for you.

A couple of my favorite places online to purchase super cute stationary are:

Pixie Chicago
Ashley Brook Designs
Tiny Prints

So just remember when you are receiving a gift or a nice gesture send thank you cards to show that person how much you care and that your mom brought you up right!

Weekend Recap {Highly Eventful}



With this being the year of weddings, wedding showers, wedding everything, babies, baby showers, and baby everything, this next month or so we are completely slammed on the weekends! It was nice to be able to do whatever we wanted and not have anywhere to be!

{Friday}

I went to see the movie Bridesmaids with one of my Bridesmaids, Meagan. It was definitely a funny movie and we laughed a lot, however this is not one to go see if you don't find crud and/or sexual humor funny (just saying). Also this would not be a good movie to go see with your parents, children, grandparents, Sunday school group, etc. I luckily saved my mother from taking my 19 year old sister to see it, I am not sure who would have been more embarrassed Hannah or my mother!

{Saturday}

We finally had our appointment with the florist. I took it upon myself to go speak with the florist without my mother and/or grandmother, first mistake. The florist is a family friend and is one tough cookie. I made our appointment for 10 am and I was walking out of the flower shop at 1015 am wishing I would have had my mother and/or grandmother present...should have listened to them!

Saturday evening my friend/bridesmaid Alyssa and her boyfriend Chase finally came to Fort Worth to see us, We normally have to go to Dallas!! I cooked Easy Tortellini Toss from one of my Pampered Chef recipe books, everyone loved it yay!! For desert I made chocolate covered marshmallows that I had seen from Hostess With The Mostess blog!

Saturday night we all went out to 7th Street in Fort Worth for a pub crawl, so much fun!! 





{Sunday}

Before Alyssa and Chase left us to go back to Dallas, I made the most amazing breakfast for everyone!! Not just blowing my own horn, everyone loved it!! It was super easy and is a must try!! (click picture for recipe)



Last but not least, Zach and I have decided to really kick up our workout routines since we have less than 6 months until the wedding and honeymoon! I am normally the one that slacks off first, but not this time! I have committed to logging all of my meals to watch my calorie intake and workout 4 days a week!! (I think I can do it!!)

****I don't want to look like this in my honeymoon bikini pics!!****