As you may have read from this morning’s post, I had the honor of being Kaylene’s Maid of Honor for her wedding this past weekend! Being a Maid of Honor comes a lot of responsibility… planning a bridal shower was one of the responsibilities that I was super excited about! Fortunately, Kaylene has an amazing group of girls surrounding her, so her shower was certainly a group effort!
We were so excited about her Fun In the Sun backyard shower that we thought we would share some of the details and photos with you! Kaylene is not one who is a big fan of the traditional bridal shower games (Thank Goodness, because I can’t say that I am either! ;) ), so we decided to have just a few activities instead of the standard games! Mad libs, secret message popsicle making for Kaylene and Matt, and recipe sharing were all part of the fun! Our cousin Jenna made the most amazing cupcakes and cake balls to enjoy in the afternoon along with some fruit and popsicles before we opened up to the guys for an evening cookout! Dessert before dinner… why not, right?! ;) Our afternoon of fun in the sun was the perfect way to celebrate our sweet bride! Enjoy the details!
During Kaylene’s bachelorette party weekend, we took some time to craft! While enjoying wine from our DIY chalkboard glasses, we whipped up those cute Cupcake PomPom toppers and tied up the utensils. Everything you see here was DIY… and so easy and fun! Our inspirations came from Kaylene’s Bridal Shower Pinterest Board that we created for the shower! Most of the DIY projects can be found in there, but if you have specific questions about how we did anything- you let us know! We are more than happy to share!
One of my favorite things to do is to flip through the latest Food and Wine magazine, look at the amazing food pictures, and then decide which recipes I want to try. The first step to cooking a great meal is to simply be able to read and follow directions. There are 1000’s of AMAZING recipes available online, many of which anyone can easily cook. Yes, great chefs can easily create something masterful from a bag of yams, gummy bears, and duck breast (just watch Chopped on the Food Network), but for the most part, we just want to enjoy a finely cooked meal with fresh ingredients. If you continue to follow along with our blog, hopefully I’ll be able to inspire you to try something new, give cooking a try, and to stop ordering take out every night.
There are probably plenty of studies on the positive health effects of cooking your own meals, but for us, it just makes us feel better knowing exactly what we are eating and how it was prepared. Plus, their is an amazing joy and sense of accomplishment in sitting down to eat a dinner you just created. So to kick off Ryan Cooks, we are starting with a super easy recipe we are calling Easy Chicken Caprese.
Recipe: Easy Chicken Caprese
Ingredients:
1/2 pound spicy marinated bocconcini (mozzarella balls), plus the oil from the container
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/2 inch thick
Salt (optional)
Freshly ground pepper
1 pint heirloom cherry or grape tomatoes
Olive oil, for grilling
When we are cooking we always like to make enough for left overs the next day for dinner or possibly even lunch. Since there are just the two of us, 4 chicken breast halves will be more than enough. We knew we were going to be cooking the chicken right away so we purchased boneless air chilled chicken breasts at our local Whole Foods. Air chilled always just seems to taste a little fresher to us but any type of chicken breasts should suffice. The breasts we bought were already relatively thin, if your chicken breasts are larger, use a mallet to pound them to 1/2 inch thick.
If you are vegetarian, feel free to substitute tofu or portabella mushrooms in place of the chicken. Also, if you can’t find heirloom cherry tomatoes, regular grape tomatoes or diced whole tomatoes will do just fine.
Step 1: Prepare the marinade.
The great thing about this recipe is that the marinade is already made for you. Just remove the mozzarella balls from the oil and poor half of the oil into a glass pan or baking dish. Save the remaining oil for later.
Next, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, thoroughly “toss” the chicken in the marinade making sure to evenly coat all four breasts. Now is a good time to wash your hands and clean up anything the chicken may have touched. Finish but adding freshly ground pepper. You may also add a pinch of salt but we decided to opt for a lower sodium version and stuck with just the pepper.
Cover the chicken and place in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. After the chicken has had a chance to thoroughly soak in the marinade, remove from the refrigerator and let it return to room temperature. Letting the chicken return to room temperature will allow for more even cooking.
Step 2: Cut the tomatoes and combine with mozzarella.
While the chicken is marinating, cut the tomatoes into halves.
Combine the mozzarella balls, tomatoes, and remaining oil in a dish. Toss to evenly coat the tomatoes and mozzarella balls and set aside.
Step 3: Cook the chicken.
Heat a grill pan to high heat. Using a brush, coat the pan with olive oil to prevent the chicken from sticking.
Once the grill pan is hot, place the chicken breasts on the pan to begin cooking. The chicken should take about 8-10 minutes to cook. Turn once at about 4 minutes. Turning more than once throughout the process will often lead to over cooked and dry chicken, so resist the urge to flip continuously. If you are using an actual grill, the chicken may cook more quickly.
Now is a good time to grab some plates if you haven’t done so already.
Step 4: Plate and enjoy!
Once the chicken is lightly charred and cooked through, transfer to a plate.
Add the mozzarella balls and tomatoes, grab a fork and enjoy!
The original recipe I followed can be found in the September 2012 Issue of Food and Wine magazine or online here. You’ll notice they suggest cutting the chicken into small slices and serving in a bowl as a salad. This is a great option if you are preparing the meal in advance. I couldn’t wait to try my creation so I skipped the final step and served the chicken whole with the tomatoes and mozzarella as a side! :)
I love food, and I LOVE cooking. In fact, I may enjoy cooking more than actually eating! Ok, maybe not, but it’s a super close second. There is nothing better than sitting down to enjoy a nice dinner that you prepared. Just a moment ago it was baking in the oven, or roasting on the grill, and all your hard work has paid off. Taking the first bite, warm and juicy and full of flavor, it is pure heaven! If I didn’t love my job so much, I would probably become a chef, or at least own a food truck. Being in the kitchen is just so relaxing and fulfilling. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to have a super amazing, and smokin’ hot sous chef like Liz! :) Even better than cooking for yourself is being able to cook for family and friends, just make sure they are willing to try new recipes that you may be attempting for the very first time! Seeing and hearing their reaction after they take the first bite is so exciting. I like to think I am on Iron Chef America or Chopped (I definitely need to get a customized chef’s jacket), or any of the other great Food Network shows. Ok, so I probably still have a long way to go before Bobby Flay challenges me to a throw down, but a guy has got to have dreams right? :)
Unfortunately we can’t cook for everyone that reads our blog, but what we can do is show you how easy it actually is to cook a great meal. So we decided to create a new blog series called Ryan Cooks. A few times a month, we will be showcasing an AMAZING meal most likely from a recipe found in Food and Wine Magazine and every once in a while a Liz and Ryan Original. We will provide the recipe, step-by-step instructions, and some great pictures to help inspire you to become the next Top Chef. But most importantly, we will provide you with some inspiration and tips to that should help you become a better chef, have fun cooking, and live a more AMAZING life! Be sure to check back this afternoon for the very first installment of Ryan Cooks!
