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A Fun Couples Wedding Shower

 

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As you guys know, I have the pleasure of being the Matron of Honor in my sister-in-law’s upcoming wedding. As soon as Russell and Meg started planning their wedding, Bo and I knew we wanted to do something special for them. After years of hearing about their wonderful co-workers and friends, we were finally able to bring families, friends and loved ones together this weekend for a co-ed wedding shower which we hosted in our Brooklyn apartment.

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Over the past few weeks, in collaboration with Bo’s parents, we went from a simple idea to a perfect party that left everyone smiling. The entire night was near perfection.   Her fiance surprised her by flying in Amelia, her wonderful maid of honor.

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We kept the decorations simple, chic and fun – just like the couple. We were able to prepare all the food ourselves, saving on expensive catering costs, and did our best to build in special touches along the way.  We rented the below, adorable LOVE sign from a local wedding rental company while we used the colors of the Spring season as an inspiration for the fresh flower arrangements we designed as well as the table runners and decor.

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Instead of buying wedding theme decorations, we found this polka dot wrapping paper at Paper Source as well as this contrasting paper, these matching napkins and this fun banner to bring a pop of fun to the party.  I found these sparkly I Do cupcake toppers which we not only used on the cupcakes but also as a way to bring sparkle to the food and photo display. We used place cards to write little stories and notes for each piece of decor, explaining why we chose it. As you can see below, we chose the blue hydrangeas since those are the brides favorite flower. Buying the potted flowers was less expensive than cut flowers and now they are happily planted in our back yard! They also were the perfect way to hide our microwave. Last but not least, we printed ten photos of the couple and put them in picture frames and on display throughout our home which turned out to be an inexpensive, personal touch as well as something they could take home from the shower to decorate their own apartment.

 

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In planning the shower, we knew we wanted to make it more of an engagement party than a shower. No embarrassing games or themes – just a night filled with laughter, good food and wonderful friends and family members.

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Menu:

Upon arrival:

Dinner

  • Grilled beef tenderloin served with potato slider rolls, homemade horseradish sauce and mustard
  • Wisconsin Mac & Cheese (an ode to the grooms home state of Wisconsin)
  • Green Bean Salad (one of the brides favorite dishes)

Dessert

  • Assorted cupcakes and cake pops (an ode to the grooms enormous sweet tooth)
  • M&Ms (one of the brides current clients)

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It was a perfect party that allowed us to celebrate the bride and groom-to-be without spending too much money or getting too overwhelmed! Thank you so much to Bo’s parents who helped make this wonderful night possible!

Do you enjoy the typical games at wedding and baby showers?  If you’ve been to showers, what was your favorite detail? 

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ashleyd /

Beer Beef Stew Recipe

Today’s post comes from my sister-in-law, Meg and her boyfriend Russell. A dangerous combination in the kitchen, these two love whipping up healthier alternatives and testing out Paleo recipes on the weekends. When my friends at Sapporo reached out, offering samples of their beer, I initially kindly refused, knowing that it’s far too difficult to ship beer to Switzerland. But, within seconds, I realized that Meg and Russell would love using the beer as recipe inspiration. Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, this beer beef stew recipe will warm you right up!

Happy Spring everyone! I hope it is is sunny and warm wherever you are, but here in New York, the cold weather has lingered a bit. Yesterday, Russell and I found it a bit too cold and windy for outdoor adventures but not cold enough to continue winter hibernation. So, we decided to spend the day cooking. 

This recipe takes a while but, the majority of that time, the food is in the oven. This is a great stew to make during a Netflix binge and since the new season of House of Cards is out, that’s exactly what we did.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 (1-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 (22-ounce) Sapporo beer
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  • 9 ounces small turnips, peeled and cut into wedges (or one large turnip cut into chunks)
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 3-4 Parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch thick slices

 

PREPARATION

  • Preheat oven to 300°.
  • Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
  • Season beef with salt and pepper. Then coat with flour.

  • Add beef to pan; cook until brown on all sides.
  • Add the broth, half of the beer, garlic, and bay leaf. Keep scraping pan to remove browned bits.
  • Bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 300° for 1 1/2 hours.

  • While the beef is in the oven, I chop all of my veggies

  • Add carrots, turnips, parsnips and onion and bake (covered) an additional 1 hour and 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and beef is fork-tender.
  • Remove beef and vegetables from pan; discard bay leaf. Cover beef mixture; keep warm.
  • Strain the cooking liquid.
  • Put the liquid back into the Dutch oven, uncovered on the stove.
  • Bring to a simmer.
  • Add the second half of the beer and allow the liquid to reduce for 20 -30 minutes or until it has reached a consistency that you like.
  • Serve the vegetable and meat mixture in a bowl, and pour desired amount of liquid on top.

*Thank you to Sapporo for the complimentary product samples and inspiration!

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ashleyd /

Paleo Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

pumpkin paleo pancakes

Here’s a delicious, healthy Fall recipe you can make this weekend, courtesy of my sister-in-law Meg and her husband Russell! Originally posted in 2014, the post and recipe have been updated a bit. 

Over the past two years we have both had great success following Paleo-like diets off and on, especially when my sister-in-law originally lost 10 pounds in one month.  Since then, she and her now husband have evolved their eating style, maintaining a healthy balance which often includes Paleo friendly recipes.  We’ve made a lot of omelets and frittatas in the past, but now that the leaves are falling and the air is crisp, we wanted to cook something that reflected the fall season. And what better than a warm stack of fall themed pumpkin pancakes?

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We struggled to find a recipe that was fluffy and tasty enough to stand up to a regular pancake. Some of our first batches, while tasty, left us with results that we could only describe as “scrambled pancakes”. We thought we were cooking them wrong because they were so crumbly and dense. To remedy this, we tried cooking them at a lower heat for a longer time, we tried different types of flour, and different wet and dry ingredients but couldn’t replicate the consistency of the traditional pancakes we grew up with. After scouring the web and trying parts from numerous recipes, we finally figured it out. Baking soda. Not all Paleo recipes call for baking soda, which is one of the things that makes these pancakes so fluffy and DELICIOUS!

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Paleo Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

½ cup pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons of sugar free syrup

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon cinnamon

⅔ cup almond flour

a dash of kosher or sea salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup pecans

Instructions:

  • Heat a small skillet over medium heat with a touch of coconut oil. Add pecans. Toast for about 3 minutes or until pecans are fragrant. Be careful not to burn the pecans – shake the skillet frequently. (Note – these are for the topping. Feel free to leave them raw if desired or not use them at all).
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, syrup, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla until well blended.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, salt and baking soda.
  • Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, making sure there are no lumps.
  • Lightly grease a griddle with your fat of choice (we used coconut oil) and turn on medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on the griddle.
  • Pour the batter onto the griddle in whatever size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top of the batter. Carefully flip and cook the other side.
  • Stack and top with pecans and sugar free syrup (or whatever fun fall toppings you choose!). We also dusted ours with a bit of cinnamon.

*Note – you will see in the picture we served these with bacon (which makes every meal better). During our Paleo challenge, we learned that most bacon you can find at the grocery store is cured in sugar. We recommend Organic Sunday Bacon by Applegate which has less sugar than most and is cured in Paleo friendly, organic cane sugar.

If you love this recipe as much as we do, please share it on Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook!

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