Lee/Meager Wedding: More Photos!

The Lee Boys

After the wedding, family and friends gathered outside the church to offer congratulations and pose for some very special photos....

Brian and Kerry (father of the bride) Uncle Ken offering his congratulations

Keenan Werner (Heidi and Casey's Son) -Bible Boy

Carrie and Alex Lee

Amy, Carrie, Alex and Ken Lee

The Wedding Party

I especially liked the ones taken outside of the entire wedding party. I just stood behind the official photographer and "stole" some of her awesome shots.

After all the photos were taken, Brian and I headed off the Camarillo, California for the reception. Camarillo is named for Adolfo Camarillo, one of the few Californians to preserve the city's heritage after the arrival of Anglo settlers. Camarillo is located in the eastern Oxnard Plain, with the Santa Susana Mountains to the north, the Camarillo Hills to the northwest, the Conejo Valley to the east, and the western reaches of the Santa Monica Mountains to the south.

Reception photos to follow......

Enjoy! Stacy

Old Photo Friday: Grandma Virginia and Bea

Date: January 1965
Location: Kitchen of Hilyard Street house - Eugene, OR
Who: My Grandma Virginia and her mother, My Great-Grandma Bea
What: Obviously smoking, probably drinking screwdrivers and most likely playing cards.

It's Grandparents day on September 7th and I am a bit sad. I no longer have any living grandparents. In their honor, I wanted to share this picture.

Enjoy!

Stace

Recipe of the Week: Arroz Frito/Cuban Fried Rice

Editors Note: My trip to Florida was cancelled late on Tuesday night. ING decided not to take the risk in hosting the conference in the path of a hurricane. Since this dish still sounds yummy......I'll leave it as this weeks ROTW.

Since I am currently in Florida (NOT), I thought I'd find a Cuban inspired easy ROTW. I came across Arroz Frito or Cuban Fried Rice, which sounds yummy!

The Chinese settled not only in California at the turn of the century; many went on to Cuba, where some opened restaurants and influenced Cuban cooking. In Miami, many Cuban dishes have an oriental touch, for instance this favorite, sold at cafes and cantinas everywhere.

Fried Rice (Arroz Frito)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
soy sauce
3 teaspoons cooking oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped, with 2 or 3 chopped leaves
1/2 cup of ham, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 can of bean sprouts, OR 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 small package of tiny shrimp (optional)
2 to 3 green onions (scallions), depending on size
3 to 4 cups of cooked rice
3/4 cup low-fat chicken broth
marinated tofu cubes, optional

Directions:
1. Break the eggs into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and stir slightly.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a Teflon skillet. Pour in just enough of the egg to make an egg "tortilla" the thickness of a tortilla or crepe. When solid, flip and brown very slightly.
3. Remove to a cutting board and repeat, spraying the pan again, until all the eggs are cooked. 4. When all the egg "tortillas" are cooked, roll up like a jelly roll. Slice into thin shreds and set aside. 5. Place two teaspoons of oil in a Teflon pan over medium heat. When hot, add onion and celery. (If ham isn't cooked already, add the ham now.) Sauté until the onion is soft but not brown.
6. Add the minced garlic, bean sprouts and shrimp and continue to sauté. Slice the white part of the scallions thinly, and add to pan.
7. Add the cooked rice and sauté for about five minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice is heated through.
8. Add the chicken broth and the green part of the scallion, thinly sliced. Stir and cook for two or three minutes more.
9. Gently fold in the shredded egg and the tofu cubes (optional).

Serve
Image courtesy of google

Lee/Meager Wedding

Brian's niece, Ericka was married to Greg Meager on Sunday in Thousand Oaks, California.

Brian and I flew down on Saturday for the weekend.

It was nice to catch up with Brian's brothers and family and witness a wonderful event.

Alex Lee with Uncle Brian

It was a lovely ceremony. Ericka's sister Heidi was Matron of Honor and Brian's neice, Alex was a bridesmaid. The ceremony started a 4PM on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Greg's father, who is the pastor of their church officiated the ceremony. There was not a dry eye in the house including the bride and groom.

Best Man (Greg's brother) and sister-in-law

Heidi and Casey's Daughter, Hailey

Alex Lee (Bridesmaid)

Ericka was an absolutely stunning bride. Her dress was simplistically elegant and very fitting for such a remarkable young woman.

After the wedding, we all gathered outside for congratulations and special photo ops!

More photos to come............

Enjoy!
Stacy

Thousand Oaks Picnic/Pre-Wedding

Kerry, Brian and Ken Lee

The Lee/Meager clan hosted a pre-wedding picnic last Saturday afternoon the day before the big wedding.

What a cool idea to get everyone together for the day. It was extra special for Brian to be with both his brothers and their families.

It was a beautiful day in Thousand Oaks (about 40 miles) NW of downtown Los Angeles

So much happiness.......

Carrie and Alex Lee (Ken and Amy's girls)

So much love........

So much to celebrate.......

So happy to be a part of it all........

Julie (Kerry's wife) Alex, Ken, Amy and Carrie @ IHOP

The morning of the wedding we all met up for breakfast and spent some time out by the pool with Brian's brother Ken.

Enjoy!
Stacy

Old Photo Friday: Happy Birthday, Brian!

Date: 1968? 1969? 1970? Brian appears to be between 8-10 years old
Location: Newark, DE (he told me he remembers the sweater)
Who: My sweetheart! Brian
What: School photo - Priceless

In honor of Brian's birthday on Monday. Happy Birthday, Baby!

Enjoy!

Stace

Recipe of the Week: Taco Moutain

What's bigger than a Taco Salad and better than Nachos?

Introducing this weeks ROTW......

Taco Mountain

Serves: 5-8 (see note)
Prep time: 10
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground turkey or lean ground beef
2 1-ounce packets taco seasoning
2 9-ounce bags tortilla chips
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1 16-ounce jar salsa
3 tomatoes, chopped

2 avocados, chopped

1 cup light sour cream

2 4oz. can Ortega diced jalapenos

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 head of iceberg or green leaf lettuce, chopped or shredded

Directions:

1. In a very large (preferably nonstick) skillet, cook turkey or beef, stirring often to break up pieces. Add taco seasoning to taste and stir well to combine. Cook until no trace of pink remains.
2. On a very large platter, make a layer of chips. Top with cooked meat, cheese, salsa, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream, jalapenos, black beans and lettuce.

Notes: This can be cut in half or even thirds, depending on your family's size.

Recipe courtesy of Cox News Service

End of Summer Pool Party!

Brian setting up the "motel in a box"

Earlier in the summer I made a little suggestion to my Dad that we have some sort of pool party at "E" Street.

I really wanted to spend time with family and friends before we said goodbye to summer.

Stacy and Pop dancing to the oldies

Steve Kinnee and Sandra
Steve, Pop and Terry
A few friends stopped by "E" Street and spent the day by the pool. It was really hot so some of us took a dip (but the pool was a bit chilly)! Brian takes the plunge
Brian and Stacy in the pool



We had lots of fun. Pop needed a "back-up" cook so I stepped up to the grill! We cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, grillin' beans, Pop's macaroni salad and fresh corn from up the McKenzie River.


Pop and Terry

We laid by the pool and swam a few times!

Uncle Steve (thanks for the fire in the pit)
It was a great weekend! Thanks to Pop and Rosemary for the wonderful BBQ and time spent with friends and family.

Enjoy!
Stacy

Family Dinner @ PF Chang's

Brian and I arrived in Eugene last Friday night and met the family at PF Chang's for dinner.

Gosh....I really love this place. They've got a great menu with lots to choose from.

Everybody had a great time and it was a nice way to end the week and kick off the weekend!

Enjoy!

Stacy

Office Party @ Beaver's Game

It's hard to believe that August is almost behind us and our last game at PGE Park for 2008 is in the books.

Our office has season tickets so we passed them around and went last Thursday night.

My Boss, Harold hosted a cook-out at his place before the game. We have such a small office that it's nice every once in a while to do something fun as a group.

What's not to love......

Beer and Baseball?

Enjoy!
Stacy