Snapshots: Easter Weekend

We had quite the eventful Easter weekend! …Even though I thought it was going to be a low key one.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to meet Lindsay for our half marathon training run.  We originally had a 10k on our calendars, however, we decided to just maintain our endurance level and shoot for another 8 mile run.  I met Lindsay at her place and decided to DIVVY my way up there.  If you are not from Chicago, DIVVY is our bike share program throughout the city.  It is super convenient and easy to use.  There is a DIVVY station about a block away from my apartment and one right in front of Lindsay’s doorstep.

It was a beautiful, beautiful day, so we decided to stick to the Lakeshore path to take in all of the amazing views.

We passed the Lincoln Park Zoo where we were tempted to join in the free Easter egg hunt and play with the monkeys and zebras.

Before we knew it we were up back towards Wrigley which lead our run to conveniently end right by an Einstein Bagels – win!

Lately, my post run cravings have included bagels and lemonade.  When I went to go get my lemonade at Einsteins, the Lemonade dispenser must of been running on it’s last leg because I got a really nasty, watery tasting lemonade.

This is my unhappy lemonade face.

The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning and prepping for our Easter celebration.

My parents got down into the city super early on Sunday to save some seats at the Easter mass we went to.  I had no problem heading over to the church early in part because it was GORGEOUS outside, but also I wanted to watch the little kids do their post mass Easter egg hunt.  So cute.

After mass, we headed back to my apartment to finish the prep of dinner.  My parents were in charge of the appetizer and brought over this amazing goat cheese and roasted pepper dish as well as some cute Easter treats.  Shout out to my cousins in Ohio for sending us an awesome Edible Arrangement!  Once Brian’s family arrived it was time to pop the champagne, open a few bottles of wine and get to dining!

Can we talk about how awesome these cream puffs/swans were that Brian’s cousin Diane brought?  Almost too pretty to eat… almost 😉

I am so so so so full and happy that we were able to celebrate with friends and family this weekend.  Brian and I had an amazing time hosting Easter dinner and can’t wait to dig into all of the leftovers!

Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Food Coma

This is how I feel after this weekend…

Food coma to the max.  Where did I leave off?  Oh yes, Saturday.

Saturday morning I planned to run 6 miles as a part of my training schedule with a good friend of mine.  We set the “meet” time for 10:00 a.m., so I was able to wake up with plenty of time to eat, digest and stretch.  We started our journey running south down the lakeshore path and it was VERY windy, but beautiful.  In true Chicago spirit, there were a ton of people out on the path due to our first above 50* F temperature.   We made our turn back up north around LaSalle street and wove our way through the Lincoln Park/Lakeview neighborhood.   It was such a good run… the 6 miles really flew by especially because we were talking the entire time.

We finished conveniently by a grocery store, so we stocked up on some Gatorade to refuel while I stretched.  Perfect way to start the day!

After I stretched, showered and guzzled down a quick protein shake, Brian and I headed out to meet his family for a late lunch.  We ended up choosing Burger Bar because Brian’s aunt is an avid burger fan and we wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t too crowded! (yes I know Kuma’s and DMK would have been great choices – but those lines!!)

At this point – 3:00 p.m. – I was famished and could not wait to sink my teeth into some juicy goodness.  I ordered a bloody mary to start and Brian and I split an order of their sassy wings.  The wings were so meaty and flavorful – they did not seem deep fried at all!  I will have to look into this…

For my entree I ordered the Bison Burger – “Wild Bill” – on a multi-grain bun with goat cheese, arugula and a tomato chutney.  Heavenly.

The rest of the evening was pretty chill… we cleaned a little for the arrival of my parents on Sunday and watched a movie. Snoozefest.

I woke up very early Sunday morning to finish all the cleaning and prepped some of the food for our Easter feast!  Easter Sunday was such a relaxing day.  My parents and I went to 11:15 a.m. mass and the choir that sang was so amazing!  Sadly, my dad and I could not find any children wearing Easter bonnets – that’s my favorite part!

After mass, we headed back to my apartment and enjoyed some mimosas and smoked salmon dip with crudites and crackers.  I followed the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for the dip and it was so easy and light.  Win.

While everyone was unwinding in the living room, I headed to the kitchen to start the main course – Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Fennel.  This recipe was a combination of Martha Stewart’s Roasted Chicken Recipe and The Pioneer Woman.  I just kind of played around with what I thought would taste good and the chicken turned out really well!  Side note – I bought my chicken from Whole Foods and it already came with the gizzards cleaned out – thank goodness!

This was my first roast chicken I have ever made by myself – I was so proud.

The rest of the meal included a light Lemon Capellini and Parmesan side accompanied by an arugula salad.  The roasted chicken did have its fare share of butter, so I wanted to make sure to balance the meal out with lighter sides 🙂

My parents and I were discussing the kind of meals most American families prepare on Easter and concluded that we have never baked a ham… is that weird?  I guess we just aren’t really ham lovers – good news for the pigs!

Most of our Easter dinners consisted of either Chicken, Lamb or Duck.  Yum!

Once dinner was over, we relaxed on the couch with coffee (more wine for me!) and little lemon cookies and treats.  It was truly a wonderful Sunday and I had so much fun cooking!

Question: What does your family cook as the main course on Easter?