BBQ Chicken & Veggies + Bach Party Weekend Recap (spoiler alert: I survived)

First off, things are going to be a little sparse around these parts for the next week or two as I settle into a new schedule and figure out how to balance a bunch of new things that have popped into my schedule this fall (new programs kicking off at work, new volunteering position, dog training classes, small group, online classes etc etc).

Second off, I made this really simple Barbecue Chicken with frozen veggies the other night and it was so good for some reason:

Servings: 5
Prep Time: 10 mins + 7 hours marinating (I marinate while I'm at work)
Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs chicken thighs (I used this organic free-range chicken I got at our neighborhood farmer's market (PS has anyone seen Food Inc on Netflix? After watching, we decided we're only eating organic/grass-fed/etc which is expensive which means we eat less meat)
• 1 bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix (no seasonings added, no butter, nothing, just the straight up bag of frozen veggies)
• 1/2 Cup cooked quinoa
• 1 Cup chickpeas (I use them from the can)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon salt + pepper
• 2 Cups Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce , divided

Before you leave for work in the morning, place the thawed chicken in a giant ziploc baggie with the seasonings and 1 Cup of the BBQ sauce, seal the bag and put it in the fridge.

After sufficient marinating time: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put your chicken into a baking dish and top it with the juices from the bag. I added some extra salt, pepper and garlic powder to the dish too. Cook for 25-30 minutes.

Heat up your bag of broccoli and cauliflower and mix the veggies, quinoa, chickpeas and chicken together, top the chicken with some extra BBQ sauce and enjoy! Also, play around with the seasonings and let me know if you find a good combo, I've been experimenting.

And now onto the bachelorette party weekend! I mentioned that I hate typical bachelorette party stuff, and my friends did a great job accomodating this. I'm going to do a post Friday about all the ideas they came up with that were perfect for the not-so-basic-cheesy-bride. For now, here are some pix:

Beach bar:

Some of our group at the beach bar:

Atlantic City is full of great sites:

They made me a poster of my Bridesmaids Invites, aka a poster of me as Beyonce which made the week:

Providence Night Club (the nightclubs and all the restaurants we went to were in our resort- the Tropicana- so it was 10 x easier to do a 20+ person bachelorette party)

Giant jaccuzzi IN our suite (not in the bathroom, in the bedroom. Why? Because Atlantic City)

And nothing says classy like a faux fireplace with slow-motion flames

And loved loved loved this dress I got from Rent the Runway