Some Good Food

We've tried a few new (and easy!) recipes lately and really liked them.
I thought I'd share them...

Marinated Turkey Tenderloins

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup reduced sodium teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (we didn't have any, so we left it out)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 pounds turkey tenderloins

Combine the first 11 ingredients in resealable container. Pour 2/3 cup into a large resealable plastic bag; add turkey. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Before starting the grill, coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray. Drain and discard marinade from turkey. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 7-9 minutes; baste with reserved marinade. Turn and grill 7-9 minutes longer or until juices run clear. We used our George Foreman Grill to cook them, they were great and we loved the flavor. Summer, here we come!

Alaska Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch Coating

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 teaspoons honey
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon parsley
2 salmon fillets
Salt and pepper to taste

We marinated our salmon overnight with the mustard, butter (may need to be melted), and honey to soak up the flavor. You could skip the marinade and add it before you add next few ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley.

Season each salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with mustard-honey mixture. Cover the top of each fillet with bread crumb mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part, or until salmon flakes when tested with a fork. Enjoy! Yum...

Warmer Weather Ahead

The weather lately has been amazing! We've had consistent temps in the mid 50's for the past week or so. These spring-like temps have really uplifted people's moods. Daylight savings really helped at night too. It has been refreshing to get home and eat dinner and the sun is still out after dinner. Productivity will be much better now :)

This past weekend, Nick's family was here and it was great to have them visit. We checked out the new Twins stadium, the MOA and had some birthday cake with Nick's homemade ice cream to celebrate his mom's birthday. It was a great weekend out of our normal routine. Visitors are always welcome!

I'm excited for Rachel and Jared welcoming their baby Judah last week. He is such a sweet baby and I can't wait to meet him. It's so neat watching friends lives change and seeing them grow their family. It's never easy though being away as these exciting life changes take place.

Life in MN is going well for us. We still have much left to explore. We did go to a Minnesota Wild NHL game together which was a lot of fun. Here are a few photos from Feb. when we toured the sculpture garden in downtown Minneapolis:

The famous Spoonbridge and Cherry.
In the summer, water sprays out the top and there is a lake around it.It is very photogenic, I had fun taking pictures of it from different angles

A really neat aisle with ivy all over. There were engagement photos being taken there and

many visitors. It's free entertainment :)

A bench I liked

That's all for now! We'll keep you posted ;)

Captured Moments of Beauty

I was looking through my photos tonight and decided to post some of my favorites of warm/sunny days, mostly from 2009. We've been lacking sunny days lately, so I thought I'd bring some of them back for us to enjoy.


The sun setting on my way home from work one evening last year. It was an absolutely amazing sunset to see, I had to try to capture a piece of it.


This is a beautiful, sunny day at the River Walk in San Antonio. There were so many gorgeous flowers there.

Of course, I have to include one from our warm and sunny honeymoon. This was taken in the Bahamas and this sign expressed our thoughts exactly.


This photo was taken at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens on one of my trips to visit Nick. This was another beautiful place we visited last year.

A pretty and peaceful sunset taken from the interstate (No, I wasn't the one driving :))



Wonderfully beautiful flowers Nick sent me for my adoption day in 2008. Who would've known that would be the very day we'd be married to each other exactly one year later.


There's nothing better than reading a great book under the sun on a beautiful summer day. This was taken when my mom and I went fishing last summer. Well, she fished (and caught a few fish!) while I read and soaked up the sun.

Looking back at all of the places we traveled and memories we had in 2009, it was really a year filled with joy. There were difficult times for sure, but the good always outweigh the bad if you set your mind with the right perspective. We're thankful to have traveled to the places we have and were able to see and capture all of these beautiful moments. That's one of my favorite things about photography- capturing an amazing moment, hoping to share that experience with others. There is beauty everywhere around us, we have to keep our eyes open to see and enjoy it.

Christmas 09

We hope you all had a great Christmas this year. Ours was great and a bit adventurous. Weather conditions were not on our side, but thankfully we made it to most of our Christmas celebrations with family. This Christmas was especially meaningful as our first as a married couple. Here are some photos:

Here we are at the Smock Christmas in Decorah.


The youngest of the Webb girls, Isabella. Taken at the Gonzalez Christmas. She's adorable.


Enjoying Christmas with my mom and dad. We cozied up by the fireplace and played Would You Rather, Golf (card game) and Cribbage, and also ate great food!


I took the two above photos on our drive from Des Moines to Omaha a few days after Christmas. What a beautiful winter day we were surprised with! It was really the calm/beauty after the winter storm we had over Christmas. We saw many vehicles in the ditches along that stretch, a few that had crashed upside down. We were very thankful we made it to our destinations safely through that same storm.


Another "Winter in Iowa" shot (taken from I-80).
Ice is weighing down the branches of some of the trees in this one.
I really felt like I was in Narnia or a winter wonderland with the trees covered in ice.


Cubby anxiously awaiting the opening of his gift. He was hilarious following that present around once he had a clue of what was inside. We had a great Christmas in the Smock home, with another great meal, Monopoly, more games, football and catching up with a few friends.

We are thankful to have had a safe and enjoyable Christmas, we hope you had the same.
Happy New Year!