Crispy Orange Beef

I have been getting kind of tired of my own cooking lately yet cannot afford to eat out where I would like too, mainly Chinese food places. So I was looking through the fridge, cupboards, and drawers of the kitchen and realized I had all the ingredients needed for this recipe I had found online. The sauce is really salty but once over the noodles and beef it was fine. I wouldn't recommend it for those with high-blood pressure though. I followed the recipe and added 4 drops of DoTerra Wild Orange Essential Oil. I think it really enhanced the orange flavor. Also, I fried the beef in coconut oil rather than other types of frying oil, it's healthier (and tastier). If you have the time and ingredients handy, I highly recommend making this dish. The hardest part was not eating all the crispy beef before everything else was done. Yum!

CRISPY ORANGE BEEF

For Stewed Meat:

1 lb stew beef

flour (for dredging)

cooking oil (to sauté meat)

dash of salt and pepper

To prepare meat:

Season stew meat very lightly with salt and pepper and lightly toss in flour. Shake off excess flour. Coat a shallow pan with cooking oil and gently pan fry stew meat.

Drain meat and set aside.

Sauce:

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon flour

juice of 1 orange

zest of half an orange

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

pepper, to taste

To prepare the sauce:

Add cooking oil to sauce pan and gently cook garlic. Add flour to garlic and oil; cook to remove the uncooked flour taste. It will look pasty at first.

Stir in soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, whisking to prevent lumps. Add orange zest, orange juice, pepper, and all sugars. Allow sauce to come to a boil and it will thicken. Cook to desired consistency. Toss stew meat in enough of the sauce just to coat it. Serve over rice.

Class Assignment

We have a very sweet, kind hearted teacher in the Advanced Esthetics class. Periodically she comes up with exercises where we have to go around the room with everyone saying something nice about the person sitting to their left or writing out goals for your life, which don't even have to involve esthetics.

This past Monday, she asked us to write out 10 things we are grateful for in our lives and a reason why we were grateful. This is what I wrote:

Grateful For...

1. Knowing, without doubt, there is a God, that He is our Heavenly Father and that He loves each of us unconditionally. grateful for this knowledge because it strengthens me through difficult times; because I know I'm loved even when I make mistakes, an because it brings me peace.

2. Eyeglasses, because I'm blind without them.

3. My heated blanket because it keeps me warm and helps me sleep more deeply -it also has helped lower our gas and electric bills because I turn on the furnace A LOT less and stop using the room heater.

4. Adoption/my daughter, because without both, I wouldn't be a mother.

5. My loving family (Mom, my brothers and their wives, nieces and nephews, and lots of lovely cousins...including in-laws) because life would be lonely without all of them.

6. My sewing skill/talent, because it's fun and I can always have a way to earn some extra money.

7. My Bernina and all other sewing supplies -see #6 for why.

8. My health, because it allows me to be capable of doing anything.

9. My amazing friends because they uplift, support, and make me laugh.

10. Last but not least, my husband, because he is the wonderful human being I am complete with.

After we wrote out lists. We went around the room and shared. I felt a fullness of love fill my heart to hear everyone. Vocational school has brought more than just book learning into my life. I am gaining knowledge and friendships that will last a lifetime.

The Good Life

Financially things aren't so great but the rest of my life is pretty fantastic and I haven't shared that fact much. I have a loving supportive husband who treats me so tenderly. I have a beautiful, incredibly intelligent and talented daughter. A solid/warm home, yummy food available to make and eat. I live in America. Plenty of seasonal clothing and good comfy shoes. Lots of family near and far and great friends who love and support me. Eyeglasses to see are a big bonus. The list goes on, yet what I am most grateful for is knowing I have a loving Heavenly Father cheering me on and guiding me towards goodness. I may not understand all He does or allows to happen but I know He loves me no matter what. That knowledge brings an indescribable peace into my heart and I feel I have been taking all this for granted by not acknowledging all this and complaining too much.