Orange Chicken with Coconut Rice

Psalm 83:18

King James Version (KJV)

That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Mmmm...is there anything better than sticky gooey chicken? Well...maybe so, but this is still a good recipe. I thought it was slightly time consuming with half-frying all the chicken pieces before throwing them in the crockpot, but it's a step I wouldn't be willing to skip. That's probably half the goodness of the recipe! But you have to make it with my awesome recipe for coconut rice. Seriously, try the rice recipe with this dish - you'll thank me! 

Orange Chicken (a crockpot recipe)

adapted from here.

**Printable Version here**

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 c. all purpose flour

canola oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp. ketchup

4 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed)

1 tbsp. water

4 tbsp. brown sugar

Dredge the chicken chunks in the flour. (Put the chicken pieces and flour in a large ziplock bag, seal tightly, and shake until all the pieces are covered with flour.) Cover the bottom of a frying pan with the canola oil and heat until shimmering. Fry the chicken pieces in the oil until golden. Note: the chicken does NOT have to be fully cooked at this point. It will finish cooking in the crockpot. 

Transfer chicken to crockpot. 

In a small/medium bowl, mix together the orange juice concentrate, water, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 5 hours, or high for 2-3 hours. 

Serve with coconut rice. 

Coconut Rice

adapted from here.

2 cups jasmine rice

1-1/2 cups water

1 (13-14oz.) can unsweetened coconut milk

1 tsp. kosher salt

Rinse and drain rice in cold water. Place in saucepan with water, coconut milk, and salt. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Stir, reduce heat to low, and cover with lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. 

Remove pot from heat and let stand 10 minutes, still covered. Fluff with fork and serve.

Have a wonderful week filled with God's glory!

~This Glorious Day~

Chocolate Fudge-tastic Pie

Psalm 55:14

King James Version (KJV)

We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you suddenly want to bake something, but weren't prepared and didn't feel like trudging to the store? That happened to me this past weekend. So I poured over my binder of "recipes to try", just hoping that I had all the ingredients on hand for a recipe, any recipe in that binder. It turns out I did! Except for a camera perfect topping. I didn't have any whipped cream, cool whip, or plain vanilla ice cream. We did have some of those little sundae cups of Blue Bell ice cream though, and they were just fine in a pinch. (except I didn't think to take a photo with the ice cream!) I guess I was too busy stuffing my face with gooey chocolate in a crispy pastry crust.

Wondering what I made? Oh yeah, you read the title of this post already. Chocolate Fudge-tastic Pie. Smooth, chocolate fudgy goodness in pie form... I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com simply named "Fudge Pie", but it's better than that so I expanded the name a bit. Enjoy.

Needless to say, this week I am thankful for pie. 

Chocolate Fudge-tastic Pie

Printable Version here!

1 9" single pie crust, pre-baked (see recipe below or use store bought, or your favorite recipe for pie crust!)

1 c. white sugar

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. butter

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

After pre-baking your pie crust from directions below, or according to package instructions if using store bought pie crust, lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Beat together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, butter, eggs and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. 

Spoon into pie shell and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until filling is just set. 

Allow to cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream. 

Easy Pie Crust

adapted from here.

1-1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

small bowl ice water

Mix flour, salt, and sugar in medium sized bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry cutter or two forks until mixture resembles coarse meal. 

Add 2 tablespoons of the ice water, and work the dough with your hands until it comes together. You may have to add up to two additional tablespoons of the ice water. Do not overwork the dough. 

Flatten dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. *

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll the dough on a floured surface (a flexible cuttingboard works great!) into a 14" round. Wrap crust gently around rolling pin, and carefully unroll onto 9" pie plate. 

Gently press dough down into pie plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to 1" overhang, fold under, and seal to form a rim.**

Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle to form decorative rim.***

To pre-bake crust, gently lay a square of parchment paper or foil in bottom of pie crust, forming to fit the crust. Fill with a layer of dry beans, rice, or pie crust beads to keep crust from rising when baking. 

Bake for approximately 20-25 mintues, or until light golden brown. (then lower oven temperature, fill with your pie filling and complete baking according to recipe)

* I was in a hurry and skipped this step, and while the dough was a little sticky, it still worked just fine.

**or for the lazy, hurried, or beautifully rustic look, tear off the excess dough and enjoy your down home Raggedy Ann style pie. 

*** see above "**"

Enjoy your week!
~This Glorious Day~

Henbit, Thistle, & Peppervine

Jonah 2:5

King James Version (KJV)

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Weeds -the scourge of the earth: for these I am thankful.


My house has a small yard. I'd say it's slightly larger than a postage stamp. That didn't deter me from making a large flowerbed in the backyard filled with perennials and shrubs. The problem is that our backyard backs up to fifteen acres that are a little bit park and a lot of unkempt wooded areas. Can you guess what the wooded areas are full of? Weeds. Lots and lots of invasive weeds. More weeds than you ever imagine. They creep under the fence to say hello. The birds bring their seeds in droves and happily plant them in my flowerbeds. I spend practically every weekend plucking and pulling and even sometimes spraying them into submission. 


I am thankful for those weeds though. Having weeds means I have some green space to feel the grass under my feet. I have a yard for the birds and squirrels to visit. There are trees and shrubs for them to build nests and have sweet chirpy little babies. Weeding teaches me patience and perseverance. You have to be vigilant against them or they will take over. Weeding also teaches me to do the job right the first time. If you want the weed to die, you can't just pluck it's foliage - you have to get the root too, or it will return again and again, laughing each time. 


Why else am I thankful for my weeds? Each week I get quiet time in my yard. Time to actually hear my thoughts, and to listen for God. Time to slow things down and breathe in fresh air. Weeding gets me down to the dirt and up close to my plants. I sometimes notice things I otherwise would not have seen like baby anole lizards scampering up a twiggy shrub branch, or a birds nest tucked deep into that same shrub. Everything has a purpose, and some things, like weeds just need to be looked at from a different view. 


~This Glorious Day~

First and Fifteenth

Genesis 19:19a

King James Version (KJV)

Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; 

My Personal Testimony

~This Glorious Day~

Make Your Own Tart Warmer Grab Tabs!

Job 14:14

King James Version (KJV)

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

For my last birthday I received a Scentsy brand plug-in tart warmer. It's a pretty cross design that blends into my kitchen well, and it's central location scents the kitchen, living room, and dining room well. So I pretty much love it. It came with one of their "Grab Tabs" that help remove the tart from the warmer once you're ready to change it out. The tab is basically a long piece of plastic that is bent to fit down into your warmer. It worked really well and I highly recommend them. Except when you run out of them, and really want to change out your tart. So I had an idea for a common household replacement - and it works wonderfully! Wonder what it is? Packing tape!

Here is the rundown:

First, make sure your tart is hot and fully melted!

You'll only need packing tape, scissors, and a toothpick.

Use the scissors to cut the tape. Make it about 8" long. 

With the sticky side up, fold over approximately 1" of each end 
to make handles.

With sticky side still up, center the tape over your melted tart.

Use the toothpick to GENTLY press the tape down into the melted wax.

Be careful not to splash the hot wax and burn yourself!

Turn off your warmer (if you already hadn't) and let the tart cool down with the tape still in place.

Wait until the tart has fully cooled and turned back into hardened wax.

Gently pull up on the handles of the tape, 
and your tart will pop out perfectly!

Your tart comes out in one perfect piece - easy to throw away, and your

tart warmer is clean and ready for a new scent!

I hope you're having a wonderful week! 

~This Glorious Day~

Gratituesday

Psalm 100:4
King James Version (KJV)
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

My son has FILLED my home with crosses!
Seriously, these are LITERALLY ALL OVER MY HOUSE!
(I couldn't be prouder!)

This post of giving thanks is for Gratituesday, hosted by Heavenly Homemakers. My son has started talking about Jesus dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. I am so happy to finally hear him talking about the Bible and Jesus. Though I read him Bible stories every night, he attends a Christian pre-k program, regular church services, family prayer time, along with any random conversation I can possibly add God to, he never talked about the things he had heard until now. Every week after church we would ask him what he learned about in his class, and each week he would answer with the exact same thing "Bible Jesus". It's certainly a cute answer, but I hoped for more. I am so thankful that he is beginning to understand the importance of what Jesus did for us so that we can have eternal life.

What are you grateful for this week?

~This Glorious Day~

All Things Are Become New...

2 Corinthians 5:17
King James Version (KJV)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

I wish you and your family a blessed Easter weekend. 

~This Glorious Day~

First and Fifteenth

Isaiah 53:5-6

King James Version (KJV)

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

How Can I Be Saved?

~This Glorious Day~