My latest beef...

Haha.  Not what you thought it would be.  No ranting today, but I will give you a break down on baby boy or baby girl.  I want to share some delicious Mongolian beef that did taste just like Pei Wei's.  I didn't get my sauce very thick, but it didn't really matter.  It was delicious.  I also omitted the mushrooms.  You've got to give this one a try!

Mongolian Beef

from Chaos in the Kitchen

• 2 lbs flank or skirt steak
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 2 tsp vegetable or peanut oil
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2-3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable or peanut oil
• 8 oz button mushrooms, quartered if large
• 1 bunch green onions, green part only, cut in half

1. Trim all fat and silver skin from meat.  Lay steaks out horizontally on the cutting board.  The grain in running vertically.  Make several vertical cuts to slice the slab into manageable sized pieces.  Then cut the meat opposite the grain (horizontal) into two bite-sized pieces.  Cut with your blade at a 45° angles to get wide diagonal slices.
2. Dust steak pieces lightly in cornstarch and set aside while preparing the sauce.
3. In a small sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat.  Add ginger and garlic.
4. Add soy sauce and water to the ginger and garlic before it browns.
5. Add brown sugar and whisk until dissolved.
6. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and reserve.
7. In a large skillet or wok heat 1 cup oil over medium high heat.
8. Working in batches, add the steak a few at a time to the hot oil.  Cook about 1 minute without touching the meat then flip each piece and cook 1 minute more.
9. Remove meat while still rare inside, and continue with next batch.
10. Once all meat is browned, pour off oil and wipe out skillet.
11. Heat skillet over high heat and add mushrooms.
12. Cook without stirring a couple of minutes or until mushrooms are slightly softened and browned.  Reserve.
13. Add steak to the hot pan and cook about 1 minute.
14. Add sauce to the pan and simmer and toss meat and sauce about 1 minute.
15. Add mushrooms and green onions.  Toss with steak and sauce and heat 1 minute.
16. Use tongs to remove meat and veggies to a serving dish, leaving excess sauce in the pan.  Serve over rice.

Enjoy!



I went to the post office on Friday and the cutest little blonde walked in behind me and she had on cute pants, so I told her how cute she looked and she smiled and thanked me.  Then while standing in line, she turns, sizes me up and says, "Wow!  Are you having twins?!"  hmmm.  "No, I probably look so BIG to you because I'm due in 19 days."  Her face immediately was red and she covered herself with, "Well, I mean, your belly looks so big because you are so skinny!"

 As the days are counting down, I'm getting more and more excited to meet this little baby.  Is it a girl?  Is it a boy?  Who does God have in mind to complete our family???

So, if this baby is a boy, he's going to be tough and have 2 bossy sisters telling him what to do.  I picture them dressing him up, combing his hair, and he will be entering Kindergarten with a deep understanding of how females work.  But until Kindergarten, he and I will ship those bossy sisters off to Mother's Day Out and have fun doing whatever little boys like to do.  I'll probably carry him on my hip until his first day of Kindergarten and then sit on the front steps and cry until school is out.  I'll end up doing that no matter if this is a girl OR boy. (As loyal friends, you'll have to tell me if I need to quit babying my last baby.)  :)

Lately people have asked, "What are you going to do if it is a girl?!"  Well people, I'm going to love her just like I love my other two sweet girls.  I'm not going to keep trying for a boy. Right now I wonder what it would be like to not have a boy, but I know that God has a plan for our family and His plan just might be that we GET TO raise 3 girls and keep the testosterone levels low in our house. 



This summer I started giving the girls "pedicures" on our bathroom counter. 




After your toes get painted, they get dried with the blow dryer and then you get a foot rub with lotion.



I hope that when they are 18, they'll still plop their rears up on my counter and let me do their toes.  Love these girls.

Don't fret my friends.  Raising 3 girls can be done.  I KNOW it can be done and it looks like a lot of fun because I have 2 families that ALWAYS pop into my mind when I think of what it would be like to have 3 girls.  I have met so many fantastic families while coaching volleyball.  Let me introduce you to two of them!

The first family is the Gay family.  I coached Caroline when she was 14 and she was a joy to be around.  She's the middle of 3 girls.  If you think Caroline is a joy, you should be around her two other sisters and the Matriarch of the family.  When I asked Jennifer if I could use her and her girls as an example for my case, her response turned into immediate praise for her husband, Drew.

"Drew is the perfect daddy for these girls.  He is setting their bar high when they consider a young man to date, and what they want in a husband.  He also mirrors patience, sacrificial love, and humility.  He has walked the floor with colicky babies, taught them to ride bikes, pulled teeth, dance recitals, and volleyball...he has been right there, talking them through.  He is a keeper.  He is a girl daddy.  These 3 girls are the greatest blessing.  I cannot imagine our life any other way...there is no one carrying on the last name 'Gay' haha...but they are carrying on the spirit of our family."  



Carlton, Caroline, and Kaitlin

 Jennifer is a good example of a mom.  She loves her daughters and I have personally seen her be there for them through some tough teen times.  These three amazing girls are a testament also to how wonderful their mom is.  They are beautiful on the inside out, just like mom.

The girls with mom at Caroline's graduation.

The other family I would like to introduce you to is the Johnson family.  Their oldest daughter, Brynn, was on the first volleyball team I coached.  It was so easy to fall in love with Bitsy and Brian, the parents.  Bitsy is petite and her voice is as sweet as she is.  Adam always liked to sit by Brian and hear the latest sagas about his daughters dramatic jr. high/high school lives.  They always looked at things with a sense of humor, yet were there to dry their daughters' tears and pick them up. 

Carly, Kristen, Bitsy, and Brynn.

When I asked Bitsy about sharing her family, this is what she had to say...

"I love having 3 daughters.  I would not know what to do with a boy.  I don't feel like I've missed out on anything.  Brian has not missed out on anything either.  He gets out in the yard and throws the football, baseball, any ball around with the girls.  I honestly cannot imagine my family being any different.  God knew exactly what he wanted us to have and gave us 3 wonderful, beautiful, crazy, fun-loving girls.  God knows exactly what you and Adam need, too.  He has designed the perfect family for you and Adam." 

Love this family!

Once again, you have a great girl daddy, and a mom that was always a good example to her daughters and it shows in their beauty.

So there you have it.  That is my thought.  Lots of thoughts and it seems like I've had a lot of time to think about it, too.  I'm SOOOOO ready to meet this baby!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!  Lots of love!

 

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