Feast of Saint Dominic: Saint of the Stars

Saint Dominic de Guzmán was born in Spain with parents of Spanish nobility. There are many legends that surround this amazing Saint. The first involves his mother while he was still within her womb. She had a vision during a pilgrimage, she dreamed a dog came leaping from her womb carrying a torch in its mouth. With this torch, he "seemed to set the world on fire." Another legend says that the Virgin Mary gave Saint Dominic a Rosary while he was praying in the abbey at Prouille. This story really intrigued me and there is a great description of this event at How Mary Gave the Rosary to St. Dominic.

Tradition also says that Saint Dominic brought an orange tree with him from Spain and planted it himself in Rome at Santa Sabina. There are several oranges in that garden that have been planted from a shoot from the previous tree. Around the original spot the tree was planted there is a small wall that has the Latin words Lignum Habet Spem written around it. It is a quote from the bible: Job 14:7 "There is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that it's shoots will not cease." Check out Saint Dominic's Orange Tree. The website has beautiful pictures of the orange tree and a lot more information on it's history. Saint Dominic is the patron saint of astronomers, the Dominican Republic and the innocent falsely accused of crimes. He is also Little Man's Name Day Saint.

We did not have an incredibly busy day like I thought we would. I thought I would have to work a few hours this morning but I won't be starting until Wednesday. In honor of Saint Dominic's love of oranges and Little Man's love of Panda Express Orange Chicken, we will be enjoying a healthier version of orange chicken for dinner. Recipe is included below.

Healthier Crockpot Orange Chicken:

2-3 Large Chicken Breasts

1 Cup Orange Marmalade

1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup Orange Juice

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Ginger

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Medium Red Pepper (Diced)

1 Medium Onion (Diced)

1/4 Cup Sesame Seeds

Pinch or two of Red Pepper Flake

*Add enough red pepper to suit your taste of spicy flavor, my boys do not like very spicy foods*

Grease your crockpot or spray with pan spray. Place the chicken breast in the crockpot. Add the diced red pepper and onion as well. In a mixing bowl combine the marmalade, chicken broth, orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame seeds and mix them together. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cover with the lid. Set the crockpot on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours. If you have time and like a flavorful chicken, I suggest preparing the marinade a day or two early and allowing the chicken to marinate in the fridge before placing in the crockpot. You can also omit or decrease the amount of chicken broth if you prefer thicker sauce. I like mine to be thinner so the rice/quinoa can absorb it too. 

What makes this orange chicken healthier is that it is not fried and has extra vegetables. Instead of serving this over white rice I will be substituting quinoa. I suggest serving this with a green vegetable such as grilled zucchini, green beans, broccoli or snap peas. Enjoy!

Now I am quickly finishing this post and hoping to print some coloring pages. There is a gorgeous coloring page of Saint Dominic over at Snowflake Clockwork. In the near future I need to purchase some new prayer journals for me and the boys so we can start adding these coloring pages and prayers inside them. I am hoping if time permits, that I can get the boys to sit with me and color before we go stargazing. We have had some pretty crazy weather lately and we still have a chance for thunderstorms tonight even though it has been pouring all afternoon so we will probably stick close to the house or have to try another night.

Little Man still had football this afternoon and he did great. He was really excited about playing his favorite sport and is looking forward to a great season. Now that we are home we will be enjoying our Orange Chicken here shortly and settling down for the evening. 

Praying the Rosary with a special mention of Saint Dominic would be a great way to end the day! After the kids are in bed I am hoping to watch Dominic - Light of the Church. It was being played by EWTN earlier in the day. EWTN has a great line up this week with shows about Edith Stein: St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and Saint Clare. Most of the shows are very early in the morning so I will have to record them to watch later. I hope you had a great time celebrating with your family today. I am sharing this on Titus 2 Tuesday at Cornerstone Confessions.

Prayer to Saint Dominic:

Wonderful Saintly Founder of the eloquent Order of Preachers

and friend of Saint Francis of Assisi,

you were a fiery defender of the Faith

and a fighter against the darkness of heresy.

You resembled a great star that shone close to the world

and pointed to the Light which was Christ.

Help astronomers to study the stars

and admire their wonderful Maker,

proclaiming: "Give glory to God in the highest."

Amen.

Saint Dominic, pray for us!