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Is this a holiday recipe? No. Are the holidays upon us? Yes! At this busy time of year we like to have intimate family dinners or simply invite another couple to share a meal around our table. This one pot meal is stress free,

Ahhhh, tis’ the season – for baking cookies. Have you ever hosted a “cookie exchange”? Every year I consider hosting one but I’ve never followed through with it. And to remain status quo, I’m not hosting one this year either. I attended a couple of cookie exchanges in the past and always loved sampling everyone’s […]

Rain is a product of nature we have become quite unfamiliar with, unfortunately. Most of Texas has been declared to be experiencing severe drought conditions. This is sad news and I admit I’ve forgotten how to use an umbrella. Last evening we, my man Dan, our daughter LuLu and her guy ventured out, even though […]

One of the nice perks of blogging is that every so often awards are handed out from fellow bloggers. Right before the craziness of Thanksgiving two fellow bloggers bestowed the honor upon me. Now before I’m completely engulfed in the Christmas frenzy I wanted to pass on the awards and say thanks. Oh, by the […]

I couldn’t be happier right this minute as I’ve missed blogging for nearly two weeks now. Thank you to all my faithful followers and newcomers for sticking with me. Between the Thanksgiving holiday, a house full of company, adoring hubby’s 60th birthday, and missing shot glasses I couldn’t find a moment to write. I hope that […]

My head is stuffy, so stuffy it’s exhausting to breathe. No bueno! I’m sure it will be gone soon…I’m medicating with antibiotics and stuff said to unstuff ones nose. It all started when I awoke early Saturday with a scratchy throat and sniffles. I managed to carry on for the day with Miss T and […]

With fall upon us I’m thinking about soups. Not heavy, hearty ones like we crave in the winter; but nutritious, simple bowls of soup. Sometimes an uncomplicated bowl of soup just fits the bill, perhaps with a crusty loaf of bread or a tossed green salad. One of my go-to cookbooks carries the title “Williams-Sonoma Soup”. […]

Last weekend my man Dan was in Las Vegas, sin city, to photograph the goings on at a convention for one of his clients. His take on L.V. is, “it’s like Disneyland on crack”. I don’t think he saw the light of day until he’d been there for three days and was forced to venture […]

Today I’m writing about my bees. If you’d like to read about my most recent bee removal and a dilemma up at the Helmsley Palace hives go to “Bees & Honey” right under the header, click on “Bee Thinking” – “Naming Queens”. No worries, I’ll be back on board with a delicious recipe before long. […]

This morning I noticed the first Dark-Eyed Junco foraging for food under one of my feeders. Later in the day, I noticed not only a Yellow Rumped Warbler hopping about in the red oak, but also an Orange Crowned Warbler flitting around in the crape myrtle and Purple Finches at the feeders. Wow – stellar […]

I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to give credit where credit is due. I owe it all to Oprah. In one of her more recent “O” magazines she dedicates a few pages to pies. They all look delicious but the ones that caught my eye were these cute little hand pies. […]

The Texas Rangers are in the “World Series”! I’m not a huge baseball fan but when we get into the playoffs I’m there. Now that we’re there, my adoring hubby and I want to cheer on our team – he’s like me when it comes to baseball…when we’re in the playoffs he’s in. In lieu […]

“Howdy folks, and welcome to the great state fair of Texas”, spoken by none other than Big Tex, the oversized icon with his commanding presence, booming voice and 10 gallon hat. His voice resounds over the grounds of the “State Fair of Texas” for three full weeks in late September and early October every year, […]

My father-in-law, whom I love dearly because he makes me laugh, can be a bit bossy at times. Occasionally it is warranted that he show his bossiness other times not so much. I usually go along because after all I’m the in-law and he’s really not all that hard to get along with. Anyway, somebody […]

Until recently, I’ve been appetizer challenged. You would never catch me volunteering to bring the appetizer to a dinner party or casual get together. If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ve no doubt noticed a small handful of appetizers grace the pages of The Orange Bee. With the addition of this fantastically delicious […]

We all have them from time to time; those worrisome events in our lives that turn life upside down or inside out. This week was upside down for me. I am a soft hearted animal lover and this week I’ve had a very sick kitty. Now I know human sickness is hard to deal with […]

Around the Orange Bee we just can’t seem to escape from our leisurely evenings. Leisurely evenings and food blogging are not simultaneous. I know from reading other food blogs that preparing the meal, photographing it and serving it before it becomes cold or your family loads up and heads to the nearest fast food joint, […]

We’ve visited a lovely and lively farmers market that is close by a few times this summer. Always leaving with lots of fresh, local veggies, fruits and homemade breads. With our weather finally cooling off a bit it seemed perfect to hit the market again. Today we decided to check out a different one that […]

Lately adoring hubby and I are experiencing the pre-empty nester syndrome. With Miss T in her senior year of high school and being employed by the ever popular Starbucks, we don’t see much of her, especially at dinner time. Dinnertime has always been a family affair at our house. Everyone sitting down at the same […]

As I was looking through the lens of my camera, while photographing this applesauce, I heard a soft little “bzzzzz”. I pulled my eye away from the camera to discover a sweet little bee stopping by for a sample of homemade applesauce. Now she is one smart bee! The hives are not near where I […]