Orange Chicken with Stir-Fried Veggies

This is one of those recipes that I make when I don't know what to make for dinner.  

I usually have all of the ingredients on hand. The veggies I make will vary depending upon what is in the fridge, I may make white rice instead of brown, or use beef instead of chicken, but the prep method and the sauce ingredients work well no matter what!  

Think of this as preparing your own take-out! You could make this in the same amount of time that you would spend discussing where you should order from, calling in your order, and picking it up.  And I think you'll like this more!

Peppermint Ice Cream

One of my kids (who shall remain nameless) is absolutely crazy about ice cream. Her friends are also obsessed with ice cream and it seems that they can't get together without ending up at an ice cream shop (oops, I said HER.  So now you know that Sean is not the child I am talking about).

My daughter's favorite ice cream flavor is peppermint.  Yesterday, I had time to make a batch of ice cream.  There was no doubt which flavor I would make!

Baked Soft Pretzels

Do you ever get a craving that won't go away until you give in?

I'd like you to meet my craving.  I wasn't craving pretzels, I was just craving something to go with spicy brown mustard.  

I'd been craving mustard since the fourth of July, when I saw a vendor at Fenway Park hold up a fistful of mustard packets to go with the pretzels he was selling.

Nine days later I found myself still craving spicy brown mustard, only now I wanted fresh-baked pretzels as well.  Giant fresh-baked pretzels, like they sell at the Red Sox game!

So I made my own.

Hummus...make your own!! (Oil-free)

Have you ever gone through a phase where you eat the same meal every day? Not because you have to, because you want to?

I usually get into a breakfast rut habit, usually it's yogurt/berries/granola in the summer and oatmeal/raisins/cinnamon in the winter.

Lately,  it's been veggies & hummus for lunch.

Here's the batch of hummus I made today...my third batch this month.