I love the 4th of July holiday, or the thought of it anyways. I always hear of people having out door BBQ's, kids running around the yard, and big family celebrations. We live in a unique place where it more than likely will be 110 degrees plus. This kind of prevents us from being able to enjoy the outdoors. We are able, once the sun goes down, to enjoy the fireworks. This is something we look forward to. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I enjoy just having a day with my family where we can just relax and enjoy the day off from our day to day work. Someday I hope that we can live in a place where we will be able to play outside in the summer but for now we just have the beautiful mild winters to look forward too.

With the 4th of July coming up soon I was trying to think of a dessert I could make for the holiday. Nothing says America like a nice big piece of apple pie. This one is made even cuter with the addition of the star shaped top crust. I thought this was a fun idea when I saw it over at Annie's Eats. I must admit that this is my first time ever making a pie crust from scratch. It really wasn't that hard Annie gives great instructions. You can click HERE for her great step by step. The key is to handle the dough as little as possible and to have all your ingredients very cold. I will say that is was a piece of cake, I mean pie! I hope you have a great rest of the week and wonderful 4th of July!

Star Spangled Apple Pie
recipe source Annie's Eats

double pie crust recipe such as this one
5-6 medium/large Granny Smith apples (about 2½ lbs.), peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water (for egg wash)

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pie dough into approximately a 12-inch round.  (Keep the other half of the pie dough chilled for now.)  Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate, trimming the excess and crimping the edges.  Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Position an oven rack in the upper-middle position.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced apples, sugars, flour, spices and lemon juice.  Toss well to combine.  When the bottom crust is finished chilling, pour the apple mixture and accumulated juices into the bottom pie crust and use a spatula to even the top out slightly.  Dot the surface of the apples with the pieces of cold butter.  Roll out the remaining pie dough on a floured work surface.  Cut out numerous star shapes and use these to cover the top of the pie.  (Alternatively, make a lattice top crust.)  Brush the top and edges of the crust with the egg wash.

Place a baking sheet on the lower oven rack.  Place the pie on the upper rack and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Post linked to Sweet As Sugar Cookies & Add A Pinch

I guess I have cupcakes on the mind. I've got another one for all you chocolate lover's out there. If you are also a peanut butter fan than you will be in cupcake heaven with these babies. My favorite candy had always been the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. This is the one and only thing that I snag from my kids Halloween buckets. When I was younger and thought nothing about the amount of calories I ate on a daily basis (ah, the good old days) I would buy a whole bag of Reese's and consume the entire bag within a day or two. Oh, how guilty I would feel if I did something like that now. These cupcakes are really, really good. I just used a simple chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines is my favorite brand). The frosting recipe comes from Your Homebased Mom and it is what takes these cupcakes over the top. It is simple but amazing. These would be great for a birthday party, shower, potluck, 4th of July picnic, or just because you are craving chocolate. I hope you enjoy! Stay cool!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cake Mix for 2 Layer Cake & ingredients to prepare
Peanut Butter Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 C creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
6 C powdered sugar.
2-4 tsp of milk until desired consistency

Prepare and bake cupcake according to cake mix directions; cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, peanut butter  and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Gradually add in powdered sugar.  Add milk, 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency.

Fill a Ziplock Bag with the frosting and snip a little corner of the bag with scissors. Squeeze gently and frost the cupcakes in a circular motion. Top with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup if desired.

When I saw the recipe title for these cupcake I just knew I had to make them. Orange Creamscicles are one of my favorite frozen treats on a stick and to recreate them in cupcake form sounded heavenly. The cake portion is super easy to make. You just use a white cake mix, orange juice, and orange jello powder along with the usual cake mix ingredients to whip up the most wonderful orange flavored cake. Don't even get me started on this amazing icing. The cream cheese icing also has orange jello powder mixed in and it is so light and refreshing that you might want to eat it with a spoon. My husband is not a fan of frosting and even he said it was really good. These cupcakes are just perfect for the start of summer.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
recipe source Your Homebased Mom via Better Homes and Gardens

1 3 oz. package orange flavored gelatin
1 2 layer size white cake mix
1 small box of cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/4 C orange juice
4 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners (makes about 24-27 cupcakes).  Set aside 2 tsp of the orange gelatin for frosting.
In a bowl mix together the remaining gelatin, cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, eggs, oil and vanilla.
Fill muffin cups with batter – about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes before frosting.

Frosting:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 C butter
2 tsp vanilla
5-6 C powdered sugar
Reserved orange gelatin
1 tsp finely shredded orange peel
orange food coloring if desired, I didn't use this

Soften cream cheese and butter at room temperature for at least 30minutes.  In a large bowl beat butter, cream cheese, reserved gelatin, orange peel and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Add in orange food coloring if desired.

Post linked to Sweet as Sugar Cookies & Add A Pinch & Mom's Crazy Cooking & At Home With Haley

I used to only buy and cook boneless skinless chicken breasts. I usually would have a problem with the chicken being dried out and tough. I've recently realized that roasting whole chickens or bone-in chicken results in a more juicy tender meat. I'm slowly shying away from even buying boneless breasts anymore. This is a plus also because they are much cheaper if you buy them with the bone on. This is a great way to prepare chicken. I was walking out of my in-law's house a few days ago and noticed her beautiful rosemary. I snipped a few leaves with visions of roasted chicken in my head. I love the flavor of garlic, rosemary, and lemon combined. The smells coming from the kitchen while roasting these are amazing. I used bone-in chicken breasts but you could use a whole chicken, thighs, or even legs if you prefer. You could also skin the chicken if you want to cut down on the calories and fat. I skinned the one that I was going to eat but my husband prefers the skin left on. I hope you enjoy!

Tuscan Roast Chicken

2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon zest
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
6 bone-in chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix rosemary, garlic, oil, lemon zest, and red pepper in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat.

Place chicken on a large rimmed baking sheet that has been covered with foil. Bake 45 minutes uncovered until chicken is browned and thermometer registers 170 F. Transfer to a platter and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

I love making pizza at home. To me it is almost just as quick an easy as takeout. I love the fact that I can make it healthier and have it still taste awesome. We like to keep the toppings simple at our house, in fact one daughter will almost always remove her toppings and eat just plain cheese pizza. I love to experiment with different doughs and found a recipe I was anxious to try. This is a whole wheat dough that called for half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat. I just used all whole wheat white flour and it turned out great. I love this dough and will be using it a lot more often. It baked up nice and crisp and had great flavor. I used to be all about a thick crust but now I much prefer my crust to be more on the thin, crispy side. This dough was simple to make because you use rapid rise yeast. This means you can have your dough all ready to go into the oven within about 20 minutes, perfect for a weeknight meal. The recipe calls for using a food processor to mix the dough but I just used my Kitchen-Aid mixer. Just use whatever you want. I always use the same sauce recipe which you can find HERE. It is my go to sauce and I've never used any other recipe because it is so easy to make and delicious. I hope everyone is having a great week. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
recipe source Eating Well

To make 1 pound dough:

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling. I let mine rest for 20 minutes.
3. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack; preheat oven to 500°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired (we suggest a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes. Serve immediately.

• Make Ahead Tip: Store in a plastic bag coated with cooking spray in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Happy Father's Day. We are pretty low key in our festivities for these particular holiday's. Anyways, my husband ended up with a stomach bug of some kind so he wasn't up for any special Father's Day meals. He is much better today, hopefully the rest of our household doesn't catch it. I am very grateful to have such a wonderful father for my children and I get a bit teary eyed when I see the girls give him hugs and kisses and tell him they love him and Happy Father's Day.

I've got a quick and easy weeknight meal idea here for you today. I like to eat vegetarian a few nights a week. One reason is that it saves money but also it's healthy as long as you substitute plenty of vegetables in the place of meat. With this meal you don't miss the meat at all but you could add some chicken or shrimp if you wanted too. I enjoyed the smell of the fresh garlic roasting along with the zucchini. Roasted garlic is one of my favorite savory smells, cake baking would be my favorite sweet smell. Anyways, I hope everyone has a great Monday and enjoy your week.

Spaghetti with Roasted Zucchini
recipe adapted from Woman's Day magazine

12 oz spaghetti, I used whole grain
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2-inch slices of fresh whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
4 small zucchini sliced 1/4 inch thick
kosher salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

Heat oven to 425 F. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Toss the pasta with 1 Tbsp oil. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse bread and garlic until the bread forms coarse crumbs and garlic is chopped.

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, remaining 2 Tbsp oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Add the Parmesan and bread crumb mixture and toss to combine. Spread zucchini mixture on 2 rimmed baking sheets and roast until the zucchini is tender and golden brown, 12 minutes or so.

Toss the pasta and zucchini mixture with parsley and lemon zest. Enjoy!

This post is liked to Mom's Crazy Cooking

I've got a quick and easy snack recipe for you. Your kids are going to love them and you are going to love that they are healthy. Most of the ingredients to make these are probably in your cabinet or pantry. This would be a simple recipe to let your kids help out with. Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Balls (Healthy)
Recipe Source Go Graham Go

1 1/2 cups of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of honey (I use just a little less than 1/2 because I prefer them to be more firm)
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:
Toss the oats into the food processor and blend until you have fine pieces.  In a separate bowl, mix together the peanut butter and honey.  Next, add in the chocolate chips.  Add the oats to the mixture and mix well.  You may need to use your hands to make sure every last bit of the oats has been mixed into the pb/honey/choc chip mixture.  Roll into small balls and refrigerate for a few hours or you could freeze them for several months.

Post linked to Good Cheap Eats & At Home With Haley & Mom's Crazy Cooking