I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. I know that Monday is not a day most people look forward too. I, however, love the start of a new week. If I had to clock my hours behind an office desk I might feel a little different but I get to spend my day with the two most important people in my life and in my favorite place in the whole world (my home). Today we will be taking advantage of the warm weather with a refreshing morning swim. Living in a place where it is 100 degree's at 9am has it's advantages.

So for now to make Monday's just that much more wonderful I have an awesome cookie recipe. Dare I say one of the best I've ever made? My daughter helped me make these and she had just as much fun saying "Snickerdoodle" as she did making them. This was a great recipe for her to help me with because it involves rolling balls of dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture. She did it like a pro with a few licks of the fingers in between. I have got to go...I have a 3 & 4 year old begging me to go swimming. I hope everyone has a great Monday and a great week.

Snickerdoodles
Your Homebased Mom


1 C butter
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 C flour
2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 C Heath Bar Bits, optional
1 C chocolate chips, optional
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon

Cream butter, sugar and eggs together.  Add in vanilla or almond extract.
Mix in flour, cream of tarter, soda, salt.  Mix in Heath Bar bits and chocolate chips if desired.  Mix together sugar and cinnamon.  Form dough into balls and roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

This post is linked to Sweet As Sugar Cookies

I don't know about your kids but mine absolutely love to get out the playdough and cookie cutter and go to town. In fact, I also love to sit with them and play myself. Is it weird that I find it soothing to sit with a ball of playdough in my hands and knead it? Is it weird that I like the smell of playdough? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

I wish I could get all the money back that I've spent on playdough through the years. This is the easiest thing in the world to make and would be a fun project to do together with your kids. I've always seen recipes for playdough out there but never attempted to make any until last week when I was trying to think of something to do with the kids. Since there is cooking involved I did most of the actual making but they were excited to choose their colors and watch it come together. I think the hardest part of the whole process was waiting for it to cool enough for them to handle it without getting burnt fingers. There are many different recipes out there but I chose just this basic recipe for Plain Old Playdough. I think I want to try the Glitter and the Fruity Fun Jello recipes next for a little fun variation. So go ahead and make this recipe to bring out the kid in you.

Plain Old Playdough
All playdough recipes found HERE

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 TBS cream of tartar
1 TBS oil
food coloring

Heat all ingredients in a saucepan, slow to medium heat. Stir continuously. Once dough is at the consistency you want, remove from heat. Cool before using. *high salt content so please keep playdough away from pets. Also, make sure that it is stored in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag. I just reused my old playdough containers.

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.