I have the cutest little cookbook that the boy and I found at Barnes and Nobles a few years ago. It’s called Cookie Dough Fun and it’s got tons of cute cookie dough recipe ideas that look so cute in the book, but never turn out right in real life. At least in my kitchen.

That’s sort of the family joke around here. I can make things that taste good but they NEVER look like the cookbook picture.

Case in point. Here is the cookbook picture for the Edible Easter Basket Recipe.

And here is how mine turned out. I haven’t been able to find licorice that thin so my baskets may not have handles but that’s what’s this blog all is about. Doing the best with you have at the time.

Ingredients:

1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 cup M&M mini baking chips

1 tsp water

1-2 drops of green food dye

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup any flavor cake frosting

Red licorice whips cut into 3 inch lengths

Directions

Grease 36 mini-muffin tins, cut dough into 36 pieces and roll into balls

Put one ball in each muffin tin and press into bottom of pan..chill for 15 minutes

Press 1/3 cup of the M&Ms into the bottoms of the cookie dough and bake for 8  minutes at 350.

Cookies will come out puffy. Gently press them back down into the tin.

Return to oven for 1 more minute

Cool cookies in the muffin tins for 5 minutes

Remove from pan and cool completely.

In a medium bowl combine food coloring and water, add coconut and stir until evenly tinted. You can also do this a ziplock bag.

In each cookie cup layer 1 tsp frosting, 1 tsp tinted coconut and 1 tsp M&Ms.

Push both licorice ends into frosting to make basket handle.

This blog is all about being real. Real recipes a real mom makes, real products a busy family uses and the real lifestyle of a real housewife. If you are looking for Martha Stewart, Katie Brown or even someone with domestic skills equal to your 11th grade home ec. teacher…you ain’t gonna find it here.

I’m just a super busy (super) mom trying to do it all as best I can. That of course means nothing gets done 100% to my liking but I do manage to get everything done at least 80%. Does that make sense? I have no less than 8 projects going on at a time on any given day. They all eventually get done, just maybe not as well as I would have liked.

Here is an example. I had planned on spending the afternoon with the boy making a DIY Easter Egg tree. Instead we ended up at two different shoe stores trying to find him some new sneakers which he cared nothing about. He was all about getting some Adidas slides. I know..isn’t that an odd choice for a 5 year old?

Here is what I wanted to do. Something slick, clean and fresh. I am in LOVE with a jar full of candy stuffed with pink flowers.

Anyway, we didn’t have time to scour the yard for a branch that would work for the DIY tree and we certainly didn’t have time to string up 8-10 eggs to hang on it.

But here is what we did come up with. A hodgepog of recent school Spring projects from the boy, a sticker-decorated cereal bowl full of plastic eggs, some candy and some purple Easter grass.

I was really digging this bunny at the dollar store when I bought him…but now up close in this picture he looks a little menacing. The boy painted those ceramic eggs last week and he thinks they are the most beautiful thing on the table.

Those round bunny chocolates won’t last two days. I’m betting the hubs grabs them before the boy does.

From the above angle Mr. Bunny doesn’t look quite so evil.

The flowers are courtesy of my son’s Pre-K art class. The big tall ones on the left are actually ink pens. Pre-K is so cute.

So my Easter decorations aren’t slick, modern and clean like I would prefer. But they are heartfelt and the boy and I had a blast putting it all together today. He thought he was the man because he got to sit on top of the dining room table as we worked.

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Engagement Chicken

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons—including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch fl at-leaf parsley)

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fi tted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.

3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the countertop with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)

4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.

6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken— this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

This maybe one of the most fun and cute cupcakes I’ve ever made.

And more importantly SIMPLE.

I got RAVE reviews from these last year and really all it took was some green food coloring.This year I’m hoping to find some pink bunny PEEPS. I’m sure they will really pop on the green coconut ‘Easter grass’.

You Need:

Box cake mix of choice

Frosting of choice – used chocolate in this picture because that’s what I had..but strawberry or white would be better.

Bag of sweetened coconut

Ziplock bag

Green food color

Bunny or Chick PEEPS

And Then You:

Back and frost cupcakes according to directions

Put coconut in a zip lock bag and squeeze in food coloring. (You’ll need to add a few drops of water to get the food coloring to cover the white coconut completely.)

Zip back and massage with your fingers until all coconut is covered

Place your snazzy green coconut on top of your frosted cupcake and then top with PEEP of choice.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

Easter is coming soon and nothing says Easter to me like Bacon Wrapped Chicken.

Well not really, PEEPS say Easter to me but to counter balance all that sugar we sneak from our kids Easter baskets we should at least try to make our Easter lunch or dinner somewhat healthy.

This is a quick and easy recipe that the entire family will love. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so versatile.

Just follow the basic recipe and add whatever sauce or side you like. BBQ sauce, honey mustard…you could even tweek it and bake it in a casserole dish with some rice and cheese. You can outside grill it, bake it in the oven or throw it on the Foreman Grill.

You can also make this is smaller pieces for a cute appetizer. Insert toothpick and viola! everyone thinks you are a culinary genius.

You Need:

Chicken breast strips or larger breasts if you prefer

Uncooked turkey bacon

Seasoning Salt

Garlic

Pepper

And Then You:

Season chicken generously with salt, garlic and pepper. Wrap each piece with one or two bacon strips.

Spray with cooking oil or drizzle with olive oil

Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Check at 30 minutes.

Serve with side of your choice. I prefer green beans..but the hubs goes with the starchy pasta.