Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a

Smoky Fire Roasted Salsa from the Grill~
Grilling is Happiness with Sears

This is a story about how my family

went from no grill and no plans

to a stress-free Sunday summer barbecue

In less than 24 hours



For me, the name Sears conjures up memories of childhood and Christmastime. In the Christmases of my childhood there two things I anticipated above all others:

Santa and the Sears Wishbook.

Fast forward thirty plus years --
The Wishbook days are long gone.
I'm married and have two kids of my own.
The closest Sears is a 25 mile drive away.

Thanks to the Grilling is Happiness campaign from Sears and Collective Bias, my love of Sears has been renewed.  In these times when shopping can often mean a high stress experience, it's a rare pleasure to walk out of a store with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

This past weekend, my family and I had the opportunity to peruse the Sears Online Catalog, purchase a brand new grill and accessories, and pick them up from the store.  When I shared the news of our plans with my husband, he insisted that I pinch him.  It was a dream come true for this BBQ and grilling fanatic!  In the blink of an eye he was online checking out the Sears Online Catalog, the Sears Local Ad Deals, and the #GrillingIsHappiness website. Talk about kid in a candy store!


The sites were easy to navigate, filled with excellent choices and prices, and made the online shopping experience fun.  

 
Once we picked out the right grill for our needs, it took just moments to checkout and complete our order.  The fact that we could use Paypal made the checkout process even easier.  I didn't have to get up and get my wallet for my credit card number.  Love it!  We immediately received a confirmation email, followed by another email when we woke up the next morning saying that our order was ready for pickup.  Great communication and so efficient!  


The entire experience from shopping online to having our purchases loaded in our car ranked a full five stars!  Is this for real?  Scouts honor. To read more about how Sears won me over with friendly and efficient service, great prices and quality merchandise, please visit my Google+ Photo Story.

When I woke up this morning, this is the sight I beheld:


Cue angels singing: Our beautiful new Kenmore 4-burner Gas Grill with Folding Side Shelves, set up and ready to go!  My husband and daughter put it together in about an hour.  They reported that the instructions were easy to follow and that the whole process required only one tool -- a phillip's screwdriver!  It felt like Mother's Day came early at our house!


Because the set-up was so easy, we were able to spend the rest of the day enjoying the beautiful warm weather in our backyard -- reading on the patio, laughing, and gliding on the swing in the old Cypress tree.  In the afternoon, we picked up some sausages, crusty french rolls, and fresh vegetables.  Our first order of business on the new grill was to make my husband's incredible "Salsa Del Fuego" -- a smoky fire roasted salsa that is at once fresh-tasting and intensely flavorful.  It was wonderful to have a grill that fires up in a flash, roasting and smoking our veggies to perfection in less than 20 minutes!

 If you love salsa, you've got to try making salsa on the grill!



Salsa del Fuego
Smoky Fire Roasted Salsa

Cost:  Approx. $12
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes:   3 half-pint jars (24 ounces)
Hardware needed:  Outdoor grill, Nonstick Grilling basket, Smoker box and wood chips, BBQ tongs, Blender or Food Processor

3 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 large fresh pasilla peppers, whole, stems and seeds removed
2 large jalapeno peppers, whole, stems and seeds removed
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 medium red onion, peeled, cut into 1/2" slices
1 full bunch cilantro
1 full bunch green onions
salt & pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 dried New Mexico chiles, rehydrated in hot water
5 cloves fresh garlic
Juice of one lime

Preheat grill.  Place dry wood chips in a smoker box and set inside grill.

Step 1:  Liberally salt the tomatoes on the flesh side (not the skin side) and set aside.  You will notice after 20 minutes that additional moisture will have leeched out.  Drain excess juice.


Step 2:   In the same bowl as the tomatoes, add the pasilla and jalapeno peppers, garlic powder, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Set aside.


Step 3:  Rub a little olive oil on the red onion.  Salt and pepper both sides.  


Step 4:  Place the tomatoes in a nonstick grill basket.  



Step 5:  Place the tomatoes, onions and peppers on the grill over high heat.  Place the cilantro and green onions on the upper rack.  Close lid.  Cook for 5-8 minutes.


Step 6:  Once the vegetables have started to char, flip them.  Move the cilantro and green onion to the top of the basket holding the tomatoes.  Close lid and grill for another 5-8 minutes. 


Step 7:  When the desired level of char has been achieved, remove all vegetables to the large bowl that was used to hold the vegetables (some olive oil and seasoning should remain).  Remove and discard the root end of the green onions and the stems from the cilantro. 

Step 8:  Place the grilled vegetables, soaked New Mexico chiles, fresh garlic and the juice of a whole lime in a blender or food processor and blend to desired consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy with chips, on tacos, fresh fish, or mixed with ground beef or turkey for a delicious chili.

Tools used:
Kenmore Smoker Box (not pictured) $4.99
Frontier Applewood Chips $4.49

Memorial Day and Mother's Day are right around the corner.  Treat yourself to a stress-free shopping experience and a shiny new grill with Sears!

 

In this week's circular (starting 5/6/12) you can find the following great deals:
 
FREE in-store assembly on all gas grills
Save $100 on Kenmore 4-burner Gas Grill. Now $399.99!
Save an extra 10% off Patio & Grills
Shop Your Way Rewards members save more each and every season and for every $1 you spend you get 10 points
Lock in today’s low prices for all of your upcoming events with Sears Layaway

Stay Connected with Sears

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I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric” All opinions are genuine and are my own.  

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