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Showing posts from April, 2014

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

The Perfect Mother's Day Gift for Creative Cooks ~ Cooking With Flowers
{book review and giveaway}

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Roses are Red Violets are Blue They're a treat for the eye And you can cook with them too! If you love to cook and experiment with beautiful, fresh, and homegrown ingredients, chances are, you're going to want a copy of Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers for yourself.  But my purpose today is to rave about this incredible new cookbook from Miche Bacher of Mali B Sweets as the perfect Mother's Day Gift. Flowers are a popular token of love for Mother's Day.  If the special mother-figure in your life enjoys cooking, baking, or gardening, I have an idea for how you can make your gift of Mother's Day flowers all the more special and long-lasting. Pair Cooking with Flowers with a palette of pansies, a bouquet of roses, or a selection of tulip bulbs.  It's a gift that shows love and inspires creativity.  Cooking with Flowers contains more than 100 flower

DIY: Handmade Mother's Day Gift ~ Dove Keepsake Box
{Inspired by DOVE Dark Chocolate}

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Compensation was provided by DOVE® Dark Chocolate via MomTrends.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Dove or Momtrends.  For thousands of years, and in many cultures throughout the world, the dove has been a symbol of nurturing, self-sacrifice, peace, devotion and motherhood.  These gentle birds are among the most maternal in the feathered kingdom, and are one of only a handful of birds that produce milk for their young.     What more fitting symbol to grace the top of a handmade Mother's Day Keepsake Box , and what better sweet treasure with which to fill it than DOVE ® Dark Chocolate ? Chances are, your mom is probably already a fan of DOVE ® Dark Chocolate , but do you know which of the four varieties is her favorite? Clockwise from top left: Silky Smooth Almond Dark Chocolate, Silky Smooth Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl, Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel, Silky Smooth Da

Two Meals from One Simple Dish: New Potatoes with Parsley Butter
{Plus a $50 Safeway Giveaway} #lifeforless

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This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and All You Magazine, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #lifeforless http://my-disclosur.es /OBsstV .   What do you look for in a recipe? Ease and convenience? Low cost per serving? Ready in less than 30 minutes? Gourmet taste and elegant presentation? A good recipe, nay, a great recipe , that is truly worth sharing is all that, plus yields leftovers that can be turned into a second meal. Today, I'm pleased to be sharing a great recipe that I found in the April 2014 issue of All You Magazine.  The issue is packed with easy and delicious recipes, money saving tips, and some of the cutest and most original Easter Egg decorating ideas I've seen.  Flipping through the pages at my local Safeway store, one recipe in particular caught my eye:  New Potatoes with Parsley Butter .  I was looking for an easy, elegant and gluten-free dish for my Easter

Protect Your Nest Egg Doughnuts --or-- Where Peeps Go to Nest for Easter

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Happy Easter! I hope you've been having a great day! ----------------------------- I've been spending more time off-line than on these days. It struck me, just a few weeks ago, that my girls are growing up far too quicly. In September we'll have a teenager. So, I've been greedily spending every spare minute enjoying my little family. This Easter, I opted to spend less time shopping and less time in the kitchen. I eased up on some of my food rules and borrowed my inspiration from other talented people to help me make a little Easter magic for my girls. This morning, after every last chocolate egg, bunny, lamb, and jellybean had been found, I called my brood to the table and presented them with PEEPS-topped buttermilk doughnuts and chocolate bunnies filled with cold milk.  I got the idea for serving milk in the chocolate bunnies from Alexis of Jacolyn Murphy .  She shows you how easy it is to make them HERE . Thes

New Food Labeling in Your Grocery Store ~ Get the #FactsUpFront {sponsored post}

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Facts Up Front program. The Modern grocery store -- There's a sushi bar, a gourmet coffee kiosk, an organic produce section, and a kaleidoscope of colors and flashy packaging down every aisle.  Dizzying, isn't it?  Mr. Olsen isn't standing behind the counter in his tidy little apron to fetch you a can of beans (The kidney beans -- the only beans on the shelf; the ones right next to the sold-by-the slice suet and the flour in bag that is destined to be next year's school dress).  Oh, you wanted nonfat, low-sodium refried beans?  Sorry sister, you're in the wrong century.    Food labels have come a long way.  Sure, your grandma's pantry must have been mighty pretty.  Some of those labels were downright works of art.  But what, I ask you, do roses have to do with canned pumpkin? That lovely label sure puts a smile on my face, but if I want to know if there's any added sugar inside I'm out

Free Vintage Easter Graphics, Clipart & Scrap Sheets

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Chick it out, peeps: I t's a round-up of vintage Easter graphics from my personal collection.   I picked up this sweet vintage postcard at an antique store in Wine Country a few weeks ago:   This cute little accordion card features chicks in bonnets bearing the message: "Because it is Easter, these Chicks, you see, Are bringing good wishes, to you from me!"  You can download the printable HERE . Here's a collection of chicks, bunny rabbits and eggs from my grandmother's scrapbook: If you prefer, you can download them all as a scrap-sheet  HERE . Enjoy! Feel free to show off your creations on the Rook N o. 17 Facebook Page .