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

-
Image
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

Friends of Colleen Jorgensen ~ Giving Back Fundraiser

-

"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."

- Mother Teresa
You may know my friend and fellow blogger Colleen. She's known as Mural Maker to the blog world. 

Friends of Colleen Jorgensen Fundraiser 

Colleen is a caring person and is truly a giver by nature. She and her husband each took care of their aging mothers on a 24/7 basis. They were forced to live separately while they cared for the women who raised them. They did spend as much time together as their lives allowed, especially while caring for their 4 year old grandson.



She and her husband Marlon were struggling to make ends meet after the thoughtless and fraudulent actions of one person turned their lives upside down. Just when they thought they had hit rock bottom, a glimmer of hope arose and it looked like there might be a way to erase (if that's even possible) 20 years of literally paying for an erroneous paper filed with a goverment agency. While in the process of filling out mountains of paperwork to undo this "wrong", Marlon began to make the first steps out of an extremely fragile financial 
situation.

   


Three weeks after he was starting to get his life back, Marlon developed an aortic tear (if you remember John Ritter's sudden death, he was struck by the same medical condition.) Most people die instantly from an aortic tear, but not Marlon. He fought for his life and so did the surgeons. After several surgeries, he was in recovery but the damage was done and he slipped away peacefully.


Colleen was devastated, her husband was her rock and her best friend to lean on. He was her ever positive outlook guy . As she dealt with the blow of his death, she didn't realize that the worst was yet to come. Soon after the funeral, the bills started to flood in. Medical bills from the surgeries and all the emergency room and ICU fees. Bills for the funeral. And their normal bills.


   

Amidst all the hands outreached for money, Colleen has one that presents a more pressing need. She suffered a debilitating back injury years ago, which still requires medical treatments so she can endure the pain. At this point, I think you understand that her need for funds to pay the bills and just simply survive (until she can get back on her feet) are unimaginable. Colleen would never ask for money for herself, but she has agreed to let me post these details of her life and help her set up a fund raiser. A Friends of Colleen Jorgensen Fundraising Page has been set up with Rally.org (a unique site for helping people fund raise for their causes.) All the money raised will go directly to Colleen. Payments can be made with credit card or eCheck. And all your information and the amount you donated is kept private.

   

So, who's with me? Can you help give back with a small donation?


 Or can you help spread the word?
Simply paste this code onto your sidebar (or in a post) to help spread the word:
Friends of Colleen Jorgensen Fundraiser


Your kindness will be rewarded in good karma. I definitely believe in karma, do you?



Popular posts from this blog

Vintage Folk Art Style Paper Mache Snowman Tutorial

-
Image
With the Christmas tree curbside, and the ornaments all neatly packed away, I'm thankful for my small collection of winter decorations that can be left out a bit longer to grace my home with their snowy sparkle and winter whimsy. I would have loved to have had the time to share this sweet little tutorial earlier in the season, but the holidays were busy (as they always are).  Now that things have slowed down, this may be, perhaps the best time of all to fix yourself a mug of cocoa or coffee and enjoy the process of creating a vintage style paper mache snowman at your leisure.  He is sure to bring smiles to all that behold him, all winter long! This is the snowman that my 7-year old made. The real stick arms were her wonderful idea! This is a fun project t o do with children as well. The process is very simple , versatile, and inexpensive.  The fram e for the figure is ma de from aluminum foil which can be worked into the shape of characters for any occasion .  I&#
Read more

Recipe: New World German Brown Bread -- "Squaw Bread"

-
Image
I recall, as a child, going to The Chart House restaurant and looking forward to the basket of freshly baked breads.  My favorite was always the dark brown, slightly sweet bread that the servers called "Squaw Bread".  I've heard that a similar bread is served at The Cheesecake Factory.  The name has gone out of fashion, since "squaw" is a derogatory term for a Native American woman.   The history of this bread can in fact trace its roots to Native American origins when German pioneers combined their traditional German Brown Bread recipe with ingredients available to them through trades with the native people during their westward travels. No matter how you slice it, this New World German Brown Bread is easy to bake and so wonderfully delicious to eat.   Print With Image Without Image New World German Brown Bread Yield: 1 large loaf Author: Jenn Erickson Prep time: 1 H & 50 M Cook time: 45 M Total time: 1 H &am
Read more

Vintage Style Folk Art Black Cat Halloween Bucket
(made from a $1 plastic pumpkin)

-
Image
One of my favorite characters from vintage Halloween folk art is the black cat ~ always sporting a mischievous look and a cheeky grin.     Last year, I transformed a trio of styrofoam pumpkins from the dollar store into paper mache folk art .   This year, with the same $1 budget in mind, I set to work on a classic blown plastic jack-o-lantern treat bucket -- the same jolly guy that's been around since I was a kid.     Although I'm nostalgic for his familiar orange mug, I thought it would be fun to transform him into a wiley black cat.  So, one afternoon, my daughter and I grabbed an old newspaper and our Mod Podge and set to work... Vintage-style Halloween Folk Art Black Cat 1 blown-plastic pumpkin treat bucket, any color Newspaper Mod Podge or Paper Mache paste E ar template (download HERE ) Heavy card stock or a manilla folder for the ears pencil and scissors Paint brus hes of various sizes Black acrylic paint Assorted acrylic pa
Read more