Posts

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
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How to Host a Game of CLUE Party for Kids
+ Printable/Customizeable Invitations

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When I was a kid, my favorite board game was CLUE .  I loved the mystery, the intrigue and taking on the role of amateur sleuth.  I've passed my love of the game down to my two girls, and I was excited when my youngest expressed an interest in having a CLUE party for her birthday this year.  Here's what we did: The Invitations To set a dramatic tone for the party, I created invitations inspired by the playing cards from the original board game.  The invitations came in two parts -- a Character Card that introduced the character assigned to the guest and a Party Card that included all the details for the party.  To further link the party to the game, we glued a weapon piece from the board game to each party card (which we were able to purchase as a lot from Ebay). You can download the invitations for free below: Party Card, side A Party Card, side B * I created a mystery party experience that was child-friendly, and the kids all had a blast
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How to Make Sea Salt Caramel Pecan Roll (Pecan Logs)

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My dad is a nut for caramel, so for Father's Day this year, I decided to come up with my own recipe for making the nostalgia-conjuring classic confection ~ The Pecan Log.   My recipe departs from the original with a few modern twists:  the caramel is made in the microwave* (in just 15 minutes); the marshmallow filling is lighter and less cloyingly sweet than the classic fondant; and the finished candy gets a light sprinkling with fine and flaky sea salt, making a for a sweet treat that is perfectly balanced. I'm pleased to have developed a recipe that comes out with professional and delicious results, and doesn't require the user to be an experienced candy-maker.  I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have! Sea Salt Caramel Pecan Roll  Yield:  12 6" rolls Active Time:  30 minutes Total Time:  4 hours 12x12 pan (or rough equivalent) Parchment paper Plastic wrap or wax paper  Ruler or measuring tape Rolling pin For the Car
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GIVEAWAY: Canon Rebel T3 DSLR Camera -or- KitchenAid Standup Mixer + $100 Amazon eCard (Your Choice)

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  Happy Monday, friends! Happy?  Monday?  Indeed! You see, I've teamed up with a fabulous group of bloggers for a giveaway that'll rock your socks off. Have you been dreaming of owning a new DSLR Camera? Perhaps you want a brand new KitchenAid Standup Mixer. Well, you are in luck! Now you have your chance to enter a giveaway to win your choice of a Canon Rebel T3 DSLR Camera or a KitchenAid Mixer plus a $100 Amazon eCard !  If you aren't a baker, you can choose the camera! If you're a baker who already has a DSLR camera but are in the market for a standup mixer, you can choose the mixer and the Amazon ecard. Already have both? One of these would make a great gift for one of your family members or friends. Whatever your situation, we have you covered.   Say hello to the lovely gals who made this giveaway possible:   Before we get to the fun stuff, we'll need to cover some basic legal stuf
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Free Clipart: 1960s Nurses, Doctors, and Retro Get-Well Graphics

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It's a real bummer to be starting summer vacation with the wheezes, sneezes and aches of a nasty cold, but I'm assured a swift recovery thanks to my loving and nurturing little "staff" here at home who are keeping me well supplied with hot tea, warm blankets and plenty of tissues. To pay the healing vibe forward, I'm sharing  this sweet little collection of retro graphics featuring nurses, hospital staff, and mid-century style.  They're from the 1962 book  The Hospital  by Mable Pyne, which never fails to put a smile on my face. I think these images would be perfectly adorable on a get-well-soon card or on a tea towel for a friend graduating from nursing school.  What would you make with them? This is my favorite image of all -- a historical piece that shows the different styles of nurses' caps from different hospitals around the country during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Here are some of the hospital staff in their cand
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Movie Magic: Oz the Great & Powerful Inspired Headbands ~ Glinda & Evanora
#DisneyOzMovie

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Disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  However, all ideas and opinions are genuine and my own.  I hope you will enjoy my original craft project. My family enjoyed Disney's OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL when we saw it in the theater back in March. We were enchanted by the vividly beautiful sets and costumes that made the magical land of Oz come alive before our eyes. It was a treat to revisit the magic of Oz this past weekend with an advanced copy of the OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Blue-ray Combo Pack and HD Digital . During our second "adventure" in the land of Oz, we picked up on more details and made some new connections between the world of Oscar "Oz" Diggs in Kansas and the amazing world of Oz. After the movie, I sat down with my daughter and her friend to make some fanciful headbands based on two of the film's most powerful female characters:  Glinda and Evanora. Rather than full headpieces o
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