Stephanie, Author at Binkies and Briefcases • Page 33 of 80

Potato Chip Cookies (egg-free)

December 8, 2013 By: Stephanie6 Comments

The cookie recipes continue this week. 🙂

I originally got this particular recipe for potato chip cookies out of my grandmother’s church cookbook, ages ago.

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, I would make them with my Mommom when I slept over at her house. She would only make half the recipe and we would bake them right in the toaster oven on her counter. Then when I was in college (We don’t even have to talk about how that was now 10+ years ago), I was a nanny for a little boy who had some food allergies. Eggs were one of the things he couldn’t eat, so sometimes we would make these cookies together, since this is an egg-free recipe.

No eggs also means that it is safe to eat the raw cookie dough!

I made them with my own kids over the weekend. I have yet to meet a child who doesn’t love making these cookies. I chalk it up to the crushed potato chips that are part of the recipe.

Potato Chip Cookies:

2 sticks of softened butter

1 cup of confectioner’s sugar + extra for dusting

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup crushed potato chip crumbs

1 and a half cups of flour

(We also used 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips this time, which is totally optional)

Yield: 2 dozen

Cream butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl.
Slowly add flour, crushed potato chips, and white chocolate, if desired.
Roll into small balls and bake on parchment paper at 350 for about 15 minutes.
Cool in wire racks and dust with additional confectioner’s sugar.

These cookies tend to really spread out, so space them far apart and don’t forget the parchment paper because the bottoms can burn pretty easily.

linking to Cookie Recipe Exchange

Nana’s Sugar Cookie Recipe

December 6, 2013 By: Stephanie2 Comments

Are you looking for a good sugar cookie recipe this year?

This recipe has been in my husband’s family for a few generations now. It is the recipe that my Mother-in-law uses every year to bake her famous sugar cookies around the holidays.

I’m sure my children will always remember them fondly as “Nana’s sugar cookies.”

I’m glad I snapped this picture of the recipe card while we were baking them together last year.

(I think that 168 cookies must be a typo, unless someone used to make these very, very small, but because you roll them very thin, this recipe does make a few dozen.)

EASY Elf on The Shelf Ideas

December 5, 2013 By: Stephanie2 Comments

Today’s post is brought to you by my friend Shelley. I met Shelley when we lived in Florida because our husbands worked together. She and her husband, Tommy, have three kids who are around the same ages as our kids.

Every year I look forward to seeing Shelley’s Elf on the Shelf, Zippy, in my Facebook feed because she has some great ideas. Ideas I can actually use. I like the idea of the elf being a fun holiday tradition, but I am not the kind of mom who is going to spend an hour hot gluing miniature marshmallows together to build our elf an igloo. Don’t worry, neither is Shelley.

These are not those stupid “Let’s pour glitter everywhere so mom has to clean it up later” ideas, nor are they the “It took me an hour and a half to rig that elf to the vaulted ceiling with fishing twine” ideas that we see all over Pinterest. I’m talking about cute, simple, but creative ideas that average moms like me (moms who are tired at the end of the day and don’t want to spend a bunch of time and energy on an elf) can and ~~probably~~ maybe will actually do.

Most of these ideas take less than two minutes and don’t make a huge mess. If you are looking for easy Elf on the Shelf ideas, you have come to the right place.

Thank you Shelley!! (And thank you for allowing me to steal all these pictures from your Facebook page.)

Elf playing cards

Elf Reading a book

Elf on a date

Elf in a “snowglobe” (under a glass)

Walking the dog

With just a few (clean) undies in the tree

Fishing (I appreciate that we are just using toys we already have here, not trying to reinvent the wheel-or the fishing rod.)

Just hanging around

Shelley says,

“I try to do two things-(1) use stuff the kids have. I don’t go over and beyond-I’ve never bought things just for Zippy. I simply scan the room and grab something that’s laying around. And (2) I try to make some stagings purposeful. For example, when Tony remembered to brush his teeth last year with no reminders (which was a big deal back then) Zippy wrote a “great job” note in toothpaste on the mirror. Tonight they will each be receiving a “progress report” because our younger son has been making some poor choices at school and I’m hoping a note from Santa, reminding him to be good in school, will help straighten him up.“

Thanks again, Shelley!

I can’t wait to see what you do with your elf this year!

(Turns out I didn’t have to wait long. Right after I finished this post, Shelley put this picture up on her Facebook feed.)

Still in the Holiday Spirit?

Check out my tutorials for easy and adorable ornaments and my secret for getting monogrammed, designer stockings for less than ten bucks.

Easy 5 Ingredient Pumpkin Dip

December 4, 2013 By: Stephanie1 Comment

Eddie is not a big dessert eater. (I know! I don’t know what’s wrong with him, either.)

He doesn’t love stuff that is really sweet. One thing he does like is a good gingersnap, so I picked some up at a local bakery this week.

Then he started talking about how awesome it would be if I could figure out how to make the pumpkin dip he remembered from when he was a kid.

Ummm…??

Apparently this is pretty popular, but I had never heard of it.

After some Googling, I found this recipe, but I didn’t have all of the ingredients, so I had to modify it. My version came out more like a mousse than a liquid dip.

I guess I did okay, because it went over pretty well.

Here my pumpkin dip recipe. It’s not the healthiest thing in the whole world, but all things in moderation, right? It definitely is pretty yummy!

5 Ingredient Pumpkin Dip

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1 can of pumpkin puree

2 cups of (sifted) powdered sugar

2 tbs of Cinnamon Spice Blend. (I love this stuff)

1 tub of Cool Whip or three (?) cups of whipped cream (I used Cool Whip left over from Thanksgiving, so I’m just guessing about the amount of whipped cream it would use.)

Directions:

Microwave cream cheese for 20 seconds in a glass bowl, until just slightly warm and softened.
Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into the softened cream cheese and blend.
Stir in one can of pumpkin puree and the cinnamon spice blend.
Fold in Cool Whip or whipped cream.

Serve it with gingersnaps.

I also used it to make parfaits with layers of whipped cream and gingersnap cookie crumbs.

It is very light and not super sweet, so it is a great way to wrap up a heavier holiday meal.

If you want to make your own pumpkin puree instead of using the stuff in the can, this is the way I do it:

You might also like these pumpkin Nutella pancakes!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Pumpkin puree photo courtesy of Deposit Photo.

If you liked this post, don’t forget to pin it on Pinterest and save it for later!

Flower Girl

December 3, 2013 By: Stephaniecomment

My friend Lauren, who has been my BFF for over 22 years (!!), is getting married in the spring. Our family is super excited to be part of the wedding! I am a bridesmaid, Abby is the flower girl, and Eddie even got licensed to preform the ceremony.

Last week Lauren and her fiance, Ryan, came to our house for a visit. We ditched the boys and took Abby shopping for her flower girl dress.

She was in seventh heaven. She literally tried on every dress in her size and insisted on dancing on the “stage” in every single one. All of the adults were fawning over her and she was certainly in her element. She’s a performer, that one.

She also insisted on ringing the bell once we settled on “The Dress,” just like the brides who were there.

We are in so much trouble when it comes time for her own wedding.

She is a bridezilla in the making.

She’s lucky she’s cute.

(The dress in the very top pictures was the winner. After all of that, we went with the first one she tried on.)

Sharing Our Christmas Decorations and a Secret

December 2, 2013 By: Stephanie1 Comment

We have finished decorating for Christmas. (We always wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving.)

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care…you know the rest.

I love this wreath I bought from a friend at our Mom N Me craft fair.

My sister’s childhood BFF, Natalie, was helping to clean out a relative’s house, and when they found this train she thought of Nicholas. It’s the first thing he runs to in the morning and he is still playing with it when we have to drag him off to bed. It’s also the perfect size for under the Christmas tree.

Speaking of the Christmas tree, have you seen my tutorials for snowman keepsake and applesauce ornaments yet?

I’m soooooo happy we were able to finish our fireplace mantle before the holidays.

This is the first year we’ve been able to hang our stockings by a fireplace.

Psst…Want to hear a secret about our monogrammed stockings? I only bought one of them (Penelope’s) from Pottery Barn Kids.

The rest I bought from one of my favorite websites, Uglysofa.com, that sells what they call “Brand X” (rhymes with “Snottery Yarn,” mentioned above) overstocks and returns at amazing prices.

They always have a ton of “Brand X” stockings for less than ten bucks. A lot of them are monogrammed, but they only have common names. The monogramming is included in the price. They didn’t have Penelope last year, so I ordered her one to match from PBK. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed that the monogram on her expensive one wasn’t as thick as the others. I was expecting her monogram to be the same as Nicholas’. They also have what they call “recession stockings,” like our Santa on the left, that have the white cuff cut off because a name was misspelled or something. They don’t match exactly with the others, but you can get them personalized for free if you have a less common name.

This is not a sponsored post, I just really like that website, especially around the holidays, and I wanted to share it with you. Although, I have to warn you that my friend Lauren ordered stockings from Ugly Sofa last year and the monograms were crooked. Look at the photo carefully before you order. The photo is the exact stocking you are ordering.

Are your holiday decorations up? Did you put them up before or after Thanksgiving? (If you say before, I’m not sure we can still be friends, but I’ll give you a free pass just this once since Thanksgiving came so late this year.)

Snowman Handprint Keepsake Ornaments

December 1, 2013 By: Stephanie5 Comments

Three years ago, Nicholas’ preschool class made these snowman hand print keepsake ornaments as the Christmas gift for the parents. Every year it makes me smile as I am unpacking it.

If you are looking for a cute, inexpensive way to personalize a gift for a grandparent or friend or to get the kids involved in making something, I think this is a very cool idea and it seems easy enough to do with young really kids.

Just dip your child’s hand in white paint and make a hand print, wrapping around the bottom of a smooth, dark ornament.

When the pant is dry (I would stick it upside-down in styrofoam to let it dry without messing up the hand print), use paint pens or Sharpies to add details and make the fingers look like a family of snowmen. I’ve even seen stickers of snowman parts at the craft store you could use.

The back of our ornament says “Nicholas 2010.”

Let me know if you try it!

Linking to Tips and Tricks

Getting Steamy on the Dining Room Table

November 30, 2013 By: Stephanie20 Comments

"It's gettin' hot in here, so take off..." ahem. Excuse me. I've spent the afternoon with my husband getting steamy on the dining room table.

It’s not what it sounds like. I got a new toy: a SteamMachine.

It’s for housework.

Cleaning a Dining Table

I love the holidays and all of the company that comes with them. I even like to cook. (and eat!) What I do not love, at all, is cleaning. Blech.

But, unfortunately, I do like to have a clean house. My children and their toys have other ideas.

That’s why I was super excited when HomeRight offered to let me try their SteamMachine .

The first thing I decided to try was our dining room table.

I clean this table every stinkin’ day, usually more than once, and the thing is still always a mess. Always.

It is a hand-me-down from my dad and step-mom, so it was not new when it joined our family 5 years ago and it takes daily abuse from three kiddos, so it doesn’t really owe us much.

Our table is tired, and it shows.

It’s kind of a Monet. “From far away it’s okay, but up close it’s a big old mess.” Name that movie.

Poor guy (the table) had water marks, play dough, and remnants from old craft projects all over the place.

Check out those before photos. Super embarrassing.

I made a video so you can see the SteamMachine in action.

In the words of my husband, “Dude. That thing actually did a good job!”

Ta-da! The after photo:

And in the spirit of holiday giving, HomeRight has offered to give a SteamMachine to one lucky Binkies and Briefcases reader.

Just enter using the Rafflecopter below.

This post and giveaway are sponsored by HomeRight. This post contains affiliate links. This giveaway is for US residents age 18 and older. HomeRight is responsible for prize shipment. The winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond. In the event the winner does not respond, another winner will be chosen.
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Redbox Instant by Verizon Review

November 27, 2013 By: Stephanie2 Comments

This post is sponsored by BzzAgent on behalf of Redbox Instant. All opinions are my own.

This month I was invited to review the new Redbox Instant by Verizon streaming program. I was really excited to get the invitation on a cold, rainy day when my kids were home for Thanksgiving break and we were already planning to stay inside snuggled up and watching movies.

Redbox Instant is a subscription service, similar to Netflix. For $8/month you receive access to movies and games that you can stream on your tv, computer, tablets, etc. Plus you get four codes each month to redeem at the regular Redbox kiosks.

We use the Redbox at our local grocery store pretty frequently, I’d say at least twice a month on average, so I was excited to give this a try.

My favorite part was that they are offering the first month for free. I love free. Who doesn’t?

I was a little disappointed right off the bat that there was no way to do the trial without entering my credit card information. It turns me off when companies offer something for free, but make you give them your credit card before they will give it to you. I understand why they need to do it, I just don’t like it.

Now that I have had a chance to check it out, here are my thoughts:

Pros:

Affordable. $8/month is a good price to have access to all of these games and movies, I think.
Includes the Kiosk. If there is a new release we want to see, I can use one of my four free codes to rent it from the kiosk instead of paying to rent it “on demand.”
Parental controls. I appreciate that I can set the controls to limit which movies and games my children can see.
Fast. The first movie I downloaded from the list of subscription options was Curly Sue. It took less than 30 seconds to load and start playing on my laptop. I timed it. (I have an older MacBook Pro with an Xfinity high speed internet connection.)
The first month is free.
It seems to be very easy to cancel whenever you want.
You can still rent movies from home, even without signing up for the subscription
You don’t have to be a Verizon customer to use it (I’m not), but you do need to have high speed internet

Cons:

Not very innovative. To be honest, I didn’t feel like I really got anything “extra” out of subscribing to this service. That is because we already have basic cable and most of the movies that were available from Redbox Instant we can get on demand or from the kiosk we are already frequenting anyway. (That said, it costs us about $6 to rent one new release On Demand movie from our current cable provider, so I think that having the four codes to “rent” new releases that are included with the $8 subscription fee is pretty cool. We often rent a movie as our “date night” after the kids are asleep. For us, that averages out to four at-home date nights a month for just $2 each.)
Limited selection. If you do not have cable and are looking for an affordable streaming package, this might be a good selection for you because of the price. However, you get what you pay for. The children’s options are very limited and there are no tv shows available.
Even after you subscribe, you still have to pay extra to rent some of the more popular movies, unless you use one of your four kiosk codes.
Outdated children’s movies. If you are only looking at the movies included in the subscription, not the ones you need to pay extra to rent, then there are only 4 options rated G and the most recent one, Stewart Little 3, is from 2006.

I am not a gamer or a frequent streamer, other than the occasional YouTube video. As a mom, I’d give this service a B- bordering on a C+ because I do think that it does what is says it does and that it comes at a fair price, but I think families can get a lot more for their money from other similar services. To get a higher grade from me they would need to add to their children and family options. Because it is only in the Beta version right now, I suspect they will be adding more, but for now I found it very lacking. For example, there were only 4 options included in the subscription package that were rated G and we already own one of them (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) on DVD.

What I really, really, REALLY wish is that there could be an “in theaters now” option, which would obviously have higher prices for those movies. Personally, I’d be willing to shell out $20 to be able to sit on my couch and watch the new Hunger Games movie after my kids are in bed. Sadly, that’s not an option.

If you want to try it for yourself, you can check out the free one-month trial here.

I am a BzzAgent and was invited to participate in this campaign in return for a free subscription. All opinions are my own.

Neon Fireflies

November 26, 2013 By: Stephanie6 Comments

I don’t know about you, but you couldn’t pay me to go anywhere near the mall this week. I don’t do Black Friday sales very often.

I like to sit home and shop from the comfort of my computer. Amazon, Target.com, and Etsy are my friends.

Do you know who else is my friend? Heather, the lovely lady behind the new Etsy shop Neon Fireflies.

source

I know Heather from church and our Mom N Me group. (A few weeks ago we bonded over almost throwing up because we were nervous about a presentation we had to give together to the other mom in our group.) I’m so excited to share her talent with you today!

Heather is a mom of two little ones. She loves her kiddos and she loves to crochet, so she combined her loves into a new store that sells fabulous, fashion forward crocheted pieces for babies AND their mommas .

Neon Fireflies sells a bunch of awesome hand made items that Heather crochets herself. I love that they all feel so fresh and trendy, because sometimes crocheted items can feel a little old-fashioned. That is not the case with Neon Fireflies. Check out some of the things in the shop

There are scarves and boot cuffs for mommas:

And kid-sized hats, leg warmers, shoes, and even toys

I’m teaming up with a few of my favorite fellow bloggers and giving away a mini shopping spree in honor of avoiding the mall on Black Friday at all possible costs.

If you are looking for holiday gifts, now is a great time to stock up from the comfort of your couch! Heather is running a special this week. Use the code THANKS6 at checkout to get $6 off any order of $30 or more (excluding shipping). This code is valid through 11/28.

Enter using the Rafflecopter below and one winner will receive any one item of their choice from Neon Fireflies. This giveaway is for US residents only, ages 18 and up. One winner will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond. In the event that a winner does not respond, another winner will be selected. Neon Fireflies is responsible for prize shipment. This is not a sponsored post as bloggers are responsible for payment.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Potato Chip Cookies (egg-free)

Nana’s Sugar Cookie Recipe

EASY Elf on The Shelf Ideas

Easy 5 Ingredient Pumpkin Dip

Flower Girl

Sharing Our Christmas Decorations and a Secret

Snowman Handprint Keepsake Ornaments

Getting Steamy on the Dining Room Table

Redbox Instant by Verizon Review

Neon Fireflies

Binkies and Briefcases with Stephanie Giese

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