In the Kitchen • CNY's Extreme Couponing

My Addition: Garage Sale DIY light

June 18, 2013 By Jessica ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: Crafts, Featured, In the Kitchen

While my husband is working on the construction of our mud room and kitchen addition I have been busy doing some Do It Yourself projects. This year I have found some really awesome trash and garage sale finds. I have worked on exterior lights, old wheelbarrow for a planter, and an old tiller for a decoration.

A couple weeks ago I found this fan at a garage sale for $20 and I picked it up.

Using some 120 sandpaper I lightly sanded the fan blades so that they were prepped for staining. Using a dark cocoa stain and a rag I did long strokes to make it look like grains of wood.

Next I spray painted the fan a bronze color (tons of colors at Lowe’s) for $6.97, make sure you use a few coats to make sure that its fully covered.

Here is the finished product:

Up close you can see some awesome details!

What projects have you made? I would love to get some ideas!

✂ Tagged With: diy projects, garage sales

No Rise Cinnamon Buns

June 4, 2013 By Lorraine ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: Lorraine's Kitchen, Recipes

My family loves cinnamon buns. I typically by the kind in the tube but have been trying to make everything from scratch lately. Who has the time to make the dough , knead it, let it rise….. and so on? Not me! So I set out to find a great no rise recipe, and I certainly did. I did not change the recipe at all, but did not make the cram cheese frosting that is shown with the recipe. I made a cinnamon bun icing out of powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and butter. Check out the great tip on what to do if you don’t have buttermilk, lets face it, who honestly keeps buttermilk in the fridge?

CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS

3 ounces cream cheese (room temp)
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.
Melt 8 tablespoons of butter which you’ll use throughout this entire recipe (1 minute in the microwave does the trick).
Brush a 9 inch cake pan with 1 tablespoon of butter to coat bottom and sides.
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Combine buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla in a small bowl.
Add liquids to the dry ingredients and mix well. You may need to add a little more flour until you get a consistency that’s not too sticky. Knead the dough until it is smooth.
In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling, then add 1 tablespoon of the melted butter and mix it in until it is crumbly.
Flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle.
Brush the dough with a tablespoon or two of butter.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Gently press the mixture into the dough.
Begin rolling the dough up starting with the longer side. Roll tightly so that the yummy cinnamon sugar mixture stays inside the roll while it bakes.
Once the dough has been rolled up tightly, cut into 8 equal pieces and place into your greased cake pan.
Brush the tops of the cinnamon rolls with the remaining butter
Bake for 25-28 minutes
While rolls bake, mix together the cream cheese frosting ingredients until smooth.
When the cinnamon rolls are done baking, let them cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, and slather with cream cheese frosting.

✂ Tagged With: cinnamon roll, cinnamon roll recipe, dessert recipes

Brownie Cheesecake Dessert

June 3, 2013 By Jessica ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Recipes

I love brownies and cheesecake so why not make them together?

Super easy to make an amazing dessert!

Brownies:

One box brownie mix (any brand, I always get the family size)

Make Brownie Mix per instructions on box, put in pan.

Cheesecake Topping:

8Oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 Egg

1/3 cup sugar

Using a mixer whip cream cheese on low until its light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in sugar, once combined add egg. Make sure mixed well. Pour on top of brownie mix and using a toothpick or knife make a swirl pattern on the top.

Follow baking instructions on the back of the box based upon type of pan you used.

Enjoy!

This is the easiest recipe but it is sooo good!

✂ Tagged With: brownie, brownie cheesecake, brownie recipes, dessert, recipes

DIY Fabric Softener

May 24, 2013 By Lorraine ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Lorraine's Kitchen

So now that we all know how to make laundry detergent the logical next step is fabric softener, right?

Here is a recipe that I have concocted after reading several recipes and combining them. Best part…..it cost $2 for a bottle! I used suave conditioner for the sake of thriftiness, but I am sure that any conditioner will do (plus we all like different scents) I used a 15 oz bottle but if you use the 22 oz bottle the scent will be stronger. If you have an HE washer fill the fabric softener slot, for a top loader I her ¼ of a cup works well. So here it goes, 3 ingredient fabric softener!

6 cups hot water

2 cups distilled white vinegar

2 cups conditioner (or the whole bottle, more if you like a stronger scent)

Combine conditioner and hot water, stir until conditioner dissolves (I let the kids help and combined the 2 ingredients in a bottle with a screw on lid, then let them shake away)

After the conditioner dissolves add the vinegar (the vinegar also helps `keep the lines in your HE washer clean)

That’s it!

A 15 oz. bottle of Suave Conditioner costs around .97! ($1.50 for the 22 oz)

I got a bigger bottle of vinegar and paid $1.48 and will get more than one batch out of it! That makes 80 oz. just $1.47!

✂ Tagged With: can I make my own fabric softener, diy projects, diy tips, fabric softener, how to make your own fabric softner, make your own fabric softener, recipes fabric softener

Trash Day Finds -Yes I am looking at Trash again!!

May 21, 2013 By Jessica ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: In the Kitchen

This past weekend in my area was trash day, I decided to see what I could find to make some new products!

Find #1 Rain Barrel: $106 Savings

Trash Day Finds Yes I am looking at Trash again!!

Watering my large garden is such a chore each time it gets dry, because we have to pull the hose from my house which is about 200 feet away. Plus when it’s really dry out we don’t want to run our well dry just from watering the plants.

When I found this old barrel on the side of the road with no holes I was thilled! I brought it home, cleaned it out and with a $3.97 can of spray paint that I bought at Lowe’s along with some left over brown paint I had my very own rain barrel. Because we don’t have any rain gutters we placed our rain barrel near our garden with an open top sot that it would collect more rain.

A comparable Sterling 156501 Rain Wizard 50, Oak (as seen below) is compared at $110

Trash Day Finds Yes I am looking at Trash again!!

Find #2: $19.99 Savings

While I was out I found 4 of these landscape fencing that were being thrown away. These, Master Mark Plastics 38534 Cape Cod Decorative Landscape Fencing-4/33-Inch Sections, were priced at $19.99. Using a can of spray paint I made them good as new and now I have them in front of my mailbox to help hold up my top heavy plants.

Find #3: Wooden Fencing $156.16 in savings

The next was my favorite find of the day Six sections of 3-1/2 x 8′ Wooden Picket Fence! We have been trying to figure out some sort of fencing to keep our kids, our pets and the other rodents out of our garden so they will not eat any of your produce! The pieces of fence that we found had chipping paint and some pieces had a few pieces missing.

After I sanded down the fence, bought replacement pieces at $1.68 each (I needed five pieces to fix all the pieces) and repainted the fence, it was ready to be installed.

Doing this project I would have paid $156.16 plus the cost of paint. By re-doing it old items I paid NOTHING-except for the paint

Tips:

Check your clearance at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Jay K or any other hardware stores. When I was out I found miss tinted paint to pay $5 compared to $38.97 a gallon

Check garage sales

I hope that by showing you some of the things that I have done that it will give you some confidence to do some DIY projects yourself. I am not a pro at this but I really enjoy doing this kinds of projects.

✂ Tagged With: barrells, diy projecs, fencing, junk to treasure, rain barrel, repurposing, wooden fencing

Amazing Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake!

May 21, 2013 By Jessica ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: Recipes

Amazing Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake!

I made this amazing chocolate Oreo cheesecake for my family about a week ago and it was a HUGE hit, the cake is so moist! Enjoy!

Amazing Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake – Ingredients

(adapted from Erin’s Food Files)

Cheesecake:

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
7 coarsely crushed chocolate sandwich cookies

Cake:

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used expeller pressed coconut oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional)

Frosting:

6 oz. white chocolate (I used Baker’s Premium White Chocolate)
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/3 cup heavy cream or milk

6-8 additional crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, for assembly
Mini oreos for garnish, optional

Amazing Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake - Directions

Cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 325°. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until fluffy, scraping down side of bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract and salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down side of bowl after each addition. Beat in sour cream. Fold in crushed Oreos.
Cut parchment paper in a circle and line the bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Pour batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Bake until just set in center, about 45 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge; let cool completely. Remove outer ring of cheesecake pan, but leave metal bottom.

Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.

Cake:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. If using coffee granules, dissolve them in the boiling water. Stir water or coffee into batter. (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Place white chocolate in double boiler over pot of simmering water just until it begins to melt. Stir to fully melt, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, cream butter. Once chocolate has cooled, beat in with butter. Continue to mix at low to medium speed while adding vanilla. Gradually add in cream/milk and powdered sugar, alternating until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Amazing Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake - Assembly:

Place one layer of cake on cake stand. Frost top with a thin layer of frosting, and a sprinkle of crushed Oreos. Remove cheesecake from freezer, unwrap, and remove metal bottom of the pan, then peel off parchment paper. Place cheesecake layer on top of the cake. If the cheesecake is wider than the cake, and it is necessary to to trim it, wait approximately 5-10 minutes for the cheesecake to soften, then trim it with a knife. Frost top with a thin layer of frosting, and a sprinkle of crushed Oreos. Place top layer of cake on top of the cheesecake, and coat entire cake with a layer frosting to act as the crumb coat. Be careful not to get any crumbs in the bowl of frosting! Refrigerate approximately 30 minutes, then frost with as much of the remaining frosting as necessary. Top with mini Oreos, crushed Oreos, or any decoration of your choosing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Here is the finished product

Amazing Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake!

✂ Tagged With: cake recipes, cheesecake recipes, chocolate cake, dessert recipes, oreo cheesecake, oreo recipes, recipes

Lorraine’s Kitchen Easy Sheppard’s Pie

May 11, 2013 By Lorraine ☆ Leave a Comment ☆ Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Lorraine's Kitchen

Sheppard’s pie is a favorite in my house. I am always looking for casseroles or other one pan items. We often have family over, and with 2 growing boys plus whomever else shows up or dinner, I try to find filling meals. There are many recipes out that maake this dish way harder than it needs to be.

Easy Sheppard’s Pie

1 1/2 lb. Ground Beef

1/2 a medium onion chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

4 c. mashed potatoes (make extra for dinner one night and you can use the leftovers for this)

2 envelopes brown gravy mix (the 2nd is optional, I like to have extra gravy to add on top

Preheat oven to 400

In a frying pan add ground beef, carrots, and onion. Cook until ground beef is browned, add salt and pepper to taste, if there is a lot of grease drain the majority of it.

Prepare 1 packet of brown gravy according to the directions.

Combine meat & veggie mixture and brown gravy

Spread in the bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish

Spread potatoes over the top

Bake until potatoes begin to turn golden, about 20 minutes or so.

Prepare 2nd package of gravy according to the directions (if you use it)

Serve the pie with extra gravy on the side. Yum!

As I said this is a favorite in our house, hence the lack of photos, it was gone before I could take any!

✂ Tagged With: shepard pie, shephard pie

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My Addition: Garage Sale DIY light

No Rise Cinnamon Buns

CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH INGREDIENTS

CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING INGREDIENTS