Summertime Recipes

I just love the summer time and all the yummy fruits and vegetables it brings. I love to experiment with my cooking and baking this time of year and around by me there are tons of different Pick your Own Farms that help with my experiments. Check out Pick Your Own Farms, it's a great site to find farms near you. I have been getting a little more courageous and creating my own recipes incorporating some of these yummy fruits of summer.
The first recipe I made is a Raspberry Swirl Angel Food Cake with a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze. It is by far one of the best cakes I have ever made and is a great light dessert for the summer heat.

Raspberry Swirl Angel Food Cake 

w/ a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:

1 box of angel food cake mix (or you attempt angel food cake from scratch)

1/2 cup of Raspberry Jam (approx)

Pint of Raspberries

Glaze:

1/3 cup of whipped cream cheese (approx)

1 Tbsp of lemon juice (or more to taste)

Splash of vanilla 

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Make angel food cake according to box directions (Reminder: DO NOT flour or grease bundt cake pan)
2. Stir approximately a half a cup of raspberry jam in a bowl until jam becomes more liquidy and less jammy (don't you love my complex and technical terminology)
3. Gently fold in the stirred jam to the cake batter until you see a nice swirl of raspberry throughout
4. Pour batter into bundt cake pan
5. Bake according to box

Glaze: (All to taste. Make it as lemony or not so lemony as you wish)

1. Beat cream cheese in mixer until smooth and creamy
2. Add in lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix until creamy
3. Gradually mix in sifted powdered sugar until you get the right fluid consistency (if the glaze is not liquidy enough just mix in either a little bit of water or more lemon juice until your preferred consistency)

Constructing the Cake:

1. Once the cake has fully cooled, remove it from the bundt cake pan and flip right side up.
2. Take a spoon and  drizzle glaze all over the top of the cake
3. Make a ring a glaze around the center hole of the bundt cake (will be used as glue to hold the raspberries)
4. Once cake is glazed fill the center of the bundt cake with raspberries and make a ring of raspberries around the hole of the cake

Enjoy! It is absolutely delicious! I have received nothing but compliments and wanting the recipe from everyone that had a piece.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a delicious Peach Crumb Muffin recipe! Great for summer breakfasts!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Kona Modern Quilt Giveaway

This week's giveaway from my Quilt Market adventure is a FQ Bundle of Kona Modern Quilts by Cynthia Frenette for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. The bundle consists of 6 FQs and retails for $16.00!!! 

Enter by making a purchase at www.fabricnerds.com (no minimum purchase required) by Weds. July 4th and your name will automatically be added into the drawing. Winner will be chosen by random using random.org and announced Thurs. July 5th


Good Luck Everyone!


<3 Kris

World of Couponing

Yes I am one of those :)

Last week I posted a status on my personal facebook page about an awesome deal to get Big G cereals for .38 cents a box. I thought I was the only one who would care but was so excited I just had to write about it. To my surprise I got an outpouring of responses.  While I do not take couponing to an extreme, what I do, do majorly helps our family out in the finance department. 

We are a young family of 4 living in NJ and are a one income family. When we had our youngest Luke (who is now 21 months) my husband and I had a long talk about whether or not I should go back to work.  Daycare in New Jersey on the cheaper side near us would run about $1800/month for both kids, which was about what I was bringing in before we had Luke. It would have been a complete wash, so we made the decision for me to stay home. We told ourselves to give it 1 year. If we could make it past the first year we could do it. It has now been almost 2 years! (yay!) I am not going to lie some months are stressful in the finance department but we get through them together. We have had to change our way of living and thinking in many different ways but from doing that I have found my family and I find such happiness in simpler and littler things than we ever had before. 

My husband is not a doctor or a big CEO of a company to have made our decision of me staying home easier. We are just an every day blue collar working class family getting by. My husband works harder than anyone I know to provide for all of us and I could have never asked for a better man to call my husband. I can only hope that one day my daughter will find a guy who is as much a family man as a working man as her daddy is.  Being able to stay home with the munchkins has given me the opportunity and the time to finish up my Master's that I stopped once my daughter was born and has also given me the opportunity to venture into the world of business ownership. While I may have student loan debt that my great grand-kids will probably be paying for me and we can't take big fancy vacations right now. I can honestly say I am happy and content with every choice we have made and I see nothing but positive things for my family in the future. We have become a very close knit family already.

Now onto the savings!!

Just took a trip to Target & Shop-rite and shaved about 50% off my total. Here is how I did it:

Target:

Note: Target allows you to stack coupons by using a Manufacturer and a Target Coupon)

• Archer Farms Trail Mix is on sale for $2.99 -Target has a coupon for 1.50 off 2   (Knocks each bag down to $2.24)
• Right Guard Hair/Body Wash is $3.49.  Target  has a coupon for $1 off 1 (print x2) and Coupons.com (use zip 90210) has a coupon for $2.00 off 2 knocking the price down to $1.49 a bottle.
• Nabisco Crackers (I bought Ritz and Wheat Thins)  On sale for $2.00. Target has a coupon for $1 off 2 boxes and Coupon Suzy (type in zipcode 90210) has a coupon for $1 off 2.  Price per box is now at $1!
• Dial pump soap - $1.27  Target has a coupon for .50 cents off/1. Making total .77 cents
• Up and Up ibuprofen - .99cents/24 count   Target has a coupon for $1off/2. Total .98 for 2 bottles!
• Right Guard Deodorant $3.34  Target has a coupon for $2off/2  and  Coupons.com (use zip 90210) has $2 off/2. Total cost $1.34/deodorant!

Total before coupons: $26.89 + tax

Total after coupons: $13.89 + tax

TOTAL SAVINGS: $13.00!!!

Shoprite:

Note: Shoprite doubles most coupons which are under $1.00

• Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal (Caramel Nut) On Sale for $1.99 Coupon at Kellogg's (free membership) .50cents off/1  Total price: .99cents!
• Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal (Honey Nut) On sale for $1.99. Coupon at  Coupons.com (use zip 90210) .70 cents off/1 Total Price: .59 cents!

Total before coupons: $3.98

Total after coupons: $ 1.58

TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.40!!

For the little shopping I did today I saved my family $15.40 and everything bought were things we use and need.. no extreme 70 jars of mayo here! ;)

A lot of you are saying no way can I take the time to figure out sales and coupons and when they line up, right? Trust me with 2 young kids running around, school work, etc.. neither do I. But today is your lucky day because there are FREE websites to do that for you. check out Krazy Coupon Lady and Coupon Mom. They will match up sales and coupons, what the best deals are, and where to get the coupons, for grocery stores, big chains (e.g., Walmart and Target) and pharmacies.

I dare you to give it a try. I guarantee you will be hooked when you start to see the price drop at the register!

Happy Couponing Everyone!

<3 Kris
Fabric Nerds

Chevron has Arrived!!

Boy are these babies popular! They have been on back order since March, but they are finally here! I love getting Friday UPS deliveries like these!

Both Aqua and Gray Chevrons are available in the shop in both yardage ($4.50/half yard) and in fat quarters ($2.50).

 

Get them while you can, these Chevrons sell out fast!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.We are heading out on Saturday for our first family camping trip for Daddy's Day and the kiddos couldn't be more excited!

Here's to a Sunshiny Weekend!

 ♥ Kris

Flower Doodle Giveaway

Next up in the giveaways from my Quilt Market adventure is a FQ Bundle of purple and green coordinating fabrics from the Flower Doodle line by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabrics. The bundle consists of 5 FQs and retails for $13.50!!! 
Enter by making a purchase at www.fabricnerds.com (no minimum purchase required) by Weds. June 20th and your name will automatically be added into the drawing. Winner will be chosen by random using random.org. 

Good Luck to everyone! 
♥ Kris

DIY Photo Canvas

This past Friday night I had the joy of a quiet night alone (hubby had a guys night & kids asleep) so I decided to have a Crafty Mama Night, got a Mike's Strawberry Lemonade, put on some Gretchen Wilson, and conquered a pile of crafting supplies. My outcome...

I must say I am so completely happy with how it turned out! We redid our living room about a year ago but our walls for the most part were still bare. I love how this canvas wall adds some color to our walls and but more importantly shows what this room is about... our family. It's where we play games, watch movies, build blanket tents, and just be together as a family.

So getting to what you all want to know. How did you do it? Well for starters my inspiration comes from Pinterest (of course). Pinterest showed so many different ways on how to make your own canvases but fell in love with this one over at Girl. Inspired. She also has a tutorial if you want to check out hers. But here is mine:

These are a quick, fun, and easy way to decorate your house. I now want to make more for presents. The best part though...the cost! Here is my total:

1 hr Photos Printed ( One-11x14"  Six-8x10"  Four 5x7") =$32.00 

Canvases= $30.00 (Michaels at 40% off and had a 20% off entire purchase coupon)

Mod Podge = $4.50

Brushes = FREE (already had)

Scrapbook Paper = $3.00 (Michaels)

Brown Paint = FREE (already had)

Grand Total= $69.50 

Which is around the cost of One 11x14" professional canvas and I made 11!!! 

Supplies Needed:

Printer Paper

Tape

Mod Podge (Matte)

Blank Canvases (try to get ones with flat sides without folds, makes life easier when modge podging)

Scrapbook Paper

Paint in your choice of color

Foam brushes

Photos

Rotary Cutter or whatever you prefer for cutting straight

Straight Edge Ruler

Steps:

1. Take your printer paper and cut to the size of the canvases you will be creating. Tape them on the wall to get the idea of the layout you want. This was my layout...

2. Get all your supplies and and start to cut strips of your scrapbook paper into the width and length of the sides of your canvas (Note: Cutting the paper just a bit thinner than the width and shorter than the length I found worked better)

3. Once you have your strips cut for your first canvas, brush the Mod Podge along the sides and glue on your strips. Once your strips are glued on apply Mod Podge to the front of your canvas and glue your photo on. 

4. Allow to dry completely (approx 30 mins). Once canvas is dry, apply a coat of Mod Podge over the entire picture and sides. (Do not worry Mod Podge dries clear)

5. Once your canvas has completely dried take your paint color of choice and "antique" sides and corners with your foam brush. This step helps to hide the seam between the photo and the scrapbook paper while adding character to the photo. 

Made a little mistake with the paint? No problem! Since the Mod Podge has dried completely, if you make a little mistake a damp cloth easily takes the paint right off

  

And remember that DIY projects are not to reach for perfection, but instead to try something new and have a little fun!

Happy Monday!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

END OF THE BOLT SALE

Fabric Nerds is having an END OF THE BOLT SALE!  Prices have been slashed to make room for new fabrics in the upcoming months. Fabrics being added throughout the week, so keep checking back.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

<3 Kris

http://fabricnerds.com/SALE