A Little Tipsy

Creative Tips & Ideas

[print_thumbnail_slider]

Stuffed Shells Freezer Meal Recipe

By 4 Comments

If Cheese is not your thing, turn back now!! This dish is ooey gooey goodness and freezes like a charm if you want to prepare it ahead of time! We stole this recipe from my Sis (Angela aka Nanny) and used it for our freezer meal group a while ago (ok, a couple of years ago now, sad) and everyone LOVED it! Our little group has since disintegrated and so my Sis Jen and I get together every few months to make a big batch of these lovelies. I really need to start a group again!

Stuffed Shells

40 jumbo pasta shells

32 oz. cottage cheese

16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

28 oz. jarred spaghetti sauce, keep on hand for when its heated

Cook jumbo shells for half the time recommended on the package, until just limp. Drain and cool in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

Combine cheeses, eggs, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl and then scoop into a freezer bag.

Snip one of the bottom corners off the bag and use like and icing bag to fill each shell with about 2 Tablespoons of filling. We had two people so I held the shells open while my sis filled, but it can be done with one as shown here.

Flash freeze by putting a single layer of filled shells uncovered into the freezer until they look like this (about 15 min).This will prevent them from sticking together once you bag them.

Place desired amount of shells in each freezer bag according to your family size and label with cooking instructions. (Or if you are lazy like me just put them all in one bag and pull out the amount you want each time. Be sure to keep 3 jars of spaghetti sauce if you break into 3 portions or 2 if you do 2 etc.

Cooking Instructions:

Thaw shells. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce and pour remaining sauce over shells. Can sprinkle with a little Parmesan if desired. Bake at 350° for 30 min.

YUMMY! Goes great with green salad and garlic french bread! This is the meatless dish that your hubbies will not complain about!!

I really want to start doing more freezer meals so I have my freezer stocked with things I can pull out on those long errand days. I even went to a class, which turned out to be completely useless. They talked more about what freezer meals and OAMC (once a month cooking) are and how to make a spreadsheet to rotate them, than how to do it in the REAL world. We did not even come home with any recipes. 🙁 Boo hoo. So, I turn to you oh wise and chef like readers.

Anyone have a good recipe that freezes well? Please share! Muhanahuli (at) Yahoo (dot) com. or feel free to leave it in the comments if it will fit.

We have decided to truncate our feed to help protect against stolen content. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please love us anyway. 🙂

Teddy Bear Hooded Towel Tutorial

By 7 Comments

Here is another addition to the Baby Shower Gift Basket series of tutorials. This little teddy bear hooded towel turned out so precious and so easy! I could not keep it from my little guy he loved it so much. I started out just making hooded towels for a baby shower, but once I saw my little one wrap up in the fluffy brown fabric I just had to add some little teddy ears! You could make it a dog or cat too, if that is your preference.


Supplies Needed:

  • Hand Towel
  • Bath Towel
  • Thread
  • Sewing Machine
  • Pins

Let me start off by letting you know that this is the first thing I had sewn since 7th grade home ec (15 years ago) so that tells you two things: it is super easy and I will not be using technical sewing terms in my descriptions. 🙂

  1. Cut the hand towel in half.
  2. Trim about 2 inches from the unfinished edge of each half so the hood won’t be huge. Hold on to this extra fabric. You will need it later for the ears.
  3. Fold over the finished edge of the hand towel to the edge of the ribbing. Pin it and stitch it in to place.

  4. Sew a straight stitch down the edge of the unfinished edge to seal the hood.
  5. Fold the bath towel in half. Measure out about 4 inches from the center (on the top of the towel) on each side and mark with a pin. Fold each pin back to the center mark and pin the layers together. Stitch across all layers to secure the pleat (no idea if that is the right terminology).
  6. Line up the center of bath towel and center of the hood making sure you are putting the right sides together so you don’t end up with one inside out. Pin the hood to the towel. Stitch across the entire hood. Don’t forget to back stitch when starting and stopping to strengthen the seam.



  7. I did not like the cone head look, so I turned the hood inside out and stitched a diagonal line along the corner. Then, I cut off the corner and turned the hood right side out. This gave it a more rounded look. (When I did it, this step was actually after the ears, but it does not matter.)

  8. Cut out ear shapes from the leftover fabric. Stitch around the edge in about 1/4 inch to prevent fraying. This also makes them look more like ears.

  9. Pin them on to the hood about an inch out from the center and stitch them on laying back.
  10. Then, fold the ears forward and stitch them again. This reinforces them and helps them to stand up a bit more.


That’s it! You have made the cutest towel ever for a sweet little bundle of joy! how cute would it be to sew a little bow between the ears for a girl!



I folded it up with a ribbon and tucked the bottom in to the hood so you could see the little ears.
We have decided to truncate our feed to help protect against stolen content. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please love us anyway. 🙂

Baby Shower Card Cover Tutorial

By 2 Comments

I had a cute brown polka dot card that matched my baby shower gift, but once I put it in the envelope it came with (lime green) it did not match at all! What to do? Take matters in to your own hands! I made a diaper cover to put over the card and mask the ugly green (fitting that it is a yucky green inside the diaper, ha ha).


Front View of Card Cover Back View of Card Cover

I had some scrapbook paper handy and decided to make a little pocket for the card so it would match the present better.

Supplies needed:

  • Scrapbook paper ( I used double sided)
  • Scissors
  • Double sided tape (or glue or stickies, whatever)
  1. Put the card on the paper and fold the paper over so it covers both side of the card with an opening at the top. Then, trim the top so it just barely covers the top of the card. Cut the sides so there is a little over half an inch extra on each side of the card.
  2. Fold the extra on the sides forward and lay flat. If the two layers don’t match up all the way and you used double sided paper it looks even cuter and adds a little dimension.
  3. Use another color, or a scrap of the other side of the paper and cut out two little (about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide) tabs. Use double sided tape to wrap them around the folded paper and secure them (like the tabs on a diaper).
  4. Curve your cut on the top opening a little so it looks like the top of a diaper. Then, cut the corners off with a curved line so it looks like leg holes.
  5. I added a heart in the same color as the tabs.

Gift Before Cover Gift After Cover

We have decided to truncate our feed to help protect against stolen content. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please love us anyway. 🙂

Silk Tie Dye Egg Tutorial

By 8 Comments

Silk tie dying makes the most amazing looking eggs! You end up with bright intricate patterns that are more like art than egg dying! Go, find a few old silk ties (or blouses, or pajamas) and let’s get started!
Items needed:
  • Eggs
  • 100% silk ties (must be 100% silk or it will not work) The darker the pattern, the better it turns out. We got ties at D.I. for $2, but also used silk pajama pants.
  • Cotton cloth (we used old t-shirt others used pillowcases)
  • Twist Ties
  • Water
  • White Vinegar
  • Glass or Enamel pan
1. Cut fabric into squares big enough to fit around the eggs.
2. Wrap the eggs in silk making sure to cover the entire shell.
3. Wrap the silk wrapped egg in the cotton fabric and tie the top with a twist tie.
4. Put all wrapped eggs in pan and cover them completely with water
5. Add 3 T. White Vinegar to water
6. Bring to a boil and let boil 20-25 minutes. (More time makes the pattern more vibrant)
7. Scoop the eggs out and lay them on a cookie sheet or to cool a little.
8. Unwrap eggs and marvel at the patterns!
We had a lot of fun doing this! We had kids ages 5-65 participating.
We have decided to truncate our feed to help protect against stolen content. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please love us anyway. 🙂