Designer Deb's

Freezer Cooking...Meatballs & Inventive Freezer Storage!

2010-01-29T12:46:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I think the break and caffeine worked! As I was mixing together my meatloaf/meatball recipe - which is made with ground turkey - I realized that they weren't binding together like I had invisioned...so, I added another 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs...still not like hamburger meatballs. So, I thought, why not use an ice cream scoop and scoop them into lined muffin tins? Will it work? It's worth a try...otherwise these meatballs will become a meat "loaf"!

Scroll down to see the results....

I love it when a plan comes together!! Sorry, I had to say it! A little throwback to the 80's and the "A-Team" :~)

Freezer Cooking.....Back to Work!

2010-01-29T12:11:00.001-08:00

Here's my Chicken Pot Pie before the top crust goes on....

After the top crusts...not real pretty as I'm using round (pre-made) pie crust in a rectangular pan! Had to do a little cut & paste!

2 Chicken Pot Pies ready for the freezer! Actually, since we have a soccer tournament all weekend one will stay in the fridge and used for a yummy dinner tomorrow night. Trying to keep from having to go out to eat during a busy weekend!

Freezer Cooking.....Break Time!!!!

2010-01-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2 hours have already gone by! So to recap: I have made 2 servings of Taco Meat, 1 Baked Ziti and 2 Chicken Pot Pies (ingredients cooling before assembly). Whew! I must take a 30 minute break to recharge (drink coffee and eat something!) and then I'll start on my Baked Meatballs....I'm thinking I must just have time to make a double batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie dough too!

Chicken & Veggies...

Pot Pie Sauce...

The side of the kitchen that is clean!

Ahhhh! That's a lot of dishes!

Where I do all my blogging & tweeting ~ my Mac (I Love You Mac!!!!)

Freezer Cooking.....

2010-01-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Woo Hoo!!!! Baked Ziti and 2 Batches of Taco Meat are ready for the Freezer!!!

Freezer Cooking.....

2010-01-29T10:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the sauces are done and are cooling...pasta has been cooked...and the dishes are growing!!!

Freezer Cooking.....

2010-01-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

It's 9:30 and here's what I've accomplished so far: 2 lbs taco meat is simmering, Baked Ziti sauce is also simmering, potatoes are a nice golden brown and chicken is almost done! You'll also see in the photo that the mess is growing as well!

It's Freezer Cooking Day!

2010-01-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

Today is Day One of Freezer Cooking Day! I am splitting up the menu and will finish on Tuesday. If you have never made a meal ahead of time and froze it to be used for another day, you have to try it - it it soooo great! A couple of weeks ago I formulated my Plan which included recipes, shopping list & my Freezer Day Worksheet (more on that later)...

Today I will be making 6 meals:

2 Chicken Pot Pies
1 Baked Ziti
1 Baked Meatballs
2 Servings of Taco Meat

It's 9 am and I'm off to a good start: 3 lbs of hamburger is cooking, chicken is boiling & potatoes are browning nicely...I've also got 4 pie crusts out thawing...

Stay Tuned!!

Delicious Scalloped Corn Recipe

2010-01-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to have found this recipe! A few weeks ago I subscribed to a Menu Planning service at www.e-mealz.com and this recipe was on the Jan 13-19, 2010 menu. It's such a great service because they use the store you shop at (along with that week's sales) to put together an efficient & cost-effective menu. It comes with 7 meals that include a Main Dish, and typically two Side Dishes. Of course, I will find 1 or 2 recipes that my family won't care for and that's when I substitute a Freezer Meal or an old family favorite.

So, if you like the little corn cakes you typically get with your meal at a Mexican restaurant, you will love this Scalloped Corn recipe:

1 stick butter (I didn't say that it was healthy, but it's very yummy!)
1 can creamy style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
8 oz sour cream
1 box cornbread mix (I use Jiffy)

Melt butter in casserole dish. Mix corn, sour cream & cornbread mix together. Pour into casserole & bake for 1 hour @ 350 degrees.

The hardest part of this recipe is waiting a whole hour for it to bake!! I'm serving it tonight with a Taco Salad (by kid's request :~) The menu plan used it as a side dish with a simple Parmesan Chicken recipe - I'll post that one in a bit!

Thoughts while speed cleaning

2010-01-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like my house looks like the one in that picture! Well, this morning my Twitter friend, Kelleigh, couldn’t lead us in speed cleaning so I decided, what the heck, I can do it! I decided that even if only one person was following my tweets it would be worth it because it would keep me accountable to getting the work done! As I’m sweeping away, (thinking about the fact that I think I’m twittering my speed cleaning updates only to myself) I had an analogy forming in my head. Watch out – she’s thinking!! Anyway, I was thinking about how keeping myself accountable to my speed cleaning because of the thought that just one person might be following after me, reminded me that the Christian walk is much the same. We never know who’s following our “tweets”, our conversations & our actions. We don’t know who might be watching. Be it our children, family, co-workers, neighbors, fellow soccer Moms or even strangers. It makes so thankful that our God is a God of grace and mercy and that we can start every day fresh in Him. So, I’m encouraging myself today, in speed cleaning and in life, to continue to keep myself accountable because I never know who is watching :~)

This verse helps me to start my day off in the right frame of mind: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Have a great day!

I'm So Excited! My New Circle Punch!

2010-01-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

Needless to say, I could have used this puppy when I was up to my eyeballs in Christmas creations! I can't wait to give it a try :') Kids, you better hide your paper - quick - unless you want it punched into circles! My girlfriend, Heidi, and I have a weekly shopping date after we drop off our girls at Youth Group and we typically hit Michaels & Joanns craft stores. Last night, I found my awesome circle punch at Joann's where it was 40% off!! Woo Hoo - only $7.49! Well below my $10 budget :~) Hopefully I'll have some time later to take it out of the package and squeeze away!

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls

2010-01-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on Money Saving Mom's site and was excited to give it a try. I love simple recipes - especially ones that my kids can help me with! We had them tonight with Broccoli and Cheese Soup and they were so delicious! Click here for the link.

Bread Machine Buttery Rolls
By MoneysavingMom.com

1 cup warm milk (70-80 degrees)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Add ingredients in the oder list to your bread machine. Run on dough cycle. When dough is complete, divide into 20-24 portions and shape into balls.

Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-16 minutes until golden brown. Yield 20-24 rolls.

Baked Ziti

2010-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

This is one of the recipes that I used for my Freezer Cooking Day. I found it at Cooks.com.

Baked Ziti - serves 5

1lb. Ground Beef
1 Jar Prego or marinara sauce
Onions & Peppers, chopped
2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 lg. box Ziti noodles, cooked (I substituted Bow Tie Pasta)

Brown beef, onions & peppers. Add sauce and simmer. Mix noodles, cheese and sauce, keeping some of the sauce for topping. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring 1/2 way through.

*If you are going to freeze, do not bake first.

Free Envelope Template & Tutorial

2010-01-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

After carefully putting together our 2010 Household Budget, I decided to start using cash for buying things like Groceries, Hair Cuts, Etc. I've heard that when you have to hand over that hard-earned cash instead of just sliding the debit card mindlessly through the machine, you tend to spend less! Well, I'm all about saving money so I decided that it can't hurt to try! Then I came across a Tweet (I've met so many cool Moms on Twitter!) with a link to a FREE envelope template that was created to work with my new cash system. Click here to see Kelleigh's blog and the easy instructions for making your own envelopes. Have fun creating! P.S. I'm sorry that the quality of the photos is not so great. My hubby is using my camera today so I had to resort to the camera on my Blackberry!

The finished envelopes fit perfectly in my wallet

A little different from Kelleigh's design - I put dividers in one envelope for all 4 weeks of grocery money instead of 4 separate envelopes.

I made a total of 3 envelopes: Groceries, Fun (eating out, etc) & Miscellaneous (like trips to Michaels or JoAnns :~)

I just love the finished product! I added ribbon to mine so that my hard-earned cash doesn't slip out! Thanks again Kelliegh for taking the time to share this awesome & FREE envelope template with us :~)

Delicious Chicken Pot Pie Recipe - great for freezer meal!

2010-01-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

Last week I spent a whole day cooking meals to fill my freezer with - it was so worth it! Here's one of our favorite meals so far:

Chicken Pot Pie - Makes 1 pie serving 4-6

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup cooked, diced carrots

1/2 cup cooked, diced potatoes

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

double pie crust - I used the pre-made, refrigerated kind - 2 in a box

Combine the chicken breast, peas, carrots, and potatoes in a bowl; set aside. In medium saucepan, melt butter. Saute onion until clear. Whisk in flour and cook until bubbly. Whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Stir in seasonings. Pour over chicken-vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Cool completely if preparing for freezer. Line pie plate with bottom crust. Pour in filling. Position top crust, crimp edges,* and bake at 375 for one hour or until crust is brown and filling bubbles.

If you want to make this ahead and freeze. Simply wrap with foil at the asterisk*, label and freeze. To server: Vent top and brush with milk. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes and then reduce heat and bake at 375 until crust is browned and filling bubbles, about one hour more.

*Mixed, frozen vegetables may be substituted for the peas, carrots, and potatoes. This is also delicious made with cooked turkey.

$5 Dinner Mom is Giving Away Free Cookbooks!

2009-12-30T16:16:00.001-08:00

The $5 Dinner Mom is giving away her new Cookbook - click here to enter!

Ralph's Savings!

2009-10-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

Coupon Queen In-Training :~)

Woo Hoo!

That's a lot of food for under $100!

Ok, I promised my girls that I would not do this every week...they think I am quite crazy unpacking all the groceries and then organizing them to take a picture! Although the first words out of my 14 year-old's mouth was "how much did you save?" I love it! She's gonna follow in her Momma's footsteps :~)

So, I think I did really good at Ralph's this week. There were a few things that I needed that I didn't have a coupon for, but that were still on sale...

Drum Roll please!!! My "Verified Total Savings" was $128.82!!

I also had some extra cash in the form of recycling (which I did right before my shopping trip so that I wouldn't lose the paper vouchers!). My total was $22.35!

So after deducting my recycling vouchers, my Grand Total came to $96.66!!!!

Even without my recycling $, my total out-of-pocket would still be less than my total savings - you gotta love it when you save more than you spend! Woo Hoo! Can't wait to see what kind of deals I'll come home with next week :~)

Menu Planner/Grocery List Giveaway

2009-10-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here's the Menu Planner/Grocery List Clipboard for the Pinch That Penny giveaway. Our winner chose the paper/ribbon combinations and I think that they came out great!

Coupon Queen Strikes Again at CVS!

2009-10-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share the amazing deals I got today at CVS!!! This is evidence to show that the drudgery of coupon clipping & organizing does pay - huge!

Ok, so here's the rundown:

Before any discounts my total would have been $113.75...

My discounts including sale prices & coupons totaled a whopping $70.86!!!

Which brought my total to $42.89.

That's a great savings but that's not the end of my discounts! Because I purchased certain products that were listed under the "Extra Bucks" Rewards, I received $19.00 back in Extra Bucks!!! These can be used as cash for my next shopping trip.

So, including my Extra Bucks, my Grand Total came to: $23.89!!!!!!

And I must add that one of my items was a Gillette Fusion razor which was priced at $9.99. CVS was offering $5 Extra Bucks plus I had a $4 off coupon. That's right, I got a $10 razor for $1.00!! Woo Hoo!! What a great way to start the week off :~)

Pink & Black Paper/Ribbon Choices

2009-10-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Cathy from Texas! She was the winner of the Pinch That Penny Till It Screams Giveaway ~ www.pinchthatpenny.org . Heather @ Pinch That Penny wrote a nice review for my Menu Planner/Grocery List Clipboard here and Cathy was the winner of our giveaway.

Cathy has given me a few color choices and I have laid out some paper & ribbon combinations for her to pick from.

Just let me know (by number) which combination you like best:

Fall Decorating in our Home

2009-10-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Our home feels all warm and cozy now that I've gotten the Fall decorations up. Now if only the weather would cooperate so that we could use our beautiful fireplace!

Guest Room Re-do!

2009-10-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a two week bout with the swine flu (and an overdose of HGTV!) my husband and I decided to start a few home improvement projects. Why do all the rooms in the whole house suddenly become a mess when you are re-doing one room? In our case it was because we decided to change our guest room/office/dumping zone for anything that doesn't have a home into a guest room/crafting room and so all of the office supplies & stuff with no home had to be re-located!

Here's a before photo:

This was actually taken right after we moved in 5 years ago, so add a bookcase, a dresser and a bunch of clutter and you'll get the idea!

So, we've made quite a lot of progress on the new & improved guest/crafting room, but we've still got to finish painting (we ran out of paint & couldn't go to the store because we were still contagious!) and hang shelves & pictures, etc.

This armoire (a hand-me-down) was originally used as a t.v. cabinet....

Nice half-painted wall! It's a work in progress :~)

I re-purposed the bookshelf once used for homeschooling books...

Notice my Christmas goodies I'm packing up to sell!

Lastly, the inside of the armoire...so much storage!

Snowman Cards

2009-10-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on creating items to sell at my friend's Holiday Boutique and this week I decided to create some Christmas cards. I love snowmen, so you will see that they will find their way into my holiday projects more often than not :~)

Christmas in September

2009-09-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few projects that I am working on for a Holiday Open House that a friend & I will be hosting in November. I also plan to add them to my Etsy Store. Please email if these are something you would be interested in so that I can get a head start on the holiday rush!

Snowman Soup ~ Quick & Easy Gift in a Bag!

Great for teachers, co-workers, kids, stocking stuffers and so much more.

I provide the gift bag & decorated tag with Snowman Soup Poem

You fill with: Cocoa, mini marshmallows, a Hershey's Kiss & a Candy Cane

Hand Stamped Gift Tags

*sold in sets of 6*

Large size: 4" x 2.5"

Projects in Progress

2009-09-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

These are projects that are still in the creation stage: I have the ideas in my head of how I want them to look and to perform, but they still need some tweaking!

Here's a smaller version of a coupon/receipt holder that I would like to create:

Here's an almost finished "Mom's Organizer" (still working on the name!) - it will hold shopping lists, a coupon envelope, a place for store "club" cards...still working out the details. Sometimes I have to set projects aside for awhile until inspiration hits me again!

Blue & Brown Paper Combos

2009-09-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

I am uploading these three paper layouts for a client....

Tuscan Recipe Clipboard

2009-09-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Description

I've had so much fun making recipe boxes I decided to add a little twist! Now I've designed a Recipe Clipboard. I always have a tough time reading my recipe cards when they're laying flat on the counter and they usually wind up with a bit of the ingredients on them! So I decided to design a clipboard that's just a little larger than the recipe cards - it measures 9" x 6" and has a hole in the top of the clip so that you can hang it on a hook, etc. I think that I will use a small plate stand to set mine in on my kitchen counter, but you could just lean it up against the wall or hang it too. I've embellished the clipboard with sage & brown ribbon and have antiqued the edges to give it that "old world" look. I'm including 20 recipe cards - the ones that are shown in the picture.

Beautiful Clipboard, Card and Gift Bag Set

2009-09-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

I've been busy creating again!

Description

This is a great gift set for a teacher's gift, co-worker or friend's birthday or just an "I'm thinking of you" kind of gift! I've used coordinating papers so all of the colors go really nicely together. The gift "bag" (it's made out of heavy cardstock) measures 5" tall by 4.25" wide and 1.75" deep. I've included a piece of pretty tissue to wrap the gift in :~) The clipboard measures 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" and is covered on both sides. The notepad measures 5" x 2 3/4" and has 20 lined sheets of white paper. The card measures 5 1/2" x 4 1/4", is blank on the inside and comes with a white envelope. All of the items fit perfectly into the gift bag. There's also room to fit the recipient's favorite candy or perhaps a gift card...

2009-09-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about my very first product review! Kristi did such a nice job in giving me a "glowing" review on her website: http://www.texascouponersanonymous.com/. Check it out and who knows, you might just be the winner of her giveaway!

2009-09-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

This is my Designer Debs Menu Planner/Grocery List!!

Designer Debs Etsy Shop is wonderful. You can get a wide variety of handmade notebooks, journals, clipboards, notepads, recipe boxes, baby blankets, and so much more!

If you are looking for custom work, this is the shop for you. I was given a menu planner/grocery list clipboard to try out and I love it when I am sitting down on Sunday afternoon to figure out what my family will eat for the week. I have a bin next to the frig that I keep all my menu planning items. We all staples in our pantries, well since I received this planner, this has become a staple in my kitchen.

For my family to stick to a menu is an astonishing thing. We usually always decide that we want something else, but since I received this, we have been doing wonderful at sticking to it. So I must thank Debbie with Designer Debs for her great menu planner/grocery list for helping to keep my family on track.

I have also been given the great opportunity of offering you all a great giveaway!!! Are you all ready for this?

You will get a Designer Debs product!

THE GIVEAWAY RULES!!

Giveaway will begin today and end on September 22th. At that point, I will announce 1 lucky winner of this reallyawesome giveaway. Winner will be announced September 23rd and at that point, you will have 24 hrs. to get back to me.

Your ways to win include:

1. Become a follower of Texas Couponers Anonymous.
2. Sign up for my feeds.
3. Blog about this giveaway. (leave link)
4. Add my button to your blog. (leave link)

5. Add me to your blog roll. (leave link)
6. Follow me on Twitter.
7. Check out Designer Debs and let me know what product you like.

Enter as many times as you would like, but please leave each entry as a seperate comment (link and email). Open to US residents only. Product will be mailed directly from Designer Debs.

Fleur De Lis Elegance

2009-04-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that my newest client loves her Fleur de lis Recipe Box! In fact, she loves it so much that she's having me make a second one for her Mom - yea! Here's the finished product:

My New Adventure

2009-04-20T12:26:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, I decided to expand my little ebay hobby into an online business through Etsy.com. I'm having a blast creating recipe boxes & notebooks, sewing baby taggie blankies and stamping notecards. My purpose for this blog is this: to give my customers a place to see the colors, textures & style of paper & fabric that I have to offer and to choose the combinations that they would prefer for their project. I love the fact that I can converse with a client through my Etsy site and then allow them to choose their colors, etc. and preview their item through my blog! The internet can be a wonderful place! I look forward to creating something special and unique for you :~)

Recipe Cards

2009-04-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

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Fleur De Lis Elegance

2009-04-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

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