Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Bake

Today is our 100th post! Yay! I have been out of town for the last week so I am sharing a simple recipe today that I know you will like. It is one that is good to take to families when someone has had surgery, a baby has been born, or whatever. It has become one of those dishes that I get asked the recipe for every time. It also is a recipe that my whole family loves which becomes an instant winner!

Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Bake
printable recipe here

1 (16-ounce) package penne or elbow macaroni (or your favorite gluten free pasta)
2 (10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups mozzarella cheese, separated
Salt & pepper, to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir together all ingredients except only 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Spread mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 10-12

When I take it as a meal to someone's house, I usually take it unbaked and let them bake it when they are ready. That way it is fresh and ready to go when they want it. I usually serve it with a salad.

Other notes: I have used jarred Alfredo sauce with no problem if I cannot find refrigerated. I have also used dried parsley when again I cannot find fresh parsley at the grocery store. To make things easier I love using a rotisserie chicken for this and then use the leftover bones and pieces to make Chicken Stock in the Slow Cooker.

Do you have a recipe that has become a favorite that you make for others like this? I love finding new recipes so please share below or tell me about it on our Facebook page!

Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Hey there! Amanda here (Leslie’s crafty impaired friend). I’m back with another guest post today.

I am excited to share my homemade electrolyte drink. Ever had the dreaded stomach bug or the flu? I would say that just about all our readers have had either at some point in their life. I can remember as a little girl drinking lots of ginger ale when I was sick. To this day, I still cannot drink that stuff without bringing back horrible memories of being sick. As soon as I started feeling better, momma would start pushing the fluids. Funny how a certain food or drink can spark those memories.

But as I have learned this past year in my quest to make better choices for my health, many so called electrolyte drinks tend to have added chemicals and plenty of added sugar. So I decided to come up with my own natural electrolyte drink. Not only is it healthy, it is also delicious!

So what are electrolytes and why are they important? Without giving a chemistry lesson that I am not qualified to give, let me give you a quick intro to electrolytes. Electrolytes are positively and negatively charged particles (ions) that are formed when mineral or other salts dissolve and separate in water. They allow our cells to generate energy, maintain stability, and to function in general. They are essential for normal function of our cells and our organs. These little guys can quickly become imbalanced after profuse sweating or a quick loss of fluids. There are several electrolytes in our body and each serve a unique purpose. The most common electrolytes are sodium and potassium.

So why not just pick up some sports drinks to help replenish fluids? I am so glad you asked! Take a look at the ingredients of a popular sports drink: Water, Sugar, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Monopotassium Phosphate, Gum Arabic, Glycerol Ester of Rosin, Yellow 5.

Let’s start with the sugar content. This particular drink contains 34g of sugar in only 20 ounces. One Twinkie only contains 19g of sugar! That’s almost two Twinkies! While I could go on for days as to why too much sugar is bad for our health, excess sugar can exacerbate loss of fluids.

Yellow 5 is very common dye processed from coal tar. It is commonly found in processed foods and is banned in some countries. It has been linked to asthma, migraines, cancer, and many other disorders.

Natural Flavors are highly processed by-products of food. These flavors are unregulated and are typically just trade secrets of the product.

Doesn’t all that sound appetizing? Sounds quite scary to me. But not to worry, there is a healthy and all natural alternative. Below you will find my go-to recipe for electrolyte replenishment. I picked citrus fruits as the main ingredient because they are packed with potassium. The Himalayan salt provides the needed sodium. Sugars also play an important part in rehydration. Honey is an all-natural sweetener and is easier for the body to process. Artificial sweeteners should never be used in electrolyte drinks.

Homemade Electrolyte Drink
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (click here to see why I chose Himalayan salt)
16 ounces water (or coconut water)
1 tablespoon honey (or more)

Combine all the ingredients into a blender and serve or you can heat up the ingredients on the stove so that the honey will blend better. Either way is fine.

You can pick up a juicer from Walmart for about $17 or order one (like below) from Amazon.



So give it a try and let me know what you think. You will be pleasantly surprised by how simple and delicious this drink is.

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Leslie, here. This looks like the perfect alternative to sports drinks since it is all natural and chemical free. My husband likes to drink something other than water to help nourish him while working long days outside in the heat. This is the answer! I am excited to get some oranges and lemons and give it a try!

Thanks to Amanda for writing another post for us. It is great to learn from others! Maybe she will flatter us in the future with another.

Happy Friday!
~Leslie

Canning Paint

Wait! Before you think you can put your paint in a pressure cooker and actually "can" it, please read all of this! lol I do not want to be blamed for any kitchen explosions involving paint

This is something so simple yet it helps with storage space immensely. When we built a house two and a half years ago the painters left us with all the remaining paint cans. It equated to about three five-gallon containers and about six or seven gallon pails. Plus, I had some leftover paint from our old house that I brought with us in our move because it was good colors that I thought I may be able to use for crafty endeavors. I kept the bold reds from my old kitchen, the calming blue from the kids' old bathroom and the happy green from my old laundry room. Obviously, all of this took up a lot of space.

It does not take long and it does not cost a lot. I used quart Mason jars that I bought a dozen for around $10 at Walmart. You may be able to find them cheaper during canning season and of course even cheaper at yard sales (and maybe free from your mama, grandmother, or a friend). The lids come with them, but I have traded out some of the regular canning lids for these plastic lids I found on Amazon. (I recently saw some in the canning section at Walmart too.) I need to buy more because I prefer them and love using them for all the things I store in my Mason jars (of all sizes).

To do it, just make sure you thoroughly stir or shake the can of paint you want to transfer to a jar. I transferred cans that were less than half full. Remember, there are four quarts in a gallon but most of my cans had around a quart left. I did get into my large five-gallon buckets and stirred and stirred until it was mixed and used a plastic cup to scoop out paint to pour into a jar. I did this because these were main colors used in our house and I knew over time it would be much easier to get to when we needed to touch up.

I transferred all the information from the top of the paint can onto a label to place on my jars so I know the paint brand, paint sheen, color name, paint formula (because paint names come and go), what rooms I used the paint in, and even the date of when I bought the paint.

Why I like this idea:
1. It takes up so much less room than all the cans!
2. It looks prettier. I realize the colors will separate some and not look as pretty but they still visually look nice.
3. I hate how paint cans rust and when you open them later to touch-up the rust falls into the paint. Yes, I said "hate". I don't usually use that word unless it's something I reeeeeally HATE.
4. You can reuse the jars for storing more paint or for something else when you use up the paint.
5. When touching up, it's easier to shake and mix up a smaller container of paint.
6. It is also easier to walk around with a jar of paint and a foam brush instead of a bulky paint can. I usually use craft brushes for small touch-ups as I'm lazy and hate detest cleaning up regular paint brushes. I could use the "h" word here again but won't. ;)
7. You can just unscrew the lid and not go find a screwdriver or one of those paint can openers when you need to get to it.

Recently, a rather dark mark mysteriously appeared on a wall in our garage entry/kitchen area. It was in one of those places where it was VERY noticeable. Things like that drive me crazy. I tried cleaning it off with a couple of different things with no luck. Finally, I found the canned paint jar whose label said was the main level paint color.

I shook, shook, shook, then got a foam craft brush and used just the paint in the lid to cover the spot. I proceeded to walk around the house like a detective looking for more places to repaint. Hey, you know how it is. When you get in the mood or the gumption to do something like that you have to take advantage of the situation. It was nice to go ahead and touch up a few other inconspicuous places that no one else would have noticed but I had seen over the last few months.

It was easy peasy to take care of and that's why I like it among all the other reasons I gave above. Try it out yourself and see how much better it works out for you!
 
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