Chicken and Spinach Rigatoni Bake {recipe}

My philosophy is you can never eat too much pasta! {ok, you can, but i just love it so much and try to get around the guilt of eating too much of it every chance i get!}

This following recipe is quickly becoming quite the favorite at our dinner table. Simple and delicious, I am sure it will soon be a favorite in your home as well!

What You Will Need:

8 oz uncooked rigatoni
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 (10 oz.) pack frozen spinach, thawed and drained
3 c. cubed, cooked chicken breasts
1 (14oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8oz.) container chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat over to 375*

Prepare rigatoni according to pkg. directions.

Spread olive oil in bottom of casserole dish; add onion in a single layer across the bottom. Place into the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until tender. Transfer the onion to a large bowl and set aside.

Stir rigatoni, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, and S & P into the bowl with the onions. Spoon mixture into dish and sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake covered for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until bubbly.

This smelled delicious coming right out of the oven. I paired these with the ham and cheddar breakfast muffins. Yum!

**Disclaimer: This is not my original recipe. However, I cannot remember where or whom I recieved it from. My apologies in advance for not being able to give them the full credit for this delicious recipe!

Linking up with:

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ~ John 6:35

We Choose Virtues! {review and giveaway}

If you are a mom, you know how hard of a job it is. Not only are we responsible for their physical needs, but their spiritual and mental needs as well. There is not one thing more important than teaching our children strong morals and sharing with them the love of Jesus Christ!

Since making the decision to give Homeschooling a try, my number one goal has always been to focus on scripture as well as the character being portrayed in the lives of my children. I want their light to shine ever so brightly of the love of Jesus Christ.

A fun way to present this to my children, and teach them about strong morals and how they should be presenting themselves, has been through a wonderful company called We Choose Virtues.

vir-tue: Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness.

We've been following along with the Virtue Cards and have the Kids Virtue Poster proudly displayed on the wall in our "classroom".

The front of each Virtue Card has a coloful display of a Virtue Kid associated with one of 12 virtues! The definition of the Virtue is also displayed on the front of the card as well as a Bible verse reinforcing the truth behind the trait which I love!

On the back of the Virtue Card, you will find clear instructions on ways to present or teach this paricular virtue to your child.

Easy to use and fun to look at, they have been a great resource to use in teaching important character traits to my children! Plus, my daughter just loves how cute each Virtue Kid is!

The Kids Virtue Poster is a colorful reminder daily of all 12 virtues {diligent, helpful, perseverant, gentle, content, attentive, honest, kind, self-controlled, patient, obedient, forgiving}that we will eventually cover, or review, as the year progresses.

I have enjoyed using We Choose Virtues in my teaching of good morals and character to my children. It is presented in such a way that is fun and easy for them to understand. And, since We Choose Virtues is so very kind, they are offering up a giveaway for you, my readers!

Can't wait to see if you win the giveaway and want to buy some We Choose Virtues products for yourself? Just click here to be taken to the We Choose Virtues website and enter code "Virtue15" at check-out to receive 15% off your entire purchase. Want to order the Virtue Cards or the Homeschool Kit? Then enter code "Virtuemom" at check-out to receive 25% off these products only. {limited time offer}

And now for the giveaway!

We Choose Virtues is giving away to one winner a set of Virtue Cards for Families as well as the Kids Virtue Poster! How awesome is that!?

To Win:

mandatory entry:

*Stop by We Choose Virtues and take a look around. Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what you saw and liked!

additional entries {leave a separate comment for each}:

* "Like" We Choose Virtues on Facebook. 

*Follow A Faithful Journey via Google Friend Connect or via Email and leave a comment stating which method you use.

*Follow @AFthfulJrney on Twitter.

Contest runs from today through next Tuesday, October 4th! Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced here on my blog on Wednesday, October 5th.

Thank you to We Choose Virtues for supplying me with the wonderful products to review and enjoy!

**all links are affiliate links!

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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:8

Fall Into Reading {2011}

What is it about the changing color of the leaves, the cooler, nighttime temps, and the sound of a tea kettles whistle that make me want to curl up on the couch with a good book? Could just be that I will find any reason to sit with a good book and get lost for, sometimes, hours in it!

I participated this time last year, as well as earlier this spring, in Katrina's reading challenge(s). They are a delight to be a part of. The community she creates with weekly questions, and of course the opportunity to win great prizes in the end, is a lot of fun!

Challenge runs September 23rd-December 21st 

When I heard she was again hosting a Fall Into Reading challenge this Fall, I knew I had to take part! Each season I try to keep my list pretty manageable so I do not become overwhelmed and still enjoy what I am reading! This season, I am going to try and read {finish reading} the following titles:

Fiction:



The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons {currently reading}



Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati



The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs



Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers



The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Non-Fiction:



Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson

Book Club Reads:



Seasons of a Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson {currently reading}



Weird by Craig Groeschel



A Mom After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

That comes to nine titles. I think I can do it!

If you would like to join in on the challenge, it is not to late to sign-up! Create a list of titles you would like to read {can be short or long} and hop on over to Katrina's blog to let her know you are joining in! Hope to see some of you there!

Happy first day of Fall!
What will you be reading this weekend? 

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ~ Deuteronomy 6:5

ham and cheese morning muffins {recipe}

These little muffins are delicious! I made mine using 3 mini muffin tins, but you can also make them in regular size muffin tins. We ate these for breakfast as well as a side at dinnertime. Very yummy!



Recipe from Family Fun Magazine



What you will need:

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/3 cup corn oil {i used canola oil}
1 cup finely diced ham
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese {i used mozzarella, since it was all i had on hand, and it was delicious}
1/4 cup finely chopped chives or scallion greens

Directions:

Heat oven to 375*. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin {or 12 cup mini muffin tin} with cooking spray or use paper cupcake liners

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil, then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Fold in the ham, cheese, and chives or scallions.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins, filling each three-quarters full. Bake the muffins until their tops are lightly browned. {about 20 minutes for large muffin tins and about 10 minutes for mini muffin tins}

Let them cool in the pan on a wire rack for 3 minutes, then turn them out onto the rack and let them cool completely.

These yummy muffins can be enjoyed right away or frozen in a plastic bag for up to three months!

Linking up with:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31

Fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

~ Galatians 5:22-23

Are we harvesting these fruits? Are we filled with the good, fresh, sweet fruit of the Spirit?

Or are we bitter; rotting away at our core?

I want to be a sweet fruit that gives life and nourishment to others. I want to fill them full with the goodness and truth of Jesus Christ! I want to show kindness and goodness, gentleness and self-control towards my family as well as others. I want a heart full of love, joy, peace, and patience. And I want a spirit of faithfulness that He will do far more exceedingly, abundantly, all that I ask.

Linking up with:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ~ Ephesians 4:29

Photo Fun

Like most moms, I enjoy taking numerous amounts of pictures of my kids! I also enjoy displaying as many as I possibly can in frames around my house!

Now that we are homeschooling, I was thinking that our "school pictures" should be displayed, in a unique and fun way, somewhere in our "classroom"!

I uploaded the photos to one of my favorite, free, photo editing sites, picnik, and was happy to have found these cute "back to school" collages!

I was thinking of gluing these on the front of our worksheet folders!

Can't decide which one I like better!

This one will most likely be put into a frame and hung on our "classroom" wall!

I had so much fun playing around with these photos! I may just go back and edit some more!

Do you use a photo editing site for your photos? If so, which one? I am always looking for fun ways to edit my pictures!

**I was not compensated in any way for this post. All opinions are my own. I just found something I liked and wanted to pass it along to you!

Linking up with:

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world." ~ Isaiah 12:4-5

Harvesting His Beauty

As summer quickly leaves and fall returns to us once again, I decided to take the kids to a local farm and do some apple picking as an early fall celebration! Fall is one of my favorite times of year and because it's presence doesn't stay too long before winter rolls in, I like to enjoy every last second of it...even if I am a week or so early!

We started on our trek to the apple orchards with our friendly tour guide. The kids loved her!

The path was a long, but beautiful one. Winding down a slope and around a small pond, we savored the cool breeze and enjoyed the walk together.

Once the trees cleared away, our eyes were set upon a beautiful apple orchard. Row after row of apple trees filled with beautiful fruit.

Once I picked the first apple and held it in my hands, I was in awe of the beauty of God's creation all around us! The apple was perfectly round and smooth. Bright red on one side with a hint of green on the other.

We quickly grabbed as many as we could and placed them into our bag. Little hands could not wait to get home and taste the goodness from the fruit they just harvested!

However, before we left the farm and headed home, we had to stop by and visit with a few friendly farm animals. While some loved our company, others couldn't get away fast enough!

Memories made this day will last a lifetime. This is how I want my children to remember their childhood; to remember me! Laughing, playing, learning! I am so very blessed!



"The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest." ~ Psalm 85:12