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We eat a lot of pasta in our home. Seriously, I could eat it every day and never get tired of it. So I am always looking for ways to make it a little different when plain noodles and sauce just won’t do.
I discovered my favorite way to enjoy pasta is baked. This hearty dish is similar to baked ziti, with some veggies snuck in. My kids adore this dish and go back for seconds! It is also a fantastic way to use up leftover cooked chicken breast. No one will ever know!
Chicken Pasta and Spinach Bake
Ingredients:
8 oz. penne pasta
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1 28 oz. jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 3 oz. package cream cheese
2 cups fresh baby spinach
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Cook pasta according to package directions for “al dente.” Drain. Pour into prepared baking dish.
Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken, seasonings, half of the spaghetti sauce and the drained tomatoes. Let simmer 2-3 minutes.

Cut cream cheese into small chunks. Add to chicken and tomato sauce mixture. Simmer until cream cheese is melted. It will turn a delightfully creamy shade of orange… mmmm.

Stir in spinach. Cook another minute, until spinach wilts slightly.

Pour chicken mixture over pasta, mix well.

Top with one cup of the shredded mozzarella. Top with the remaining spaghetti sauce, remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with a crisp salad and garlic bread.
This will also freeze well as a make-ahead dish. Double the recipe and save one for next time you are craving some Italian comfort food!
This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
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Have you checked out the new online bargain shopping site, Buxr.com?
Buxr.com is a social bargain hunting site where community members gather to share hot shopping deals. All of the deals on Buxr are shared, rated, and vetted by it’s community.
How does Buxr work?
Buxr members search for hot deals and share what they find on-line at Buxr.com. The deals are then voted on by the community based on their hotness. These votes are used by shoppers to make buying decisions, and also for determining the results of the daily and monthly deal contests.
Thanks to Buxr.com, two lucky Keeping the Kingdom First readers will each win a $50 Amazon.com gift card, and ten additional readers will each win a Buxr-branded mousepad.
For a chance to win:
1. Leave a comment below: Check out Buxr.com, then come back and comment with a link back to your favorite deal.
If you are reading via email or in a reader, please click through to the post to enter.
For Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each):
2. If you are a subscriber or follower (thank you!), leave a comment. You may subscribe for free updates via RSS or email and leave a comment telling me you have done so.
3. For a third entry, share this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter.
This contest will close on Thursday, March 18th at 11pm CST. The winners will be selected by random.org and contacted via email. Contest open to US residents only.
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Welcome, my fellow Walgreens fans! It’s Sunday, time for our weekly Walgreens $5 Challenge. The place to come for simple scenarios with step-by-step instructions.
We went a little over the $5 challenge this week, so see if you can come up with a better scenario than I did! Grab your weekly Walgreens ad, a printer and some scissors to get started. Don’t forget to pick up your March Walgreens Coupon Book.
If you are new to shopping at Walgreens, and wanting to learn the basics, check out this post. New to couponing? Learn the lingo here.
If you are a first time visitor, here’s the lowdown:
Join me each week as I host The Walgreens $5 Challenge!
Seasoned WAGS shoppers: share your best scenario(s) for the upcoming week at Walgreens.
Your budget: $5.00 out-of-pocket cash.
Your mission: to grow that $5.00 into more Register Rewards (RR) to use in upcoming weeks.
Want to participate? Start by reading the rules here.
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Here is MY $5 Scenario for the week of March 7th:
*coupons in red (scenarios never include tax as this will vary by region)
Transaction #1
Buy (1) Colgate Toothpaste @ $3.99
$1/1 Colgate Total Enamel Strength Toothpaste printable OR
$1/1 Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste printable OR
$1/1 Select Colgate Total Products SS insert 03/07/2010)
Total After Coupon= $2.99
RRs Earned= $3.99
Transaction #2
Buy 1 Electrasol/Finish Jet Dry Rinse Agent 8.45 oz @$3.49
Buy 2 Wags Big Roll Toilet Paper @2/$1.00 (in-ad coupon)
Buy 3 Scotch Mailers @3/$1.00 (in-ad coupon)
Buy 1 Reese’s Dark Peanut Butter Cups @49¢ (in-ad coupon)
$0.75/1 Electrasol/Finish Jet Dry Rinse Agent or Turbo Dry printable
- 55¢/1 Reese’s Dark Coupon (SS insert 03/14/10) give this BEFORE the ad coupon to get overage
Pay with $3.99 RRs from above
Total After coupons and RR= $0.69
RRs Earned= $1.00
Grand Total OOP= $3.68
Total Value= $9.97 with $1.00 in Register Rewards remaining!
Keep rolling those RR’s for more savings!
*************************************
Let’s see what fabulous scenarios you come up with for $5.00 or less!
Simply post your scenarios on your blog, then drop by Keeping the Kingdom First and add your permalink to Mr. Linky below. (If you are reading via email or in a reader please click through to see the Mr. Linky)
Please link directly to your scenarios. Links directly to your homepage will be deleted. Linking back to this meme to share it with others is greatly appreciated!
Don’t have a blog? You can leave a comment with your scenario, too. I invite everyone to participate.
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Welcome, my fellow CVS fanatics and newbies! It’s Sunday, time for our weekly CVS $5 Challenge. The place to go for simple CVS scenarios with step-by-step instructions.
All you need is an ExtraCare Card, a CVS ad, a printer and coupons to get started. Be sure to register your CVS loyalty card with Upromise for extra college savings.
If you have been looking for Zhu Zhu Pets, CVS has them on sale for $7.99 each, limit 2. What are you looking forward to this week?
If you are a first time visitor, here’s the lowdown:
Join me on Sundays as I host The CVS $5.00 Challenge!
Seasoned CVSers: share your best scenario(s) for the upcoming week at CVS.
Your budget: $5.00 out-of-pocket cash.
Your mission: To grow that $5.00 into even more ECBs to use in upcoming weeks.
Want to participate? Start by reading the rules here.
*****************************
Here is MY $5 Scenario for the week of March 14th:
*coupons in red
Transaction #1
Buy (2) Herbal Essence Products- 1 shampoo/conditioner & 1 styler @ $2.99 each
FREE HE Styler wyb HE Product (P&G insert 02/07/10)
$1.00/1 Select Herbal Essences Products (RP insert 03/14/10)
Total After Coupons = $1.99
ECBs earned=$1.00
Transaction #2
Buy 1 Gillette Disposable Razors @ $6.29
$3.00/1 Gillette Razors (P&G insert 3/7/10)
Pay with $1.00 ECBs from above
Total After Coupons and ECBs= $2.29
ECBs earned=$2.00
Grand Total OOP= $4.28
Total Value= $12.27 with $2.00 ECBs remaining
Keep rolling those ECBs for more savings!
*********************************
Now let’s see what fabulous scenarios you come up with for around $5.00!
Simply post your scenarios on your blog, then drop by Keeping the Kingdom First and add your permalink to the Mr. Linky below.
Please link directly to your scenarios. Links directly to your homepage will be deleted. Linking back to this meme to share it with others is greatly appreciated!
Don’t have a blog? You can leave a comment with your scenario, too. I invite everyone to participate!
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