I Feel oh so DOMESTIC!

Ok, many of you know I don't cook....or bake, with the rare occasion of baking my mom's cookies. My meals usually consist of a sandwich, soup, tuna helper, salad, ect. pretty much any food that doesn't take any time to make. In some of my free time I have been getting on pinterest. There are so many good recipes on there! I decided on Saturday to bake an actual meal, I was kind of scared at first, not sure if I could do it, but after listening to some Rocky music I was pretty stoked and ready to conquer the recipe. The one I chose was a Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake. The main reason I chose this was because there weren't very many ingredients. That is the first thing I look at on any recipe....how many ingredients it calls for, and this one didn't have very many so I gave it a shot and it was delicious!

I think when I am done with school and I have more time I will cook more....maybe even bake something. Anything to make me more domestic, because I need a lot of help in that area.

Here is my masterpiece :)

And here is the recipe so all of you can try it as well! It was really easy (If I can do it then anyone can) and it's delicious.

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz uncooked rigatoni

1 T olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 (10oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed

3 cups cubed, cooked chicken breasts

1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive and onion cream cheese

1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper

1 and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Prepare regatoni according to pkg directions. Spread oil on bottom of 11x17 in baking dish; add onion in a single layer. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to large bowel, set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Stir in rigatoni, spinach, chicken, and next 4 ingredients into onion in bowel. Spoon mixture into dish and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Giving Thanks :)

My heart seems to be swelling with more gratitude this year than normal. Each day I am noticing so many blessings that I have on a daily basis that I take for granted. As I thought about all the blessings I have, I have come to realize that they all originate from my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life! The knowledge that I have of the plan of salvation and eternal families. I am grateful for temples and that there is going to be a temple built in Star Valley :) When President Monson announced the temple I just started tearing up, it is going to be such a wonderful blessing to little Star Valley.

I am so grateful for my health. I think we often don't realize how incredibly blessed we are to have healthy bodies. As I work with people who are so unhealthy and have all sorts of problems on a daily basis it makes me even more grateful for my health as well as the health of my family. I am grateful for my trials. I know that we each have our trials to help us become stronger. As we come upon difficult trials we need to be grateful for them because it shows the confidence our Heavenly Father has in us because he knows we can get through the trials he gives us.

This will be the first year that I will not be able to spend Thanksgiving with any of my family, but what better way to spend it than with those who are going through a difficult time :) I hope I can be a light to them on Thanksgiving day!