Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Rolls

Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breasts
salt and pepper
12 lasagna noodles (uncooked)
15 oz. jar of Alfredo sauce
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
15 oz. Ricotta or cottage cheese (see note)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (divided)
1 large egg, beaten
Optional: Fresh spinach (I use a handful)
2.5 cups shredded Italian blend, or mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Clean chicken and drain or pat dry. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook in a skillet or bake in oven until fully done (or cook in a crockpot ahead of time). Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles in a pot of boiling water till al dente. Drain and set flat on a greased pan (I used two different pans). Shred or cube cooked chicken and put in a large bowl. Pour 1 cup of Alfredo sauce over top. Mix and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine ricotta (or cottage) cheese, egg, 1 cup of shredded cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and the Italian seasoning. Place a spoonful of ricotta mixture down the center of each lasagna noodle (being sure to leave some space on the sides of noodles). Place some fresh spinach leaves (if using) down the center (over) ricotta mixture. Now put a spoonful of chicken mixture on top of the spinach. Carefully roll up each noodle from one end to the other. Put 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce in a sprayed baking dish. Place the lasagna rolls in a single layer on top of sauce in baking dish seam side down (I usually use more than one dish). Drizzle any leftover Alfredo sauce on top of each roll. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese on top. Sprinkle on the other 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. I also like to sprinkle parsley or an herb mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered.

Serve individual lasagna rolls with garlic bread or toast and a salad. (Sometimes I just do some steamed veggies in place of the salad.)

Note: Using cottage cheese will change the texture of the mixture. The addition of the spinach is not necessary. I just like using it since we usually have some around. I also do regular Lasagna Rolls. They are yummy too!

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All personal photos, text, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Biblically Loving Others

Hi everyone. I’m back to wrap up my posts on LOVE from a biblical perspective. I have really enjoyed searching the scriptures on this subject. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day so I pray the scriptures I have shared over the last few days have given you a new way of looking at LOVE. Valentine’s doesn’t have to just be a day for two people “in love”. NO…we can focus on how our Heavenly Father shows love to us. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us so that we could be saved from our sins. That is the ultimate act of love right there. Also, we show our love to God by obeying Him. Today I want to focus more on how God tells us in the Bible how to love others. All of the following scriptures are from the Amplified version.

Leviticus 19:18 (AMP)
You shall not take revenge nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor (acquaintance, associate, companion) as yourself; I am the Lord.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers and overwhelms all transgressions [forgiving and overlooking another’s faults].

Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].
46 For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?
47 And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that?
48 You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 22:39
…‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’

Mark 12:31
This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’

Luke 6:27-36
27 “But I say to you who hear [Me and pay attention to My words]: Love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, [make it a practice to] do good to those who hate you,
28 bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 Whoever strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one also [simply ignore insignificant insults or losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity]. Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
30 Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
32 If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount.
35 But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked.
36 Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

John 15:12-17
12 “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.
14 You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you.
15 I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father.
16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.
17 This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.

John 13:34-35
34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”

Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another with [authentic] brotherly affection [as members of one family], give preference to one another in honor;

Romans 13:8, 10
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman].
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor [it never hurts anyone]. Therefore [unselfish] love is the fulfillment of the Law.

1 Corinthians 16:14
Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].

Ephesians 4:2-3
2 with all humility [forsaking self-righteousness], and gentleness [maintaining self-control], with patience, bearing with one another in [unselfish] love.
3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful].

Ephesians 5:1-2, 25, 28-29, 33
1 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father];
2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
25 Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
28 Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own body, but [instead] he nourishes and protects and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
33 However, each man among you [without exception] is to love his wife as his very own self [with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of lovingkindness],

***If you haven’t seen my Christian Wives series be sure to check it out.

Galatians 5:13-14
13 For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (worldliness, selfishness), but through love serve and seek the best for one another.
14 For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is fulfilled in one precept, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, you shall have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit].”

Colossians 3:14, 19
14 Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others].
19 Husbands, love your wives [with an affectionate, sympathetic, selfless love that always seeks the best for them] and do not be embittered or resentful toward them [because of the responsibilities of marriage].

1 Peter 1:22
Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves for a sincere love of the believers, [see that you] love one another from the heart [always unselfishly seeking the best for one another],

1 Peter 2:17
Show respect for all people [treat them honorably], love the brotherhood [of believers], fear God, honor the king.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All personal photos, text, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

What is Love?

Hi everyone! There is so much to learn about Love from God’s Holy Word. I shared how we show God we love Him through our obedience. The world has their definition of what they think love is. Born again believers are to let the Word of God be our guide into learning what love truly is. Here are some scriptures that help define love the way God meant for it to be:

Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Philippians 2:1-2
1 Therefore if there is any encouragement and comfort in Christ [as there certainly is in abundance], if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship [that we share] in the Spirit, if [there is] any [great depth of] affection and compassion,
2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love [toward one another], knit together in spirit, intent on one purpose [and living a life that reflects your faith and spreads the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ].

1 Corinthians 13:1-8,13
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing.
3 If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.
4 Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.
5 It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.
6 It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail].
7 Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].
8 Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].
13 And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].

1 John 3:10-23
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.
11 For this is the message which you [believers] have heard from the beginning [of your relationship with Christ], that we should [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another;
12 and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [Abel]. And why did he murder him? Because Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, believers, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in [spiritual] death.
15 Everyone who hates (works against) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer [by God’s standards]; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know [and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious] love: that He [willingly] laid down His life for us [because He loved us]. And we ought to lay down our lives for the believers.
17 But whoever has the world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him?
18 Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].
19 By this we will know [without any doubt] that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him
20 whenever our heart convicts us [in guilt]; for God is greater than our heart and He knows all things [nothing is hidden from Him because we are in His hands].
21 Beloved, if our heart does not convict us [of guilt], we have confidence [complete assurance and boldness] before God;
22 and we receive from Him whatever we ask because we [carefully and consistently] keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight [habitually seeking to follow His plan for us].
23 This is His commandment, that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us.

Thanks for stopping by to learn with me. I will come back tomorrow to share one more love post.

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All personal photos, text, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Obeying God Shows our Love for Him

Hi again everyone. I shared yesterday how love is the focus for many as Valentine's Day approaches. I’m searching the scriptures to see what God’s Word says concerning love. Today I thought I’d come and share how we show our love for God through obedience to Him. I also want to remind you that I'm sharing the Amplified version of these scriptures.

Deuteronomy 7:9 (AMP)
Therefore know [without any doubt] and understand that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who is keeping His covenant and His [steadfast] lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

Joshua 22:5 
“Only be very careful and diligently observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord has commanded you to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul [your very life].”

Matthew 22:36-38
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Mark 12:29-30
29 Jesus answered, “The first and most important one is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;
30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’

John 14:23
Jesus answered, “If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him.

John 14:23
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.

1 John 5:1-3
1 Everyone who believes [with a deep, abiding trust in the fact] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him.
2 By this we know [without any doubt] that we love the children of God: [expressing that love] when we love God and obey His commandments.
3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey].

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All personal photos, text, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

God's Love for Us

Hi everyone. Love is the focus for many as Valentine's Day approaches. I searched the scriptures to see what God’s Word says about His love for us. I thought I’d come and share those with you. Just so you know, I'm sharing what the Amplified version says.

Proverbs 3:12 (AMP)
“For those whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”

John 3:16-17 (AMP)
16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.

Romans 5:8 (AMP)
“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

Romans 8:35-39 (AMP)
35 Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 Just as it is written and forever remains written,

“For your sake we are put to death all day long;
We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].
38 For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced- beyond and doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:4-7 (AMP)
4 But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment).
6 And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus,
7 [and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption].

1 John 3:1 (AMP)
See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

1 John 4:8, 16 (AMP)
…God is love.

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All personal photos, text, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

My Feb. 2020 Simple Woman Daybook

For Today: 2/3/20

_____________________________

Looking out my window

It’s cold but sunny outside. Our high for today is 70 degrees.

I am thinking

About all the fun I had over the weekend celebrating our 24th anniversary which was on the 31st. Hubby’s birthday coming up the day after Valentine's.

I am thankful

I finished reading and writing all of the scriptures from the book of James.

One of my favorite things

Peanut M&Ms. It’s has been a favorite my whole life :)

I am creating

I’m finishing up the February monthly set up in my bullet journal.

I am wearing

An all-blue outfit.

I am reading

Today I started a new study on the book of Romans with the online bible study for ladies.

I’m watching

Not much of anything.

I’ve been listening to

some Jazz with hubby.

I am hoping

I get the oven thoroughly cleaned tomorrow (It's not my favorite thing to do).

I am learning

To not think it's the end of the world when I don't finish what's on my "To Do" lists.

In my kitchen

I made some Shortbread Cookie Butter. I used over half of the pack of cookies to make it. This is some good stuff y’all!

Post Script

I just discovered Tiffiney over at Welcome Home Ministry last year. I have enjoyed reading her testimony and all about her family life.

Shared Quote

“Only in darkness can you see the stars".
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

A moment from my day

I had to make some more laundry soap today. I love the smell of my own detergent.

Closing Notes

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into my life. Be sure to head on over to the host site to read other ladies Simple Woman Daybooks.

______________________________

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All photos, text, personal videos, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.

Amazed at the wisdom from James

Hi everyone. I'm glad I can now say I have finished reading and writing all of the book of James in the Bible. I truly enjoyed my time of learning. Last week I shared chapter 3. This week I will share some of what I’m pondering from chapters 4 and 5. I do have plans to revisit the book of James again later on in the year for a deeper study. Starting tomorrow I will be joining other ladies online for a 14 week study in the book of Romans.

James 4:1-7, 10, 17 (NKJV)
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 5:9-16, 19-20 (NKJV)
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.
11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

© My Life 0utside The Box 2020. All Rights Reserved. All personal photos, text, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the blog author.