Chicken Alfredo Pizza + Weekend Recap

My weekend flew by, how about your alls? I wasn't too sad about it because Jaime had to work all weekend and weekends just aren't near as fun by yourself. Plus I actually look forward to coming into work Monday morning to see 'my' precious baby girl. 

I decided to be domestic and make homemade pizza for Jaime Saturday night and promised I'd get you all the recipe, which I found here.

We don't have a round pizza stone/pan, so we bring back the elementry school days when your pizza was square shaped. ha! Regardless of how it was shaped, it was good!

Ingredients

• 1 lb whole wheat pizza dough, store-bought 
• 1 1/2 cups cooked or grilled, shredded chicken 
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp whole milk
• 2 oz finely shredded Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper
• 4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese (1 cup)
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped green onions

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a pizza stone in center of oven to heat while preparing toppings for pizza (for at least 30 minutes).
• Melt butter along with garlic powder and onion powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour in cream and milk. Bring mixture just to a gentle bubble stirring constantly. Allow mixture to gently boil for 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add in Parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper to taste then return to warm heat and stir occasionally until ready to use.
• To assemble pizza: 
• On a floured work surface, flatten, stretch and shape pizza dough into a 13 to 14-inch round, while creating a thicker outer crust. Pre-cook the dough as long as package says before adding toppings. When finished, pull out of oven and take a spoon to flatten middle out and keeping edge thick for a good crust. Pour half of the Alfredo sauce over dough round/square, then use the back of a spoon to spread into an even layer coming within about 1-inch of the edge. Sprinkle shredded chicken over sauce layer, then pour remaining sauce evenly over chicken. Sprinkle top evenly with Mozzarella cheese then sprinkle with chopped bacon. Brush outer crust with olive oil and season crust lightly with a pinch of garlic powder and salt. Bake in preheated oven 14 - 16 minutes until crust is nicely golden. Remove from oven, garnish top evenly with green onions, cut into slices and serve warm.

Bonapetite! It was delicious! Make it yourself and let me know how you liked it!

Friday night, Jaime and I rode the bike to watch the girls that I used to Nanny for, play baseball. It was so nice to be back with all the kids and get to catch up with their parents. The 5 yr old made beautiful dirt mounds and the 6 yr old kept her hands on her knees at all times-she was ready to play! It was fun and I'm so glad I got to cheer them on.

Saturday and Sunday afternoon was spent here, poolside! I got lots of reading in! Only got a little pink, but everywhere else is getting nice and brown! Speaking of reading, Friday I declared on Instagram that this sumer I was going to make it a goal to read at least 10 books and review them. I've been feeling like I'm wasting my 20's away on social media and not doing enought reading or adventuring. So hold me accountable! 

I'm a quarter of the way done with my first book, The Goldfinch. It's been hard for me to "get lost' in it, but I'm going to finish it! 

Sunday, I got all gussied up and ready for church. Jaime is not a fan of lipstick kisses, so I don't wear it, like ever. But since he had to work and I was forced to go to church alone, I took full advantage of it! I've never gotten so many "likes" on FB over a profile picture, maybe I need to wear makeup more often. haha.

Snapchat: faithannpatters

But this is how you'll find me most days! Just some mascara and maybe some eyeshadow. This was taken Saturday after grocery shopping. I was sporting some air dried hair, my KY shaped pizza shirt, and trying the popular 'pink drink' from Starbucks. AND OH MY GOODNESS! It is so good. It tastes like a healthy & light strawberry milkshake but wayyy less calories. 

Just order a Strawberry Acai (ah-sah-EE) Refresher with coconut milk instead of water. A grande will cost you about 4.29 but I wish I had ordered a venti! Simply divine!

Anyways, have a great week! We are going home this weekend and I cannot wait! Mom and Dad got new pool floats and I want to take the dogs to the farm so they can run free! 

Lots to look forward to this summer, baby or no baby. 

Life will pass us by whether we enjoy it or don't.

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Homemade Laundry Detergent

Made my second batch of homemade laundry detergent this weekend. My first batch lasted almost 14 months for us two! That's roughly $25 worth of detergent for over a year's supply. It's a no brainer.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle
• 1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- Found in the detergent aisle
• 1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean- Found in the detergent aisle
• 2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- Found in the detergent aisle (You can also use Fels Naptha)
• 1 (4 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle (You could also get two 2 lb box)
• 4 Bottles of Scentsy Washer Whiffs- found online or through a Scentsy Representative (you can also use 2 Bottles of Downy Unstoppables Fabric Enhancer- Found in the detergent aisle)

Instructions

1. Grate zote soap with cheese grater or food processor.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket.
3. Use 2 -4 Tablespoons per laundry load.

Thankfully, this time around I had Jaime to help me grate the bars of soap because that is a workout! Although, I had a friend tell me to microwave it until it's softened, then throw it into a blender. Might want to give it a try, I only have a nutribullet and a tiny food processor so I didn't try. 

This is what it looks like all mixed together. I had it a pretty jar before we moved into the camper but for now, this bucket serves it's purpose. Let me know if you have any questions! Enjoy! 

Happy Monday!

Perfect Snow Day Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

So that title is quite the mouthful. But not as full as your mouth will be after you make these cookies!

Holy cow. So stinkin' good. I can't stop eating them. Good thing it makes 3 dozen!

I made these last winter for Jaime and I. Sent a couple with his lunch when he was still in the Marine Corps...and he shared. Next thing I know, I'm making 3 batches to send to his whole shop.

I'm not kidding, these things are super delicious.

Original Recipe Here

These are pretty homemade but it's worth the effort.

Don't let them get this brown...I got distracted.

Recipe:

1 cup butter-softened to room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) box vanilla instant pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

( I like doing one cup milk chocolate chips and 1 cup white chocolate chips)

Beat butter, sugars, and dry pudding mix in a large mixing bowl till creamy. 

Beat in eggs and vanilla. 

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Stir till almost combined, then add chocolate chips. 

Stir till well mixed. 

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. 

Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes. 

Cool 3-4 minutes on pans, then remove to cooling racks.

That's it! Tag me in your posts if you make them or use #FIATrecipes! 

I want to see how much you love them. Stay safe and warm in this Snowmageddon!

Homemade Dishwasher Tablets

So happy to have a house where I can make homemade house products and save money doing it.

Before we moved into the camper last May, I gave mom all my dishwasher tablets since in a camper...you are the dishwasher. Then I realized when we moved to our cute little townhouse, that's one item I didn't have. So I waited until I could get to the grocery and get the ingredients to make my own. I also went to TJ Maxx to get the ice cube trays, 2x12 cube trays for 4.99. Plus they have a silicone bottom which helped pop out the cubes without breaking when they dried.

So here's your ingredients:

Original Recipe

1 Cup of Super Washing Soda

1 Cup of Borax

1 Cup of Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice (oops, not pictured)

Stir in the dry ingredients, break up in lumps before adding the wet ingredients.

My mixture bubbled up some when I added the vinegar and lemon juice but it didn't spill over. 

Next, stir all ingredients really well. It looks good enough to eat, but I suggest not doing so.

Pour into tray. One batch filled up 12 cubes, so I made another batch to fill up the other tray.

Let set for 1 to 2 hours. I made mine before I started dinner and after dinner I popped them out and into the jar. Which you might remember the jar from when I made my homemade laundry detergent (here)...that I made last January and am still using!

The first and second load, the dishes came out chalky with a white film. So I did a little research and by putting vinegar in the rinsing agent spot in the dishwasher, I have clean dishes for 50% less of the cost as store bought dishwasher tablets. And they are in a pretty jar on the counter to look at. ;)

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment! 

Enjoy saving your family money!

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

I have to share this recipe before it gets anymore fall-ish! 

My parents stopped by on their way home from moving my brother into college in FL a few weeks ago. He's living on the coast of the prettiest beach I've ever been to in the U.S. I'm not jealous or anything. ha! Anyways, when they stopped to have dinner with us, they gave us some peaches they got in Alabama. HOLY MOLY! They were so good you guys. She also gave me this ball ice cream maker that I had yet to use all summer. So I immediately started pinteresting "ice cream maker ball recipes". Nothing comes up. So I looked up "homemade ice cream recipes". Ah! GOBS of recipes come up. So I picked one that was small and just cut the measurements in half and winged it. 

You can also make this recipe and put it in a metal container and stick it in the freezer for a couple hours! Try it!

This all the counter space I have in the camper and I made it while we were making dinner, so the picture quality is crappy but the recipe is not!

(Yes, the peach is getting to point of no return, but I saved it and used its goodness.)

Ingredients:

1 Juicey peach
1/2 cup of organic fat free milk
1/2 cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
3/4 cups of organic heavy cream
1/2 tbs of vanilla

Using a food processor, chop up the peach into as little or big pieces as you want.
I wanted every bit to have peaches in it so I basically puree-d it!
Throw all your ingredients into the canister in the ball, stir until it suites your fancy.

Layer ice and then rock salt until you've reached the top of the ball. Screw lid on tight and start rolling the ball.

I'm wearing Jaime's man apron my grandmother made him if your wondering! ha!

Hubby helping me roll. Excuse the mess...we live here!

We thought after 10 minutes of rolling back and forth to each other that we'd just eat it tomorrow. So we stuck it in the freezer and ate it the next night. 

We didn't have enough rock salt or ice for the ball so we think that's why it never did solidify while we rolled it. Either that or we gave up too quick.

Wa-la! There you have it! Little balls of homemade peach ice cream. So yummy.
It's still getting into the high 80's here in southern KY so I may just make another batch!


If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: faithnallthings{dot}blogspot{dot}com!

Homemade Foam Fash Wash

I'm almost out of my current face wash and I figured I'd try making my own. Everything else I've made so far has been great and I plan to keep making them! It's also super nice knowing exactly what products are going on my skin! I got the recipe for this here. She knows more about what's she's doing! So very informative! I just went on her exact recipe. If your skin isn't so happy with it, you can always adjust how much oil you put in there.

Homemade Window Cleaner

My husband has a huge heart. He gave away almost all our cleaning supplies to help a Marine and his wife in need. Which I do not mind at all! But it made me get crafty and I learned how to make my own window cleaner. I only used things that were in my house. I just cleaned out my large spray bottle that I had Homemade Pam spray in. I changed my PAM spray to a smaller bottle to keep it fresh. So this literally cost me nothing! Win, win all around. Followed this tutorial.

2 Cups of Water
1/4 Cup of distilled white vinegar
1/2 tsp of dish soap
----------------------------------------
Shake and Spray!

Here's the before:

Yes, those marks are from Charlie's little nose always pressed up against the window.

Here's the after:

OHHH! AHHH! Easy peasy. Why buy products with gobs of harmful chemicals when you can make your own for almost nothing?! With items you already have in the house!

Let me know how you like this homemade spray if you decide to try this recipe!

Homemade Baby Wipes

We cannot survive in this house without baby wipes. I know, I know, we don't even have kids yet! We used to get them in bulk at Sam's, which is a great money saver. But I wanted to save even more and use what I already had in the house. We had a small bottle of baby wash our neighbor gave us from when Charlie was a puppy. So why not? It didn't cost me anything extra. Guess what? So far we like them! They aren't are thick and durable feeling but, they do the job! 

I saved this Oxi Clean bucket from when I made my homemade laundry detergent which was a perfect fit for the paper towels.

Bucket or Bowl with a top that seals
1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of Coconut oil
1 tablespoon of baby wash (brand doesn't matter)

Mix the water, coconut oil, and baby wash in a bowl. Cut roll of paper towels to fit the bucket it will go in. Take cardboard roll out of the middle and the paper towels naturally come up with it. Pull one and use. Secure lip on to lock moisture in! I used this tutorial as my guide.

Ever made homemade baby wipes? How did you make them? Do you like or love them?