2 Ingredients?

Yep.  TWO ingredients.  Atticus and I made pumpkin cookies - or maybe pumpkin muffins (we're not quite sure what to call them) with only 2 ingredients.  And they are delish!

Seriously... a box of spice cake mix and a 15 oz can of pure pumpkin.  That's it.  We mixed it together and used a melon baller to scoop out "cookies" which went onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  No eggs, no oil, no butter....

We baked at 350 for about 14 minutes and they are so good!!  We put raisins in about a dozen of the cookies -- the mix made a total of 30 cookies.

Crazy, eh?

By The Way

Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats -- totally awesome.  It's like this secret hidden flavor that makes them even more melt in your mouth yummy....  I must not eat the entire pan myself.  I must not.

I may have to send some to school with Atticus to keep from eating the entire pan.

Goodness they're good.

Baked Chicken Strips

So I had defrosted a couple of chicken breasts that needed to be cooked... I hadn't a clue what I was going to do, but found myself thinking at 10:15pm tonight, I'd best cook them somehow/someway otherwise it was just money down the drain.

So, I winged it based on a recipe I'd used once that I couldn't find. :)

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

about 1/4 C mayo (I know - I hate mayo!)

1 pkg Lipton Onion Seasoning Mix

Italian Bread Crumbs

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Mix together the soup mix, a healthy dose of parmesan cheese and I'm guessing about a cup of the bread crumbs. I meant to toss in some additional seasonings, but honestly I forgot... Lightly cover the chicken with mayo and then dredge in the crumb mixture. Bake either in a greased 9x13 or on a cookie sheet with non-stick foil at 425 for about 20 minutes or until the juices run clear. So freaking good and moist!

Chicken and Dumplings

Since a few have asked, I'll share my recipe. I have to admit however that I subscribe to the "Rachel Ray" school of cooking... I just sort of wing it. :) I started with a recipe I found on AllRecipes.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings (because anything that can be done in the crockpot is a good thing!)

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (the pkg I used had 3 big breasts)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 T of butter

1 yellow onion chopped relatively finely

Couple handfuls of fresh mushrooms (I had them in the fridge and they needed to be eaten...)

1-2 cloves of garlic (the more the merrier if you ask me...)

about 2C of chicken broth or bouillon cube dissolved in hot water

variety of spices... I used salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, cumin, paprika, parsley

1 small can of Pillsbury biscuits (I think the one I used was 7.5 ounces and 10 biscuits)

In crockpot, mix together: soup, onion, garlic, spices, butter. Smoosh the whole chicken breasts into the mixture. Pour the chicken broth over the top -- making sure that there's enough liquid to cover the whole mixture.

Cook on high for about 4 hours. Uncover the pot and use two forks to shred the chicken. Open the can of biscuits and one by one, squish them flat and tear them into pieces dropping them into the crockpot. Slightly push the biscuits to make sure they're in the liquid. Cover the crockpot and continue to cook another 90 minutes.

If it looks really soupy at the 90 minutes left mark -- you can mix either a couple tablespoons of flour or cornstarch in water and then into the pot. (I used cornstarch because I happened to have it -- but I think flour would have worked too.)

Greg and I each had a big bowl and there was plenty of leftovers for my lunches this week! Yum.

In Case You're Hungry

One of the lawyers that Greg worked for during the first part of the summer, Stephen Mason, welcomed a little girl on August 5th. To return the favor of a prepared meal, Atti and I delivered dinner to Stephen and his wife, Diane, on Friday night. The funny thing - I cooked for them when I haven't even been up to cooking for my own family! :-) But, I made a nice easy meal - and I made enough for us to deliver half and keep half!! (Good thinking Mamma!)

This recipe comes from one of Greg's classmates, Sandra - it's really good and really easy!

Italian Crockpot Chicken

1 to 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken
1 pkg of dry Italian seasoning
1/2 C white wine (optional)
1 can condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
4 oz cream cheese with chives
4 Tbs butter

Brown chicken (I normally season with a garlic basil mix during the browning). Combine all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Stir sauce and serve over pasta.