chicken & dumplings ... in the crockpot!

gosh, i feel like it was about two or three years ago that my grandma gave me my crockpot, along with an "updated" version of her first cookbook- the betty crocker cook book which i use all the time, but its taken me awhile to find crock pot recipes. i think it made me nervous because i couldn't actually see if it was cooked and just had to trust the time elapsed. regardless, i have changed my thoughts on the crockpot... i'm a huge fan of just throwing a bunch of junk in there and getting back in bed or going about my life and setting an alarm to go back and check on it. not to mention you only dirty one dish (except for whatever you end up eating off of). fabulous.

i have a confession. this wasn't the first time i made this and i apologize that i didn't blog it sooner, but at the time, my life was not calm and i was not in a "sharing" mood. so i apologize, but at least you have it now at the beginning of the fall/winter season =)

the weather man did not lie to me this week, and believe me, i watched the weather EVERY DAY to make sure this cold front was still coming... if i could keep this 40 degree weather for the rest of winter, i would. anywayyyyy, this was a perfect night for this dish and i'm excited to have leftovers for the week.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

• 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR i buy the little cutlets that are already cut into little filet looking things. HEB has them. 2 packages of those) 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 2 cans campbell's cream of chicken soup 
• 2 cans chicken broth 
• 1 onion diced
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 4 grands flaky refrigerator biscuits OR buy the family size one with eight cause you can never have too many dumplings :) 

GRAB YOUR CROCK POT!!! put the chicken in, the butter, both of the cans of cream of chicken soup, one of the cans of broth, onions, and the parsley. cook on high for 4-6 hours. GO LIVE YOUR LIFE and when time has elapsed .... 

shred the chicken, if you can find it all (i can't always find every single filet that i put in there, but i sure try) and then cut the biscuits into 9 pieces or do what i did and just rip em up and toss em in. add the other can of chicken broth. put the lid back on and let cook for another 30 minutes to an hour. i always go back and check to make sure the dumplings aren't still gooey and doughy (that's a made up word) after 30 minutes. tonight, it took another hour for the dumplings to reach the consistency i like. so that part is up to you. 

serve hot (duh) and add salt and pepper to your liking!! 

YUM!! and easy!! 

i got the recipe from here. 

i hope you enjoy it as much as i do. 

yours truly, 

dauphin gal 

white chocolate candy corn m&m cookies

now THAT'S a mouthful!!!

hello friends :) i hope things are going well on your end because i sure am enjoying my life.

like i blogged in an earlier post- you need to pick up a bag of white chocolate candy corn m&ms. i bought 3 bags the other day and only have 1 left. as soon as i ate one i decided they needed to get into some cookie dough and bake into even more delicious goodness. so...i did it :) beware: very rich! i plan on joining weight watchers after this holiday season, don't worry mom. :) kidding, of course. "Everything in moderation" remember!

White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M Cookies
makes about 34

• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 cup butter, softened 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 egg 
• 2 1/4 cup flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 bag of white chocolate candy corn m&ms (i found mine at walgreens and HEB)

In a bowl mix the butter, sugars, vanilla, and egg until well blended. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine until well blended (dough will be stiff). fold in the m&ms. i was afraid to use a mixer to mix in the m&ms because they are so chunky i was afraid they'd break. but if you'd like to attempt that challenge, then by all means! 

bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown in a 375 degree oven. let cool and enjoy with a glass of milk :) :) 

have a happy week, everyone! i know i will with these cookies in my home :) 

yours truly, 

dauphin gal 

pumpkin brownies w/ fall frosting

it has been awhile, my friends. almost 10 days! i bet you were wondering where i ran off to...clearly i had spoiled you with two posts a week a few weeks ago. i was thinking i've done too much pumpkin lately, but then i thought "hmmm NOPE! its fall!!"... this recipe was also featured on bits-and-bites this week (i know you guys go visit the links i post, no doubt).

these brownies are not only 2-ingredient, they were also 2-attempt brownies (for me) meaning they got messed up the first time. why, you ask? number one i was very nervous that it wasn't just the pumpkin and brownie mix--i was convinced that i should have added the egg, water, and oil-- WRONG (obnoxious buzzer here). number two as to why it went wrong- i followed that blogger's recipe to a T. don't do that. *shaking my head* you should read the timing on the box for the appropriate pan size cooking time. every brand of brownie mix is different. *still shaking my head* should have known better. OH WELL. So attempt number one was Sunday night...

2nd attempt took place last night during the debate ... because everyone needs sweets lying around when the pension tension sets in ... YIKERS! :)

pumpkin brownies

• 1 can of pumpkin 
• 1 brownie mix box

mix together the mix (no water, no oil, no eggs) and the pumpkin until well blended. pour into either 8x8 or 9x9. now STOP. look on the back of the box and see what the cooking time is and set it for the longest time. My box was 31-34. Baked mine for 40 minutes and it was done. 

fall frosting (i made the name up)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

with a mixer blend the butter and pumpkin pie spice until light and fluffy. add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time. mix until well blended. 

obviously- you need to wait until the brownies are completely cool before icing them. patience is not one of my virtues, i have only my father to blame. i frosted them this afternoon. 

okay and lastly my cousin (okay that's the last time I'll mention her ... in this post) turned me on to two of my new favorite things: a) white chocolate candy corn m&ms and b) candy corn oreos. when i weigh 200 pounds at Christmas, she will be to blame :) i can hear my mother now "everything in moderation alexandra"

yours truly,
dauphin gal 

chicken packets

i'm not sure how to name this recipe. i wanted to use the word "casserole", but i feel like that implies a pasta of some sort? so i'll go with chicken packets.

this colder weather made me want something like chicken and dumplings, but i really didn't want to fight the crowds at HEB and i didn't want to drive across town to go to the larger one, where i don't have panic attacks from the.. uh.. um.. other white meat? :) you'll figure that out in a second. ANYWAYS... so i knew i needed to make something that i had all the ingredients already. and after looking at my pinterest board "for the tummy" i found this recipe.

chicken cheesey packets (working title)

• 2 chicken breasts*; cooked, and cut into cubes 
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese (i had half a bag of shredded cheddar cheese. that was plenty)
• 1 can of crescent rolls (i use reduced fat) 
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (also reduced fat) 
• 1 cup of milk 

*i buy frozen grilled chicken breasts that i heat up in the oven. they are already seasoned and what not, but that's what i used. fyi. it added great flavor. 

okay first step: make the soup. pour it into a skillet or whatever and add the 1 cup of milk and heat on the stove. i just left it on low and stirred it occasionally. 

then i was baking my chicken in the oven for 20 minutes while that was going on. when it was done, i pulled it out and cut it into cubes. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

after all that was done- i started making the "packets". place the chicken and the cheese in the crescent rolls and pinch together all the sides so that its all locked in. like a "packet". once each packet is done place it in a 9x13 dish. should make 8 packets. then take the soup and pour it over/around the packets. 

put it in the oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. i baked mine for 23 minutes or so. 

it tasted like chicken and dumplings with cheese. not my favorite, but it was good. its quick and easy, too. this was also a good dish for a "cooler night". i was satisfied. i probably could have eaten half of it, but i had to make myself stop. i needed to save room for all the cookies that i baked this weekend :) 

yours truly, 

dauphin gal 

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

well, this weekend has been awesome! Friday was a great night of baking and hanging with my pups (working all week makes our weekends extra special)...Saturday was a great day of hanging out in austin and seeing TAKEN 2 ... go see it ... if you like those kinds of movies. Longhorns lost, but that's okay, they played a great game. this morning i thoroughly enjoyed waking up and putting on closed-toe shoes, pants, and my favorite hoodie to walk the dogs. we walked a little longer because of the weather, bentley didn't care much for that because he hasn't pulled his sweater out yet. then we came inside and they crawled back in bed. i had some oatmeal and then i set out looking for a recipe to make this afternoon. with football on, the windows open, cool breeze, and the smell of pumpkin and cinnamon. my fall heart is happy :) :) :)

so since friday's recipe only called for 3/4 cup pumpkin, of course i saved the rest of the pumpkin for another recipe, but i knew i had to act quickly because i didn't want it to go bad. didn't gag this time because i already knew what to expect.

let's get to the point, AL...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

• 2 cups flour 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin 
• 1/2 mini chocolate chips (I just used a full bag of mini choc chips, because you can't have too many choc chips, right?!? a bag of Ghiradelli mini choc chips is about 1 1/4 cups)

In a medium bowl, combine the first four ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter. Add egg, vanilla, and pumpkin; beat well. Gradually mix in the flour mixture on low speed. Stir in choc chips. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 350 degrees for about 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. cool on wire racks and store in airtight container. gotta give credit where credit is due. 

side note: i don't have a cooling rack--i've asked for one for christmas; however, if you pull out one of your oven racks and place paper towels on it, you have a makeshift cooling rack. i just can't bake in bulk like i want to, but that's okay it gives me time to sit down in between batches. 

I was nervous about these because I wasn't sure how pumpkin and chocolate would taste. UM its a DELICIOUS combination!! 

my cousin also has a cooking blog and i found it again after losing it. and i might just be stealing some from her blog soon. she also has some other things on there that i might steal too. so stay tuned. 

yours truly, 

dauphin gal 

pumpkin snickerdoodles

i had an American girl doll growing up. her name was Kirsten. with each doll, you could purchase outfits, furniture, books, and cookbooks. while i was making these cookies a childhood memory came flooding back to me. now, i'm not like most girls- i don't have a bunch of memories of baking with my mom or helping in the kitchen. although i'm sure i did it more than i remember, i was mostly and still am very independent. but i specifically remembered this- its funny how a scent can do that to you-- i had gotten kirsten's cookbook and there was a recipe in there for ginger snaps or snickerdoodles one of the two. regardless, it called for cinnamon and i'm sure it called for pumpkin pie spice, no doubt and until i started making these did i remember making those with my mom. i smiled at the thought. comforting, really.

i never ate baby food as a baby- seriously did not. i wanted what my big brother was having: REAL FOOD not mashed up peas and turkey. blech. pumpkin puree reminds me of baby food. i almost gagged. i had never cooked with it before nor had i ever helped mom or grandma make a pumpkin pie. so i was unaware of what the pumpkin puree looked like pre-baking. BARF. but man does it taste great baked!!!

okay, enough reminiscing about my childhood....

let's talk about what i've learned recently: splenda, while it may be sweeter tasting, is not necessarily a good sugar substitute when it comes to baking. so, my friends, i no longer bake with splenda. its strictly for coffee. there's something about the moisture of sugar that makes baking with it easier than baking with splenda. this was the first time i have baked since learning this and guess what? i'm sold. love me some sugar!!

the same blog that i got the cookie oreo brownie bars from is where i got this recipe from. and i pinned it to pinterest for her. anyway here's her blog ...

you can follow her recipe pretty well, i didn't make any changes, except well, there was one thing ....

the last ingredient calls for 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for rolling. well....ya see...i added that to the dry ingredients so the dry ingredients had an extra 1/2 cup of sugar and 1tsp of pumpkin pie spice ... i tasted the batter before i started rolling the balls and it did not taste overwhelmingly sweet. in fact, i think i'll do that every time. hahaha! i added the dry ingredients to the pumpkin puree, vanilla, egg, sugars, and butter in sections. i felt like it was easier to work with.

when it came time to roll the dough, i pulled out a small bowl and put 1/2 cup of sugar and 1tsp of pumpkin pie spice to roll the balls in...like she had originally said ... and like i said, it doesn't make it taste much sweeter, i don't think. its not too sweet. definitely does not take away from the pumpkin taste, which is all i'm after.

it makes about 5 dozen. i think i ended up with 58? i'm not very good at making every cookie the same size. hahaha, but hey! that way you can have a bunch of little ones instead of 2 big ones :)

she said hers baked in 12 minutes... i was expecting mine to be done in 10 because i have a mega oven. seriously, it needs to be calibrated ... but for whatever reason, these were ready at about 13 and a half minutes...

SO YUM! and i'm VERY ready for fall and i'm going to enjoy going to sleep tonight to a pumpkin spice smelling house.

my pumpkin scentsy warmer is warming pumpkin roll and my kitchen smells of baked pumpkin spices. I LOVE FALL.

now if only the weather would make my dreams come true ....

yours truly,
dauphin gal