A Free Spirit from Jersey

So this Jersey girl has been in North Carolina for over a year now. And while I am still 100% a Jersey girl, I'm learning to love some things about this southern world that I've been thrown into. In today's edition of North Girl in a Southern World, we're talking food. To be specific, Chicken and Dumplings (aka my favorite) made in the Crockpot, because everything is easier in the Crockpot.


What You Need:
4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 Large Onion (diced)
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 Can of chicken broth (just enough to cover everything in the crockpot)
1 Tube of Pillsbury Grands Jr. Biscuits (the pack with 10 biscuits)
** Now someone told me that if I'd really adapted the the southern way of life, I'd make my own biscuits... they're probably correct but I've never made biscuits before and this was the easy way! Works for me.


How It's Made (in 3 easy steps):

1. Place chicken, soup, onion, and butter in the Crockpot. Cover with chicken broth. Cook on high for 5 to 6 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before you want to serve, break the biscuit dough into little pieces and roll in flour (to prevent it from sticking together). Throw the dough into the Crockpot and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
3. Serve and enjoy!

Apparently I'm mildly obsessed with blogging about the things I'm making in the kitchen... So why not keep up this fun new trend of mine?

Today's recipe: Strawberry Banana Smoothies

What You'll Need:
1/2 cup Almond milk (or juice of your choice, I don't care for juice or dairy milk)
1 banana
1 heaping cup of strawberries (I use frozen, you'll see why)
A blender
How It's Made:
Put all ingredients into the blender, in the order listed above. By putting the liquid in first, the blades are able to start rotating right away. Makes a world of different, I promise! I break my banana into pieces with my fingers when dropping it in, it helps speed up the blending process.
Now I know someone is reading this saying "girl, hold the phone. You didn't add any ice." Don't worry I know. That's why I use frozen strawberries. It works like a charm. I LOATHE a watery smoothie, this prevents that!
Now I use a cheap blender from Walmart, cost me $30 I think. It works just find. I know people will tell you that you gotta spend decent money to get a blender that does everything just right... I disagree. That's just me though. Mine works perfectly for what I need it to do!

If you make this, let me know how yours turns out! I'll try to answer any questions, I've tried and failed with smoothies a million times ;) but this recipe always works for me. What are your favorite smoothies to make at home?

Sometimes I write about food, not often because no one really cares about what I eat, but still sometimes.

The obvious thing to do when life gives you bananas, make banana bread. My apartment smells delightful right now.

This morning was difficult and I needed a good stress reliever this afternoon so while the washer swished my clothes around in sudsy water, I went to work in the kitchen.

Now I altered a few different recipes (hopefully it comes out alright). I try to eliminate sugar and oil from as many recipes as possible. Sooo honey and applesauce made great alternatives here.