Here is my summer gift to all the bakers. My lemon meringue pie will spoil you forever because there is nothing that compares to homemade lemon meringue pie. And when it’s healthier and easier than all the other pies, it’s a true gem. This lemon meringue pie is healthier because the crust is made with extra light olive oil, no butter or shortening, and it’s easier because you can make the whole thing, from scratch, in an hour. That includes the easiest crust ever, from scratch, and a foolproof luscious lemon curd that will never fail you.
I make all my pies with an oil crust to avoid saturated fat and they are so much easier (and healthier) than the butter or shortening kind. Oil crusts can be patted into a pie pan or rolled between wax paper and simply placed into the pan. The beauty is that if there’s a crack or opening in the crust, you can just grab some dough from somewhere else and patch it. I love that. I make mine with extra light olive oil but you can use canola or any vegetable oil of your choice.
As for the lemons, it helps to have a juicer but you do have to make fresh lemon juice. And don’t even talk to me about bottled juice! So now you have a healthier, easier way to make one of the great American classic summer desserts, lemon meringue pie. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
“I want homemade bread and I want it now!” If that’s what your inside voice is saying, and if you have 30 minutes, then my flatbread recipe is for you. It takes only thirty minutes, start-to-finish to make delicious, fragrant, yeasty, fluffy flatbreads. I have never seen a faster recipe for flatbread than mine. Everybody wants to knead and rise, knead and rise, but I say, “Why?” Mine looks and tastes amazing so why waste time?
My quick and easy flatbread really is quick and easy. Even a novice cook can make this bread and my video will take you through the simple steps. Flatbread has a long history in many cultures. You may know it as naan, pita, roti, chapati, lavash, or focaccia, but I call it awesome. That’s because there is so much you can do with it. Use it to wrap any sandwich, make a homemade gyro, or use it for a quick pizza (fabulous on the grill!) Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Linda asks… Hi Jenny….love your cooking videos…when I see that a new one is available, it is like Christmas around here. My question is this: I love making chocolate chip cookies but sometimes the dough spreads so thinly in the oven at 375o and tends to burn on the outer rim and be a little raw in the middle. I have tried lowering the temp to 365 but it still happens. I am wondering what the reason(s) might be for this?
My Response… It’s a common problem and there are a few things I can suggest…
1) Oven is not hot enough. Before placing cookies in the oven, make sure it has reached 375 degrees. You may not be waiting long enough for it to reach 375. An oven thermometer is very handy for this. I usually preheat my oven for 30 minutes.
2) Baking pan is too greasy. It makes sense that things will slide around on a greasy surface so try not greasing your pan and using parchment paper. The added bonus is there is no cleanup.
3) Baking pan is warm. There are two reasons this could happen. One is if you keep the baking pan on the stove while the oven preheats and the pan gets warm. The other is that you don’t let the pan cool completely when making a second batch.
Some other solutions are to shape the cookies and chill them in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. Then put them straight into the oven. If your pan fits, you can shape the cookies on the pan and put the whole thing in the fridge to chill, then put the cold pan in the oven. Also, don’t over-beat your dough. And avoid any substitutions like using whipped butter, etc. If this information doesn’t solve your problem, please send me the EXACT recipe as you make it and I will try to help.
I could live on egg salad! And that’s easy because it takes me five minutes to make my low fat, easy egg salad. I prefer it simple with just yellow mustard and light mayo but I know a lot of people like to add extras like pickle relish, onion, celery, olives, etc. So go ahead. Use my simple, healthy recipe as a starter and then make it your own. But for me, plain old egg salad on some whole grain bread with lots of lettuce and tomato – it’s the perfect breakfast, and a perfect lunch.
For a while people were avoiding eggs because they contain cholesterol but all the latest research indicates that they may contain cholesterol but they do not raise serum cholesterol. This is good news because eggs have so many nutrients including complete protein; lutein for your eyes; and choline (in the yolk) for your brain and to reduce inflammation. They also contain sulphur to give you beautiful hair & skin, and strong nails. Here’s a link to some of the latest research on eggs: http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/latest-research-health-benefits-eggs
Now that eggs are back, you can enjoy this easy and healthy egg salad. But even my delicious egg salad is no fun if it takes ten minutes to peel a boiled egg. So to make things even easier, I can show you how to make perfect, easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs.
Anyone can make perfect hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel with no green ring. My method is easy and it’s foolproof. There is always a bowl of hard boiled eggs in my fridge, always available for snacking or if I’m in the mood for egg salad. If company’s coming, I can make some quick deviled eggs and everybody LOVES my deviled eggs.
Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet, containing a little bit of almost every nutrient we need and a hard boiled egg has only 78 calories. Here are a few other things to do with hard boiled eggs:
Pickle them
Chop them onto a green salad
Use them in potato salad
Cobb salad
Did I mention egg salad? I love egg salad!
Watch my short video and see how easy it is to make this super healthy snack. Click here for a printable rundown. – Jenny Jones
Who knew croutons were so easy to make? Once you try homemade croutons made with fresh ciabatta bread you will be spoiled forever. You could use a different kind of bread but… why? Okay, maybe sourdough, or maybe a loaf of French bread but make sure it’s fresh. They say to use day old bread but I respectfully disagree. Fresh bread will make fresh croutons. The big surprise is how incredibly easy it is to make them at home. Five minutes prep, twenty minutes in the oven, and you have big chunks of toasty, crunchy croutons for your salad, or soup, or (your choice here).
I like croutons to taste like bread so my recipe is super simple – just olive oil, salt & pepper. But you can always add spices and herbs of your choice, like fresh garlic, fresh parsley, dried oregano or basil, onion powder, garlic powder, or parmesan. If you’re a bread person like I am, and a crunchy food person too, you will love this easy recipe. I especially like croutons or breadsticks with my salads and in my kitchen, homemade is the only way to go. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
It’s not just me calling this the best meatloaf you’ve ever had, it’s everyone who got my cookbook. I published it back in 2006 and to my surprise it was the meatloaf recipe everyone raved about. I knew it was good but never expected that many compliments. I was trying to make it healthier by adding some finely diced vegetables but it turns out that they dramatically improved the flavor and moisture in my meatloaf.
You can imagine how much I cook at home but when I make this meatloaf, there’s a certain level of excitement… not just for the delicious dinner but then the meat loaf sandwiches the next day.
I made the video to show how easy it is to make one of the classic American meals and how to make it the healthiest it can be. You’ll see why you should not use a loaf pan to make meatloaf but bake it on a foil-lined pan. The added bonus is that there is no cleanup. By the way, I’m in the process of adding all of the recipes from my cookbook to this website so they will all be free.
Try this healthy meatloaf. Make some mashed potatoes. Steam a side of broccoli. Invite the neighbors over! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
p.s. Does anybody know if “meatloaf” is one word or two? Meatloaf or Meat Loaf?
My stepmother was Greek and she showed me how her mother made Greek avgolemono, which is a very popular Greek lemon chicken soup. How do I describe this amazing soup? It’s like the pudding of all soups, thick, creamy, and foamy. The thickness comes from adding egg to the chicken stock and the foaminess is created by beating the egg with an electric hand mixer until it’s thick. And that fabulous lemon flavor comes from fresh lemon juice.
My stepmom, Roula, showed me how she sets up the beater and mixing bowl right next to the chicken stock heating on the stove. This way, once the egg is nice and thick, you can easily and slowly ladle the hot soup into the egg before you add the egg to the soup. You do it this way to “temper” the egg and warm it up so it blends into the hot liquid. If you just poured the beaten egg into the hot soup, you would have scrambled eggs floating in the pot.
Traditionally, avgolemono is served with orzo or rice. Pieces of chicken are always a good addition if you have it and of course, homemade chicken stock will make this soup taste out of this world. I make my own stock and this way I have pieces of chicken to add to the soup.
Oh, by the way, once you have the stock, if takes less than 10 minutes to make this Greek Avgolemono Soup. The Greek paper in the picture came from Greece when my stepmom brought me a handmade table cloth from Athens. Thank you, Roula, for the table cloth and for showing me how to make this amazing soup. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
 - Simple tutorial to make quick and easy flatbread in 30 minutes. "Pin It")
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