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Jul 12, 2017

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Gluten Free CookiesThese are not raisins – they’re melted chunks of dark chocolate. I wanted an easy dessert and he wanted chocolate. So I made my easy peanut butter cookie recipe with added dark chocolate… oh and some extra added peanuts too. This recipe is so flexible and they turned out fantastic. I chopped up about 1/3 of a 72% dark chocolate bar from World Market but you could use Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips, and then I chopped up some roasted peanuts. I stirred them all into the simple cookie dough and wow, they were good.

Even if you make the original peanut butter cookie recipe, you will love that they have no flour and there is no butter or oil. So they are gluten free, healthy, and super easy to make. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Sweets, What I Cooked Today
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Jun 21, 2017

Summer Vacation

Summer officially starts today and so does my summer vacation!  Please continue to enjoy my recipes while I’m away. I will be checking in but can’t always answer questions so please look to the FAQs for answers. Meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful summer. Stay hydrated, eat well, and use sunscreen! See you soon. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: General
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Jun 18, 2017

How To Reheat Frozen Dinner Rolls

How To Reheat Dinner RollsMake ahead dinner rolls are the best way to have fresh, crispy rolls whenever you want because day old bread is never as good as bread or rolls just out of the oven. So when I make my no knead crusty rolls, I freeze them within a few hours. It’s so easy to reheat and re-crisp these dinner rolls whenever you need them, even at the last minute.

The best way to reheat my crusty dinner rolls is straight from the freezer to the oven. First, preheat the oven to 325° F and just place the frozen rolls right on the oven rack (no baking pan) for 10 to 12 minutes. They will be even more crusty than when first baked.

There’s no need to thaw them overnight in the fridge. From my experience this is the best way to reheat crusty rolls. They’ll be super crispy on the outside and soft and moist inside. And if you haven’t tried these easy no knead rolls (they are one of my most popular recipes) try them and see how easy there are to make. – Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: How To . . .
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May 29, 2017

How To Freeze Yeast

How Do You Freeze YeastYeast has a short shelf life and once any package of yeast has been opened, it should be kept in the freezer. I always use the small packets and I find that using a butterfly clip, the kind you can get at an office supply store, is a good way to seal up the packet for freezing. A paper clip would also work. I snip off the corner of the packet, measure what I need, fold the open corner over twice and seal it with the clip. Then I pop it in the freezer. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Helpful Hints, How To . . .
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May 25, 2017

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins

Banana Breakfast MuffinsIf you’re like me and your favorite part of the muffin is the top, you will love these easy breakfast muffins. The crunchy tops are made with nuts, brown sugar, and a little vegetable oil, but you can use melted butter instead. I always try baking without butter so I use oil in the topping. A lot of muffins like this use walnuts but I think pecans have a lot more flavor so that’s what I use, and I toast them first. Toasted nuts just taste way better than raw.

The reason I only make six is because the tops won’t be crunchy the next day and also, they are so filling, you only need to eat one. Make them with all purpose flour or a mix of all purpose and whole wheat pastry flour for some extra fiber. And keep in mind that the riper the banana, the sweeter it will be. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Baking Without Butter, Breads/Muffins, Breakfast
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May 13, 2017

Easy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Whole Grain Oatmeal Chocolate Chip BarsI love this! It’s a healthy dessert full of fiber and dark chocolate. It’s made with no white flour, no butter, and it’s a super easy one-bowl recipe. And if you line your pan with foil, there’s almost no cleanup. You can use walnuts but I find that pecans, especially when they are toasted first, have so much more flavor so they are my nuts of choice for most baking. In fact, I toast one bag at a time and keep them refrigerated for all my baking.

Now about the chocolate: Using a 70% dark chocolate bar is the healthiest choice and I like to use the 72% bar from World Market but you do have to chop it up so chocolate chips are definitely easier. I recently discovered Ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips and they are great but bigger than most so I did not like the result when I added them whole. So I chopped them into smaller pieces and an added benefit was there was more chocolate in every bite.

These are the chocolate chips I used, but I chopped them up first:

And here is what the World Market bar looks like:

My favorite thing, besides the delicious, chewy taste of this healthy dessert bar, is how incredibly easy it is. One bowl, no mixer, just mix it all up and bake.  These healthy oatmeal chocolate chip bars are not just dessert – I must confess I also have them with breakfast. For a healthy dessert or a chewy oatmeal breakfast bar,  just click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Baking Without Butter, Easy Recipes For Beginners, Sweets
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May 6, 2017

Got 3 Hours? Make These Easy Pickles.

Best Refrigerator Pickles Recipe

I found some beautiful fresh Persian cucumbers yesterday and made a full jar of my 3-hour bread & butter pickles. Today, there’s only half a jar left. You can make pickles using the traditional small Kirby cuces but Persians work just fine too, and they are available all year round. Mediterranean markets usually have the best ones. So today’s lunch will be a salmon sandwich on my multi-grain no knead bread with a bowl of these refrigerator pickles on the side, and a whole wheat double chocolate chip cookie for dessert. I should have just enough homemade pickles left for tomorrow. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Snacks/Misc, What I Cooked Today
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Apr 26, 2017

Blasted Chicken is So Easy

Simple Easy Roast Chicken RecipeIf you think roasting a whole chicken is a lot of work, I am about to change your mind. Roasting it at a higher temperature for a shorter time produces beautifully tender meat with absolutely no work at all. This method has been around for years, usually called Blasted Chicken, and it is incredibly easy. There is no basting, no trussing, no rubbing with butter or oil, and with me, no spices except salt and pepper, although you can tuck in a piece of lemon, garlic, or your favorite herb if you like.

I don’t even wash the chicken, just bring it to room temperature and pat it dry. I like to make this on Friday so we have leftover chicken to snack on, or for chicken paninis. You can roast this chicken on a baking pan but I prefer a broiler-style pan to draw away the fat and I always use a disposable one. I did not invent this method but I want to make sure everyone has this easy recipe for blasted chicken.

I serve it by removing the skin and then cut or tear the chicken into big pieces. There is no easier way to roast a chicken and my way means no cleanup. Gotta love that! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Main Dishes
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Apr 11, 2017

Easy Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Easy Stove Top Mac & Cheese RecipeIf you ever need fast comfort food, this is it. Today I made my quick and easy mac & cheese and it was ready in 20 minutes. With only four ingredients, it’s pretty hard to mess up, and I use low fat milk and cheese so I don’t feel guilty about enjoying this American classic. Plus I always serve it with a green vegetable on the side. Sometimes this simple mac & cheese becomes a side dish to some chicken and salad. Even though it’s a quick stovetop recipe, you can also bake it in the oven for a crispy top. Here’s how I do it:

While I prepare the recipe on the stove I preheat the oven to 375.  Once the stovetop version is done I stir in some chopped & drained fresh tomato (this is optional) and I transfer it all to a greased 3-quart casserole dish. I top it with a cup of fresh breadcrumbs and bake for 20-25 minutes for a golden, crispy top. You make fresh breadcrumbs by processing a couple of slices of white or soft whole wheat bread in a food processor.

Whether you need a quick 20 minute recipe or you prefer a creamy mac & cheese with a crispy top, either way you’ll get a much healthier version of almost everyone’s favorite comfort food… macaroni and cheese. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Main Dishes, What I Cooked Today
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