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Mar 24, 2016

Loving my Fruit & Nut Bread

No Knead Fruit & Nut BreadI absolutely love my no knead fruit & nut bread. I made it again today and added just a touch more sugar (4 Tbsp total) and that little extra sweetness is perfect for me. With sugar in this recipe, the bread can burn due to the high oven temperature. That’s why I say to reduce to temperature to 400° F when it bakes. But I found another solution to keep the bread from burning.

I raised up my oven rack one slot and it keeps the bottom of the Dutch oven a little farther away from the heat. I used my 3-quart Dutch oven and it easily fit on the raised up oven rack. I still reduced the temperature to 400 per the recipe and I was thrilled with the result – no blackened crust and a perfect loaf of sweet breakfast bread. If your try this whole wheat fruit & nut bread with lots of sweet raisins and walnuts, and if your Dutch oven still fits, try it with the oven rack raised up a notch. This could be a good Easter recipe.

Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins, What I Cooked Today
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Mar 19, 2016

Bunny Buns for Easter

How To Make Easter Bunny BunsYou can turn my easy one-rise dinner rolls into bunny buns for Easter. Kids will love them and grown ups will enjoy the tasty bread rolls. This recipe is super easy but it will take a little time to put the faces together. This is almost the exact same recipe as my easy dinner rolls but you’ll need a couple of extra tools.

I use two cookie/biscuit cutters that are 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches across. The small circle is for the faces and the bigger one for the ears. To cut out the little noses I use the top of a lipstick tube. You’ll also need raisins and it helps to put together matching pairs or raisins in advance that are the same size and color. You might not notice but a box of raisins has many different sizes and shades.

Now for my photo tutorial. First, you roll the half of the dough into a 6 x 12-inch oval and this is how you cut the circles. The smaller ones are the faces and the bigger ones will be for the ears:

IMG_8161Put the small circles on your baking sheet (I make 4 faces per sheet) and then this is how you cut the ears from the two large circles:

IMG_8164You cut the nose using the top of a lipstick – it’s about 1/2-inch wide:

IMG_8175You tuck the ears slightly under the top of the head, place the nose, and push in the raisins for eyes. This is how they look before baking (four per sheet):

IMG_8179Once you make four bunny faces you cover the baking sheet with a towel and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled. That takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. While they rise you put together the other four bunny buns. They bake at 375° F for about 10 minutes. For the leftover dough, I roll it into a few 2-inch balls, rise and bake the same way.  I hope someone sends a photo!  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins, Holiday
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Mar 9, 2016

How To Freeze Pesto

Drop some pesto in each compartment of an ice cube tray but not all the way to the top. Then cover each one with a little olive oil, just enough to cover the top completely. This will keep the pesto from turning brown. Freeze the tray and once the cubes are frozen, remove from the tray and store in zip top freezer bags. To make your own healthy homemade pesto, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
How To Freeze Pesto In Ice Cube Trays

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Mar 3, 2016

No Knead Whole Wheat Olive Bread

No Knead Olive Bread RecipeNo knead bread is the easiest method there is for bread making. I’ve made it plain, multi-grain, fruit & nut, whole wheat, and now I’m sharing my whole wheat Greek olive bread recipe. I use the overnight method where you take 5 minutes the night before to mix together the batter with cool water, let it stand on the counter top overnight, and the next day, you bake the bread.

Here’s how easy it is. You just combine the flour(s), salt, yeast, and olives in a big bowl. Greek kalamata olives come in a jar, already pitted, so I just coarsely chopped and patted them dry with paper towels to add to the mixture. Then you add the water, mix it together, cover and let it stand overnight. Five minutes of work! By the way, olives are a good source of heart-healthy fats. The next day, you bake it in a Dutch oven. My Dutch oven is enameled cast iron. Actually, I have two, a 3-quart and a 5-quart, and I have made no knead breads in both of them.

I made this hearty bread yesterday and had it with a big bowl of soup and today for lunch I used it to make a grilled cheese sandwich with my reduced fat cheddar. Here’s lunch:

Grilled Cheese1200_7915I’ll be working on even more variations of easy no knead breads because I am such as bread person so the more variety the better. If you try the olive bread, keep in mind it needs less salt than other breads because the olives are salty. Click here for the recipe. And if you’re Greek…. “Opa!” – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins
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Feb 28, 2016

I Made Biscotti

Homemade Chocolate Almond BiscottiI made my double chocolate almond biscotti today. I like crispy, crunchy things (except for meatloaf 🙂 ) and biscotti are the best. Mine have tons of toasted almonds and I used two kinds of chocolate – semi sweet and dark (70%). They take a little time to make but then you have dessert for days because they keep so well. Since they’re baked dry, you can keep them for 2 weeks!

I keep mine in an air-tight container, refrigerated, but they never last two weeks. I keep having them for dessert, dunked into a glass of milk. The almonds really need to be toasted for the best flavor. I toasted mine while putting the batter together, at 350° F for 7 to 10 minutes, and I spread them out to cool because they should be cooled before adding.

By the way, if you want to make an impression, biscotti make fantastic gifts because they stay fresh for so long. Homemade biscotti is a rare treat so I hope you’ll try it. My recipe uses some whole wheat pastry flour for added fiber and of course, no butter.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

UPDATE Feb. 29th – I just made a slight change in the recipe. That is to turn the oven off for the final 20 minutes of drying the biscotti. The oven stays hot enough and it reduces the risk of burned edges.

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Filed Under: What I Cooked Today
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Feb 19, 2016

Chinese for Dinner

Homemade Orange Chicken RecipeLike most people, I’m often short on time to cook dinner and a stir fry is usually my solution. Last night I made my quick & easy orange sesame chicken. You should see the reaction I get when I serve it to company. “How did you make this?” “Is this takeout?” “It must take forever to make a sauce like this!”

Actually, it takes 20 minutes… not just to make the sauce but to make the whole meal. That’s why I love to cook Chinese for dinner. Making it at home is always fast and it’s never deep fried, at least not the way I make it. The chicken is briefly marinated and then lightly sauteed and the sauce is so simple you won’t believe it. I make it with…

–  fresh orange juice  –  rice vinegar  –  soy sauce  –  garlic  –  sugar & salt.  It’s thickened with cornstarch and once it cooks you drizzle on some toasted sesame oil at the end. Wow! Make sure you use toasted sesame oil and not plain because the flavor when it’s toasted is intense. Then a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and you have something so much better than takeout and so delicious, it might be your newest 20-minute meal.

By the way, some steamed broccoli on the side goes perfectly with this. I love it! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Feb 12, 2016

Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips & Nuts

Whole Wheat Banana Bread Recipe

Here is my easy one bowl recipe for a healthier banana nut bread made without butter and using whole wheat flour. You’ll need two medium size very ripe bananas (the riper, the sweeter) and some dark chocolate chips. I also add lots of toasted nuts and since I can never decide, I use both walnuts and pecans. I love baking without butter so I use oil in this quick bread. I prefer extra light olive oil but you can use any vegetable oil or canola oil.

I use a standard size loaf pan and it’s the best size for this quick bread to rise up in the oven. Mine is 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches and even though it’s non stick, I still grease it. You’ll get the best result with this size pan.

The prep is super easy and it bakes in less than an hour. What you get is a moist and yummy banana bread with nuts and chocolate chips. The chocolate chips are optional but… com’on… everything’s better with chocolate chips! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Baking Without Butter, Breads/Muffins
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Feb 9, 2016

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Website, social network and Internet concept with question mark sign and icon on colorful hanged tags on white background.

BEFORE ASKING A QUESTION… please see the links below on the most commonly asked questions.  I am not always able to keep up with questions so please also look through the recipe comments from other cooks, or maybe you can research your question online.

Still have a question? Please understand if I am not able to respond. To send your question, click here.

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Jan 22, 2016

Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

Easy One Rise Honey Wheat Bread

Here’s another super easy, healthy bread recipe and it’s by popular demand. My first “simple whole wheat bread” has been hugely popular but a lot of people have asked if they can eliminate the egg or add honey. YES and YES. This easy honey wheat bread has no egg and it’s made with… you guessed it:  honey. The interior is nice and soft and it tastes really good.

It takes a little longer to make than my other whole wheat bread (the one with the egg) and it doesn’t rise quite as tall so if you want it taller or faster, try my Simple Whole Wheat Bread. But if honey-wheat bread is your preference, this recipe only takes a few minutes longer. And it works with either honey or sugar, and any kind of vegetable oil you like. I mostly use extra light olive oil.

Having a warm spot to rise your dough helps it grow faster and I’m lucky to have a warming drawer in my kitchen but I have some other ideas on where you can rise dough in my blog. I hope the bread industry isn’t mad at me because so many people have said, “I don’t buy bread any more,” and that includes me. Between my no knead breads and whole wheat loaves, I always bake my own bread and I’m saving money… and spending it on spatulas! I hope you’ll try my honey wheat bread and somebody send me a picture! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins
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