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May 8, 2014

Vegetable Lo Mein

Homemade Lo Mein Recipe

Chinese food is easy to make at home. And it’s quick. You put the sauce together first, then stir fry your food in a hot pan, add your sauce and it’s chow time! Or is it chow mein time? I love this dish so much, especially because with lo mein, there’s no rice to serve separately. It’s noodles mixed in with the vegetables. Quick and easy one-dish meals are the best – everything in one pan. I use chow mein noodles but if you can’t find them, you can use spaghetti (but it won’t look as pretty and wavy). They always have these noodles at my grocery store:

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Lo mein is great to make when you have some leftover pieces of chicken or shrimp, which you can stir into this dish. Edamame is another way to up the protein a little but I usually serve this just this way — with lots of antioxidant-rich vegetables. I’ve been to lots of Chinese restaurants but I have never had lo mein this good.  For my easy Vegetable Lo Mein recipe, click here.  – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Main Dishes
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May 5, 2014

Custard Pudding

Vanilla Custard Pudding

Here’s my custard pudding that I should have called “Gone in 60 Seconds.” I can hardly wait for this delicious pudding to cool down before I inhale the first cup, and then the second cup is in luke warm jeopardy. I didn’t know if I should call it Custard Pudding or Vanilla Pudding (since there is no vanilla in the recipe) but it tastes like vanilla pudding, only waaaay better!

It’s easy to make pudding from scratch. This simple recipe uses only four ingredients and it’s stuff you likely have on hand. I don’t just have it for dessert. It’s the same custard I use to fill my paczki and my custard-filled jelly roll (coming soon). Here’s an odd thing though. Once when I was anxious for it to cool down (go figure!) I poured it into pudding cups and then I stirred it a couple of times and it never firmed up after that, even when I refrigerated it. I don’t know why but my point is don’t stir it – just let it stand undisturbed until it sets. It’s not very thick when you cook it but it does firm up nicely in about an hour. Click here for the recipe.

To see me make this pudding in my Paczki video (at the 6:20 mark) click here. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Easy Recipes For Beginners, Sweets
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Apr 30, 2014

Sardine Cakes

Sardine Cakes RecipeNot a fan of sardines? My sardine cakes may just change your mind.  These delicious mashed potato patties are filled with bits of green onions, parsley, and fish, and they can be ready to eat in 30 minutes (make that 10 minutes if you have leftover mashed potatoes). This healthy recipe starts with a big russet potato, which you boil and mash, and then you mix in a few ingredients, shape the patties, pat them into bread crumbs and brown in olive oil. I make my own plain whole wheat crumbs but you can use store-bought either plain or seasoned. I don’t season the crumbs because there is so much flavor in the patties, it’s almost too much.

Let’s talk about why they call them “health food in a can.” Sardines are full of omega-3 fatty acids to protect the heart and are one of the few foods that contain coenzyme-Q10, which also helps prevent heart disease. Besides being a good source of protein, sardines also support bone health by providing calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D. But wait… there’s more. They also have iron, selenium,  potassium, zinc, all the B vitamins.

Clearly, sardines are one of the healthiest foods you can eat. And when made into delicious fish cakes like this, one of the tastiest. For my sardine cakes recipe, click here. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Main Dishes
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Apr 23, 2014

Quick & Easy Flatbread

Flatbread Recipes

I love bread. And I love flatbread, especially when I can make it at home in 30 minutes. Some flatbreads are unleavened but mine is a yeast dough but there’s no rising time with this simple recipe and you cook the breads in a hot pan in 2 minutes. They puff up so pretty while you cook them and sometimes if they puff up a lot, I’ve got a pita pocket. If you can serve them fresh out of the pan, you will never ever want store bought flatbread again. I love the smell of homemade bread and when you make flatbread, your kitchen will smell amazing.

It’s a sticky dough so you will need a well-floured surface. I used to let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes but this recipe, with no rise and only a 10-minute rest, tastes exactly the same. The ones after rising, though, did puff up a little more while cooking so if you want pita breads, try putting the dough in a small greased bowl, cover with plastic, and let it rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes. You’ll still have flatbreads in less than an hour. But the fast ones puff up really nicely too as you can see in the photo.

What can you do with flatbread? Well… there’s pizza, gyros, sandwiches, focaccia, dip it into things (like my beef stew!!!) or hummus, or for a bread person like me, just eat it plain. I made some this morning and had half of one just plain and rolled up some egg salad in the other half. Deeelish! For my Quick & Easy Flatbread recipe & vidieo click here  – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins
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Apr 18, 2014

Marinated Superfoods

Marinated SuperfoodsBesides being one of the prettiest things you could serve, my marinated superfoods is one of the healthiest. And the fastest! It only takes 15 minutes to put this simple recipe together and it’s such a delicious and easy marinade using fresh lemon juice  – I can’t get enough of it. You can serve it as a side dish or the way I prefer it, which is cold. I like to keep a bowl of this marinated broccoli and cauliflower in the fridge and snack on it throughout the day. To me, it’s better than any vitamin pill.

Both broccoli and cauliflower are cruciferous vegetables, the ones that help protect us against cancer. So here’s the skinny on broccoli: It has calcium for bones, lutein for eyes, and vitamins A, C, and K, as well as sulforaphane, the anti-cancer compound. Cauliflower also has sulforaphane plus lots of B vitamins, potassium, anti-inflammatory properties, brain support and helps detox the liver. Onions are good for the heart, blood pressure, memory, and liver. Red onions have more antioxidants then blueberries. I think I’ve made my point.

I make this dish with white or purple cauliflower. I’m always excited to find the purple one because the color intensifies when you cook it. Even the marinade turns red! It’s beautiful!

Here’s how easy this recipe is. I steam the veggies for 10 minutes. While they steam, I mix up the marinade and slice the onion. Then I pour the marinade over the hot vegetables so they absorb all the flavors, then mix it all up. If you want to stay healthy… make these marinated superfoods… eat them… and make more. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Soups/Salads/Side Dishes
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Apr 14, 2014

Easy Bread & Butter Pickles

Homemade Bread & Butter Pickles

My easy refrigerator pickles are ready to eat in 3 hours! And it can’t get any easier than this. Just heat up the marinade and pour it over the cucumbers. Wait three hours and enjoy! There’s no canning here, not long process, just a simple, easy recipe for these delicious, tangy pickles. When I didn’t have all the spices, I made my pickles with just the salt and sugar and they were still good but they definitely have more depth of flavor with the added spices.

Crispy pickles are my favorite and I find that leaving the peel on makes a much crispier pickle. If you like them soft and more bendable, just peel the cucumbers first. Also, I’m a big fan of red onions and besides looking pretty and being sweeter, they make some great eating along with the pickles.

They call them bread and butter pickles because during the great depression, people ate cucumber sandwiches, made on bread and butter with cucumbers that were easy to grow. At the end of the growing season they pickled the remaining cuces to last the rest of the year and continued to make the new “pickled” cucumber sandwiches on bread and butter.

Cucumbers are best in spring and summer so now is a good time to make your own pickles, seeing how easy it is and all. Even an amateur cook can’t mess this up. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Snacks/Misc
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Apr 10, 2014

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

Here’s the video for my beautiful “Tunnels of Cinnamon” bread. It’s so worth making and is not difficult at all. It’s basically a braided bread with an extra step to add the “tunnels” inside the bread. Make it.  Try it.  Do it. I hope the first person to make it sends me a picture because no two loaves are ever the same inside. Send a photo to “Your Photos/My Recipes” in the blog. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Videos 2 Comments
Apr 9, 2014

“Tunnels of Cinnamon” Bread

Easy Cinnamon Raisin Bread

If you think this beautiful bread looks good, wait until you taste it! You’ve never had cinnamon-raisin bread like this. It’s a braided loaf and each of the ropes in the braid is filled with delicious tunnels of brown sugar and cinnamon. And guess what? You can make this amazing cinnamon-raisin bread without butter. I created this loaf out of necessity. I was so frustrated trying to make a spiral loaf of cinnamon bread. Every time I sliced it, there were big gaping spaces in the bread so I finally decided to try a braided bread.

Making a braided bread, like egg bread or challah, is pretty easy. You just cut the dough into thirds, roll the three pieces into long ropes and braid away. What I’ve done is just flatten the ropes and fill them with a little softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. (I’ve also used transfat-free margarine, which is my butter of choice so either way works) I didn’t know what to expect when I tried it but the results were amazing!

When I sliced the bread for the first time, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was inside and how the brown sugar & cinnamon filling actually created tunnels of cinnamon throughout the bread. It’s a different pattern with every loaf but there is always a beautiful stream of brown sugar & cinnamon tunnels throughout the loaf. So I’m calling it Tunnels of Cinnamon Bread. It’s beautiful. It’s delicious. And I’m so proud of this very special bread. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins
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Apr 7, 2014

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

Sweet Potato Chocolate CakeThis is the ONLY chocolate cake I make. I took a new picture of my sweet potato chocolate cake which was in my cookbook and is now here on my recipes page. This was one of the most popular recipes in the book and this new photo better shows off the moistness and deliciousness of this fabulous dessert.

You should try serving this cake and then ask if anyone can guess what’s in it. It’s such a rich-tasting cake they might think it has lots of butter but the cake is made without butter and with less sugar than most cakes because the sweet potato is naturally sweet. And you can make it with extra light olive oil! The frosting uses only two tablespoons of butter.

It’s pretty easy to make, too. I just chop and boil the sweet potato and either mash it with a fork or put it through a ricer. (it’s easier to clean the fork!) Then I spread the sweet potato out on a dinner plate to cool while I prep the other ingredients. It’s a one-layer cake to it’s easy to frost since you’re just frosting the top and sides. I refuse to give up my desserts so I make them as healthy as I can. This is a healthier chocolate cake and it’s an easy recipe. Good news for me: I had to make the cake to take the picture and there are still 4 slices left!

If you want a moist, delicious, guilt-free dessert, try my amazing sweet potato chocolate cake. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Sweets
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