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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

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

Filed Under: Sweets
3 Comments
Apr 1, 2014

Buckwheat Pancakes from Scratch

Buckwheat Pancakes Recipe

Remember buckwheat pancakes? Did you know that buckwheat has more antioxidants than some vegetables? So forget the pancake mix! You can make these healthy, high fiber, and really delicious pancakes for breakfast in ten minutes. While the griddle heats up, you mix together a few simple ingredients and ten minutes later, you’re doing your body a lot of good. Here’s why you should eat buckwheat…

~It’s high in fiber.

~It can help stabilize blood sugar.

~It’s a complete protein.

~It’s a good source of magnesium, which reduces blood pressure.

~ It’s rich in B vitamins, particularly niacin, folate and B6, all beneficial to cardiovascular health.

~It’s full of antioxidants, including lignans, which protect against breast cancer.

~The powerful antioxidants and flavonoids in buckwheat prevent premature skin aging.

~It tastes great!!

Don’t skip breakfast. Take a few minutes to have this healthy, high fiber breakfast and you’ll have sustained energy and stable blood sugar, so you won’t be snacking on things you shouldn’t. This is an easy pancake recipe, but then all pancakes are easy to make from scratch. I use a non-stick griddle, which doesn’t need greasing but I sometimes just rub it with a stick of butter. If you can’t find buckwheat flour at the grocery store, look for it at a health food store. You can also order it online. And it’s good to store it in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.
Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Mar 25, 2014

How To Make Chicken Pot Pie

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

If no one was looking, I really think I could eat this whole chicken pot pie myself… in one sitting. I love comfort foods so much and when it’s healthy and this good, then stand back and give me a big fork!

Chicken pot pie is an American classic and homemade is the only way to go. This recipe makes it so easy to have one of the best comfort foods you’ll ever have. Most pot pies are made with butter and cream in the filling plus butter or shortening in the crust and don’t even get me started on puff pastry – just look at the ingredients!

My recipe has no cream and no butter anywhere. The filling is rich and creamy and the crust is light and flaky (it’s made with olive oil). The whole thing takes an hour to make, start-to-finish, and that includes prep. Well… except you have to let it sit for 15 minutes before serving – just enough time to make a salad.

The prep is pretty easy. Besides the lean chicken breasts, you’ll need to chop carrots, celery, and onion. The peas are frozen and thawed and I use store-bought chicken stock. I hope this easy recipe becomes a family favorite for anyone looking for a healthy, easy meal made from scratch. Make it once and I know you’ll make it again. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Mar 24, 2014

My ribs are NOT spicy hot.

Best Oven Bbq Ribs Recipe

My fall-off-the-bone ribs are NOT spicy hot. This recipe has been really popular but having an international following has brought on some new challenges. I’m hearing, “I made your fall-off-the-bone ribs and they did fall off the bone but they were so spicy hot we couldn’t eat them.” It turns out that spices are not the same all over the world and the different labeling in some countries has caused my delicious ribs to be too hot to eat. But I don’t like spicy foods and my ribs are not supposed to be hot, so I am here to clarify the confusion for my international visitors.

My rub and sauce recipes call for Chili Powder but I think some people are using Chili Pepper which is not the same thing. Not at all.  Chili Powder is a mixture of spices and peppers and is a bit spicy but not anywhere near hot. That’s why I use 2 teaspoons in my rub and my sauce. But 2 teaspoons of Ground Chili Pepper, which is pure cayenne pepper, will bring tears to your eyes!

As if that’s not enough, the terms “chili” and “chile” are often used interchangeably but they don’t always mean the same thing. Chili powder is usually a blend of spices and it not considered hot, while Chile powder most often refers to pure ground spicy hot chiles. Since every country is different, the only way to tell is to READ THE INGREDIENT LABEL and DO NOT USE pure ground cayenne red chili pepper.

Pepper_Image_02

The recipes I post are all the things I make for myself and I do not like hot & spicy foods so I hope this helps everyone from Malaysia to Australia to Belgium enjoy these delicious fall-off-the-bone, NOT SPICY HOT ribs. And my thanks to Lee and Alissa who took time to let me know. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Mar 23, 2014

Chicken Pot Pie

Take a look at how easy it really is to make a healthy chicken pot pie from scratch. The whole thing takes about an hour and that includes the prep and even a homemade crust. Mine is an oil crust made with olive oil and it’s easily rolled between sheets of wax paper. I never use butter or shortening in a pie crust. With store-bought chicken stock and frozen peas, it’s a pretty easy process. This is a really delicious pot pie with a comfy, creamy filling and flaky crust and could just become a new family favorite. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Videos 3 Comments
Mar 23, 2014

Green tea… it’s too bitter!

Lori asks… Jenny, PLEASE help me to enjoy the taste of GREEN TEA !!! I have tried it straight, with honey, lemon. I can’t stand the taste….too bitter, what am I doing wrong???

My response… I can’t even remember the first time I drank green tea but I probably didn’t like it either. Now I sip green tea all day long. Here’s what I’ve learned…

1) Don’t use boiling water – that makes it bitter. Use water around 180 degrees. It doesn’t have to be exact – you can boil water and let it stand for a minute before using.
2) For me, honey is too heavy and won’t help the taste but you could try adding a little sugar. Eventually, you could use less and less as you adjust to the taste.
3) Try flavored teas. Green and white teas flavored with things like passionfruit, white peach, & jasmine are fantastic. A little sugar would make these so easy to drink – about 1/4 teaspoon per cup.
4) Don’t use tea bags but brew whole leaf tea. It costs more but I’ve never had a green tea bag that wasn’t bitter.
5) Not all green teas taste the same – not even close. Keep sampling different ones from different sources (I prefer Chinese over Japanese teas).
6) Try buying from a tea store or online. You do get what you pay for and a smooth tasting green tea may cost more but it’s an investment in your health.

Mar 22, 2014

Whole wheat lemon brownies? You betcha!

Whole Wheat Lemon Brownies

Any time I can make a recipe better or healthier, I’m always willing to try. I was craving lemon brownies today (maybe because my lemon tree is getting full!) so I decided to make lemon brownies and this time, I decided to experiment with whole wheat pastry flour. “These are just for me,” I thought, “so if they don’t turn out, nobody has to eat them.” I expected they would be too dense and heavy but you never know if you don’t try and any time I can bake with whole grains, I do it. I just assumed it would not work with my light and soft lemon brownies.

Guess what? They were fabulous!!! I seriously could not tell the difference from the original ones I made. All I did was replace the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour and now my lemon brownies are even healthier: no butter and no white flour! I could hardly wait to share this with everyone because “Easiest Lemon Brownies” is one of my most popular recipes. Even the picture looks the same.

Whole grains worked with my chocolate brownies and now the lemon ones too. I guess I should have known but this was a learning experience for me, to always be open to making things better. I’m so glad I decided to try this and I have just changed the printable recipe to include the whole wheat pastry flour. Everything else stays the same. If you haven’t tried them yet, you should. I just had one that was still warm. Make that two. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Mar 18, 2014

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons – easy!

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

I love easy cookie recipes where you just dump everything into a bowl, stir, drop, and bake. That’s how easy these coconut macaroons are to make. It only takes five ingredients to make these show-stopping cookies and that includes the chocolate. And there’s no butter! Chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons make perfect gifts. People will think you’re a gourmet baker but this is a foolproof, easy recipe.

I make these cookies every year for our annual holiday open house and there’s one guy who only comes to have these cookies. (Mark, you know who you are!) No matter how many I make, they always disappear too soon and now I think I may have to check his pockets when he leaves… 🙂

Here’s how easy it is to make these chocolate-dipped macaroons. Everything but the chocolate goes into a bowl and you combine it with 2 forks. That’s the best way I’ve found to stir it all together. Then I shape the mounds on the baking sheet using the 2 forks but you can use spoons if you like. While the cookies bake, I melt the chocolate. I used to do that in a double boiler where I placed a pyrex bowl over simmering water (the bowl can’t touch the water) but now I just microwave the chocolate to melt it. I check it at 30 seconds and a minute to stir so if you microwave, keep checking and stirring until it’s melted.

There are so many ways to add the chocolate. 1) You can cover half the cookie with chocolate and leave half plain. 2) You can drizzle strands of chocolate across the cookie back and forth with a spoon. 3) You can dip the bottom first and then add chocolate to the edges like in the photo. That’s how I usually do it. I found the first few were easy to roll around to cover the edges but when there’s less & less chocolate, I spooned it onto the edges. Then you place the chocolate-dipped cookies onto wax paper to set.

If you make them, send me a picture! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Mar 13, 2014

Easy Whole Wheat Bread

How To Make Whole Wheat BreadI can’t remember the last time I bought bread at the store. I’m finding easier ways to make my own delicious and healthy homemade bread and this may be the easiest and fastest. I’m done with proofing yeast and rising dough twice. This is my go-to bread that I use for sandwiches, French toast (it soaks up the eggs in seconds!), and soft bread crumbs.

A few things to keep in mind when baking bread: 1) An instant read thermometer really helps to measure the temperature of the milk. Too hot and you’ll kill the yeast – too cold and it won’t grow. 2) Other additions should not be cold, like the oil and egg. If I’m short on time to warm up a cold egg I have been known to put it in my apron pocket and let my body heat warm it up. Note to self: *Next time, let your partner know about the egg before he hugs you goodbye!

This is one of my most popular recipes, probably because it’s so easy. Well, it’s also because it’s a really soft wheat bread, perfect for sandwiches or toast. I tried making it with 100% whole wheat flour but without much success. It didn’t want to rise and it was too dense and heavy so it needs some bread flour in the mix.

I’m calling it simple whole wheat bread because it really is… and it’s fast. Start-to-finish: 90 minutes! This is as easy as it gets to make homemade bread so I hope you’ll try it. Did I mention that your kitchen will smell terrific too?  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones