A Polish lady (Beczkowski) made my Polish paczki and took her photo using beautiful Polish dinnerware – this is my favorite photo of the month. On top of that, she is 71 years old and “finally successfully made paczki” for the first time. Thank you to Joyce Beczkowski Nicholas for this wonderful photo! 🇵🇱
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My Favorite Recipes
For anyone wondering which recipes I make the most, my own go-to favorites, here they are:
No Knead Crusty Rolls: I always have some in the freezer because you can pop them into a 325° F oven for about 10 minutes and they are even more crusty than when first baked.
My Dinner Salad: With a few variations in olive oil dressings, pretty much every meal I make starts with a salad.
Pork Tenderloin Dinner: The pork is lean, takes on marinade really well, and I love roasted veggies.
Oven Chicken Veggie Kabobs: It’s an easy and simple one pan meal with delicious marinated chicken, and I always serve it with Basmati rice. One pan = easy cleanup.
Granola Bars: I make a lot of these granola bars. They can be a quick snack, dessert, or something to take on a hike or trip. There’s one in my purse right now.
Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake: Of all the chocolate cakes I make, this is my favorite And there’s a whole sweet potato in there for some vitamin A, or as we say in Canada, “Vitamin eh?” 🇨🇦
Cracked Wheat No Knead Bread: I love farm breads and this easy no knead bread with extra fiber is the one I make the most. I bake, slice, and freeze.
Sheet Pan Chicken & Vegetables: It’s fast, easy, healthy, low fat, and it all roasts in one pan. It’s delicious. I love this meal!
Bran Muffins: I make a dozen and freeze them for the days I crave traditional, old fashioned, bran muffins, which is almost every day.
Tapioca Pudding: Light as a cloud, this comfort food dessert is a family favorite. My husband swears I always take the bigger serving, but he can’t prove it. 😀
Giant Breakfast Cookies: These are almost a meal in themselves, chewy, delicious, and full of fiber. As soon as I’m down to one, I make more.
One Pan Broccoli Bean Pasta: I buy fresh broccoli every week so I know I can always make this quick and easy last minute dinner with my pantry staples of pasta and canned beans. Any time I can make dinner in one pan, I’m on it! 🥘
Photo of the Month (January)
I chose this photo from Ellen in Oregon because as soon as I saw it, I turned on my oven to make my own Dutch Baby Pancake. Her way was exactly the way I serve mine, with a dusting of powdered sugar and lots of fresh fruit. Ellen made it for her husband’s birthday!
Click here for the recipe.
Sheet Pan Chicken & Roasted Vegetables
I love ❤️ love ❤️ love ❤️ this easy and healthy dinner. It’s a lot of vegetables but there is never one bite left when I make my sheet pan chicken and veggies. There are so many health benefits from this colorful variety of vegetables but you can use some of mine and add your own favorites. I used to put the chicken and veggies all on a bare pan but the chicken made a big hard-to-clean mess so now I put the chicken only on parchment paper. (the veggies will brown better on a bare pan).
I cut a strip of foil into about 15 by 5 inches and crumple it to shape into a holder for a strip of parchment paper (about 10 by 4). Place them at the narrow end of the pan and this keeps the chicken juices contained. See below…
Stirring the vegetables is key so they won’t stick. Instead of setting my timer for 25 minutes, I set it for 10 minutes, remove the pan to stir all the veggies, put it back and set the timer for another 10 minutes. I stir a second time and set the timer for the last 5 minutes. By cutting the chicken into two pieces, this dinner is ready to serve as soon as it’s done.
Since I’m cooking every day, I find myself looking for easier and faster ways to make a healthy meal and I make this one often because there’s not much to do once it’s in the oven. (more time to decide on what’s for dessert – today it’s peanut butter cookies, those easy ones made without flour 😋) I digressed. Back to my easy, healthy and so delicious sheet pan chicken dinner. Click here for the recipe. – jenny jones
I Made Bran Muffins
I make bran muffins on a “regular” basis. I freeze them and just take out one a day, put a little butter on it, and it’s my evening snack with a glass of warm milk. The combination of molasses and vanilla gives it that old school bran muffin taste. The older I get, the more I… make bran muffins.🙂 Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
My Simple Lentil Soup
Some days, a big bowl of this thick and hearty soup is all I need for dinner, with one of my crusty rolls of course. Lentils are high in protein, low in fat, and have lots of health benefits. I used to have it without pureeing but once I pureed it in the food processor, I never went back. It comes out so thick and creamy, perfect for a cold winter day.
I use unsalted chicken stock but vegetarians can use vegetable stock. I sometimes add some chopped baby spinach in that last couple of minutes if I have it. Either way, lentil soup makes a healthy and satisfying meatless meal. (Don’t forget the crusty roll! 😋) Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Photo of the Month (December)
I am so excited to see this photo come in today! The cookies, are beautiful, the setting is beautiful, and it’s the perfect photo on this Christmas Day. Bhairavi said she and her teen son baked some wonderful cookies together for the holidays. “It was perfect mom-son time during these crazy times.”
It’s my photo of the day and photo of the month. Thank you, Bhairavi, and Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🎄
Happy Holidays
🎄 Happy baking to everyone around the world! 🎄
Wesołych Świąt
Feliz Navidad
joyeux Noël
buon Natale
メリークリスマス
veselé Vánoce
Maligayang Pasko
मेरी क्रिसमस
С Рождеством
vrolijk kerstfeest
메리 크리스마스
Nollaig Shona
god jul
manuia le Kirisimasi
สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส
щасливого Різдва
圣诞节快乐
mele Kalikimaka
Elf-Help Group
Happy Thanksgiving
