Main Dishes

NEW RECIPE: Finally! A new recipe! I know!👨‍🍳 I hesitated to post this Chicken Jambalaya recipe because it’s not authentic and it’s sort of plain but I love it so much I’m posting it anyway. I’ve been making it a lot lately because it’s fast, healthy, and not spicy since I use my own homemade seasoning mix. The whole thing takes 45 minutes to make and I sometimes include shrimp, so there is a variation for that in the recipe. Most people use Andouille sausage in Jambalaya but I don’t care much for sausage yet this jambalaya still has plenty of flavor. These days I’m always looking to my one-pan meals when I’m busy and this is my newest addition to that list. For a Creole recipe that’s quick and easy, and healthy, and not spicy, give it a try. Click here for the recipe.

 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 just cut a strip of parchment paper 4 by 10-inches long and place it at the far end of the pan.

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

p.s. I am now making my own peanut butter – – game changer! I will share it soon… Stay well,  my fellow cooks!! ❤️

How many healthy vegetables can you add to a pot of chili? Six! Celery, carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and fresh spinach. If you count the onions and garlic, you have eight! That’s a lot of vitamins right there. Vegetables are a lifeline to good health so this meatless chili is a good way to get a variety of veggies in one delicious meal. Then there are two kinds of beans for plenty of protein and fiber. Whip out a couple of my no knead crusty rolls and dig in!! ????

We don’t like spicy food and I cannot find a mild chili powder so I make my own mixture and it’s not spicy at all. My chili powder recipe uses paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic & onion powder, allspice, and cloves.

I don’t use cayenne at all but you can add a little if you like. Click here for my chili powder recipe.

A couple of notes on this chili: This is a fast recipe so the veggies must be cut small so they cook through nice and soft. Cut them all in 1/4-inch pieces. To save time, prep only the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to start. Prep the rest while the chili cooks. You may have to adjust the amount of chili powder to your taste. Chili is a good meal to make in advance because it’s even better the next day. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

It may sound crazy but I love grocery shopping. I like to take my time, meander down the aisles, see what’s new, what’s on sale, what the produce guy just rolled out, and I miss that. I miss my favorite checker who always says, “Hi, Jenny.” She’s from Russia and says she learned how to speak English by watching my talk show. I miss her too. And I worry about her because she is an essential worker, close to my age, and is still working now.

It’s not easy getting groceries so I’ve been cooking and freezing as much as I can. Last night I made my two favorite casseroles to freeze in portions. Left is my baked ziti and right is my angel hair casserole. The ziti is made with a meat sauce and three Italian cheeses and the angel hair casserole uses beef, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese. They are both family favorites and luckily they freeze well. I cut them into serving portions today and froze them so we can still have our favorite meals as getting groceries continues to be a challenge.

If you can get the ingredients, I recommend both of these casseroles for freezing. For the Baked Ziti recipe click here and the Angel Hair click here.

Stay well, everyone. ❤️

I love casseroles. Cook once / eat twice /or three times. And casseroles are always flexible: a little more of this, a little less of that, and they still turn out. This is a little like my Spicy Mexican Casserole but made not spicy using an Anaheim pepper, with corn tortillas and added vegetables. I always try to include as many vegetables as possible in every meal, besides the salads I make every day.

Vegetables are the key to good health so besides lots of fresh tomatoes, I include antioxidant-rich bell pepper along with the Anaheim green chili pepper. Anaheim peppers (also called long peppers) are green and measure about 7 inches long.These peppers are great for anyone not liking anything too spicy but who does like a flavorful pepper. Of course you can use Jalapeño peppers instead but the Anaheim pepper is perfect for me.

This recipe is high in fiber from the black beans and corn tortillas. All corn tortillas are not the same, in fact they can be very different. I tried Whole Foods 365 brand and they were dry and disappointing. My preference is Guerrero brand if you can find them.

You can make lots of variations with this recipe, using cheddar cheese instead of monterey jack, pinto beans instead of black beans, and you can add spices if you like, but I do recommend staying with the fresh tomatoes. They add moisture and fresh taste to this easy casserole.

UPDATE June 3, 2020: I found myself using less and less tomatoes in this recipe and I now prefer it that way. It also means less chopping! 👍 I suggest trying it with only about 3/4 pound of tomatoes.

Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’m loving my easy one pan meals, especially now around the holidays when there’s lots to do so recipes like this are just what I need. Everything cooks in the pan and it couldn’t be any easier. The marinade is simple… just olive oil, fresh lemon juice, lots of garlic, oregano and salt. Did I mention it’s Greek style? (oregano = Greek!).

There’s no fuss with this easy sheet pan dinner. I marinate the chicken and potatoes while the oven heats up and then when they bake in the marinade, they soak up all those wonderful flavors. It bakes all by itself so you can do other things, like make a salad. You only stir it once when you add the beans.

Speaking of beans, I don’t know what happened to regular green beans lately but they are terrible, usually dry, full of dark spots and sometime even hollow inside. I actually stopped eating green beans until I discovered French ones. French green beans usually come in a bag with no preparation needed and they are smaller, more tender, they cook faster, taste better, and they definitely look better.

If you’re as busy as I am this month, try this easy one pan Greek Lemon Chicken, Potatoes, and Green Beans. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Some days, the faster I can make dinner the better. Today is one of those days and this easy one pan spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and broccoli takes 18 minutes, including prep. I mean it. I’ve even made it in 16 minutes!

This is one of my easy one pan meals where everything cooks in one pan, including the spaghetti. I use thin spaghetti because it cooks in 9 minutes but if you use regular spaghetti you will have to add a little extra time. Stirring is important to keep the spaghetti from sticking so stir it vigorously to separate the strands.

I rarely drain pasta any more. I’m making more and more one pan meals and besides being less work, there’s less cleanup – Bonus! Cherry tomatoes and fresh broccoli are always available so if you keep them on hand, you can always make an easy, healthy dinner in less than 20 minutes.

Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’m so excited to share this easy one-pan meal. It’s Mediterranean eating at its best… healthy, low fat, and full of flavor. The whole thing is ready in an hour so there’s plenty of time to steam some broccoli or make a salad.

When using lemon, it’s best to use a non-reactive pan like Pyrex. I found a 13 by 9 pan at the grocery store for 12.49. The marinade is really simple, using one large lemon but you can use more lemon if you like. Here’s how it looks before cooking:

I try to submerge as many potatoes into the liquid as possible so they absorb lots of lemon/garlic flavor. About 10 minutes before it’s done, I turn over the potatoes and chicken. Here is it after cooking:

Most of the liquid will cook off and I use whatever juices are left, including the onions, to pour over the chicken for serving. I slice the chicken so the juices go inside all the slices. I love this easy recipe. They say the healthiest diet in the world is the Mediterranean diet and this is it! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Three things I always have in my freezer: 1) homemade chicken stock 2) homemade bread 3) turkey meatballs. These tasty little meatballs help me put together and quick and easy dinner with some pasta, sauce, and a salad. They are light and healthy and take just a few simple ingredients.

You can use white or soft whole wheat bread to make the fresh breadcrumbs. I use my own homemade bread, both white and whole wheat. There’s not much difference in the result so why not use whole wheat, but make sure it’s a soft whole wheat bread (mine is really easy to make).

This is a quick recipe but it’s hands-on because you have to keep turning the meatballs (sometimes meat squares or triangles) but who cares as long as they taste great. When I add the water, I rarely have any left at the end but all stoves and pans are different so if you have water left over, it just takes a minute or two to cook it off. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I’ve been busy the past month and when there’s not much time to cook, I still cook. And tonight I made my veggie fried rice. It’s my go-to dinner when I want a quick and healthy meal. I always have broccoli and peppers on hand I always keep frozen peas in the freezer.

It’s a light meal with protein from the eggs and a bounty of nutrients from the vegetables. This time I used broccoli, spinach, peppers, and peas. We had my peanut butter cookies for dessert.

If you want to try this quick and easy vegetarian fried rice, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones