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:
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
Not 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
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
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.
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
Why buy a jar of tomato sauce when you can make your own in 20 minutes? Seriously. By the time you boil the water and cook the spaghetti, your delicious, homemade, spaghetti sauce is done. And it tastes way better than the stuff in a jar. If your family likes spaghetti and meatballs, they will LOVE spaghetti and meatballs with this homemade sauce. It just tastes so much better.
You can even make this recipe using fresh tomatoes but it takes a little longer because you’ll need to peel the tomatoes first. I’ve made this sauce many different ways… with fresh peeled tomatoes, with cherry tomatoes (unpeeled) from my garden, I’ve done it with roasted tomatoes, but most of the time I like the quick and easy 20-minute version. I’ll be using it in a recipe I’ll be posting soon… oven-baked chicken parmesan!!!
Did you know that cooked tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, which is a known defender of prostate cancer? But they need a little fat for better absorption so be sure to use the full amount of olive oil (1 tablespoon). Oh, by the way, tomatoes are also believed to protect against heart disease, memory loss, macular degeneration and may even prevent some wrinkles caused by the sun. Click here for the recipe.
Any dinner that all cooks in one pot is for me! And if it’s low fat, healthy, easy to make, and tastes yummy, I have to share. Sure I use a can, a box, and a carton but it’s all good. The can is the red kidney beans. They provide fiber, calcium, and help reduce cholesterol. The box is Pomi strained tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes have lycopene, a great prostate protector and wrinkle preventer. The carton is unsalted chicken stock which is handy for my 30-minute chili. I try to use my own homemade chicken stock in this recipe but the carton is easy to keep on hand. This really is quick and easy chili but it tastes like it cooked for hours.
It’s hard to mess up this easy recipe so feel free to make it your own. Here are some other suggestions… 1) You can use ground beef instead of turkey but keep it lean. Use ground sirloin. 2) Use a different tomato product like canned crushed tomatoes or stewed ones. 3) Use a spicier chili pepper like habanero, if you dare. 4) Spice it up with some cayenne pepper or hot sauce.
For my taste, this is just the right amount of spice and just the right amount of easy. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
The best thing about this simple meal is that every single ingredients has health benefits. Brown rice has fiber and lots of minerals including selenium, which has been shown to protect against cancer. Beans also have soluble fiber to lower cholesterol as well as calcium for bones. And don’t get me started about all the antioxidants in colored peppers! So here is an easy vegetarian recipe that’s super healthy. It’s high in protein and fiber and oh yes… flavor!
By the way, high fiber meals keep you feeling full longer and that helps with weight loss. This is a recipe you can easily make your own with more jalapeno pepper for added heat, toss in your favorite extra spices, or use a different kind of bean. I really like red beans in this dish but I can never find canned red beans at the grocery store. Whole Foods carries one by Westbrae that I prefer so if you can find it, I think you’ll like the meaty texture of these beans.
But a close second would be red kidney beans and even black beans would work. By the way, black beans are the highest in antioxidants of all beans. Basically you can’t go wrong with any kind of canned beans in this heart-healthy, easy recipe.
Let’s talk about rice for a minute. Brown rice has more nutrients and fiber than white rice but if you’re short on time, you can make this dish with converted rice (I like Uncle Ben’s). You won’t get as much fiber but you’ll still get protein, iron, and folate from converted rice and all the benefits (including fiber) of the beans and peppers. Both brown and white rice are gluten free.
Next meatless Monday, try this simple vegetarian one-pan meal. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Why do I love my pot roast? 1) It’s easy to make. 2) It all cooks in one pot. 3) It’s a complete meal. 4) It’s comfort food squared!
Old fashioned pot roast is a crowd pleaser and takes very little work. It’s mostly cooking time. Who doesn’t love meat that’s moist and tender with potatoes full of flavor? Okay, maybe your vegetarian friend. But meals like this pot roast are my favorite Sunday suppers. While it’s simmering in the oven, I have time to make a salad and dessert.
If you make pot roast, here are a few tips: Browning the meat is crucial for developing the best flavor. As for the liquid, I have made it with both beef stock and chicken stock (I usually make my own but I’ve also used unsalted store-bought stock). And the cooking time is very flexible. Feel free to cook it even longer depending on the cut of meat and how tender it’s becoming. Finally, adding salt is not always necessary. It depends on your stock and how much sodium it has, so test it near the end of cooking before adding salt. If you add too much, there’s no way to fix it.
Then there’s the leftovers! You can use the leftover meat in soup, a burrito, shepherd’s pie, nachos, Italian beef sandwiches, or just eat more pot roast! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I never thought I could improve my old fashioned beef stew recipe but it’s winter and that’s beef stew season. I’ve been making it a lot lately and decided to try and simplify the process and it’s now just as delicious and even easier to make. And by increasing the cooking time by just 1/2 hour the beef is so tender I just eat it with a spoon. So here’s what I changed:
First, I always make my own beef stock which I use in my stew but realizing that not everyone will make homemade stock, I decided to try the store-bought beef stock. I do not recommend it at all. It was way too strong and pungent and ruined the stew for me. So I decided to try store-bought chicken stock and it worked perfectly. I got Swanson’s Unsalted Chicken Stock and it was the perfect choice for beef stew.
And I used to dredge the meat before browning but it really isn’t necessary so that step is now eliminated. And I added 30 minutes to the cooking time and what a difference it makes in the fork-tender meat. It was tender before but now, it’s so tender you have to stir the pot carefully so the meat doesn’t fall apart! So it’s less work and an extra 1/2 hour but wait ’til you see the difference!
In working on these changes I also did some research on which meat to use since I always bought packaged stew meat. I saw that chuck roast was always the meat of choice so I bought one to try, cut in into cubes myself, and No, No, No! It had way too much fat and my recipe does not need it. The regular packaged stew meat is much leaner and there is never any grease floating on the top, because that’s what I got with the chuck roast.
So I’m staying with the packaged stew meat, which is much leaner, and I just cut off any visible fat. So now it’s even easier to make this all time favorite comfort food for the cold winter nights. It’s low fat, easy to make, and you can eat it with a spoon. For the new recipe and video, click here. – Jenny Jones
Got 15 minutes? Then you have time to make a quick and easy meal. This black bean quesadilla is my go-to meal when I’m pressed for time and with the holidays coming, I’ll be having lots of quesadillas. Of course, I use my own homemade whole wheat tortillas, which I usually have on hand, but you can use store-bought ones too. Try to find them without saturated fat.
I realize it’s convenient to use pre-shredded cheese but because of the additives it won’t melt as well as using a block of cheese. So take the extra 30 seconds – yes, that’s how long it takes to shred 2 ounces of cheese – and you’ll have a nice “cheesy on the inside, crispy on the outside” quesadilla.
If you like spicy food, you will love the spicy version of my black bean quesadilla. Simply replace the reduced fat jack cheese with reduced fat pepperjack, and use the hot canned diced chiles. Oooh, Mama!
Whichever way you swing, serve it with salsa (pico de gallo is my fave) or guacamole… or both. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
