I love this chocolate cake! Today I made baked ziti for dinner, along with a beautiful salad with two kinds of lettuce, orange pepper, cucumber, garbanzo beans, fresh peas, and red endive tossed with my Greek Salad Dressing. Before starting dinner, I had such a craving for chocolate cake and needed one I could make quickly because it was dessert for today’s dinner so I made my Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cake.
If you haven’t tried it yet, it is really fast and easy to make, uses no eggs, no mixer, and it’s super moist and delicious. You only need one bowl and it’s probably less work than using a mix. I promise you if you try this cake, you will never buy a mix again. I made it and it cooled down just in time to frost after dinner. Whenever I have a piece of this cake I never feel weighed down and always feel like I could have seconds but I don’t. It keeps really well so we will have dessert for days. At the end if there’s only one slice left, I always suggest that we arm wrestle for it!
If you want to make the best and easiest one bowl chocolate cake click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Chicken breast simmered in marinara sauce turns out so tender you can cut it with a fork. This easy recipe takes less than 10 minutes of prep and the chicken cooks in the sauce unattended while you cook the pasta and make a salad. You do have a salad every day, right?
This recipe started because I wanted to try making chicken cacciatore but after chopping peppers and mushrooms and using chicken thighs, I found there was too much fat and not a lot of big flavor. So I tried simplifying it and came up with a lean and low fat version and now it’s just chicken with spaghetti, but with a lot of flavor but not a lot of work. It’s the simple, easy recipes that I always wind up making again.
Canned plum tomatoes are my go-to for pasta sauce and it’s so easy to make them into a smooth puree with a food processor. If you can find San Marzano tomaotes, that’s even better. You can always add more spices or a bay leaf or some crushed red pepper if you like but this is perfect for me just the way it is. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I ran out of breadsticks again so it was time to make more. They keep disappearing because I have a breadstick with every salad and I have a salad every day. This time I made them using 100% all purpose flour and they are super crunchy. I make them so often I even bought a breadstick pan that’s perforated to help them bake up crispy with grooves so the sticks stay round.
This is one of the recipes I make the most because no one sells breadsticks that even come close to this good. The ones that come in a package are a waste of time and the occasional bakery that sells them – well they just don’t measure up. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
My thanks to everyone who takes time to send in a photo of one of my recipes. I hope you’ll share where you are from and please send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com
RICHA MADE MY WHOLE WHEAT BUNS “Hi Jenny, Tried the whole wheat buns and they turned out fabulous. Have added caramalized onions and they taste yum. Thank you so much for the recipe. Have been making your simple whole wheat bread regularly. Regards, Richa.”
~ Adding the onions sounds tasty. Thank you for sharing. ~ jenny
SUSANNA MADE MY BISCUITS “Hello Jenny, I’m Susanna from Italy. This morning I’ve made these biscuits and they were delicious! The recipe is easy and quick to do and the result was a success. I didn’t find the buttermilk here so I’ve used milk. I can’t wait to do them again…..18 hours to go until next 8am 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing and I love watching your videos. And thank you for metric conversions. Ciao.”
~ Lovely photo, thank you. If you like, look at the Substitutions in my blog for buttermilk. ~ jenny
ELLEN MADE MY CINNAMON ROLLS
~ They look really good. Thanks for the photos. ~ jenny
DAVID MADE MY SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS “Hey Jenny!! Your videos are amazing and fun. I had to try that Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe and can I just say FLAVOR EXPLOSION! The best I have ever had. I think I tripled the recipe and had to share. Here is my photo of the sauce and meatballs. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. All the best from Myrtle Beach, SC. Thanks!”
~ Thanks for the great photo – This is one of my favorite meals. ~ jenny
REINVAL MADE MY BANANA BREAD AND WHOLE WHEAT & WHITE LOAVES “Dear Jenny….I am so appreciative of you. All my life I have wondered why I was unable to bake a cake or bread. Finding your videos has transformed me into a baker. Thank you Jenny , my family thanks you as well. Today I baked one plain banana cake and one with raisins. I also made a whole wheat bread and one white . Thank you Jenny soooo much.”
~ I’m happy to help. Thanks for sharing your photos. ~ jenny
OLD BOB MADE MY PAN PIZZA IN HIS CONVERTED WEBER PIZZA OVEN “I have 22″ Weber kettle BBQ that I converted to a pizza oven. It works great for the standard pizza dough cooked on a stone. Using indirect heat with wood, the chamber reaches over 700 degrees.I decided to try it with your Pan Pizza recipe using the cast iron skillets, which is my favorite pizza for my regular oven. For a group I prepared four batches of dough. I prepared 4 cast iron skillets with oil and the dough. At cooking time, I prepared one pan at a time per the recipe. After the 3 min stove top warming, I placed each pizza in the Weber, One by one, they turned out great. The only change from your recipe was adding several more minutes to the baking time and I had to rotate the pan as it baked.”
~ Bob, you are so kind to share your invention with everyone. Thank you. ~ jenny
DALILA MADE MY DINNER ROLLS “Hi Jenny! ? I decide to try your recipe for your dinner rolls for tonights dinner. I’m so glad I did, they came out soooo fluffy and soft! I quickly grabbed my camera to snap a picture because as you can see the rolls were being eaten before the dinner table could be set…..LOL!! I just had to show you how great your rolls baked up. Thank you for another tasty recipe Ms. Jenny! Happy Baking!?”
~ They look perfect! Thank you for sharing your photo. ~ jenny
It’s been a long time since I bought bread. My favorite no knead bread is multi-grain and I decided to try it with some added ground flaxseed meal to see if it turned out. I love it! This was a high fiber bread to begin with and now, with added flaxseed, it has heart-healthy benefits because flax is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
I used my original recipe and simply added 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed meal and increased the water to 1 1/2 cups. Everyone is making no knead breads because they are so easy and the variations you can make are endless. If you want to try it, just make the two changes above and follow this original recipe. – Jenny Jones
A 106-year-old fruitcake has been discovered in an old explorer’s hut in Antarctica and it looked and smelled edible! I’ve always heard that properly stored fruitcakes can last for years but whoa! This fruitcake was wrapped in waxed paper and tucked into a tin box and most likely came to Antarctica with an English expedition in 1910. The cake survived much better than the tin box, which was badly corroded. It had a very slight rancid butter smell but other than that, they say the cake looked and smelled edible! The freezing cold in Antarctica had a lot to do with the cake’s survival.
A century old cake notwithstanding, any fruitcake needs time to “age” and should be started early. The aging period can be from 2 to 4 months. Sugar acts as a preservative and alcohol kills bacteria and prevents mold. Many fruitcakes are soaked in alcohol and those can actually last for years if you periodically add more alcohol. You do this by wrapping the cake in a towel soaked in brandy or wine and then covering tightly and keep it refrigerated. It’s generally recommended that soaked fruitcake should be consumed within two years.
I don’t have a recipe for fruitcake but there are lots of good ones to be found and it is a long standing tradition to give fruitcake as a Christmas gift. Not everyone likes this very dense and rich cake so if you make one, don’t be surprised if it gets re-gifted to you five years later! 🙂 – Jenny Jones
I make more granola bars than almost any other recipe and I always have them available to take along as a snack in my purse or in the car. The best way to store granola bars is to wrap each one in a separate snack size plastic bag with all the air removed. Then keep them refrigerated and they last for weeks. Whenever I leave the house, I put one in my purse, or I put a few in my purse to give as gifts. Everyone loves a homemade granola bar so if you make them, consider giving them as gifts. By the way, these little plastic bags can be re-used. If you want to make these delicious and easy homemade granola bars, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL MY HOW-TO TIPS, Click here.
The fact is that homemade bread will not keep as well as store bought bread but in spite of that, homemade bread will always taste better. It’s best enjoyed the first day so after you have slathered the first few slices with butter (oh, yeah! ?) freezing what’s left on the first day is the best idea. I suggest slicing and freezing it so you can thaw only the slices you need. (I separate my slices between wax paper for easy separation.)
If you do not freeze your bread the first day, here are a few tips:
1. Crusty bread can be stored uncovered at room temperature for the first day. By the end of the day, it’s best to wrap it in foil (not plastic) or in a paper bag and kept at room temperature for a second day. After the second day, it’s really best to freeze it.
2. Crusty bread will not be crusty the second day. You can re-crisp it by putting it cut side down on a piece of foil and place in a preheated 325° F oven, directly on your oven rack, for about 7-10 minutes.
3. Crusty bread should not be stored in plastic, which softens the crust. Aluminum foil is a better choice.
4. Crusty rolls are best frozen the day they are baked. To re-crisp, place frozen rolls directly on the oven rack in a preheated 325° F oven for 10-12 minutes. They’ll be even more crispy than first-baked.
5. A standard soft loaf is best stored tightly wrapped in foil or plastic at room temperature up to 2 days and after that should be refrigerated or frozen.
There is a lot of differing information available about storing homemade bread – not everyone agrees with storing bread in the refrigerator but it works for me. Feel free to add your own tips if you like. – Jenny Jones
For anyone wondering how to re-crisp a crusty loaf of bread, here’s how I do it. A lot of us are making no knead breads and the crusts don’t stay crispy forever. My way of restoring the crust is to put it back in the oven but you don’t want to dry out the cut side. Once the loaf is cut I press some foil on the cut side and place the loaf cut side down directly on the oven rack (the oven should be preheated to 325°F). I tried spraying the crust with water first and it didn’t seem to make much difference. Bake the loaf for 7-10 minutes and it will crisp right back up.
This is my favorite thing to see – photos of my recipes made all over the world! Feel free to share where you are from and please send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com
FRANCINE MADE MY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD “Hi Jenny! Today was my first attempt at making bread from scratch. I followed your video step by step. It was so easy. I used cast iron loaf pans and the browning was so even. I’m going to try your crusty Dutch oven loaf next. Thank you so much for giving me the confidence to try it. So much fun.”
~ Congratulations on your first homemade bread! Thanks for the lovely photos. ~ jenny
KYLE MADE MY EASY ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE “Hey Jenny, I decided to bake a cake for my brother’s birthday. Found your recipe and gave it a whirl. It was my first time baking a cake and I went big with 2 cakes layered, instead of a single one. The cake was super moist and the frosting went perfectly with the cake. My family certainly enjoyed it as well. Not the prettiest frosting job, but like you said, “If they smell good and don’t have flies landing on them, they’re okay with me.” Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! – Kyle from Florida.”
~ Your frosting is perfect. That’s exactly what mine looks like. Thanks for sharing. ~ jenny
12-YEAR OLD DAHN MADE MY BRAIDED CINNAMON BREAD “Hi Jenny, I just needed to let you know that my 12 yr old daughter saw this recipe and wanted to make this for the county fair (minus the raisins) and it turned out so fantastic that she received a blue ribbon. She has made this 3 times now and has her grandma requesting this as well! Thank you for sharing this recipe! This photo was taken right after my 12 yr old daughter Dahn iced the bread so it’s a bit messy. But it was delicious and still beautiful.”
~ Dahn, congratulations on the blue ribbon and on being such an amazing young baker. Great job! ~ jenny
