Flour must be aerated before measuring because it often settles in the bag or container making it heavy and compact, resulting in too much flour being measured. Aerating basically means fluffing it up and is not the same as sifting. Flour should not be sifted before measuring unless the recipe states to do so. Otherwise sifting will result in too little flour being measured.
If you dip into flour without aerating, you will be getting too much flour and your dough will be too dry. To aerate flour you simply stir it around with a spoon before measuring. To measure, be sure to use a flat-topped dry measuring cup. You can see how I aerate flour in my Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake video at the one minute mark: Click here to see it.
After aerating, there are two ways to measure the flour: 1) Scoop & Level – Gently scoop the flour up with a spoon and sprinkle it into your measuring cup until it’s mounded above the rim. Do not tap the cup or the container of flour. Finally, level off the excess flour with the back of a knife. 2) Dip & Level – Gently dip your measuring cup into the flour until it’s mounded above the rim and level off the excess flour with the back of a knife. In my kitchen, a cup of flour weighs 4 1/2 ounces (130 grams).
They are low in sugar with as many diced apples as I could squeeze in. The top is the best part because I sprinkle it with a little cinnamon & sugar before baking. I used a mix of Granny Smith and gala apples and I was out of buttermilk so I used a mixture of milk and plain yogurt (about 1/2 & 1/2) and it worked great.
There’s no butter in these lightly sweet, delicious muffins, but they don’t need it. Anything baked with apples is always going to be good. It’s apples! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Blueberries were on sale yesterday so I made muffins. These are part whole wheat, part white, and I followed my lemon-blueberry muffin recipe but without the lemon. (I forgot to buy a lemon!) So no lemon peel and no lemon glaze and instead of the glaze I just sprinkled the tops with a little sugar for a nice, sweet, crispy top. Oh, and I was out of buttermilk so I mixed up some milk and yogurt, about 1/2 and 1/2 and it worked great. Imagine if I had some lemon yogurt!
We had these delicious whole wheat blueberry muffins as part of our breakfast and I’m planning another one for dessert after my beef stew. Blueberries are called “brain food” for all the antioxidant benefits they provide to help protect against Alzheimer’s and other diseases. So while they’re still affordable, I recommend eating blueberries any way you can… like my blueberry pancakes, coffee cake, or my fancy lemon-blueberry bundt cake. To make these easy whole wheat muffins or the lemon-blueberry muffins, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I made one of my top ten favorite recipes today: Orange Sesame Chicken. It’s fast, healthy, and so much better than restaurant orange chicken, which is usually batter fried. My lean chicken is stir fried in 2 teaspoons of oil and made with freshly squeezed orange juice and toasted sesame oil. If you haven’t tasted (and smelled!) toasted sesame oil, it’s unbelievably fragrant. And bonus: this recipe takes 20 minutes. But that’s not even why I like it so much. It is deeeelicous!
If you’re wondering, here is the entire top ten list of my own personal favorite recipes, the ones I make the most:
Granola Bars
Tortillas
Chicken Pot Pie
Multigrain No Knead Bread
Giant Breakfast Cookies
Orange Sesame Chicken
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Cabbage Rolls
Pork Loin Dinner
Deviled Eggs
Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone and if you want to try my orange sesame chicken, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I made lemon brownies today and decided to experiment with a larger pan, using a 9 x 9-inch square instead of the 8-inch square. Well, this recipe is indestructible. The brownies turned out great, even a little fudgier than the original. Even an amateur baker can’t mess this up. I’ve made these easy lemon brownies with all purpose flour, with whole wheat pastry flour, once when I was out of yogurt I used sour cream instead and no matter what, they always turn out. And it’s one bowl!
It’s one of my most popular recipes because they are so easy to make. There is no mixer, almost no cleanup, and they are so darn delicious. If you haven’t tried it yet, or even if you have, you can now make it in an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 pan. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Every meal I have starts with a salad. And this is a typical salad that I make every day, full of health-building antioxidants. It’s probably part of the reason I simply never get sick. I have not had a cold or flu in over half a century. Anyone can make a salad, I thought, but I’m sharing a photo of my typical salad to motivate more people to include salads with every meal. It doesn’t have to be this one but eat those vegetables if you want a long and healthy life.
People always ask me why I never get sick. How do I get such glowing skin? Am I really seventy years old? It’s because I cook every day and the meal always includes a salad and at least one cooked vegetable. Certain vegetables, like spinach or carrots, have more health benefits when cooked so have both raw and cooked veggies every day.
Romaine lettuce is considered the healthiest choice for salads with more nutrients than iceberg, but I sometimes use red leaf or butter lettuce. I always add some cabbage for its many health benefits and colored peppers. A mix of colors will provide the biggest variety of antioxidants so if I use red tomatoes, I use yellow or orange peppers. If I use yellow tomatoes, then red peppers. Red onions add a nice kick but that’s not why I add them. Onions and garlic a loaded with immune-boosting elements. Garbanzo beans add fiber and calcium but I sometimes use red kidney beans.
If I haven’t convinced you yet, just look at why I make this particular salad the most – and these are only some of the health benefits since there are too many to mention:
Romaine Lettuce contains lutein for protect against vision loss, fiber, vitamins A, C, K, and folic acid.
Green Cabbage can protect against cancer & heart disease and boost your immune system.
Bell Peppers have more vitamin C than oranges and they support eye and lung health. Red peppers have more vitamins A and C than green.
Tomatoes can protect against heart disease as well as breast and prostate cancer.
Garbanzo beans are full of protein, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
Red onions help strengthen collagen, support bone health, prevents cell damage, and supports a strong immune system.
Oh… one more thing: No bottled dressing! Just look at the ingredients. Olive oil is the best and only choice for a healthy salad. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Light and fluffy tapioca pudding was my favorite dessert growing up. I still make it today and it’s so easy to make. Classic old fashioned tapioca pudding is plain, flavored only with vanilla but I have also made a butterscotch version as well as chocolate and coconut. But plain old vanilla childhood tapioca is still the best. Thank goodness they still sell Minute Tapioca in the red box.
It’s easy to forget but you should shake the box before measuring. I actually keep my tapioca in a jar so I just stir it before measuring. Tapioca is naturally fat free and sodium free. I make my pudding with low fat 1% milk and it’s a very light dessert. I hope this takes you back to your childhood too. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
There’s always something to snack on over the weekend in this house. Sometimes it’s my skinless chicken drumsticks but today it’s my Italian sub pinwheel sandwiches. Today I skipped the cheese and made them with sliced roasted turkey breast, nitrate-free ham, and light salami. The salami is what give them an Italian sub flavor. So here’s what’s inside my lavash bread…. mayo, mustard, Italian seasoning, diced peperoncinis, turkey, ham, salami, and lots of lettuce.
I rolled them up, wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerated them for about 3-4 hours. Then I sliced them, covered the plate tightly with plastic wrap, and now they are in the fridge, ready for the weekend. Some people add cream cheese or other different meats so you can make them your own. It’s the perfect TV snack if you’re watching the Olympics this weekend. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Blueberries are on sale so it’s the perfect time to make my blueberry coffee cake. I have simplified my recipe so it’s pretty easy and if you like baking without butter, I’m your girl. This lovely and delicious cake has no butter, not even in the streusel topping. It’s an easy buttermilk cake and I use a heaping cup of blueberries. The streusel is crispy from the toasted pecans. You can use walnuts but I think pecans, especially when they are toasted first, are much more fragrant.
My streusel can be made with softened butter or a trans fat-free spread, but it’s perfect the way I make it, just using oil. I used to make this easy cake in a 9-inch pan but I like using the 8-inch round pan because the cake is taller. Inspect your blueberries and remove any bad ones and make sure they are not wet when adding to the batter. I toss the berries with a little flour before adding so they don’t sink to the bottom.
This blueberry coffee cake, like all coffee cakes, is best served warm. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
If you’ve ever wondered which one of my recipes I make the most, it’s granola bars. I make them almost every week. Granola bars were never my favorite thing to eat but I would occasionally buy one when I was away from home and getting hungry because it’s a healthy choice but the ones from the store never left me wanting more. These days I crave granola bars because homemade bars are infinitely better… and easy to make.
I make sure we always have these delicious bars at home and as soon as we run out, I make more. They are full of protein and fiber and they are incredibly easy to make. Everything mixes in one bowl and you bake it.
How To Line a Pan for Granola Bars (with Parchment Paper).
The hardest part is lining the pan with parchment paper because it won’t always stay in place, but I found an easier way to do it… with binder clips. You can get them at a stationery store and since they’re metal, they can go right in the oven.
Cut two parchment paper pieces a little bit wider than your 9-inch pan and lay them in, criss-crossing each other, clipping the ends down as you go. It will keep the paper in place, like this…
Now that you know how easy it is to make your own granola bars, try them and see if you don’t wind up like me, making them every week. Every time I go out the door, I take one with me. You will too. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
