I realize that my “Quick & Easy” chocolate cake is the most popular and I often make it when I need cake fast. Some days, we just need cake fast! But sweet potato chocolate cake is still my favorite. It starts with a whole sweet potato, which I cook and mash with a fork. I used to boil it but now I chop and steam the sweet potato. This way it retains more vitamins and I like that this is a dessert with some nutrition. And because sweet potatoes are so sweet, this recipe uses less sugar.
This chocolate cake always turns out moist and delicious. I frost most of my cakes right in the pan, only on the top. If you want to try my favorite recipe for sweet potato chocolate cake and get a little vitamin A in each slice, click here.
These are just some of the recipes that I have either improved or simplified since they were originally posted. I’m always learning and improving my skills so if anyone is using a recipe that was posted a while ago or if you printed it some time ago, please check the “Recipe Changes/Fixes” category in my blog.
So far I have made changes to about 100 recipes but many of the changes are minor, like increasing salt or reducing sugar but others, like my 15-Minute Veggie Pasta, now use an easier, faster, all-in-one-pan method. I’m always looking for ways to make something healthier or faster or to simplify the process so every time I cook, if I try a better way and it works, I adjust the recipe and share the exact changes I made in the blog.
I encourage all of my regular cooks to occasionally check the “Recipe Changes” category here in my blog to make sure you are using the newest and best version of each recipe. As I evolve as a better (& simpler) cook, I will continue to occasionally update my recipes. To see if any changes were made to your favorite recipes, click here.
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.
How exciting to see that my recipes are being made all over the world! I appreciate it when someone takes the time to send a photo and I love knowing where you are from. Please send your photo to: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com
“ANONYMOUS” MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD
“Wholesome goodness from your easiest bread recipe.”
~ That loaf looks great. Thank you for your terrific photo. ~ jenny
KARYN (from Arizona) MADE MY NO KNEAD CRUSTY ROLLS
“Hi Jenny, This is not the greatest photo, but I had to get a photo of the rolls right when I took them out of the oven…. just in case I had messed something up and they deflated or exploded or something lol. They are perfect, well they were perfect. They are all gone now and my poor hubby who has to deal with my baking disasters is actually all smiles now. I just wanted to say Hi and Thank you from Prescott, Arizona. We are up in the mountains and are high elevation, but I didn’t make any changes to your recipe and the rolls were perfect. I am going to tackle a few more recipes this week and I am totally confident they will be amazing. Warmly, Karyn.”
~ Your photo is great. That’s exactly how mine look when they’re done. I’m so glad they were a hit. ~ jenny
RYAN MADE MY BUTTERMILK BLUEBERRY PANCAKES
“Hi Jenny, Found you the other day and have made 4 recipes so far: No Knead Bread (stayed a bit dense) Mac & Cheese (burnt the milk a bit) Lemon Brownies (excellent results) and these wonderful pancakes. I did triple the recipe for my big family and they were a huge hit!! I look forward to making many additional meals from your site and channel. Thanks, Ryan.”
~ Thank you for the photo. They look perfect and it’s good to know you can triple the recipe.~ jenny
MJ MADE MY MARBLE LOAF CAKE
“Jenny, I just had to let your fans know what an amazing cake this is! I used a 7” angel food cake pan (odd size I know but perfect for loaf cakes!). I made the cake exactly as instructed with the addition of orange zest as you suggested. I covered it with chocolate ganache made with chocolate chips and evaporated milk instead of cream – oh – ONE CHANGE – the chocolate swirl was 1/3 cup melted chocolate chips + batter. The cake rose beautifully and it is so tender and moist with a delicate crumb. THANK YOU!”
~ I agree that orange zest is a great addition to this cake and that ganache topping looks yummy.~ jenny
MICHELLE (from Virginia) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD
“Jenny, Thank you so much for all your recipes on Youtube- I made this bread tonight and it was a hit with me and my husband. Gonna make your cinnamon rolls this weekend. Thank you for making it not so scary to bake! I usually burn rolls – so it was a double celebration when I didn’t burn this bread! PS- you might want to do a quick video on YouTube and just direct everyone to your website, I thought you had stopped doing videos and was so sad- but saw someone else say they wished you would start your channel back up and another commented that you had your website! So glad I re-found you!! ? thank you again- from Virginia- Michelle.”
~ Thanks so much for your photos. I can almost taste that slice with the butter! ?~ jenny
LARRY (from Illinois) MADE MY CARROT CAKE
“Greetings from (K) Larry in Illinois. First cake I’ve ever made and it came out great! I’ve made quite a few of your recipes now and was getting a little over confidant. I tried a few from other sites and failed! Thank You ……..yours are well thought out, clearly explained and proven. This has been a fun journey for an old guy! Yours have only failed because of me having a “senior moment” !!!! ~ Larry.”
~ Your cake looks great. Thank you for the photo. “Senior moment” huh? I know all about those. ?~ jenny
JERI MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD & CINNAMON ROLLS
“Love your recipes. I made both your No Knead bread and your Cinnamon Roll recipes. They are both wonderful thank you. I love your cheerful videos for them also. So upbeat. Thank you. ~ Jeri.”
~ Thank you so much for you photos. They will surely inspire many more bakers. ~ jenny
KRISTI MADE MY DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE BROWNIES
“Jenny another marvelous recipe ‼️ ?Kristi Ham ?”
~ They look really good! Thank you for the photo. ~ jenny
LOANNE MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD
~ Thank you for the great photos. ~ jenny
LARRY (from Illinois) MADE MY APPLE PIE BARS & PACZKI
“Greetings from Illinois. Made the apple pie bars the other day. Tasted great! and only have 1 piece left. …….used a round pan and mine looked more like a pie. Thanks for the recipe! and I got 2 thumbs up from 2 really good cooks! ~ Larry”
~ Thank you for your photos and I’m glad you’re having fun. Thumbs up from me, too – I love these bars (aka pie!). ~ jenny
“Greetings from Illinois! Just finished another batch of PP. Turned out great again. And I am really having FUN! I over filled one of the doughnut molds (on purpose) with the Pączki dough and it looked almost like a muffin with a small hole on top. Filled a silicone sphere ice cube mold with the dough (just a little too much) and apple butter…….it was almost round. It started to push the 2 molds apart and come out the top. These shot glass molds were frozen/ a mix of oats and ground coffee. Tried to bake them later but they slumped. (but didn’t blow up) Haven’t tried the PP dough in the shot glass molds yet,but I did try the red velvet cup cakes (tasted great!) but couldn’t get them out of the mold in one piece. ~ (K) Larry
KRISTI MADE MY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
“Loved these biscuits… Jenny can I cut them and freeze the dough ? ?Kristi Ham ?”
~ They look perfect. I have only frozen mine after baking but you could look online for a better answer. Thank you for the great photo. ~ jenny
IAN (from Canada) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD
“Great bread, even better with homemade strawberry jam. Even we older men (76) can make this. Ottawa, Canada.”
~ Now that is a handsome loaf of bread right there. Thanks from a fellow Canuck (73). ?? ~ jenny
JAMIE (from Texas) MADE MY NO KNEAD BREAD
“No Knead Bread … that I really need. ? Thank you, Jenny, for this recipe! This is my second loaf, and I have the dough for a third one sitting in a bowl on my counter. It seems to be becoming part of my nightly routine to take 5 minutes, if that, to prep the dough for dinner the next day. It’s so easy; I’m almost embarrassed for myself that I was hesitant and uncertain about whether I could make a delicious loaf of bread or not. I don’t have a Dutch oven, so I cook mine in one of my metal pots that can go into the oven as well, and with fantastic results. So yummy!” All the best, Jamie from Texas.”
~ Thanks for the photo and especially for the helpful detail about your pot. ~ jenny
PATTY MADE MY MEATLOAF
“Absolutely the best ever. Will be making this monthly. So moist and melts in your mouth. Thanks Jenny!”
~ I’m glad you like it and thank you for your terrific photo. ~ jenny
LARRY (from Illinois) MADE MY POLISH PACZKI INTO DOUGHNUTS
“Greetings from Illinois! Just finished my second batch of PP. Turned out great again. The dough is very forgiving…..they looked “rough” going into the oven. I just got my silicone doughnut molds a couple days ago and put some dough in one to try them out. I only filled it with apple butter on one side. It was a little thick, but I have been using a heat lamp with the fast rise yeast and getting good results. Just did the deep dish pizza (12 hour) start to finish in 3 hours. ~ Larry.”
~ It’s great for everyone to know that this dough works in a mold as well. Thank you for sharing this. ~ jenny
LARRY (from Illinois) MADE MY POLISH PACZKI
“Greetings from Il! This was my first attempt at Pączki. Turned out great! Good enough to give away a few. ~ Larry”
~ They look fantastic. Thank you very much for your photo. ~ jenny
Digital Camera
TABITHA (from North Carolina) MADE MY GRANOLA
“Happy New Year Jenny, I just made your granola recipe to bag up to take to work for snacking. ❤️ Tabitha from NC.”
~ Happy New Year back to you and thanks so much for starting it of with a great photo. ~ jenny
I’m wrapping Christmas presents today. It’s not Christmas yet but everyone is asking when I’m going to make my caramel corn so today is the day for making homemade caramel corn for Christmas gifts. My first batch is done and cooled.
To keep if fresh I pack it in a zip top plastic bag first and then wrap it with cellophane tied with pretty ribbons. This way it’s easy for people to snack on and save some for later but I hear that it’s mostly gone in the first pass.
Every Christmas I give a variety of gifts to everyone in my life but this caramel corn is the gift that gets the most raves. Sadly, no matter how much I make there never seems to be enough. That could be due to the constant sampling that goes on when my back is turned. 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
Everyone is making these easy Christmas cookies but it’s not even Thanksiving yet! What gives? I guess you’re all just testing them out to make sure they’ll turn out during the holidays. The only way to know for sure is to test out the recipe in advance and eat as many as you can because, you know, you can’t be too sure. I’m “testing them out” today and I can report that they did turn out really well. It’s just a public service I thought I should provide for everyone. 🙂 I can confirm that this is the easiest recipe ever for Christmas pecan balls, so easy that even amateur cooks are making them. “I didn’t know they were so easy to make,” they say.
And there’s more. These delicious little Christmas treats keep really well so you can make them in advance, and they freeze well too. It just keeps getting better. They are sometimes called pecan balls, snowballs, or Mexican wedding cookies. I’ll just call them easy. Click herefor the recipe. – Jenny Jones
What can I say? This is not a dessert to have every day but for holiday baking, pecan pie is a must. But I prefer pecan pie bars because the bars can be cut into smaller pieces than a round pie and no one should eat big pieces of pecan pie! I always use an oil crust and my oil of choice is cold pressed avocado oil. I tried using maple syrup in the filling but did not like the result so I went with the traditional corn syrup, which, by the way, is not the same a high fructose corn syrup.
I only make pecan pie or pecan pie bars twice a year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and it’s a good thing because holiday recipes can be dangerous to have around. This recipe is really simple with just the basic ingredients so it comes together quickly. What I can’t figure out is why my pecans sometimes rise to the top and sometimes don’t, but these easy pecan pie bars are always so gooey and sweet and delicious. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Every time I run out of these delicious crispy top oatmeal bars, I need to make more. They are one of my all time favorites and for lots of reasons. There is no white flour, lots of dark chocolate chunks, and the recipe is easy to put together. The crispy top is the best part, made with pecans, brown sugar, and coconut. I have made the top with avocado oil and with melted butter and there’s not much difference to me.
I like something sweet after every meal, even breakfast, and this is my favorite breakfast dessert. Well, between the fig bars and these oat bars, maybe it’s the fig bars, no,,, the oat bars… oh well. I just love sweets so I have to keep finding ways to make them healthier. 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.
I realize that my “Quick & Easy” chocolate cake is the most popular and I often make it when I need cake fast. Some days, we just need cake fast! But sweet potato chocolate cake is still my favorite. It starts with a whole sweet potato, which I cook and mash with a fork. I used to boil it but now I chop and steam the sweet potato. This way it retains more vitamins and I like that this is a dessert with some nutrition. And because sweet potatoes are so sweet, this recipe uses less sugar.
