If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas I can tell you from experience that everyone I know loves to receive homemade goodies. Cookies, breads, cupcakes, biscotti… you can hardly go wrong. And then there’s homemade caramel corn. OMG! This is a gift that everyone absolutely loves! It’s super crispy, light, and so delicious! That’s what I give every Christmas and people start asking me in October if I’m making caramel corn again this year. That’s because there is no store-bought product that even comes close. And my recipe is simple. You don’t need a candy thermometer or any fancy equipment.
I just pop the corn in the microwave (my paper bag method) and stir in an easy syrup (made in five minutes) with butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup (this is not high fructose corn syrup – they are not the same). Then you stir it up and bake it. I don’t make it for myself very often because I can’t stop eating it. So it’s a Christmas treat for me too. If you want to feel like Santa Claus next week and see big smiles on happy faces, give homemade caramel corn. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I really enjoy this moist buttermilk cake, especially because it’s another one of my easy, one-bowl recipes. The combination of spices in the cake along with a mild cream cheese frosting really works for me and I always like any frosting I can make without butter, but it’s also good with chocolate frosting. (You can use the frosting from my zucchini chocolate cake.) It may not be a fancy special occasion cake but my favorite cakes are quick and easy so I mostly bake and frost in the same pan. However, it’s easy to transfer this cake onto a plate and frost the sides as well, like in my photo.
I kept the recipe simple using just all purpose flour but it’s hard to tell the difference between the 100% all purpose and the one made with half whole wheat pastry flour. This recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of flour so I use 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour with 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of whole wheat pastry flour. If you like desserts without butter like I do, you should try this easy spice cake. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Even when it’s not cold outside, I still make my potato soup. Russet potatoes are best for this creamy comfort food and it only takes 1/2 hour to make. Cutting the potatoes into small 1/2-inch pieces helps it cook quickly and I always have my homemade chicken stock in the freezer for soups and stews. You don’t need cream to thicken this soup, only a little flour is all it takes.
Another thing I always have on hand is my (low fat) sour cream. Don’t all Polish people have sour cream at home? It seems like we eat everything with sour cream… cabbage rolls, pierogi, borscht, and potato soup. I always stir sour cream into this soup just before eating and if you want the full Polish experience (zupa ziemniaczana ~ but we called it zupa kartoflana) top it with a little freshly chopped dill. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
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
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
Our fourth of July is almost here. It’s a time for fireworks, fun, and food… especially food. And what could you make that would be as exciting as the fireworks? This is it, baby! My fresh strawberry cake. It’s one of my most popular recipes and now that strawberries are in season, you won’t need a loan to bake this delicious dessert.
It’s Independence Day. So declare your independence from store bought sweets and make this beautiful, show stopping, fresh strawberry cake. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas I can tell you from experience that everyone I know loves to receive homemade goodies. Cookies, breads, cupcakes, biscotti… you can hardly go wrong. And then there’s homemade caramel corn. OMG! This is a gift that everyone absolutely loves! It’s super crispy, light, and so delicious! That’s what I give every Christmas and people start asking me in October if I’m making caramel corn again this year. That’s because there is no store-bought product that even comes close. And my recipe is simple. You don’t need a candy thermometer or any fancy equipment.
