Diary

Diary

Jun 22, 2014

Why Do Cookies Spread Too Much?

Linda asks… Hi Jenny….love your cooking videos…when I see that a new one is available, it is like Christmas around here.       My question is this:     I love making chocolate chip cookies but sometimes the dough spreads so thinly in the oven at 375o   and tends to burn on the outer rim and be a little raw in the middle.   I have tried lowering the temp to 365 but it still happens.    I am wondering what the reason(s) might be for this?

My Response… It’s a common problem and there are a few things I can suggest…

1) Oven is not hot enough. Before placing cookies in the oven, make sure it has reached 375 degrees. You may not be waiting long enough for it to reach 375. An oven thermometer is very handy for this. I usually preheat my oven for 30 minutes.

2) Baking pan is too greasy. It makes sense that things will slide around on a greasy surface so try not greasing your pan and using parchment paper. The added bonus is there is no cleanup.

3) Baking pan is warm. There are two reasons this could happen. One is if you keep the baking pan on the stove while the oven preheats and the pan gets warm. The other is that you don’t let the pan cool completely when making a second batch.

Some other solutions are to shape the cookies and chill them in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. Then put them straight into the oven. If your pan fits, you can shape the cookies on the pan and put the whole thing in the fridge to chill, then put the cold pan in the oven. Also, don’t over-beat your dough. And avoid any substitutions like using whipped butter, etc. If this information doesn’t solve your problem, please send me the EXACT recipe as you make it and I will try to help.

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Filed Under: Baking Problems?, Questions? - Forum
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Jun 18, 2014

Simple Egg Salad

Simple Egg Salad Recipe

I could live on egg salad! And that’s easy because it takes me five minutes to make my low fat, easy egg salad. I prefer it simple with just yellow mustard and light mayo but I know a lot of people like to add extras like pickle relish, onion, celery, olives, etc. So go ahead. Use my simple, healthy recipe as a starter and then make it your own. But for me, plain old egg salad on some whole grain bread with lots of lettuce and tomato – it’s the perfect breakfast, and a perfect lunch.

For a while people were avoiding eggs because they contain cholesterol but all the latest research indicates that they may contain cholesterol but they do not raise serum cholesterol. This is good news because eggs have so many nutrients including complete protein; lutein for your eyes; and choline (in the yolk) for your brain and to reduce inflammation. They also contain sulphur to give you beautiful hair & skin, and strong nails. Here’s a link to some of the latest research on eggs: http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/latest-research-health-benefits-eggs

Now that eggs are back, you can enjoy this easy and healthy egg salad. But even my delicious egg salad is no fun if it takes ten minutes to peel a boiled egg. So to make things even easier, I can show you how to make perfect, easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs.

For the video on how to boil eggs, click here.

For my blog post with even more info on boiling eggs, click here.

For the latest research on eggs, click here.

And for my Simple Egg Salad Recipe click here.

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Easy Recipes For Beginners, Soups/Salads/Side Dishes
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Jun 17, 2014

Hard Boiled Eggs made Easy to Peel

Anyone can make perfect hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel with no green ring. My method is easy and it’s foolproof. There is always a bowl of hard boiled eggs in my fridge, always available for snacking or if I’m in the mood for egg salad. If company’s coming, I can make some quick deviled eggs and everybody LOVES my deviled eggs.

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet, containing a little bit of almost every nutrient we need and a hard boiled egg has only 78 calories. Here are a few other things to do with hard boiled eggs:

Pickle them

Chop them onto a green salad

Use them in potato salad

Cobb salad

Did I mention egg salad? I love egg salad!

Watch my short video and see how easy it is to make this super healthy snack. Click here for a printable rundown. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Videos 4 Comments
Jun 13, 2014

How To Make Croutons

How To Make Homemade CroutonsWho knew croutons were so easy to make? Once you try homemade croutons made with fresh ciabatta bread you will be spoiled forever. You could use a different kind of bread but… why? Okay, maybe sourdough, or maybe a loaf of French bread but make sure it’s fresh. They say to use day old bread but I respectfully disagree. Fresh bread will make fresh croutons. The big surprise is how incredibly easy it is to make them at home. Five minutes prep, twenty minutes in the oven, and you have big chunks of toasty, crunchy croutons for your salad, or soup, or (your choice here).

I like croutons to taste like bread so my recipe is super simple – just olive oil, salt & pepper. But you can always add spices and herbs of your choice, like fresh garlic, fresh parsley, dried oregano or basil, onion powder, garlic powder, or parmesan. If you’re a bread person like I am, and a crunchy food person too, you will love this easy recipe. I especially like croutons or breadsticks with my salads and in my kitchen, homemade is the only way to go. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Breads/Muffins, Easy Recipes For Beginners, Snacks/Misc
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Jun 12, 2014

The Best Meat Loaf You’ve Ever Had

It’s not just me calling this the best meatloaf you’ve ever had, it’s everyone who got my cookbook. I published it back in 2006 and to my surprise it was the meatloaf recipe everyone raved about. I knew it was good but never expected that many compliments. I was trying to make it healthier by adding some finely diced vegetables but it turns out that they dramatically improved the flavor and moisture in my meatloaf.

You can imagine how much I cook at home but when I make this meatloaf, there’s a certain level of excitement… not just for the delicious dinner but then the meat loaf sandwiches the next day.

I made the video to show how easy it is to make one of the classic American meals and how to make it the healthiest it can be. You’ll see why you should not use a loaf pan to make meatloaf but bake it on a foil-lined pan. The added bonus is that there is no cleanup.  By the way, I’m in the process of adding all of the recipes from my cookbook to this website so they will all be free.

Try this healthy meatloaf. Make some mashed potatoes. Steam a side of broccoli. Invite the neighbors over! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

p.s. Does anybody know if “meatloaf” is one word or two? Meatloaf or Meat Loaf?

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Filed Under: Videos 13 Comments
Jun 6, 2014

Greek Avgolemono Soup

Greek Avgolemono_600

My stepmother was Greek and she showed me how her mother made Greek avgolemono, which is a very popular Greek lemon chicken soup. How do I describe this amazing soup? It’s like the pudding of all soups, thick, creamy, and foamy. The thickness comes from adding egg to the chicken stock and the foaminess is created by beating the egg with an electric hand mixer until it’s thick. And that fabulous lemon flavor comes from fresh lemon juice.

My stepmom, Roula, showed me how she sets up the beater and mixing bowl right next to the chicken stock heating on the stove. This way, once the egg is nice and thick, you can easily and slowly ladle the hot soup into the egg before you add the egg to the soup. You do it this way to “temper” the egg and warm it up so it blends into the hot liquid. If you just poured the beaten egg into the hot soup, you would have scrambled eggs floating in the pot.

Traditionally, avgolemono is served with orzo or rice. Pieces of chicken are always a good addition if you have it and of course, homemade chicken stock will make this soup taste out of this world. I make my own stock and this way I have pieces of chicken to add to the soup.

Oh, by the way, once you have the stock, if takes less than 10 minutes to make this Greek Avgolemono Soup. The Greek paper in the picture came from Greece when my stepmom brought me a handmade table cloth from Athens. Thank you, Roula, for the table cloth and for showing me how to make this amazing soup. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Soups/Salads/Side Dishes
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May 28, 2014

Black Forest Brownies

Black Forest BrowniesWow! If you ever want to up your game when baking brownies, you have to try these awesome, fudgy, moist, delicious Black Forest Brownies. It’s a simple, one-bowl recipe and by lining the pan with foil, there’s almost no cleanup. Using canned dark sweet pitted cherries makes this is an easy recipe and it’s the main reason these brownies are so moist and yummy. Oh right… then there’s the chocolate chips. What an awesome combination.

Using Dutch-processed cocoa powder, like Droste brand, is what will give you a beautiful, rich dark color but that’s not the only reason to use Dutch processed cocoa. Cocoa processed this way is less bitter than the other kind like Hershey’s natural cocoa. But… you can make these brownies with Hershey’s with just a minor change, switching from baking powder to baking soda.

My recipe uses no butter, only two tablespoons of olive oil, and Greek yogurt. I like Fage 2% yogurt (never fat-free!). I use all-purpose flour in this recipe but I’ve also made them with half all-purpose and half whole wheat pastry flour. Either way, they are not too sweet, with a delicious combination of rich chocolate and dark, sweet cherries. To try may amazing Black Forest Brownies, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Baking Without Butter, Sweets
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May 22, 2014

My Barbeque Chicken Pizza – reinvented

Bbq Chicken Pizza Recipe

I’ve reinvented by barbeque chicken pizza! It used to take almost 2 hours but now… 50 minutes! That’s right. Less than an hour from start to pie hole! I make homemade pizza so often that I’ve learned how to make it faster and better. I no longer let my pizza dough rise for an hour. A ten minute rest is enough to make a fantastic crispy crust and healthier pizza than most. I always use reduced fat mozzarella and with this pizza, it’s lean chicken breast so it’s a healthier, low fat pizza and that means I can eat it more often.

I made this one on a pizza stone, which is a great way to get a crispy crust but if you don’t have a pizza stone and wooden peel, I also make this recipe using a regular pizza pan. The best kind of pan is the perforated one with the holes to help make it crispy (like the one in my pepperoni pizza video). My kind of pizza is crispy. I never use a fork… I just pick up a slice and eat. Oh wait… I do use a fork… for my salad. I always have salad with pizza.

If you ever have some leftover chicken, especially barbeque chicken, use it to make pizza. When I don’t have leftovers, I just cook a chicken breast and shred it with two forks. And a note on cheese: I know they sell pre-shredded pizza cheese and I have one way to handle pre-shredded cheese: with a ten foot pole! They put something in that stuff that makes it dry and it will never melt like real cheese, so take a minute and shred your own like I do. I makes a big difference.

You don’t have to make this pizza the quick way. You can always take longer and let the dough rise for an hour but I just don’t do it any more. Who wants to wait for pizza?! Not me! To try my barbeque chicken pizza, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones 

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Filed Under: Main Dishes
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May 21, 2014

Easy Chicken & Mushrooms

Essy Recipe Chicken & Mushrooms

It never fails. It always impresses. And it’s quick and easy. This is my go-to chicken dinner for weeknights and also for company because it feels like something from a fancy restaurant but wait until you see how quick and easy it is.  It’s basically chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce that only tastes rich but it’s made with low-fat milk and no butter. I like this because it cooks in 15 minutes with only three main ingredients: chicken, mushrooms, and green onions. I normally serve it over rice but it’s also good with noodles.

Mushrooms have many health benefits including immune support, that hard-to-get vitamin D, many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants like selenium for disease prevention. But here’s my problem with mushrooms: They’re squishy when you cook ’em. I love the smell and the taste but can’t bring myself to chew a squishy mushroom. Solution: I chop them up really tiny and there’s no problem. I left them sliced for the photo but I normally make this recipe with tiny bits of mushroom so I can enjoy this delicious meal.

No meal is complete for me without vegetables and I usually serve my chicken & mushrooms with steamed broccoli. If you like that idea, here’s an easy way to do it. I put my rice on to cook in a pot on the stove and about five minutes before it’s done, I quickly lift off the lid, toss the broccoli on top of the rice, lid back on, and finish the rice. Uncle Ben’s converted rice cooks in 20 minutes and then you let it stand for a few more and that’s just enough time to steam the broccoli with no extra dishes or pots. I love it!

Try my quick and easy chicken & mushrooms. It has never failed me and everyone loves it. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones 

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Filed Under: Main Dishes
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May 15, 2014

Lightened Up Potato Salad

LIghtenedUpPotatoSalad_600

It’s 100 degrees outside! That’s potato salad time! And barbeque time! I don’t think I’ve ever made my “fall-off-the-bone” ribs without potato salad. Naturally, I make mine as healthy and low fat as possible and that’s easy to do. I use light mayo in the dressing (Best Foods brand, which is called Hellman’s east of the Rockies) along with low-fat buttermilk. The mayo makes it nice and creamy and the buttermilk gives it some extra tang, and less calories.

My special trick is to soak the still hot potatoes with vinegar and salt before adding the creamy dressing. This quickly infuses the potatoes with extra flavor and just takes a minute to do. I always use red potatoes for my potato salad but other waxy varieties like yellow finn and yukon gold will work too. They hold up better than Russets. When you boil potatoes, try not to over-test them for doneness. And don’t use a fork. It’s best to test a potato with a skinny knife, which won’t allow too much moisture to penetrate the potato and make it waterlogged.

Just a note about celery: to me there is a big difference in the taste of celery hearts and the outside stalks. The hearts are sweeter than the outside parts so try to use the inside hearts of the celery and save the outside bitter stalks for other cooking or making soup. I even chop up some of the tender yellow celery leaves from the very inside, which add some pretty color, too. I’ll be making my lightened-up potato salad all through the summer and I hope it becomes your favorite too. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Soups/Salads/Side Dishes
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