Got 15 minutes? Then you have time to make a quick and easy meal. This black bean quesadilla is my go-to meal when I’m pressed for time and with the holidays coming, I’ll be having lots of quesadillas. Of course, I use my own homemade whole wheat tortillas, which I usually have on hand, but you can use store-bought ones too. Try to find them without saturated fat.
I realize it’s convenient to use pre-shredded cheese but because of the additives it won’t melt as well as using a block of cheese. So take the extra 30 seconds – yes, that’s how long it takes to shred 2 ounces of cheese – and you’ll have a nice “cheesy on the inside, crispy on the outside” quesadilla.
If you like spicy food, you will love the spicy version of my black bean quesadilla. Simply replace the reduced fat jack cheese with reduced fat pepperjack, and use the hot canned diced chiles. Oooh, Mama!
Whichever way you swing, serve it with salsa (pico de gallo is my fave) or guacamole… or both. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I absolutely love my beet & cabbage borscht. It has a complex flavor but is really easy to make. You basically put all the ingredients in a pot and cook. It’s the best soup I know to restore electrolytes and boost your immune system.
Every time I make this soup, I devour it in no time. I think your body knows when it’s getting something super healthy and yesterday I had two big bowls of it for dinner – nothing else. We Polish people usually add a little dollop of sour cream to our borscht. My dad had his own way of eating it. Instead of adding diced potatoes to the soup, he would make a side of mashed potatoes and put some potatoes in his spoon, then dip it in the soup so every bite had mashed potatoes and delicious borscht. Yummm.
Beets alone are an anti-aging powerhouse. They are said to stabilize blood sugar & cholesterol, support the liver & urinary tract, and help fight heart disease and cancer. The rich variety of other vegetables can protect against prostate, lung and other cancers, heart disease, macular degeneration and memory loss.
Winter’s coming and that’s soup season. Try my beet and cabbage borscht on the next cold night but don’t wear white when you’re making it. Beets turn everything red. Even…. well…. you’ll see the next morning. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Is there anything better to have with a salad than garlic bread? I love it! And since I make my own garlic bread all the time, I keep it simple and fast. What I usually do is preheat the oven (actually, I make mine in a toaster oven), prepare the bread, which takes less than 5 minutes, and I set it aside. Then I make my salad and dinner. When it’s ready for the table, I pop the garlic bread into the oven. Then I warm a plate, line it with a cloth napkin, and bring the fresh warm garlic bread to the table because fresh out of the oven is the best way to have it. And oooh, that smell!
I like to use thick slices of sourdough bread because you get a soft, golden top and nice crispy edges. And any day that I bake a loaf of bread, that’s always a garlic bread day. If you’ve ever had homemade garlic bread on homemade bread, well… I’m pretty sure you had three slices! My easy recipe makes two slices so double it up if you need more. Line your baking sheet with foil and there’s no cleanup.
There are lots of things people add to garlic bread like herbs or fresh parsley but I don’t think it’s needed. Try my version and let me know if you agree. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
As if anyone needs it, I just posted a printable recipe for my sweet and salty popcorn, also known as kettle corn. I could eat this every day! I prefer mine just sweet with no salt but I know lots of people crave sweet & salty so you can make it that way too. Either way, it’s ready in 5 minutes. Making your own homemade kettle corn is easy in the microwave and it tastes way better than anything from the store. Click here for the recipe.
Wow! I love this incredibly easy recipe. It’s so simple. One bowl. No mixer. No shaping. And no cleanup if you use parchment paper. There is no butter and no flour is this simple cookie recipe. And my version has less sugar than most. Wait ’til you try one – the taste is out of this world!
Even the most amateur cook can’t mess this up. Here are the steps: 1) Mix ingredients together in a bowl. 2) Drop on sheet and bake. 3) Done.
I’ve always used natural peanut butter, like Laura Scudder’s or Santa Cruz organic, but always chunky. You can use smooth… but why? With chunky peanut butter, you get some nice peanuty crunch with every bite. When cookies are this easy to make, anyone can make cookies from scratch – in 15 minutes. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Here’s an easy recipe for my pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Even without the chocolate chips, they are still a great tasting snack. My recipe includes toasted walnuts and trust me, toasting the nuts first will send their flavor into overdrive. I use walnuts and pecans in lots of baking so I just toast a bunch of each one in the oven (see my video) and keep them in the fridge for baking.
It doesn’t have to be pumpkin season to make these yummy muffins, in fact canned pumpkin has more antioxidants than fresh. Orange and yellow vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato, and carrots have lots of betacarotene which is good for your lungs and eyes and will give you healthy hair and skin.
The most important thing about making muffins is not to over-mix. Just fold the ingredients together gently with a spatula or spoonula – I love those! This recipe was in my first cookbook and I’ve updated it by increasing the whole wheat pastry flour a little and switching from canola to extra light olive oil but you can use any oil of your choice. I’m posting this recipe by request from a fellow baker (Rori) in Denver who lost the recipe. Here it is, Rori! Click here for the recipe.
If anyone else has a recipe request, just let me know….
Thank goodness for canned salmon. I always keep it on hand so I can make my quick and easy salmon patties. We know how important it is to eat fish, especially salmon, which is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids to protect your heart, and my recipe makes this easy dinner even healthier by adding red pepper, onions, parsley, egg, and my fresh whole wheat bread crumbs for added fiber.
I made these delicious patties last night and served them with my Greek lemon potatoes and some steamed broccoli. There was nothing left on our plates! It seems like the body knows when something is doing you so much good because all of it disappeared in a flash. Another way I serve my salmon patties is with a side of steamed sweet potato, which is loaded with antioxidants and protects your eyes and lungs and boosts your immune system. Just peel, chop, and steam. Dinner is ready in 15 minutes! What an anti-aging combo!
Oh… some more serving ideas…. I’ve also had these salmon patties with my Spaghetti With Greens, Sweet Potato Fries, Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Potatoes, and those awesome Roasted Vegetables. So eat fish often, and with this recipe, you can make a healthy 15-minute meal anytime. Quick. Easy. Healthy. You’re welcome! Click here for the recipe.
I don’t need to tell you why you have to eat your vegetables. Okay, maybe I do. Your mother probably told you they provide vitamins, which your body can not produce so you need to get them from food. But back in the day we didn’t know about the recently discovered antioxidants and phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables, with each different color providing its own specific anti-aging and protective nutrients. And the more intense their color, the more benefits. Many of these phytonutrients (with names I can’t pronounce) cannot be found in any other food groups.
Bottom line: Vegetables can help prevent certain diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Vegetables are also some of the richest sources of fiber that exist. So if you want to look great and feel great with a strong immune system, do what I do and eat vegetables every single day. I have a salad with every meal and then one or two cooked vegetables as well. Roasting is my favorite way to cook vegetables. Roasting brings out the natural sugars in vegetables and it’s the easiest way I know to cook them and to eat more than one color at a time.
Even a novice cook can make these super easy roasted veggies. Click here for my new recipe. – Jenny Jones
This healthy pasta dish is quick & easy and full of green vegetables, known to support your eyes, teeth, and bones and the cannellini beans are a good source of iron, calcium, and protein. Vegetable-bean pasta is one of my favorite go-to meals and only takes about 20 minutes to make. You can vary the vegetables but always try to include broccoli for its cancer protection. I can never get enough of this creamy comforting pasta dish! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
It only takes three ingredients to make soft and tender potato gnocchi. My Polish dad was the cook in our family and he used to make them and called them kluski which I later learned are the same as Italian gnocchi. In Poland they are called kopytka and the Polish way to serve them is with fried bacon and onions but nobody needs to do that any more! I prefer gnocchi Italian style as a side dish with red sauce or as a main dish topped with my homemade bolognese sauce. Anything you can do with pasta, you can do with gnocchi and it’s a pretty simple recipe. Plus they freeze beautifully. Click herefor the recipe. – Jenny Jones
