Jennifer Garner is a hidden gem on Instagram.
While the actress fills her feed with everything from hilarious self-made memes to videos reading to her dog Birdie, we’re obessed with her “Pretend Cooking Show.”
As part of the series, Garner has made guacamole dressed as a witch on Halloween, ice cream from scratch, chicken chili for the Super Bowl, homemade bagels, and more.
The recipe videos, which include cheeky commentary and delicious meals, always leave us craving more.
We never thought we’d say this, but the Love Simon actress might just be the next Martha Stewart with all her tried-and-true recipes.
Despite the cooking tutorials popularity, don’t expect to see the 13 Going On 30 on the Food Network anytime soon.
“I like doing a three or four minute version in my pajamas at my house and I like being here but no, that’s as far as I go,” she said on a Facebook live video with Stewart after being asked about whether she had “any plans for a regular cooking show.”
Like most home-taught chefs, Jennifer doesn’t always know the correct names of her kitchen utensils.
In a sweet attempt to show fans one of her favorite kitchen tools, she got stuck calling it a “dough whisk.”
“I don’t know where you would find one, or what it is, but just look up ‘kitchen thing,’” she said as she mixed ingredients in a bowl.
Thank you, Jen, for keeping it real.
After watching her videos, you’ll be hooked at her ability to make you feel so at home.
Beyond her adorable cooking style and ability to stay genuine, Jen’s easy snack recipes are actually quick and delicious to eat.
Plus, she’s so freaking funny.
“Good morning, it’s early,” Jennifer says in the video, and then dabs and drinks coffee. She shows everyone her bagel starter that she made the night before.
“The last time I tried to double my bagel recipe it was a disaster, and I decided I wouldn’t do that anymore. I would make it twice. And then last night I got cocky and I doubled the starter,” she reveals.
“I hope I don’t screw you up, buddy,” she jokingly says to the dough.
Then she hilariously starts to sing and read to the bagels while they sit in the oven.
Jennifer demoed how to make her fave cashew cheese sauce into the perfect flavorful spread.
“This is kind of spicy, garlicky, healthy-ish—it’s just good,” she says at the opening of her cooking video. And the sauce itself is super versatile, too: “You can put it on the chicken, or just dip it in later. Or you can put it on veggies, I find that it’s good on everything.”
Since the taste can definitely pack a punch, she says it has become her go-to trick when she wants to spice up a “blah meal” over the years.
As she shows off step-by-step, she references the original New York Times recipe, and makes some questionable choices.
“It’s been brought to my attention that this is cilantro, not parsley,” she says after realizing her mistake.
Later she adds an “aggressive amount of garlic.”
The nod to Ina Garten, one of Jennifer’s culinary role models, is not a surprise.
When asked about Jen’s cooking show, the Food Network star told People Magazine, “I love her videos so much. She is adorable and smart and not at all performing—that’s just who she is. I just think she’s really special.”
As Garner cooks the chili, she wishes her pal Ina a happy birthday.
No, it’s not going to the movie theater. The trick is to freshly pop your popcorn.
Throw some peanut oil and popcorn kernels in a pot, crank up the heat, and you’ll be amazed!
If you don’t believe us, check out how Jen does it. She guarantees it’s easy, saying, “My success rate in the kitchen is about 50%— except with popcorn.”
It’s fail-proof.
As for what we learned in this very exciting episode, there’s an easy trick to softening butter, if you forget!
She grated a stick of butter (with a cheese grater) and tossed it right into the mixing bowl, like a boss in a baking pinch.
This allowed her cookies to stay fluffy and cook evenly.
Jennifer is great at sourcing her recipes — this one is Rose Beranbaum’s chocolate bread recipe from The Bread Bible.
Well, Jennifer does just that. She shares her homemade mint ice cream recipe, which includes ingredients from her herb garden.
We’re seriously impressed, and a little jealous!
‘If summer feels forever away, and you have lingering candy cane dreams— this delicious recipe for mint chip ice cream by @cookieandkate is just the trick. And, honestly, it’s not too terrible for you and your new year’s resolutions,” she wrote on Instagram.
Jen wants you to embrace your inner kid and chow down on some tasty fish sticks.
All you need is a pound of tilapia, cereal bread crumbs, and some cooking oil, and you’re good to cook!
While you enjoy her instructional demo on how to perfectly fry the homemade fish sticks, you’ll get a performance. She literally starts singing, “This Is How We Do It,” before ending her segment with, “I need a beer.”
We’re sure her family thought this was a Thanksgiving miracle!
After wrapping everything up, she captioned the post, “Thank you, Ina, for having me. And thank you, Grandma, for a recipe that tastes like you made it and is everything cozy and delicious about Thanksgiving.”
You’ll want this dish on the table at your next Thanksgiving dinner. Jennifer shared her family recipe for Sweet Potato Pudding on Ina Garten’s show, Barefoot Contessa, and we’ve been drooling over it ever since.
It’s hard to keep lunch interesting, especially if you’re packing it up for school or work.
But alas, Jennifer is the salad guru we never knew we needed.
Like the rest of us, she was sick of “limp carrot shavings and too-cold tomatoes,” which is why she wanted to make something more satisfying.
Get ready for the birthday treat to make for birthdays… or just because. Jen’s family’s go-to chocolate sheet cake recipe prove she was truly loved growing up.It’s incredible seeing despite her busy schedule, she has time to make something so delicious for her kids.
If you look closely at her hashtags, she did this all with fresh nails, and spoiler alert: they survived.
“Today we’re talking pudding, people. Basic, delicious chocolate pudding. It’s easy to make, relatively healthy, and you will absolutely love it. Your kids will love it,” Jen shared on Instagram.
As she makes the recipe from Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman, the Peppermint star listens to music from the Great British Baking Show, attempts to find her whisk (she never does) and talks to her dog.
What does that have to do with cooking, you’re wondering? It means she fuels her body to kick booty.
This drink is full of superfoods like chia seeds, blueberries, and almond butter.
The nourishing recipe consists largely of oats, unsweetened coconut, and flaxseed. Additional ingredients include, butter, honey, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla.
Jen suggests adding chocolate, of course.
“You can add mini chocolate chips if you like, or you can always melt chocolate and drizzle a little over the top. They’re plenty sweet enough but, you know, if you’re a chocolate kind of family,” she tells her followers.
“Another hack for when you (me) are craving the crunch of blue corn tortilla chips…BEET CHIPS! Naturally sweet and completely addicting,” she captions this recipe on Instagram.
While she admits nothing is better than a tortilla chip, this comes pretty close.
Since blue corn tortilla chips are Jennifer’s weakness, she’s devised two ways around her “nemesis.”
She even bets your kids will like them. Challenge accepted?
If you have 24 minutes, olive oil, Parmesan, and an oven, this could be your next sneaky veggie to serve your little ones.
Jennifer was so excited to share this recipe, she shared a poem about it.
“It is easy to make and heaven to serve, summertime tastes like a berry preserve. Kids home from camp with bellies to feed, a wee bit of time is all that you need,” she wrote, adding raspberries and sugar help too.
She jokingly made it official that she could eat figs with every meal. If you don’t agree yet, give this one a shot.
You’ve got to love her enthusiasm for figs describing them as, “Purple and green, sweet and savory. Practically a perfect food.”
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