Welcome to Jo Cooks where you’ll find delicious, tried-and-tested recipes for every occasion made with every day ingredients! They all come complete with step-by-step photo tutorials, videos and detailed instructions, all to help you succeed in your kitchen.
Jo Cooks has been around since 2011 and it started out as a place for me to store my recipes that I’ve collected over the years from friends and family. Here you’ll find hundreds and hundreds of delicious recipes, so make sure to check out the Recipes section and browse all your favorites!
People ask me all the time, what sort of food I cook and blog about. The truth is, everything. I cook anything and everything, and well, we eat everything, and if my husband and I can’t eat everything, there are plenty of friends, family or neighbours who love to help us out. I, most of all, love simple recipes with few everyday ingredients that you can either find in your pantry, or are easy to find at your local grocery store.
ABOUT JO
My name Joanna Cismaru, Jo for short, and I am the brains behind my food blog, Jo Cooks. I’m a writer, photographer, cookbook author and most importantly, I’m the cook that prepares all these scrumptious recipes that you can find here. My husband Remo, is the other force behind this blog. He’s the taste tester, IT genius, accountant extraordinaire and last but not least, my biggest supporter and pillar of strength.
We have a new puppy, his name is Han Solo and he’s just a ball of energy. We got him for our previous puppy, Indiana Jones, to have a brother, but unfortunately Indiana Jones passed away from Lymphoma earlier in the year. Our hearts are broken, he was only 3 years old and the best dog ever. Luckily, we still have Solo who’s helped us through this difficult time. He’s an Aussie Doodle, super smart and full of energy.
As long as I can remember I’ve always loved to cook and putz around in the kitchen. I’m seriously passionate about food and I do consider myself a foodie! I love all food and I will always try everything at least once, well maybe except bugs. I won’t try bugs and cats or dogs! But everything else goes.
I am totally self-taught and have no formal culinary training but I have been cooking for over 20 years. I’ve learned from my mistakes because there have been mess-ups in the kitchen, but I think that’s what makes us stronger and better at what we do. I love Julia Child’s style of cooking but I love to simplify meals, so that they are more attainable for the everyday cook.
MY PREVIOUS CAREER
In my previous career, I worked in the IT world doing software development, and while I enjoyed it, it was quite stressful. To relieve some of that stress, I always turned to cooking and baking, thus discovering my latest passion, and so this new “so-called” career evolved.
I am totally self-taught when it comes to cooking, though I have to thank my mom for teaching me the basics. I must say that I enjoy baking more than cooking so you will find quite a few baking recipes here. While I’m not a fancy baker I do love my breads and rolls and the occasional cake or pastry.
FUN FACTS
I was born in Romania, Transylvania to be exact. My family moved here when I was just a child. While I can honestly say I’ve never met a vampire, I do love my garlic. Here you will also find some of my favorite Romanian recipes that have been passed down to me from my mom and mother in law.
My husband and I met online back in the 90s when online dating wasn’t even a thing. Almost 20 years later we’re still happily married and together we’ve made all our dreams come true.
My all time favorite food is anything Italian like lasagna, pizza, any kind of pasta and bacon!
MY COOKBOOK
If you love my recipes and would like more of my creations, you can find my cookbook 30 Minute One Pot Meals available to order.
You can order my “30-Minute One-Pot Meals” book at:
Dinner was Instant Pot Chicken Breasts and Thyme Skillet Potatoes. Healthy and delicious! My son-in-law loved it. He’s used to his mom’s Mexican cooking and spent time in culinary school so can be a little critical. When he likes dinner I’m excited!
Love your bio! I was dating online before it was cool too lol. So nice to learn more about you; I’m such a huge fan of your recipes, and now your character as well 😍
Thank you so much!!
Girrrllll those OXTAILS!!!! I was highly impressed with your that recipe. I couldn’t tell my grandma it was better than hers lol! I also tried the mashed potato recipe. From there I have added and replaced many of my recipes with yours. I am amazed at how many recipes are so delicious and so extrodinarily delicious. Thank you Jo for putting this site together and helping many of us non cookers look like experts.
Too sweet! Thank you so much, I’m so happy you love the recipes 🙂
This recipe sound wonderful and I would like to try it, However, I don’t like ricotta cheese. Can I substitute Cream Cheese or would it be too thick?
Certainly!
I recently came across your website looking for an instant pot roast beef recipe. I was directed to your Mississippi Pot Roast and decided to give it a whirl. Lets just say it was a huge hit and has been suggested I make this my go to recipe for pot roast going forward. I had the hardest time getting the meat out of pot to shred because it literally fell apart! It was moist, flavorful, and the gravy at the end was the perfect consistency. I serve it over mashed potatoes with roasted brussel sprouts…and then made empanadas with the leftover meat the following day for lunch. Yumsies
this recipe sounds great……but i went to this site to view a video and there wasn’t any ?
I’m not sure which recipe you’re talking about since you’re on my about page, but usually when a video doesn’t show up it means you have ad blocker turned on.
Hi Jo, I am making your Cornish Hens for Christmas. I am doing 3 instead of 2 how do I adjust the recipe to accommodate 3 hens instead of 2 or do I not have to do any adjusting? Hopefully you will see this. Happy Holidays!
No adjustments necessary.
Hi Jo, I made your prime rib last Christmas and it turned out perfectly and was so delicious! This year, I am going to make a 10 lb roast as there wasn’t anything leftover last year. Do I double the cooking times , like the time at 450, and then reduce the oven temp? Or do I follow the recipe as is? Thank you!
It will depend on how you prefer your meat done, but I would say to estimate about 15 minutes per pound! However, start reading the temperature after about an hour! 120 F degrees is what you’re looking for if you want it rare. A thermometer is the ONLY way to guarantee a perfectly cooked prime rib just how you like it.