Cooking Exceptionally With Gin Lee

  Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget: Full Recipes for a Feast Everyone Will Love A generous Thanksgiving dinner on a budget can still include golden turkey, creamy potatoes, warm stuffing, and dessert. You don’t need a crowded menu or costly ingredients to make the meal feel festive. Start with one main dish, then build around affordable staples such as potatoes, bread, carrots, and apples. These recipes also share basic ingredients, so a single shopping trip can cover much of the menu. Below, you’ll find full recipes, a flexible shopping plan, and a simple cooking timeline. You’ll also get tips for serving and storing the meal safely. Plan a Thanksgiving Dinner on a Budget Before You Shop A menu and spending limit can help you avoid impulse buys and food waste. Set your budget, count your guests, and check your pantry before writing a shopping list. Set a spending limit and count your guests Choose a total food budget that feels comfortable, then list everyone who’ll be eating. Chec...

Rustic Thanksgiving Bread My rustic Thanksgiving bread can be made quickly in just a few hours, allowing you to have fresh bread by lunchtime if you start preparing the dough in the morning. Unlike traditional bread recipes, this recipe uses a stone for resting and baking the dough. Which ultimately makes a gorgeous, crusty, rustic loaf of bread that's perfect for the holidays. Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons of seasoning salt 1 1/2 cups of warm water 1 teaspoon of Splenda or sugar Canola oil for greasing Cornmeal for dusting Instructions: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and seasoning salt. Using your fingers, create a small well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture inside it.  Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough begins to form. Once it becomes difficult to stir, t...

Can't Afford Meat? Get Enough Protein With These Budget-Friendly Foods When meat prices rise, it can be harder to serve meals that feel filling. But meat isn’t the only way to get protein. Beans, eggs, dairy, peanut butter, tofu, and other foods can help, depending on what costs less where you shop. A few flexible staples can make it easier to plan meals, use what’s already in your kitchen, and stretch your grocery budget. These ideas can help you find affordable protein without relying on one food or one type of meal. Can't Afford Meat? Build a Low-Cost Protein Pantry Shelf-stable foods can help you make meals even when fresh options are limited. Prices vary by store, location, and package size, so compare the cost per serving before you buy. Make beans, lentils, and peas staples Dried beans, chickpeas, lentils, and split peas often cost less per serving than canned options, but they take longer to cook. Canned legumes are ready to use, which can be helpful on busy days....

Holiday Dutch oven cornbread dressing Dutch oven style dressing is a classic holiday recipe (in my home). I always bake my cornbread ahead of time, at least one day in advance, then prepare the rest of my dressing in my Dutch oven the following day. You can totally make the dressing in a casserole dish, or any other pan. I cook my cornbread dressing in a Dutch oven on the burner of my wood stove (to free up the oven space). Ingredients: 1 pan of baked southern-style yellow cornbread 4 pieces of dried or toasted bread cubed into squares 2 chicken bouillon cubes 1 can of cream of chicken soup 1 can of cream of celery soup, or cream of mushroom 8 tablespoons of butter, plus extra butter to grease your pan 1 large onion, diced 4 chives, chopped 2-3 stalks of celery, finely diced (or use 2 teaspoons of dried celery flakes) 1-½ teaspoons of dried sage 1 teaspoon of thyme ¼ teaspoon of oregano ½ teaspoon of seasoning salt 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper 2 to 3 cups of water 3 eggs w...

Why Thanksgiving Wasn’t Always on the Fourth Thursday of November Americans now expect Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to November 23, and states split over whether to follow his lead or keep the traditional date. The dispute touched holiday plans, business interests, and the president’s role in setting a national observance. It lasted only a few years, but it led Congress to set Thanksgiving’s date by law. The story explains why the holiday falls on the fourth Thursday today, rather than always on November’s last Thursday. The November calendar made Thanksgiving’s date contentious Thanksgiving traditionally fell on the last Thursday Presidents once chose a Thanksgiving date each year through proclamations. Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation named the last Thursday in November, and later presidents kept that custom. The date was widely followed, but no federal law had yet fixed it. The National Archi...

Holiday stuffed bell peppers Today, I am preparing my holiday ham and dressing and holiday stuffed bell peppers. These aren't your typical stuffed peppers. Instead of using ground beef and rice, I am using my ham dressing to stuff inside the prepared halved bell peppers. These are so festive to serve as a side dish on the holidays and they're truly very delicious.  Instructions:  6 bell peppers (red, green, yellow, and orange all look festive) 1 onion, finely diced ½ teaspoon of seasoning salt 2 cups of shredded cheese, use your preferred (I used a combination of shredded Swiss and mozzarella) 1-½ cups of holiday ham dressing , or boxed stuffing  1 ham steak, cooked and diced Ingredients: First, make your stuffing. To make whole stuffed peppers, slice the tops off of the bell peppers, and remove the seeds and the white lining from the inside of each pepper.  To make more servings, slice each bell pepper lengthwise down through the center of each pepper. Leave the ste...

The Ultimate Spaghetti Bolognese: Your Guide to Authentic Italian Comfort Food Forget those watery, bland versions you've tried before. We're about to embark on a culinary journey to create a Spaghetti Bolognese that's rich, deeply flavorful, and utterly satisfying. This isn't just pasta and sauce; it's a hug in a bowl, a taste of tradition, and a dish that will have everyone asking for seconds. The Soul of Bolognese: Building Flavor from the Ground Up The secret to an incredible Bolognese lies in its foundation. We're not just throwing ingredients into a pot; we're coaxing out layers of flavor through patience and technique. This starts with a meticulously crafted soffritto. Think of the soffritto as the aromatic backbone of your sauce. It's a finely diced mixture of onion, carrot, and celery, gently sautéed in good quality olive oil until they're soft, translucent, and just beginning to caramelize. This process, known as battuto in Italian, takes t...

Holiday ham dressing This is the perfect dressing to prepare for the holidays as a main course, or as a yummy side dish. I prepare it much like my normal dressing, but I add diced mushrooms and diced cooked ham instead of using chicken, or turkey. It's completely delicious and I hope y'all will enjoy it! Ingredients: 1 pan of baked southern -style yellow cornbread 4-6 pieces of dried or toasted bread, cut into cubes 1-2 ham steaks, cooked and diced 2 chicken, or vegetable bouillon cubes 1 can of cream of celery soup  1 can cream of mushroom ½ cup of butter, plus extra butter to grease your pan 1 large onion, diced 4 chives, chopped 2 teaspoons of dried celery flakes 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped 1-½ teaspoons of dried sage 1 teaspoon of thyme ¼ teaspoon of oregano ½ teaspoon of seasoning salt 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper 2 to 3 cups of water 3 eggs whisked Optional ingredients: Cooked sausage Sliced mushrooms Boiled eggs Instructions: So, first make your cornbread ...