Cooking Exceptionally With Gin Lee

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Small batch biscuits

Small batch biscuits Today, I thought that I would make breakfast biscuits for two because there are only two people in my household. Although my recipe makes four biscuits, one biscuit that's 2-1/2 inches in diameter is an actual serving size. My husband always wants more than one biscuit. So this is the reason why I make four instead of two. If you'd like to make only two biscuits, reduce the ingredients by half. There are around 212 calories in one 2-1/2-inch-diameter biscuit. This calorie count does not include the extra calories when butter, honey, jam, sausage, eggs, bacon, or cheese are added to the meal. Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups of self-rising flour 6 tablespoons of butter 1 cup of water or milk Instructions: In a large bowl with a nice flat bottom, add all the self-rising flour and the butter. Cut the butter into the flour using a large fork. Pour the water or milk into the mixture and stir until the dough forms a ball. If needed, knead the dough four to six times with ...

Stop Using One Cutting Board for Meat and Veggies

Stop Using One Cutting Board for Meat and Veggies You finish slicing raw chicken breast for a weeknight stir-fry. Without washing the board, you grab a fresh knife and chop green onions and bell peppers right on the same surface. This routine happens in millions of kitchens every day. Yet, the Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly cited cross-contamination as a leading vector for domestic parasitic infection. When you prep raw animal protein and fresh vegetables on identical boards, you invite invisible germs straight to your plate. The Microbiological Reality of Shared Cutting Boards How Pathogens Migrate from Protein to Produce Cutting boards look smooth to the naked eye, but under a microscope, they feature deep valleys and knife scars. Meat juices fill these tiny grooves with liquid loaded with microbes. When you press a dry vegetable into those cuts, capillary action pulls the liquid up onto your produce. If you slice raw poultry and then chop a salad, the bacteria on the bo...

Yummy Savory Milk Gravy Recipe for You to Enjoy!

Yummy Savory Milk Gravy Recipe for You to Enjoy! Indulge in the delectable flavors of my savory milk gravy recipe! This versatile dish pairs perfectly with mashed potatoes, pork chops, minute steaks, and even biscuits. Elevate your dining experience by using it as a dip for fresh bread. Give this recipe a try and treat your taste buds to a truly satisfying meal. Ingredients: 2 cups of milk 2 to 4 tablespoons of butter 4 tablespoons of self-rising flour 1 teaspoon of steak seasoning (to make homemade steak seasoning, mix together the following ingredients: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, crushed coriander seeds, and red pepper flakes) Add additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Instructions: First, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk constantly for about 2 minutes to make a roux. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously to avoid lumps...

Turn Fridge Scraps Into Dinner With a Pot of Throw Together Soup

Turn Fridge Scraps Into Dinner With a Pot of Throw Together Soup You stare at the open refrigerator door and see half an onion, a sad stalk of celery, and a block of cheese. Dinner feels hours away, and takeout sounds too expensive. Instead of panicking, you can pull together a warm meal in less time than it takes to scroll through a delivery app. A pot of throw together soup turns random odds and ends into a filling dinner without a trip to the store. Why Flexible Cooking Beats Strict Recipes Every Time Rigid meal plans add stress to a busy week. You buy five specific items for one dish, and the leftovers rot in the back of the drawer. When you learn how to cook without rules, you free yourself from that loop. You look at what you have and make it work. The Mental Shift from Strict Recipes to Pail-and-Pantry Cooking Following exact measurements keeps you locked inside a box. If you run out of heavy cream, you might abandon the whole meal. Improvised cooking changes your mindset from f...

Cocoa cookie biscuits

Cocoa cookie biscuits Cocoa cookie biscuits are a basic chocolate cookie with zero frills. They're simple to make, but extremely delicious when prepared with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. When sandwiched together with peanut butter in the center, they are transformed into an undeniable yummy snack. You may even want to make sure you have a glass of milk on hand to do a bit of cookie dunking! Ingredients: 1 large egg ¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted 1 cup of self-rising flour, sifted ¼ cup white granulated Splenda, or sugar ½ cup of butter, softened 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract Instructions: Lightly butter a cookie sheet; set it aside. In a bowl, combine the egg, Splenda, or sugar, butter, and the pure vanilla extract; mix thoroughly until creamy. Now, add the cocoa powder and the flour in, mix well until fully incorporated. At this point, I use my hands to dive into the bowl of dough. You can use a mixer with a dough hook, or transfer the dough to a food processor, if that...

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With This Easy No Bake Cookie Crumble Peanut Butter Balls Recipe

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With This Easy No Bake Cookie Crumble Peanut Butter Balls Recipe Bite-sized desserts vanish from party trays faster than almost any other food. When sweet cravings hit hard, waiting for an oven to preheat ruins the mood. This easy no bake cookie crumble peanut butter balls recipe solves that problem in minutes. You get rich peanut butter flavor mixed with crunchy cookie bits without turning on a single kitchen appliance. Why No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls Belong in Your Weekly Rotation Quick treats save the day when unexpected guests show up or schedules run too tight. People want desserts that taste amazing but demand minimal effort and cleanup. No-bake sweets fit this exact need by cutting out baking sheets, mixing bowls, and long wait times. You pull ingredients from the pantry, stir them together, and enjoy a fast snack. The Rise of No-Bake Desserts in Busy Modern Kitchens Home cooks spend less time on complex baking projects during busy weekdays. Quick recipe...

Sausage in a Bisquick blanket

Sausage in a Bisquick blanket Today, I am making piggies wrapped in a blanket with Bisquick biscuits and cooked sausage links. Piggies in a blanket is not a new concept, but it is still a very delicious way to make breakfast meals different. Ingredients: 6 sausage links, cooked separately, then halved 2 cups of Bisquick ½ cup of milk 4-6 tablespoons of softened butter Note: to soften ths butter, just lay it out on the counter ahead of time. Instructions: First, cook the sausage links in a skillet on medium heat. Cook the sausage until it is browned and completely done. Set aside. (Since I made smaller sized biscuits, I cut my sausage links in half.) Now, add the Bisquick and butter together. Using a fork, combine the butter well with the Bisquick. Then add the milk a little at a time; do not add it all in at once because you may not need all of it. (Sometimes I do need a half cup of milk and sometimes I don't. I am unsure why that happens. The dough needs to be drier for this recip...

Crispy Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe That Never Gets Soggy

Crispy Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe That Never Gets Soggy You pull a pan of eggplant parmesan from the oven, and instead of a crisp slice, you get a sad, watery mess on your plate. Watery vegetable layers ruin a good batch of Italian comfort food faster than almost any kitchen mistake. You want that crunchy breadcrumb crust to hold strong against rich tomato sauce and melted cheese. Getting that crisp texture means you have to outsmart the high water content inside the vegetable itself. Let us look at why homemade bakes fail and how you can fix the problem for good. Why Restaurant-Style Eggplant Parmesan Fails at Home Most home cooks slice the purple squash, dip it in breadcrumbs, and bake it right away. That shortcut leaves trapped water inside the flesh. As the dish bakes in the oven, that trapped moisture steams the breading from the inside out. You end up with a soggy crust that slides right off the slice. Professional kitchens prep their ingredients with patience and specific st...

Making self-rising flour

Making self-rising flour Most recipes that I prepare list flour as an ingredient. I prefer using self-rising, but there's been several times, within the past few years, when the stores that I shop at haven't had self-rising flour. So, I will make my own and today I will tell you how I do it. No, I am not grinding my own wheat, etc.. When you make your own self-rising flour, you're in control of the amount of salt that's added to it. Whereas, when you purchase self-rising flour in the store, you're not. Yes, self-rising flour is made with salt already added, as well as a few other needed ingredients. These ingredients are what are essentially needed to make your biscuits, etc. rise during the baking process. Since I bake a lot, I double the recipe while I have all the ingredients already out. This self-rising flour recipe takes me about five minutes to prepare. I do not sift the flour while I am making it; I wait to sift the flour as it's needed. After mixing th...