Cooking Exceptionally With Gin Lee

  Traditional Labor Day Recipes for a Cookout That Feeds a Crowd The grill is barely hot before someone asks when the burgers will be ready. Traditional Labor Day recipes bring people around picnic tables with grilled meats, creamy salads, sweet corn, ripe fruit, and desserts made for sharing. A strong menu mixes familiar cookout favorites with make-ahead dishes, seasonal produce, regional flavors, and safe outdoor service. Build a Classic Labor Day Menu Around Cookout Favorites A traditional Labor Day meal works best when guests can build a plate at their own pace. Choose two or three grilled mains, then add cold salads, warm sides, fresh produce, and easy desserts. Grill Burgers, Hot Dogs, and Sausages Hamburgers remain a cookout staple because guests can dress them to taste. Season ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, or Worcestershire sauce, then add lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and sliced cheese. Form evenly sized patties, press a sh...

Savory Biscuits This recipe makes some of the best biscuits to serve with savory meats, casseroles, soups, and stews. They're even great to serve alongside breakfast chops in the morning. Ingredients: 2 cups of self-rising flour 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper Just a pinch of seasoning salt Just a small pinch of each of the following spices: oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper flakes, garlic powder, and dried tomato flakes 3/4 cup of whole milk Instructions: Sift two cups of self-rising flour three times. Then add it to a medium-sized bowl. Now, add 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening to the seasoned flour. Using a fork to cut the vegetable shortening into the flour (do this until all the shortening is well combined with the flour.) At this point, the flour mixture will have little pea-sized lumps. Add 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, a pinch of seasoning salt, and a small pinch of oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper flakes, garlic powder, and dr...

Sausage, egg, and cheese brioche breakfast casserole If you like buttered toast and are a fan of breakfast food, then you're going to really enjoy my brioche breakfast casserole. This casserole has a bottom layer of brioche bread, then a layer of cooked sausage, egg, and gooey melted cheese. The casserole is similar to a breakfast pizza without having to prepare dough. Ingredients: 1 pound of your favorite ground sausage 2 cups of your favorite shredded cheese 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper ½ teaspoon of onion powder 6 slices of brioche bread (sliced thick) 6 tablespoons of melted butter 4-6 eggs ¼ cup of milk ½ cup of real bacon bits Instructions: In a skillet, cook the sausage, over medium heat, until it's completely browned. Drain the excess grease off and set aside. Place the butter in a microwavable bowl and microwave for about ten seconds or until it's completely melted. Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 rectangular dish....

Homemade soup and chili crackers I must confess, I really love homemade crackers, with or without a hearty bowl of soup or chili. I honestly enjoy munching on them more than potato chips or popcorn as a mid-morning and late-night snack. Yes, I do get the munchies while watching an occasional late-night movie! I have used several types of flour to make this cracker recipe. I will list each type that can be used in the list of ingredients below. Today I am using all-purpose flour. Ingredients: 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour; you can also use wheat flour, rice flour, oat flour, almond flour, or any other type of nut flour. The texture of the crackers will be somewhat different with each. 5 to 6 tablespoons of canola oil; you can also use softened butter and other types of cooking oil. 1 cup of water plus a little extra if needed 1 teaspoon of onion powder 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt 1 teaspoon of steak seasoning (optional) Optional ingredients that can be...

Slow Baked Barbecue Pork Ribs To ensure that the pork ribs cook tenderly, I slowly bake them at a low temperature inside an aluminum foil pack. But not before I lay the pork ribs out on a bed of onions, season them, add barbecue sauce, then finish layering sliced onion rings on top. I use one entire (large) onion for this recipe. As the onion rings cook, they not only add additional flavor to the pork ribs, they also tenderize them. (Onions break down protein when they're fully in contact with meat.) Once the pork ribs are done, you can take the onions off the ribs, or serve them just as they are. Instructions:  You'll need one large sheet of aluminum foil for this recipe. 1 package of pork ribs (It can be country-style ribs, bone-in ribs, or boneless pork ribs.) 1 large onion, sliced into rings (I used some already prepared frozen onion rings today.) ½ cup of spicy barbecue sauce, or your preferred barbecue sauce 1 tablespoon of barbecue seasoning mix Sprinkle with seasoning ...

  Best Alternatives to Sardines for Protein and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Sardines pack high-quality protein, EPA and DHA omega-3 fats, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and calcium when their soft bones are included. They also tend to contain less mercury than many large fish. Still, taste, allergies, diet choices, price, supply, and sustainability concerns can make the best alternatives to sardines for protein and omega-3 fatty acids a better fit. The right choice depends on whether you need direct omega-3s, protein, key vitamins, or a mix of all three. Salmon and Oily Fish Deliver Similar Omega-3 Benefits Oily fish are the closest nutritional match because they provide EPA and DHA directly. Values change with species, serving size, cooking method, and whether the fish is wild-caught or farmed. Salmon Provides Protein, EPA, and DHA Salmon offers plenty of protein and substantial long-chain omega-3 fats. Fresh, frozen, canned, wild-caught, and farmed salmon do not have identical nutrition profil...