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Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 13:00:20 +0000

Hard Boiled Eggs

A Personal Favorite

There are many ways to make eggs, but one of the most versatile has got to be hard-boiled because once you have a supply of hard boiled eggs in your refrigerator you can create so many other wonderful dishes using them.

Here are just a few simple ideas for using hard-boiled eggs

Deviled Eggs
Egg Salad
Sliced For Salad
Use in potato salad
Use in macaroni salad

So what’s the secret to making perfect hard-boiled eggs on the stove every time? Well, it’s the same for all boiled eggs whether you want them soft or hard boiled.

If you want to make perfect boiled eggs you need only to follow one simple rule, which is to never put the eggs in the water until the water is boiling. Then it is just a matter of tracking your time.

For hard boiled eggs with good firm yolks, you boil for 11 minutes, Anything under 7 minutes and you’ll still be in the soft-boiled stage.

Did you know you can also make hard boiled eggs in the microwave? With the right pots and pans that are truly designed for your microwave you sure can. Check out our quick 2-minute video to discover how.

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Fresh Eggs In My Area

Make Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 04:00:14 +0000

Soft Boiled Eggs

A Personal Favorite

There are many ways to make eggs, but a personal favorite for me has always been soft-boiled in a cup with a bit of butter and seasoning. Simply Delicious!

So what’s the secret to making perfect soft-boiled eggs every time? Well, it’s the same for all boiled eggs whether hard or soft boiled.

If you want to make perfect boiled eggs you need only to follow one simple rule, and that is to never and the eggs to the water until the water is boiling. Then it is just a matter of tracking your time.

For soft boiled eggs with runny yolks, you boil for 4 minutes, soft but firming for 6 minutes. Anything over 7 minutes and you are heading for the hard-boiled stage.

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Fresh Eggs In My Area

Easy Cornbread Recipe

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:51:05 +0000

There is nothing quite like fresh homemade cornbread! We’ve been making this easy cornbread recipe for years in our house and it makes the best homemade cornbread time and time again! The crust is perfectly golden, the center fluffy and moist. That’s a combination that is really tough to beat.

Try Our Easy Cornbread Recipe

This cornbread has been a must-have in my home for years, and the whole family looks forward to it when they know we are having it with dinner.

Once you have mastered this easy cornbread recipe, I am sure it will become a favorite around your home as well.

I think we love this homemade cornbread recipe so much because it is so simple to make. Plus, when you compare the price of cornmeal to those little boxes of mix, this recipe will save you money also.

Bonus: When you keep a good supply of cornmeal around, not only will you be able to make this easy cornbread recipe, you’ll never need to buy one of those premade mixes again and you will also discover many other great recipe ideas that use cornmeal.

Pro Tip:

Can’t use sugar, or prefer reduced sugar?

This easy cornbread recipe is very versatile. Simply substitute the sugar for Splenda and it comes out perfect. Or you can also reduce the amount of sugar you use to as little as 1/4 cup.

Ingredients for your Easy Cornbread Recipe

Yellow Cornmeal: Medium or fine-grind works well and will give your cornbread a beautiful golden-brown color. The medium grind gives the cornbread that slightly grainy consistency that I personally love.

All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour will help the cornbread to rise and give it the consistency of bread.

Granulated sugar: This gives the cornbread a touch of sweetness to balance out the flavor of the cornmeal and the bread flour. If you prefer low-calorie sugar, using Splenda in place of the sugar will make your homemade cornbread low-calorie. If you like your sweet cornbread recipe a little less sweet, you can always adjust the sweetness by adjusting the amount of sugar or even the Splenda.

Baking powder: When you’re learning how to make cornbread, you will find that the baking powder helps the dough expand as it bakes.

Salt: It doesn’t take much but you’ll want a little to bring out all the flavors in your scratch cornbread recipes.

Butter: Gives this easy cornbread recipe a moist, rich flavor that just can’t be beaten.

Milk: Makes this easy cornbread recipe moist and rich

Egg: Helps to bind everything together, plus it helps the cornbread to rise.

How to Make Homemade Cornbread

This is where you discover this easy cornbread recipe is so versatile it makes this is the best cornbread recipe out there.

Preheat oven to 400°

Cut 1/3 cup of butter from a stick of butter and set aside in a microwave-safe container. Add the remainder of the butter to an 8-inch cast-iron skillet well and set that aside for the moment.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients, cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Place your cast iron skillet with butter into the preheated oven to heat the skillet.

Using a microwave-safe container, melt the 1/3 cup of butter and then mix with milk to cool. Add the egg and whisk all liquid ingredients together until well blended.

Make a well in the center of your dry cornbread ingredients and add your liquid ingredients. Mix just until the cornbread mixture comes together with only a few lumps remaining in the batter.e

Pour all the batter into your prepared, hot cast-iron skillet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve hot.

The Possibilities Are Endless

Topping Ideas for Homemade Cornbread

Toppings make your cornbread even better. Here are some of my favorite toppings we use for our homemade cornbread.:

Butter (Well, that’s kind of a given) but there are different types of butter you might try.

A dribble of honey is always good on cornbread

Any kind of jam or jelly.

You can even use your homemade cornbread to make sandwiches. Ham & Cheese anyone?

You can also use your homemade cornbread as a topping too. My favorite is crumbling it into a good old-fashioned bowl of ham and beans, or chili with a little shredded cheddar cheese on top. You can even use your homemade cornbread in soups, rather than crackers.

I think I’m making myself hungry just typing this!

FAQ’s

How long will cornmeal keep?

Best if used by date: When stored properly, ground cornmeal is fine long after the best if used by date. This date is the manufacturer’s suggestion for peak quality, not food safety.

How can you tell if ground cornmeal is bad or spoiled?

The best way to tell is to look at and smell the ground cornmeal. if insects appear in the cornmeal or the cornmeal develops a flavor, appearance, or odor that is off it should be discarded.

For more information on the length of storage, check with our friends at StillTasty

If you are looking for some of the best airtight containers on the market to store your cornmeal in, I would highly recommend you check here.

Do I have to use a cast-iron skillet?

Nope, you can make this easy cornbread recipe in pretty much any 9-inch pan. A cast-iron skillet helps to give the cornbread that crunchy edge though and I would highly recommend having one. Personally, I have one cast-iron skillet that is literally dedicated to making cornbread.

You can also make a double batch in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9×13-inch baking pan if you wish. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time to 35-40 minutes if you are doubling the batch.

Muffins are easy also, just adjust the cooking time to around 15 minutes

Can I use white cornmeal for this recipe?

Of course, personally, I prefer the yellow cornmeal in this easy cornbread recipe because it gives the cornbread that beautiful golden color but white cornmeal works just fine.

Can I Substitute the butter for Vegetable Oil?

Not a problem, you don’t need to use butter. You can use any mild oil that you prefer, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or even avocado oil if you wish!

Can I Make This Cornbread Gluten-Free?

Absolutely! You can make this easy cornbread recipe gluten-free by simply swapping out the all-purpose flour for a 1-to-1 ratio of gluten-free baking flour and it will work out great.

Why is My Cornbread Crumbly?

Cornbread is unlike shortbread in that a little bit of crumble is normal but it shouldn’t be completely dry. Trick number 1, use equal portions of all-purpose flour and cornmeal. Trick number 2, Don’t overbake it.

Once you’ve become a pro at this recipe, Why not try your luck at homemade buttermilk biscuits or even biscuits and gravy?

Easy And Delicious Slow Cooker Roast Pork

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:01:10 +0000

Easy And Delicious Slow Cooker Roast Pork

Looking for a great meat market nearby? Click Here!

Don’t you just love slow cookers? Truly a set-it and-forget-it way to cook

Looking for something to go with that wonderful pork roast? Why not check out some side recipes on Plum Cookin’

Super Easy Homemade Self Rising Flour

Karen and Denny's Kitchen — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 22:33:00 +0000

Homemade Self Rising Flour

A True Kitchen Workhorse

With homemade self rising flour you don’t need to go looking for baking powder or salt. It’s built right into your homemade self rising flour. There are hundreds of uses right out of the package.

Without adding additional baking powder or salt, you can use homemade self rising flour to make favorites such as,

pizza crust
cuppa, cuppa, canna (A Personal Favorite)
coffee cake
cream biscuits
cookies
and more.

For those recipes that still need a little more lift, you can always add additional baking soda to the mix.

During my life, I’ve loved to cook for as long as I can remember. I’ve worked in numerous kitchens in every position, from bottle washer to head chef. Additionally, I’ve lived in the southwest, southeast, and northern midwest, so I’ve had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of foods, recipes, and cooking styles. I have to say, the differences in cooking methods in various regions of the country have always amazed me.

While it’s available all over the country, my northern friends are far less likely to have self rising flour in their pantry. My southern friends would tend to ask, how the heck do you make fried chicken without self-rising flour? I have to admit I tend to lean southern on my personal cooking preferences.

Substituting Self-Rising Flour for All-Purpose Flour

Different brands of self-rising flour do vary slightly in the amount of leavening (baking powder) they add to their self-rising flour. In general, you can substitute self-rising flour right out of the bag for all-purpose flour in any recipe that calls for between, say, 1/2 teaspoon and 1 1/2 teaspoons per cup of flour.

If I’m using a store-bought brand, I will usually assume that it contains about 1 tsp per cup. That measure seems to work out pretty well when deciding if I need to add more.

That said, I do love the grab-and-go convenience of self-rising flour, but the variable from one brand to the next is one of the reasons I prefer to make mine rather than buy it.

Homemade Dry Mixes Save Time And Money

The truth is, whether you choose to start from scratch every single time or you choose the time-saving convenience of using homemade self rising flour, they both work. When you get used to having self-rising flour in your pantry, you’ll find it very quick and convenient to use in your kitchen.

If you’re going to use a store-bought brand, here are a few that get the Plum Cookin’ Recommendation

You can make self-rising flour yourself. It’s not difficult at all, but sadly, most of the recipes you’ll find will only tell you how to make a cup or two when you’re in a pinch.

Seriously, if you’re going to take the time to make a cup or two, why on earth would you not just make a pound or two? Or five, for that matter?

All you need is a large bowl, a whisk, an air-tight container, and a couple of minutes. It works just as well, keeps just as well, and will probably cost you less to boot.

At the very least, you’ll have a supply in the pantry when you need it, even if it’s months down the line.

One big bonus to having self-rising flour on hand that no one ever mentions is that now, you have a mix you can build upon to create dozens of other ready-made dry mixes. Some great examples are,

Preseasoned coating for fish
Preseasoned coating for chicken
All-purpose baking mix
Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
Pancake Mix
Waffle Mix
Hot Roll Mix
Bread Mix
All can be made by starting with self-rising flour as a base, to name just a few.

Once you find that perfect seasoning blend the whole family loves, turn it into a pre-made dry mix. The possibilities are endless, and the taste and consistency of your recipes will improve.