Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Hey hey hey!

I had a cooking adventure. I decided to make both my entrée and my side dish in the pressure cooker... on the same night.This meant as soon as the first dish was done, I had to quickly clean the pot and prepare the second. I made sure to have all of the ingredients for both dishes prepped and ready to go before I started to save time.

I wanted chicken with mashed potatoes.... so here's what to do, if you want to be like me. Which you should. I'm fun.

The Whole Bird
Recipe from Great Food Fast by Bob Warden

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning*
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, rinsed well
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1+1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine**
• Juice of 1 lemon

*Poultry seasoning is actually a real thing, like, on its own. This was news to me, so maybe it's news to you too.
**More is fine. Drink what you have leftover. :)

Directions
But first, pour yourself some wine.

You're making chicken, have a nice chilled white.

• In a small bowl/ramekin, combine paprika, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture into the entire surface of the chicken.

• Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" to heat pot. Heat oil until sizzling.
• Place chicken in cooker, breast side down, and cook until browned.
  (The book calls for ~7 minutes. I think this over-cooked the skin on this one section of the chicken. Also, it was crowded and awkward to maneuver. Consider doing this in a pan on the stove instead of in the pot.)

• Flip the chicken in the cooker and cover with remaining ingredients. Select "CANCEL."
• Securely lock the lid and ensure pressure valve is locked. Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" and "TIME ADJUSTMENT" to 25 minutes.
• When timer beeps, let the cookers pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
• Remove from cooker, and let rest 5 minutes before carving. Serve with juices from the cooker.

NOW WHAT! WHOA!
CLEAN THE POT QUICK! MAKE MASHED POTATOES!

Seriously though. I moved the chicken to a plate and covered it with tinfoil to keep it hot. I poured the juices into a glass bowl with a lid. Once the interior pot is out of the cooker, it cools down relatively quickly, but I recommend purchasing oven mitt gloves, for ease of handling while it's still quite hot. Like these! (Legit I use these all the time. Regular oven mitts are not even a thing in my house.)



Ohuhu Oven Gloves (bought on Amazon)

Okay NOW MAKE THE MASHED POTATOES!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Recipe from Great Food Fast by Bob Warden

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon*
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

*Full disclosure: I did not use bacon in my potatoes. I'm one of those weird people who just isn't all that caught up in Bacon-Mania.

Directions

• **The cookbook says to prepare the bacon in the pot until crisp, then finely chop and set aside. It's suggested to drain all but two teaspoons of the bacon grease. Since I did not make bacon, I just tossed a small amount of butter into the pot and heated it instead.***
• Add potatoes and water to the pot, securely lock the lid and ensure pressure valve is closed. Set timer for 6* minutes. (From previous recipes, I know that on the PPCXL the "BEAN/LENTILS" setting is for 5 minutes. Adjust up from there. *I found my potatoes a little undercooked at 6 minutes. I'd adjust up to 8 or 9.)
• When the timer beeps, release pressure. Drain the potatoes and return to pot.

• Use a hand mixer to mash the potatoes until smooth, adding the butter, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper as you go.
  (The book says to mash with a fork or potato masher; but a hand mixer worked so much easier and faster, and I prefer nice and smooth potatoes.)

• Top with finely chopped bacon, cheddar cheese, and scallions before serving warm.

Yummy!!

I don't regularly keep milk on hand at my house, but I wish I'd had some. The potatoes were a bit dry and could have used a splash of milk mixed in. Consider adding that to your recipe. Otherwise, I was pretty happy with how this all turned out.


Alright!! Well done, team. That's some delicious food for your face hole right there.



FOUR!! FOUR PRESSURE COOKER RECIPES! AH AH AH!

Who's hungry?
We're gonna cover a few different recipes here, all from my new favorite cookbook, Great Food Fast by my man Bob Warden. Seriously, the man is a genius.

Here's what's going down in the Pressure Cooker on this post:
1. Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken
2. Honey Garlic Chicken
3. Meatloaf
4. Layered Enchilada Casserole
Then a quick tutorial on a quick and easy way to dice onions that has helped me a lot :)

So get ready. Get set. Get unbelievably tasty food into your bellies.

As per usual, the versions posted here have been adjusted from the cookbook for my pressure cooker (the Power Pressure Cooker XL) and with my suggestions/notes. Take that as you will.

Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken



Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic*
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1+1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar*
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

*Notes:
Use fresh pressed garlic from cloves. None of that minced garlic in a jar. More on why in the next recipe.
I only had dark brown sugar, so I used that. I DO WHAT I WAAAANT!

Directions

• With the cooker's lid off, select CHICKEN/MEAT and heat oil until sizzling.
• Place onions in the cooker and cook until they begin to caramelize, about 8 minutes.
• Cover with chicken, teriyaki sauce, chicken stock, garlic, and onion powder and toss to fully coat chicken.
• Close & Lock lid. Select CANCEL/KEEP WARM, and then choose CHICKEN/MEAT to restart timer. (*NOTE* The cookbook calls for 8 minutes cooking time. The pressure cooker I have auto sets to 15 minutes on the Chicken/Meat setting. When I made this, I ran it for the full 15 and think the chicken was a bit dry. I'd suggest 10-11 mins, just set a separate timer.)
• When timer beeps, release pressure and again select CHICKEN/MEAT to keep pot heating.
• Remove chicken and set aside.
• Whisk brown sugar and cornstarch into the 2 tablespoons of water, and add this mixture into the cooker, stirring in to the sauce. Let simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.
• Add the chicken back into the pot and cover with sauce.
• Serve with sauce and onions.

I served mine on a bed of white minute rice, and it was very tasty.
I will admit it's not a very colorful dish. Consider topping with some green onions?? Let me know your suggestions for brightening this up!

looks bland, tastes delicious

Next up!
Honey Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions

• Toss chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• Select CHICKEN/MEAT to heat pot, and add butter until melted and sizzling.
• Place seasoned chicken in the cooker and brown on both sides.
• Pour the chicken stock into the pot.
• In a small bowl, combine minced garlic, honey, and soy sauce. Spread this mixture over the chicken breasts in the pot.
• Close & lock the lid. Select CANCEL and re-select CHICKEN/MEAT to start timer.
  (As with the recipe above, this recipe calls for 8 minutes. I cooked for a full 15. However the reason I did so on this recipe was because I was using almost-frozen breasts. I'd moved them from the freezer to the fridge at 9am and by 6pm they had hardly thawed. I ran them under warm water while prepping ingredients, but the cookbook suggested adding 7 minutes to cook time for frozen chicken. If you're using fresh, just set a timer and I'd suggest 10. Use your best judgment based on the thickness of the chicken, and a meat thermometer upon completion.)
• When the timer beeps, release pressure and serve immediately.

NOTES
DO NOT USE MINCED GARLIC IN A JAR FOR THIS RECIPE
TWO TABLESPOONS OF THAT WILL KILL YOU

OK not literally unless you're a vampire, which I believe we discussed in a previous blog post...

but HOLY GARLIC BATMAN

I even thought, "This seems like an excessive amount of garlic. I should use fresh and press some cloves."
I REALLY SHOULD HAVE.

Otherwise, this was very tasty.

Other note:
Keep your honey nearby. I squeezed some honey all over the final product including the rice, and it added some fresh sweetness to the dish. And some salt. It needed some salt.


Next!

Meatloaf


I wanted to put a picture of Meatloaf and be like "no not this meatloaf" but then
when I googled "Meatloaf singer"... one of these things is not like the other...

OK no really though
Meatloaf
(The food kind not the singer kind)
I had a couple issues with this one. It didn't go quite how I wanted it to, but I'll put the recipe mostly as it is in the book here, and add my comments for how I'd do it differently at the end.

Loaf Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 lbs lean ground beef (I would recommend 1.5)
• 1/2 cup Italian bread curmbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup finely minced yellow onion
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh pressed garlic (we've discussed this.)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup beef stock or broth

Directions

 

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef with all Loaf Ingredients (minus vegetable oil). (If you're one of those people who doesn't like handling raw meat with your bare hands, this might not be recipe for you. The best way to mix these all together is to get in there and mash all the beef into the ingredients by hand.)

 

• Form the mixture into a round loaf, small enough to fit into your pressure cooker.
• Select CHICKEN/MEAT to heat pot, and heat oil until sizzling.
• Place diced onion in the cooker and sauté until translucent (4-5 minutes).
• Stir in ketchup and beef stock, and top with the rounded meatloaf.
• Close & lock the lid. Click CANCEL and re-select CHICKEN/MEAT to set timer for 15 minutes.
• Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before quick-releasing any remaining pressure. Serve topped with sauce from the cooker.

NOTES:
What happened with my meatloaf:I used a full 2 pounds of ground beef and made one full loaf. After 15 mins, and 10 mins of natural pressure release, I cut into the loaf and it was NOT. cooked through. Quite still rare through most of the meat. So I closed it back up and ran it for another full 15 minutes. After that, I'd say it was a comfortable medium to medium-well.
My suggestions/what I'd do different:
I'd try 1.5 lbs or maybe even just 1 lb and cut back on the other ingredients. And, instead of one large loaf, I'd suggest making two smaller loafs to help cook through more fully.

Overall, the flavor was excellent and I would absolutely recommend this recipe. The pictures aren't exactly beautiful though, but don't let that stop you from giving this one a shot!


And last but not least, my new favorite:
Layered Enchilada Casserole
AKA deliciousness that'll make you want to eat it for every meal forever

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 (16-ounce) jar chunky salsa
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives*
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas*
• 1+1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend*
• Sour cream

Notes
1. I left olives out of mine cus I DO WHAT I WAAAANT
2. Corn tortillas. NOT FLOUR. CORN. This is important. Don't do what you want here. GET CORN THEY'RE BETTER

3. I had like six bags of shredded cheese of various types at home so I wasn't about to buy more. I mixed mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and monterrey jack for my own "Mexican cheese blend" and gosh darn it, it worked just fine. DO WHAT YOU WAAAANT

Directions

• Heat oil in a large sauté pan on the stove over high heat. Add onion, ground beef, and a pinch of salt & pepper, sautéing until browned.
• Stir in salsa, green chiles, tomatoes, olives, and cilantro into the ground beef mixture, and remove from heat.

• Fill the bottom of the pressure cooker with water, just until 1/4 of an inch deep. Ladle 1/5 of the beef and salsa mixture into the water, then cover with a later of 3 tortillas, overlapping to fit.
• Cover tortillas with another layer of the beef mixture, and add another layer of tortillas. Repeat for another 2 layers, ending with tortillas topped with the final layer of beef mixture.
• Cover & lock the cooker and select BEAN/LENTILS to cook for 5 minutes.
• When timer beeps, release pressure and open. Sprinkle with cheese and close the lid again. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving with sour cream.

YOU GUYS. This is so delicious. The only thing I didn't do right was I ended with a layer of tortillas, so my cheese kind of melted onto the tortillas, but whatever it was fine. AND SO TASTY.
I'd suggest serving with a side of Mexican rice and refried beans. I didn't do that because 1, I forgot I had those things and 2, I was so hungry and it smelled so good.

I'm drooling right now.

OKAY.
The last thing I wanted to share is a little trick I learned about chopping/dicing onions.

First of all, I read a "life hack" (hate that term) about chewing gum while chopping onions will keep you from getting all teary eyed.

I've noticed that while red onions don't really bug me, yellow onions make me get all kinds of weepy and it's very annoying. So I popped some Trident while making the meatloaf, and by golly it worked!! So keep that in mind.

That's not the little trick I was talking about, though, although it is helpful.

Here's just a simple way to dice onions quickly:
(I dunno, maybe this is common knowledge, but for me it wasn't, and now it's a time saver. So if this *is* common knowledge, keep it to yourself smarty pants)

1. Cut ends off onion, and cut onion in half.
2. Place open side down and slice almost to core in strips, lengthwise.

1. Turn onion to the side and chop the opposite way down to the core.

1. Voila, you've diced an onion!

Alright.
That's all for now.
My next plan will be to add individual pressure cooker recipes to the side of this blog like I did with all of my other recipes I made back in the day. I'll do that sometime. Eventually. Maybe. I dunno.

GET SOME FOOD IN YOUR FACE!! :: TWO RECIPES YOU NEED RIGHT NOW

YOU GUYS I CAN'T STOP COOKING

But here have some recipes that are awesome.

First one up is Roast Chicken. Don't remember what it's actually called. This recipe comes from in the little recipe booklet included with the Power Pressure Cooker XL. It's the very first recipe that my mom made with hers, and is the recipe that sold me and begun the domino effect into the dangerous (aka AWESOME) world of pressure cooking with my sisters and friends.

As per usual, there are some adjustments to the original recipe here, for simplicity's sake. Thanks to my Ma for that! She's so smart. And pretty. And she has a good singing voice. And she's nice. You should meet her. I'm glad I have her genes.

ANYWAY! Here we go. Roast Chicken Deliciousness.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (Ma & I recommend Smart Chicken brand - most fat already trimmed)
• 4-6 chicken thighs (skin on or off, your preference)
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1/3 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/3 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions

• Mix all spices together & season the chicken well.
• Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" and heat oil in pot until sizzling.
• Brown all chicken pieces in the pot on both sides.
• Once all chicken is browned, add all chicken to pot and seal the lid. Select "CANCEL/KEEP WARM."
• Make sure pressure release valve is closed.
• Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" and "TIME ADJUST" to 30 minutes.
• When timer beeps, release pressure. Serve.

SO EASY.
Now, I decided to serve this with one of my favorite side dishes, "Zucchini Noodles." Found here:
http://mydietadventurefunrecipes.blogspot.com/2013/10/zucchini-noodles.html

Mmmmmmmmmmm

So tasty. So fabulous. Even your dog will like it.

"I *DO* like it!"

This is also great as leftovers. I found it was super yummy reheated, then shredded up and tossed into a fresh salad!!

Enjoy!!

***

Next up.

I got this great book from Amazon cus it had tons of excellent reviews, and I've learned to trust Amazon reviews quite a bit. It's definitely paid off with this recipe book.

I literally laid in bed the night I got it and flipped through the whole thing, folding page corners down on all the ones I couldn't wait to try. I've made a few so far, and will post a few more later.

For now, I want to share the one I just made last night: Orange Glazed Pork Chops.

You guys.

THIS RECIPE.

IT'S SO GOOD.

Bob Warden, you are a genius.

Let's get started.

GATHER ALL THE THINGS!!

There's honey in this picture. You don't actually need honey. I got excited after the grocery store.

*NOTE*

The orange glaze this makes is absolutely delicious. Like, phenomenal. I would recommend DOUBLING the glaze ingredients to make more. I served my pork chop with white rice and the glaze made the rice extra tasty, and so I ended up spooning quite a bit out and didn't have enough left for all four pork chops.  The ingredients below are directly from the recipe, so definitely consider adjusting up.

Also, buy actual oranges for your zest and juice, and use extras for garnish slices.


Base Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 thick-cut pork chops
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock/broth
• 1 tsp. fresh orange zest
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder

Glaze Ingredients

• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions

• Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" and heat oil in pot until sizzling.
• Generously season the chops with salt & pepper, place in the cooker & brown on each side.
  *this was a bit of a tight fit in my cooker... but it worked. I got boneless chops, so if you have any bigger pork chops you may need to do them two at a time or whatever*

 

 

• Add the chicken stock, orange zest, thyme, and onion powder to the cooker and securely lock the cookers lid. Select "CHICKEN/MEAT." (15 min cooking time)
• When the timer beeps, release pressure. Remove chops and let rest under foil.
• Drain & discard all liquid in pot.
• Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" and stir all remaining ingredients into the pot to create a glaze. Let cook until simmering (I let it boil a bit to make sure it was a nice thick glaze). Toss pork chops in glaze before serving. 

sizzly, bubbly glaze

 

Make some Minute white rice while these cook, do like I suggested and double the glaze recipe, squeeze some fresh orange slices over the final dish, and you and your taste buds can thank me later.

I want my leftovers right now.

 

GO AND COOK AND BE MERRY

PF Chang's ain't got ish on me.

Do you like Mongolian Beef? Of course you do.

Make some for yourself and be a winner.

PS have you bought a pressure cooker yet? I mean, if you're here reading my posts about pressure cooker recipes and you don't plan on making any of them I don't get it.

Well, that's not entirely true. You could be here simply for my sparkling personality and charming wit, which I absolutely understand 100%. I am delightful.

But let's get down to brass tacks.
Brass tacks? Ohhhh...I didn't bwing any.
(if you get this reference.. marry me)

Our latest PPCXL adventure comes to us from pressurecookingtoday.com ...again. I told you it'd be frequent. As with the last recipe, I made some adjustments for my brand of pressure cooker, and for simplicity as well. So.

GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS AND LET'S GET TO COOKING!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds flank steak
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2  cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 green onions, sliced into 1-inch pieces

I'd like to cut in here (on myself, makes sense) and say that I find it interesting that before like two weeks ago I'd never cooked with ginger before in my entire life, and now I've made 3 recipes with it. It's delightful. Also, I don't follow directions well so my green onions were cut into itty pieces instead. I DO WHAT I WANT!

Moving on.

Directions

• Pour yourself a nice glass of wine to enjoy while you cook, because obviously.

Be like me. Buy wine based off how cool the bottle looks.

• Cut beef into 1/4" strips (Note - take time first to cut off as much of the outer fat as you can. Also, my strips were not all 1/4" thin. Big knives that close to my fingertips make me a little nervous. Shut up.)

Pics like this remind me why I'm not a vegetarian.

• Heat oil in med-high heat on stovetop skillet. When oil is hot, brown meat in batches until all meat is browned - do not crowd. Transfer meat to plate when browned.
• Sauté the garlic in a skillet for ~1 minute. Add to pressure cooker pot.
• Add soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, and ginger to pressure cooker pot. Stir to combine.
• Add browned meat to pot.
• Close lid and ensure pressure valve is closed. Select CHICKEN/MEAT. (Will build pressure for 10-17 minutes before 15 minute cooking time.)
• Use cooking time to prepare any side dishes as desired. I made brown rice as that's what I usually have with my Mongolian beef at PF Chang's. Quinoa or whatever else your little taste buds desire would be perfect as well.
• When cooking is done, carefully release pressure.
• Transfer meat to a plate.
• Combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water, stirring until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to sauce in the pot, stirring constantly.
• Select CHICKEN/MEAT to heat pot. Bring sauce to a boil, stirring constantly until sauce thickens (~2-3 minutes? I didn't time this. The sauce should slide easily off the bottom of the pot as you stir when it is thick enough).
• Select CANCEL/KEEP WARM. Add meat back into pot and cover with sauce.
• Stir in green onions & serve.

James Patterson reading material optional, but highly recommended.

Now let me take a second here and talk about a product that Delilah recommended to me and has made all cooking I've done with garlic cloves SO EASY. It's this Pampered Chef garlic press. If you cook with garlic ever (which if you cook at all, you probably do so frequently) you need one of these.

If you don't cook with garlic, I'm going to assume you're a vampire and I can't be friends with you anymore. Not because I'm vampophobic, I just cook with garlic all the time and you'll probably go into anaphylactic shock if you dine with me. Or melt or turn to ash or whatever vampires do.

Anyway buy one here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Pampered-Chef-Improved-Garlic/dp/B001UC4VAW
Or wherever else I'm not Googling further for you.

Alright I think that's about it. Go stuff your faces.
Oh here's Olivia.

"Drop some food. Do it. Doooo iiiiitt."

If you don't like peanut butter chicken you're wrong. Unless you're allergic I guess then it's okay but I'm sad for you

Welcome back, nerds!
It's time for another pressure cooker recipe. YEAH!!!

This one is called Thai Chicken Thighs, or simply Thai Thighs if you like phrases that should involve alliteration but don't.

This one came from the good folks over at www.pressurecookingtoday.com. Thanks pressurecookingtoday.com! I like you. I will visit you often and give you credit here as I attempt your creations.

I made some changes to their original recipe as my pressure cooker differs from the type they describe. The recipe below is how I made it for the Power Pressure Cooker XL. Adjust as necessary for your own pressure cooker!

Can you smell what the Hoeller is cooking?! No! Because this is a jpg!

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 thighs)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (standard, not "natural" pb)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon freeze dried cilantro (freeze dried = prepackaged/prechopped)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I admit I forgot to buy this ingredient but I didn't miss it)
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
• green onions, chopped for garnish

Directions

1. Heat 1-2 tablespoons canola oil in skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, brown the chicken thighs in small batches, do not crowd the pan (~4 at a time). Set the browned chicken aside on a platter.

   *I didn't know what exactly it meant to "brown" chicken so after a reaffirming call to the Master Chef of the World (aka Mom) I learned all it means is just basically searing the meat. I let the chicken sit in the hot oil for a minute or two and then I'd flip them for another minute or so.*

2. In the inner pot of the pressure cooker, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, cilantro, lime juice, red pepper flakes and ginger. Stir well to combine ingredients.

   

   This smelled so good. Like.... so good.

    

3. Add the browned chicken to the pot, along with any juices that have collected on the platter. Put lid on and lock in place.
4. Select CHICKEN/MEAT. The cooker should run for 15 minutes after the initial ~10-17 minutes of pressure building.
5. While the meat is cooking, take this time to chop your peanuts and green onion garnish. I also took this time to prepare a side of white rice - I cheated and used "Minute Rice" which, who are they fooling, its 5 minutes.

   *If you don't have one of these amazing chopper thingies, the proper name for which escapes me, you're missing out. Great for making pretzel crust on Strawberry Pretzel Jello, and for chopping peanuts and other things.*

   
    
6.  After cook time, carefully turn pressure valve (using tongs) to release pressure. Remove chicken thighs from pot, leaving the sauce.
7. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. Add mixture to the sauce in the pot, stirring constantly. Select CHICKEN/MEAT to heat inner pot and bring sauce to a boil, while stirring constantly. When sauce thickens, select CANCEL add chicken thighs back to pot and coat with the sauce.
8. Serve garnished with chopped peanuts & green onions (on bed of rice, if desired).

Note from original recipe: If you're using a natural peanut butter or if your sauce is too thick before pressure cooking, add additional chicken broth. If using natural peanut butter, you'll need to add some sweetener to the recipe.

And voila!! Deliciousness succeeded.

Hnnnngggggg

Let your taste buds celebrate. Unless you're allergic to peanuts then maybe don't do any of this.

UNDER PRESSURE bum da dum da da da dum, ba dum da dum da da da dum

Well I started this blog like 3 years ago and was all pumped up about losing weight. Then I fell off the wagon and stopped posting. Then a year later I manned up and posted again, saying I was gonna start posting again.

....That was a year ago. Oops.

So let me be clear. I'm not making any more promises. I suck at keeping them. But I got a new pressure cooker and have posted a couple things on Facebook and a few people have asked for recipes and I figure where better to share them on a blog I already have, which is already about food and with other recipes?

So. Here we are. With a pun title.

It started because Mom bought the Power Pressure Cooker XL, and when Emily and I were home a few weeks ago she made her first dish - roasted chicken with rosemary and other herbs. Once prepped and in the cooker, the pressurizing takes about 17 minutes and then only about 20 minutes to cook from raw. This fascinated all of us in the family, and we were all somewhat skeptical. But when we released the pressure (scary, loud, fun) and opened up the cooker, the meat was falling apart as if it'd been cooking in a crock pot all day. And tasted AMAZING. Needless to say, I was sold.

Oooooh....ahhhhh....

My first recipe attempt was Lemongrass Coconut Chicken, which I found here.
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/137755902728/pressure-cooker-lemongrass-coconut-chicken

Thanks to Nom Nom Paleo for the deliciousness! I've found in my online searching that the Instant Pot seems to be a very common pressure cooker. Being that's not what I own, some changes had to be made.

I'm not going to take the time to type out the whole recipe here because you lazy bums can click and give Nom Nom Paleo the recognition they deserve. But here are my notes, for those of you who maybe aren't familiar with some of the ingredients (I'd never worked with lemongrass or even heard of "coconut aminos" before). For my non-Midwest readers who don't have HyVee or the Health Market found therein..... I'm sad for you.

1.      The recipe calls for a “thick stalk of fresh lemongrass” –  I bought pre-cut and packaged lemongrass from HyVee as that’s all I could find. I didn’t know how much to use, so I used 2 pre-cut pieces totaling probably about 6”. Looking back, I think I could have used more. Once I started smashing it (the website shows an image using a meat pounder, which I don’t have – I used the back of my garlic press!) the smell was wonderful. I didn’t taste much of it though in the final product, so I think I could have added quite a few more pieces without it being overwhelming.

2.      The “full fat coconut milk” is the canned kind – I find it in the Asian section in the Health Market.

3.      I had no idea what “coconut aminos” was, but after some Googling decided that it’s basically a fancier, healthier version of soy sauce. I have gluten free soy sauce I’ve used in other dishes so I used that and I think it was just fine.

4.      I also had no idea what “five spice powder” was. I found “spicy szechwan five spice seasoning” at HyVee, but the recipe pictures show clearly a powder, not a seasoning. If I had a mortar/pestle I could have maybe spent time crushing the seasoning up but that’s too much work, and I am a lazy lazy pile. So I just used the seasoning as it was and I think it turned out just fine. I also probably could have looked at other grocery stores, maybe an Asian market or something, but the recipe calls for one teaspoon. I wasn’t interested in spending that much time and energy on one teaspoon.

Note – I Googled alternatives for this (chili powder, all spice, etc) and found that there really isn’t an alternative for the Asian spice mix unless you make your own.

5.      Have you worked with ginger root before? I hadn't. Treat it just like a potato: Use a peeler and peel the skin, then cut it up into pieces. Smells yummy!

6.      The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of the fish oil. Me personally, I’ll use maybe just one next time, simply because it made my kitchen stink like FISH! But the taste was not fishy at all. Which I was so relieved to discover after the smell!! Also it made the rubber gasket seal on the pressure cooker lid stink like fish too. Lemon juice and/or baking soda can help when washing, but ultimately just making something else will get the smell out.

Ready to get this party started

ommmmmmgggg

The next two recipes I made I found from Power Pressure Cooker XL's website & YouTube pages, respectively.
The first, Apple Cider Pork Loin, found here.
http://www.powerpressurecooker.com/rsp_details.php?rpid=25

You can click the link to see exactly how they recommend; but below I'm going to write out how I actually did it --

Ingredients
2lb center cut pork loin
~2-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cup apple cider
1 medium onion, sliced
2 apples, cored & sliced
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon minced dry onion

Directions
1. Season the pork loin with salt, pepper, & minced dry onions
2. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet
3. Sear the pork loin on all sides in skillet
4. Press Chicken/Meat button, add olive oil to inner pot.
5. Sautee onions in pot
6. Add all remaining ingredients & pork loin to pot
7. Place the lid on the cooker, lock the lid & make sure pressure release valve is closed
8. Press CANCEL button
9. Press CHICKEN/MEAT button, then TIME ADJUSTMENT to 20 minutes****
10. Once timer reaches 0 hit CANCEL, release pressure, open.

***OK. So, after 20 minutes, I opened it up and this is how the meat looked:

Uhhhh... Nah

So I put the meat back in, sealed it up and had it run for another 15 minutes. It was cooked then (it looks more pink in this picture than it actually was, but almost tasted just a *tidge* dry. So I think 10 would have done it. So my suggestion is maybe cook for a total of 30 minutes.

Umm....okay!

Yes.

This meal was SO DELICIOUS. The apples were the perfect addition.

My third, and (so far) last dish I've made in the pressure cooker is Mushroom Risotto, from the Power Pressure Cooker XL's YouTube, found here.
http://youtu.be/5nUJVKSY5nY


I'd never before attempted to make risotto because (in case you hadn't picked up on it yet) I'm a lazy person. Risotto is a patient man's dish. But not when you have a pressure cooker!! This video claims to make risotto in 8 minutes. Now, remember first is prep time, then the building of pressure can take 17 mins, then 8 mins to cook. But still. It's a hell of a lot better than standing over a hot oven and stirring for an hour straight.

With the video... it's deceiving a bit, because there is sort of a recipe in the video description, but there are ingredients missing - notably, the mushrooms, and sherry - two key pieces to a MUSHROOM RISOTTO. So you need to watch the video for the actual ingredients. OR see them here:

I'm pumped, are you?

Ingredients
2 cups Arborio rice***
4 cups chicken stock (I get Rachel Ray brand cus it's just a teensy bit less sodium than the others)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, diced
~2 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz cremini (or any type) mushrooms
4 oz heavy cream
6 oz sherry cooking wine
2 oz butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
grated parmesean cheese - for topping
fresh basil, chopped - for topping
lemon zest - for topping, optional

Directions
1. Press RICE/RISOTTO button
2. Add olive oil, ~1 min to heat up
3. Add onions, garlic - stir up a little to "sweat" them - add salt & pepper
4. Add in this order: mushrooms, sherry, rice, stock
5. Stir briefly to mix all together
6. Place the lid on the cooker, lock the lid & make sure pressure release valve is closed
7. Press CANCEL, then press RICE/RISOTTO and then TIME ADJUSTMENT up to 8 minutes
8. Once timer reaches 0 hit CANCEL, release pressure, open.
9. Add butter, stir, then add cream.
10. Plate, top with parmesan cheese, basil & lemon zest.

***So, when I made this, after the first 8 minutes I still had a LOT of liquid. I hadn't used quite two full cups of rice, but I used the full liquid ingredient amounts. So I added some more rice and set it through another round of cooking for about 4 minutes (I thought it was 6 because I forgot to do the time adjustment... it auto sets to 6 minutes). After that time, the new rice wasn't quite cooked all the way through so I had to do another round for 4 more minutes.

All said, this took longer than it should have, but it was due to my own error. I'd make sure you do at LEAST 2 full cups of rice, maybe even 2.5 to make sure the liquid all gets soaked up in the first round.***

When it was done.... IT WAS SO DELICIOUS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

I need this in and around my face

Alright I'm done for now. More later, nerds.