Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Pressure Cooker: Short Ribs (Using Boneless Chuck Roast)

Short ribs are a more expensive cut of meat. Read that I could use boneless chuck roast in place of it. Turned out delicious!! I had the butcher cut the boneless chuck roast into 1 inch strip chunks.

Short ribs (Using Boneless Chuck Roast)
Prep Time: 15 min      Pressure Cook Time: 45 min + 4 min

First, I marinated the meat in some red wine (just enough to cover it). Kept it in the fridge.
Using my Instant Pot, I browned my meat on saute mode. Did this for about 8 min per side. Set meat aside.

In a bowl, mix 1 cup red wine, 1/3 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp worcheshire sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar, some thyme (1/2 tsp?).

On saute mode again, I put some onions in. Then garlic to create more aroma. Deglaze with water/wine to make sure there are no brown bits at the bottom (so that the pot can come to pressure). Place meat on top of onions. Pour liquids in that was mixed in the bowl. Close lid.

Time to pressure cook! Set on manual for 45 min HP(high pressure). NPR for 10 min; QR.
Then put in chopped carrots and quartered potatoes. Set on manual 4 min HP. QR.

It was flavorful and enjoyable. Served it on top of veggie rotelle pasta. The sauce tastes awesome.



Enjoy!!!

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Pressure Cooker: Egg Bites

I have wanted to make egg bites for a while. Got out my Beaba silicone multiportions container. You can also use ramekins, stainless steel bowls, etc. Did not really measure things out. Tons of variations for this. Add sausage, veggies, etc, etc..

Egg Bites
Ingredients:
3 eggs
some milk
some cheese
bacon bits
salt (to taste)

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, crack the eggs with some milk (maybe 1/8 cup). Sprinkle sea salt. Mix in some cheese. Scramble it together. Place some bacon bits at the bottom of the Beaba multiportions; pour the rest of the mixture in. I filled mine about 2/3 of the way since I did not want to overfill them. (4 eggs would fit also)

Pour 1 cup water in the inner pot. Place the Beaba multiportions (or other silicone mold) in. Close lid (make sure it is in 'seal' position). Set to Manual for 3 min HP. QR.




That's it! Enjoy!!

Note: I spray nonstick oil since I hate cleaning/scrubbing.

Other pictured items are:
Cinnamon Raisin French Toast made in a pan on the stove.
Mashed potatoes made in the pressure cooker leftover from the night before.

Below is another idea for the silicone mold:
I put chicken broth made from pressure cooked chicken thighs. Poured it into the mold to freeze.
When I want chicken broth for another recipe, all I have to do is pop the amount I want in.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Gobble!! Gobble!! (Pressure Cook: Turkey Breast)

It was Canadian Thanksgiving a couple days ago. Seeing posts of Thankgiving recipes made me want to make turkey. Thought I'd give it a shot after some research.

Bought a bone-in half turkey breast which just fit in my 6 quart IP (Instant Pot).

Bone In Half Turkey Breast 
Ingredients: 
Bone in half turkey breast
1 cup broth
celery stalk
onion (chopped)
Some butter (Optional if you are browning your breast)

Directions:
Season your half turkey breast. I sprinkled sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, rosemary. Brown first to get some color. Press 'Saute' set to medium. Place butter in the pot (I used 3 Tbsp since it was leftover from a stick). Place turkey in breast side down. I did not touch it for 6 minutes. Then press "Cancel". Remove the turkey.

Add 1 cup broth (or water) to deglaze (make sure nothing is stuck at the bottom of the pot). Throw in chopped celery and onion. Put the turkey back breast side up.

Close the lid. Set your Pressure Cooker on Manual 20 min HP. Time will depend on how many pounds your bone in turkey breast is. Mine was 2.5 lbs, so I set it for 20 min. If yours is bigger, set it for more time. Natural pressure release after it is done.

To make the gravy, mix 3 Tbsp flour (or cornstarch) and 3 Tbsp water together. Whisk it into the IP which already has broth, celery, onions. Add more flour as needed to desired thickness.

Enjoy!!



Notes: 
Photo also includes carrot-potato mash (made it as an experiment but regular mashed potatoes taste so much better!)

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Pressure Cook: Steel Cut Oatmeal

This is the first time I have done a breakfast recipe in my Instant Pot (pressure cooker)!!

Read through different variations. Some recipes say to cook it for 3 min, 5 min, 10 min but all of them recommend NPR (natural pressure release) so that the contents don't spew out.

Steel Cut Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oatmeal
3 cups water (I used 2 cups water, 1 cup cold whole milk)

Directions: 
Pour everything in the pot. Pressure cook for 10 min. NPR.

So how long did it actually take? From getting out my IP to pouring the ingredients to building pressure, it was about 10 minutes. Another 10 minutes for pressure cooking, followed by 15 min NPR (QR after 15 minutes only because I knew there was very little pressure left). Total time was 35 min but you do other things during that time.

The texture was PERFECT.

Sweeten and top as you like it!!


Enjoy!!

Variation:
Apple Steel Cut Oatmeal
Put 1 steel cut oats, 2 cup water, 1 cup whole milk, diced apples (1 small gala apple) into the IP. Pressure cook for 10 minutes (manual HP). After NPR, stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon with sweetener of choice. Delicious!!


You can't see the apple after it is cooked unless you look very closely but oh the flavor...



Friday, June 9, 2017

Bulgogi Rice

I've been searching and searching for different dishes to serve for dinner. When you cook daily, it's easy to have the same things over and over again.

This is the easiest and tastiest recipe I've found in a long time!!! Bulgogi Rice is bulgogi meat using ground beef instead.

Bulgogi Rice
Prep Time: 2 minutes      Cook Time: 5 (?) minutes minus making rice
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
3 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
a little ginger chopped finely
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup rice

green onions (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)

Directions: 
Cook your rice separately. I put one cup jasmine rice with water in my pressure cooker (Instant Pot) for 3 min (then NPR 10 min).

In a pan, cook ground beef and garlic. Add black pepper. Cook until browned.

In a separate medium sized bowl, mix soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil. Pour this mixture into the pan. Mix. THAT'S IT!!! 

Get a bowl of rice, put the bulgogi ground beef over it. Top it with green onions and sesame seeds, if desire.

DELICIOUS, EASY, FAST!! What more could you ask for??
Well, I will double the recipe next time since we gobbled it up. 

ENJOY!!

Note: I usually stir fry some kind of veggies on the side to create balanced meals (mushrooms, green beans, zucchini)

Friday, April 28, 2017

Pressure Cooker: Rice Pudding

This is the first dessert I made in the pressure cooker. Basically, you make rice. Then stir the other ingredients using the "Saute" mode. Easy peasy.

Rice Pudding
Prep Time: 5 minutes      Pressure Cook Time: 4 minutes
                                        Additional Cooking: 3 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup Arborio rice
1.5 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins

Directions: 
Cook the rice by putting the Arborio rice, water, salt in the inner pot. Pressure cook on Manual mode high pressure for 4 minutes.

QR (quick release pressure). Stir in milk, cinnamon, sugar.

Using "Saute" button, stir in beaten eggs with vanilla extract. Keep stirring until everything is incorporated. Press cancel. Mix in raisins.

Rice pudding is served warm or cold. Your choice!!

Enjoy!!


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Pressure Cooker: Chicken Congee (Porridge)

This is a keeper. It's easy and tasty. Great for when you want a soupy rice. Perfect for when you want comfort when you are sick, etc. Love this!!

Chicken Congee
Prep Time:  5 min      Pressure Cook Time: 30 min
* Note: It will take a while to get to pressure since there is more liquid in the pot.

Ingredients: 
1 cup jasmine rice
7 cups water
1 tbsp sliced ginger
2 cloves garlic
2 lb chicken (preferably bone-in but not necessary)

salt (to taste)
sesame oil (to taste)
green onions

Directions:
Rinse rice. Put rice in the inner pot with ginger, garlic, and water. Place chicken on top. Close the lid and make sure your pot is on "seal". Set manual high pressure for 30 minutes. NPR.

Shred chicken and add salt/sesame oil to taste (about 1/2 tbsp). Top with green onions, etc. If you want, you can put chicken congee in bowl, then salt/sesame oil to taste.

Enjoy!!