Category: Pressure Cooker

Recipes using a pressure cooker.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker

You can cook a whole chicken—even under pressure

A whole chicken can be cooked quickly, along with sliced onions and bell peppers, to create a delicious, slightly spicy bird, perfect over rice, mashed potatoes or served inside a tortilla.
A whole chicken can be cooked quickly, along with sliced onions and bell peppers, to create a delicious, slightly spicy bird, perfect over rice, mashed potatoes or served inside a tortilla.

Last weekend, Joey attended a day-long bowling tournament.

The day before he left, he lamented that he didn’t think he would have time to throw a whole chicken we bought on the smoker and may have to toss it back in the freezer.

Instead, I offered to put it in the oven on my day alone and have it ready for dinner when he came home.

When he stepped in the door at the end of the day, I was happily putting fresh bedsheets on our mattress, feeling accomplished with my day of laundry.

“Did you decide not to do that chicken,” Joey asked, after we talked about his tournament.

Oops. I totally forgot about the chicken!

Joey waved off my mistake, but I immediately started searching online. I still had an hour or so before dinner time, and I knew just the appliance that could save me: my pressure cooker.

So, this week’s recipe isn’t about a deliciously slow-roasted chicken, basting in its own juices in my oven. Instead, it’s a quick, delicious and slightly spicy bird that managed to save dinner and give us plenty of leftovers for the week.

The recipe I used came from the blog “Chew Out Loud” by Amy Dong. You can find the original post at https://www.chewoutloud.com/instant-pot-whole-chicken/. I doubled every spice in my version and added bell peppers.

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Spicy Pressure Cooker Chicken

A whole chicken can be cooked quickly, along with sliced onions and bell peppers, to create a delicious, slightly spicy bird, perfect over rice, mashed potatoes or served inside a tortilla.
Course Main Course
Keyword bell pepper, black pepper, cayenne, chicken broth, chicken stock, garlic powder, Instantpot, paprika, pressure cooker, thyme, whole chicken, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 pound whole chicken
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons paprika
  • 3 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 medium yellow onion sliced
  • 2 bell peppers any color, sliced
  • 1 cup chicken broth I subbed in a bouillon dissolved in water

Instructions

  • Prepare your whole chicken by removing the giblets, and patting it dry—inside and out—with paper towels.
  • In a small bowl, combine the salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, thyme and black pepper, and stir to mix them together.
  • Using a knife, loosen the skin around the breast, back, legs and thighs of the chicken so you can slide a spoon or your hands inside, and evenly distribute about two-thirds of your spice mixture under the skin all over the bird. Press the rest onto the top of the skin and inside the bird, coating it as evenly as you can. Set the bird aside.
  • In your pressure cooker, line the bottom with the sliced onions and peppers and pour in the chicken broth. Place the prepared bird on top of the vegetables (it doesn’t matter which direction is up or down). Secure the lid and cook the bird on high pressure for 25 minutes, letting the steam naturally release for at least 15 minutes afterwards.
  • Temp the chicken. It should read at least 165 degrees in its thickest spots. If not, do another 15 to 20 minutes of high pressure cooking until it does.
  • Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing or shredding it. Serve it with the vegetables over rice, mashed potatoes or in tortillas.

This was moist and tender, and we ended up making burritos, along with some Mexican rice. The chicken had just a bit of a kick to it, but it wasn’t so spicy that it knocked our socks off. If the heat scares you a little or you don’t think your tablemates are up to it, just decrease or eliminate the cayenne pepper.

Thanks to my pressure cooker this weekend, dinner was saved in the Young household. Now if I could just find the laundry equivalent to quick cooking, my future weekends might really be set.

This piece initially appeared in print on Nov. 16, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker

Cheesy pasta is just the thing to ‘Philly’ you up

Philly cheesesteak pasta doesn't taste exactly like the sandwich, but it's a good homage to the original and full of lots of cheesy goodness.
Philly cheesesteak pasta doesn’t taste exactly like the sandwich, but it’s a good homage to the original and full of lots of cheesy goodness.

One of the spots Joey and I chose to visit for our honeymoon over a decade ago was Philadelphia, Pa. 

As one must when visiting Philadelphia, we tried Philly cheesesteaks at several restaurants around the city.

True die-hards will be sad to know that I was not brave enough to try any of my sandwiches with Cheez Whiz and opted for provolone instead, but they were absolutely delicious, and I have been chasing those flavors since that trip. That’s why I decided to try a pressure cooker casserole that promised the same taste as a Philly cheesesteak this week.

Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver in that realm, but what it did give me was a delicious, quick and easy dinner that I would definitely eat again.

This recipe comes from the blog “Taste and See.” You can find the original post at https://tasteandsee.com/instant-pot-philly-cheesesteak-pasta/. I changed up the amounts of some ingredients in this and clarified some directions in my version below. I will also note that this recipe is written for use with a pressure cooker, but you can easily make this by sauteing the meat and veggies in a large skillet, boiling the pasta normally, and then adding the ingredients together in the skillet. I would just leave out the beef broth.

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Pressure Cooker Philly Cheesesteak Pasta

Philly cheesesteak pasta doesn't taste exactly like the sandwich, but it's a good homage to the original and full of lots of cheesy goodness.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword basil, bell pepper, garlic, onions, oregano, parsley, Philly cheesesteak, pressure cooker, provolone

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced
  • 1 large green bell pepper diced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon basil
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 4 tablespoons Worcestershire
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1 3/4 cups dry macaroni pasta
  • 12 ounces provolone cheese cut into small pieces

Instructions

  • In the pressure cooker, heat the oil on the saute function (medium heat). Add the onions and green peppers, stirring regularly, until they begin to soften.
  • Add the ground beef and saute, breaking it apart as you do. Once the meat is cooked through, drain off any excess fat.
  • Add the salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire and beef stock, and stir, making sure to scrape the bottom of the crock to get any cooked-on bits.
  • Once everything is well combined, add the pasta to the pressure cooker, and stir again to submerge the noodles.
  • Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Manually release the pressure, add the cheese and stir until it is melted and well combined.
  • Serve hot.

As I said, this certainly doesn’t taste exactly like a cheesesteak—probably because it’s missing the actual steak component—but it was super yummy. There was tons of cheese and lots of flavor from the onions and peppers.

It reheated really well for leftovers, too.

I’ll have to keep hunting for my white whale and probably learn to just make the traditional cheesesteaks in my kitchen instead of hoping for a casserole to fulfill my cravings. Regardless, I think I’ll stick to the provolone. It may take another decade until I’m ready for the Cheez Whiz.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 14, 2021.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker

Mexican recipe makes plenty to eat today and ‘tamale’

Red pork tamales are a time-consuming process, but overall, not a difficult one.
Red pork tamales are a time-consuming process, but overall, not a difficult one.

Throughout the summer, we discovered that, for some reason, pork butts were on fantastic sales.

Because Joey loves to fire up his smoker in the backyard, we bought quite a few of them and have lots of delicious, smoked pork in our freezer.

We mostly use it to make tacos, combining the pork in a skillet with fresh green salsa and sauteed onions and bell peppers, but I’ve been trying to get creative with other uses and decided this week that I was finally going to cross a recipe off my bucket list: tamales.

I was extremely nervous about trying to make tamales without any prior experience, but the posts from the blog I used were so helpful, and while it was still a long process, it also was a fairly easy one.

I actually used two, separate posts from the blog “The Busy Abuelita” to make these—one for the masa dough and one for the red sauce. You can find the originals at https://www.thebusyabuelita.com/2019/02/tamale-dough-recipe.html and https://www.thebusyabuelita.com/2019/02/tamale-meat-recipe.html. I added extra spices in my version, and I didn’t roast the pork like she did, but I’d encourage you to go to her website to get instructions if you need help with that step.

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Red Pork Tamales

Red pork tamales are a time-consuming process, but overall, not a difficult one.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword masa, red pork, tamales

Ingredients

Masa Dough Ingredients

  • 8 ounces corn husks
  • 2 cups lard or shortening I used lard
  • 6 cups masa harina cornflour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 5 cups chicken broth

Red Pork Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pork butt or roast cooked and shredded
  • 16 ounces dried New Mexico chile pods
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 beef bouillon cube
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Start by placing your corn husks in a large pot of warm water, weighing them down if necessary. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes before starting assembly.
  • For the dough, begin by beating the lard with a mixer until it’s light—about two to three minutes. Add in the rest of the dough ingredients and let the mixer run until everything is well combined. You’ll probably have to do that for around seven to 10 minutes. You’ll know the masa is ready when a pea-sized piece floats in a cup of water. If it doesn’t float, keep mixing.
  • Once the masa dough is done, cover it and refrigerate it until you’re ready to assemble.
  • For the sauce, remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles (don’t worry if you don’t get every last seed. Just do your best.), and rinse them.
  • Place them in a large stockpot and add just enough water to cover them.
  • Bring the pot to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let them simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the pods but do not pour out the water they cooked in. Add the bouillon cube to the pot, turn the heat back up to medium, and stir until it dissolves.
  • In a blender, adding each ingredient a little at a time and blending in between, add the pods, garlic, cumin and flour, along with one cup of the water from the pot.
  • Pour the sauce through a fine sieve to get rid of any solid bits and pour the sauce into a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk the sauce and let it cook for about five minutes. It’s done when it coats the back of a spoon. If it’s too thick, add more of the water from the pot. If it’s too thin, keep cooking to reduce it further.
  • Add in the shredded pork and stir to combine well. You don’t want a soupy mixture here—just a nice coating on the pork.
  • Remove the pork from the heat and get ready to make tamales. Lay a cornhusk in front of you with the smaller, pointier end on top. Using a two-inch cookie scoop, put about one-quarter cup of masa dough on the wider end and spread it out across the width of the husk and about two to three inches up vertically. The dough will be sticky, and wet fingers really help here.
  • Now place about two tablespoons of pork in the middle of the dough and roll the husk into about a two-inch-wide tube, rolling from the long side. Fold the pointed end up and tie the tamale shut with some baker’s twine. Set the tamale aside and repeat until all the filling is used.
  • To cook the tamales, use a large pot of water with a steamer basket or strainer pot, or use a pressure cooker with a steamer basket. In either case, add about two cups of water to the bottom and pack in as many tamales as you can, standing upright with the open end facing up. In the pot, cook over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until the masa easily pulls away from the husks. In the pressure cooker, cook on high pressure for 20 minutes with a quick release.
  • Serve immediately, and store any leftovers in the fridge or freezer for later.

These were so, so good! We have already eaten them for three meals, and I only made them three days ago. The sauce was great, and I got a huge sense of accomplishment when the first batch of tamales came out of my pressure cooker.

I finally get to cross tamales off my list of recipes to try, and I’ll be doing this again in the future. After all, there’s still plenty of pork in my freezer.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 5, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker

Even ‘piggy’ eaters will love some pulled pork

Pulled pork is actually an easy recipe to accomplish with a pressure cooker.
Pulled pork is actually an easy recipe to accomplish with a pressure cooker.

Several years ago, we had a planned trip to Kansas City, and Joey announced that he really wanted to do his own “Kansas City barbecue tour.” I was game for an adventure, so I agreed.

Little did I know just how much Joey loves barbecue. He managed to find a barbecue joint for every lunch and dinner we had during our time in Kansas City. I’m still convinced that if he could have figured out how to include a barbecue breakfast, that would’ve happened, too.

While I do love some good, slow-cooked barbecue, I didn’t make it as long as Joey did during the excursion. For our last meal, I ended up eating a salad—with barbecued meat on top, of course—because I just couldn’t do another big plate of meat and beans.

We haven’t tried for another barbecue tour since then, although Joey can normally twist my arm into eating it at least once when we’re up in K.C. I’m also always game to try whatever barbecue experiments he tries on his smoker if he has the time to play with it.

This past weekend, we had no time to get the smoker set up. There was just way too much to do, but I did find some great pork roasts on sale at my local grocery store, so I decided to try the next best thing to real barbecue and break out my pressure cooker for some pulled pork.

I found this recipe on the website “Recipe Teacher.” You can find it at https://recipeteacher.com/best-damn-instant-pot-pulled-pork/. I didn’t change a lot, but I did double the garlic powder and the Worcestershire, eliminated liquid smoke and changed the cooking time.

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Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is actually an easy recipe to accomplish with a pressure cooker.
Course Main Course
Keyword pork roast, pressure cooker, pulled pork

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pork roast
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • serve with barbecue sauce

Instructions

  • Trim any excess fat from the pork and cut it into four pieces of roughly equal size.
  • Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker and turn to saute.
  • While the pot is coming up to temperature, combine all of the dry spices into a large bowl and roll each piece of roast in the spice rub to coat them.
  • Once the pot is hot, add two pieces of roast and saute for about two minutes on each side to get a good sear on the meat.
  • Remove the roast from the pot and repeat with the other two pieces. Remove the last two pieces and set aside.
  • Add the chicken broth to the pot and scrape the bottom to get any cooked-on bits off the pot.
  • Add the Worcestershire. Give the mixture a little stir and then place all four pieces of pork into the pot, spacing them evenly.
  • Seal the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 50 minutes. Let the pressure cooker release naturally for 10 minutes and then manually release the rest.
  • Remove the pork from the pot and shred it using two forks.
  • Serve with barbecue sauce and/or the liquid from the pot as an au jus.
  • To keep the pork moist when reheating, dump some of the liquid from the pan into any leftovers before refrigerating.

Clearly my pressure cooked pulled pork was nowhere near as delicious as the stuff you get off the smoker, but it was tender and had great flavor and was done quickly, which was also a bonus.

Plus, it reheats well out of the fridge, so we have plenty of great leftovers for our lunches this week.

Someday I may be willing to go on Joey’s barbecue tour again, but I honestly think I’m still recovering, even though it was years ago. An old episode of “Friends” references a character getting the “meat sweats” from too much consumption, and while I’m not 100-percent sure that’s a medically recognized condition, I do believe it’s real.

This piece first appeared in print on May 16, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker Soup

Get a ‘lentil’ bit adventurous in the kitchen

Lentil soup is a meatless meal that doesn't skimp on flavor or protein.
Lentil soup is a meatless meal that doesn’t skimp on flavor or protein.

With less than a month to go before Lent starts for some and the push to continue to eat healthier in the new year for others, it’s the time of year to look for meatless recipes.

Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like those meatless meals are less satisfying than heartier meals, so I often find myself hunting for vegetarian recipes that are high in protein. The last thing I want is for a healthy dinner to drive me into the kitchen for a snack later because it just doesn’t stick with me.

When I stumbled on a recipe for some lentil soup I could make in my pressure cooker, I decided to do some research on lentils, not being particularly familiar with the ingredient, but I was pleasantly surprised at how healthy lentils really are.

Registered Dietician Katherine Zeratsky with the Mayo Clinic explains that “Lentils are high in protein and fiber and low in fat, which makes them a healthy substitute for meat. They’re also packed with folate, iron, phosphorus, potassium and fiber.”

And I thought they were pretty tasty, too, after we gave this soup recipe a try. The recipe I used is from the website “Delish” and was posted by Makinze Gore. You can find it at https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a25240121/instant-pot-lentil-soup/. I increased the amounts on several ingredients.

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Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup

Lentil soup is a meatless meal that doesn't skimp on flavor or protein.
Course Main Course
Keyword lentil, pressure cooker, soup

Ingredients

  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
  • 3 stalks celery diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 1/2 cups dried green lentils
  • 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
  • 3 teaspoons thyme
  • 2 teaspoons basil
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • shredded or grated parmesan for serving

Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients, except the spinach and parmesan, to the crock of a pressure cooker and stir.
  • Set the pressure cooker to high pressure for 18 minutes and then quick release the pressure when it’s done cooking.
  • Stir in the spinach, and once it’s wilted, serve the soup garnished with parmesan.

There was enough leftover soup for us to put some in the freezer, and it was great later on, too.

I also opted for the vegetable broth to make this truly vegetarian, and I didn’t even notice there wasn’t any meat in the soup. It was hearty and filling and packed a lot of flavor. 

If you really can’t bring yourself do meatless, I’d suggest tossing some cooked ham or bacon into the mix, but honestly, you won’t need it.

If you’ve never cooked with lentils before, don’t let them intimidate you. They look a little different, but they’re really just beans, but they have a bit of a nutty flavor, too.

I’m looking forward to seeing how else I can use them in my kitchen and glad I have a new vegetarian recipe to add to our dinner rotation.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 21, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Pressure Cooker

‘Loin’ing to use pressure cooker no easy feat

A tender pork loin, along with tasty stuffing and gravy, can all be made in under an hour with a pressure cooker.
A tender pork loin, along with tasty stuffing and gravy, can all be made in under an hour with a pressure cooker.

Over the past year or so, I’ve noticed quite a number of people jump on the electric pressure cooker bandwagon.

I have a traditional pressure cooker I inherited from my grandmother, but to be honest, I’ve always been a bit scared to actually try it, so it’s stayed packed away on a high shelf in my kitchen.

On Christmas, though, my parents gifted my sister and I each an electric pressure cooker, which somehow seems less terrifying than the stovetop variety.

So, since Christmas, I’ve been playing with recipes, trying to figure out how pressure cooking works, and I finally have a recipe I’m excited to share.

This recipe comes from the blog “The Creative Bite” by Danielle Green. One thing I really liked about this recipe is that it’s all made completely in the pressure cooker pot, so there’s only one dish to dirty. You can find her post at https://www.thecreativebite.com/pressure-cooker-pork-loin-stuffing-gravy/. I subbed in cornbread stuffing and added rosemary for seasoning.

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Pressure Cooker Pork Loin, Stuffing and Gravy

A tender pork loin, along with tasty stuffing and gravy, can all be made in under an hour with a pressure cooker.
Course Main Course
Keyword cornbread, gravy, pork loin, stuffing

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter divided
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 24 ounce pork loin
  • 4 to 5 teaspoons rosemary
  • 3 to 4 teaspoons garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
  • 6 ounce box cornbread stuffing mix
  • 2 tablespoon flour

Instructions

  • Season the pork loin with rosemary, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  • Add two tablespoons of butter to the pressure cooker and turn to saute. Add the pork loin and sear for about four minutes.
  • Add the onions and flip the pork loin over and sear for another four minutes.
  • Add the chicken broth and cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, and then allow the pressure to release naturally.
  • Remove the pork loin and set aside to rest on a cutting board.
  • Scoop out about two cups of liquid, leaving the onions behind, and reserve it for gravy.
  • Dump in the stuffing and stir to moisten. (If it’s still a bit dry, pour a little of your reserve liquid back in. Look at the directions on the box if you’re unsure how much liquid the stuffing mix needs.)
  • Place the lid on the pot and let it sit for five minutes.
  • Pour the stuffing into a serving dish and cover it.
  • Add the rest of the butter to the pot and turn back to saute. When it melts, whisk in the flour. Stir it for a couple minutes and then whisk in the reserved liquid. Cook for about two minutes or until it thickens. Season with more salt and pepper.
  • Slice the pork loin and serve with stuffing and gravy.

This was such a nice, hearty meal, and it came together really easily, which I appreciated. Also, having this recipe turn out so well gave me a lot of confidence moving forward with learning to use my new kitchen toy.

My sister has also been playing with her pressure cooker, and we were discussing how the electric version seems less terrifying than the traditional variety.

“What is it about the Baby Boomers that they’re brave enough to use those things all the time,” I asked her.

“Well, they did grow up without seat belts,” she said. “Now they’re not afraid of anything.”

Good point, Sis. Good point.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 24, 2019.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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