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Post by elaine on Mar 1, 2016 18:32:30 GMT
Sorry that I am late this week!
I have Chicken marinating for Indian Chicken Tikka in the pressure cooker this evening for dinner. I love chicken tikka, but this is my first time trying to make it myself. I am using a recipe from the Penzey's site and modifying it for the pressure cooker. The marinade alone smelled fabulous and I used the yogurt I made yesterday in my Instant Pot.
A couple of nights ago I made beef, barley and vegetable soup without using a recipe. I browned a pound of stew meat in my pressure cooker in 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of Beef Roast seasoning by Penzey's. I took the meat out and then browned one diced onion. I put the meat back in, along with approximately 1 cup of diced carrots, 3/4 cup diced celery, 1 cup fresh green beans cut to 1" pieces, 3/4 cup fresh peas, 3/4 cup frozen corn, 1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes (1/2" cubes), 1 cup pearl barlet, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 8 cups beef broth. I cooked it at high pressure for 30 minutes and used quick pressure release. I served it with crusty French rolls for dinner. We've had it for lunch too, and I still had some left to freeze for future lunches. It was so easy and really good!
What are you guys making?
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 2, 2016 15:44:00 GMT
Hi Elaine! I've been MIA from the boards generally, but I have been trying to use my InstaPot, it is getting fun using it, now I see it as a challenge! Your beef soup sounds SO good. Girl it's been so warm out here we don't feel like eating soup, but I so want to make some! Okay so the other day I made my first non fail, I made ziti pasta with a jar of marinara and ground beef. Came out a teensy bit more al dente than I like, but it was still SO GOOD! I only added about 3/4 of a jar of water remembering how my first dish fail was way too much water. So I under did it a bit. I swear I'm going to start having to keep index cards of my recipe successes so I don't repeat fails. I wish my family liked pasta, but they don't, so it was basically for me and I froze the leftovers for a quick lunch. Still, it was *fun* to have such an easy success. And I am finding I LOVE the easy clean up. If I'd have made pasta on the stove I'd have dirtied two pots, a colander, and made a mess of the stove. Cleaning out that pot is the easiest thing ever. The ring and the lid go right in the sink. LOVE this. That night I streamed all of Fo Lum's fabulous Youtubes of her InstaPot recipes. I like how she shows her fails, too. I got inspired to try more. So, the night of the Oscars I decided to try a chicken breast/orzo recipe that was an utter fail. The b/s chicken breasts were a bit frozen still so I cooked it on "chicken" setting for 9 minutes and that turned the orzo in MUSH. I mean, disgusting, unsalvageable goop. We winded up having to order Toppers delivery. Such a bummer. But, that fail did not deter me. Rice. Oh man, rice, AWESOME in this thing! Dahlia comes home from school/tutoring mad hungry, and her favorite thing in the world is Japanese sticky rice. Well, that takes a good 45 minutes in the Zoji. In the IP, wow, it was like around 20 minutes from start to finish. ANd it came out perfect. I was so happy! So I got to use the IP for her rice, and then I made basmati for me and Enrique in the Zoji. Win. Win. So yesterday I tried another dish, we call it 'guisado'. Its basically a Mexican style beef stew. I took sirloin and diced small, seasoned s/p, garlic powder and cumin. Sauteed in the IP so it was nice and seared well. Added small diced onion, and a small can of diced Ortega chiles. Then added small diced potatoes, about a 1/2 cup of water and set it on Manual for 8 minutes. It was almost perfect..a little too watery, so I turned on Saute to finish off the extra and then thickened with a bit of cornstarch. Fabulous! I normally make this on the stove on my cast iron skillet. But again, oh the mess I make. And then having to clean up the cast iron and baby it after. Yeah, for weeknights, that's a huge PITA I don't want to deal with..but in the IP it was painless! Guisado is NBD to make on a random Tuesday night. It took no time at all, yay! OMG. I sound like an infomercial now, ha? Lol. I'm sold, can you tell? IDK what I'm going to make next. They are predicting rain this weekend (Cross FINGERS), so soup in on the horizon! I'm definitely excited to try making Yogurt and a cheesecake! Thank you Elaine for these threads, I really appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge with us, this is fun!  |
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 2, 2016 15:44:42 GMT
Oh, and how did the Tikka Chicken come out? Do you use thighs or breasts?
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Post by elaine on Mar 3, 2016 12:47:30 GMT
Oh, and how did the Tikka Chicken come out? Do you use thighs or breasts? Yvonne, the chicken tikka was fabulous! Everyone loved it - I am lucky to have kids that will eat a wide variety of food. I served it over basmati rice and had TJs Indian spinach and tofu as the side dish and my non-veggie eating son had 3 helpings of the spinach along with his chicken. So, it was a successful dinner all the way around.  I know that most tikka recipes call for thighs, but I am not a fan of dark meat, so went ahead and used cubed breasts. Yum! Today I'm making pulled pork in my Ninja 4-1 - an all day affair since my pork butt is frozen - and then black beans as a side which I'll make in my Instant Pot an hour before dinner time. |
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Post by jassy on Mar 3, 2016 14:17:39 GMT
We also went with Indian this week! Indian Butter Chicken - big hit with the family!! Followed directions exactly. (oh except didn't add toasted cumin seeds at end - ain't nobody got time for that! - especially when cumin already in recipe). Indian Butter Chicken |
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 3, 2016 14:20:26 GMT
I'm wondering how ham comes out in the IP. Like, those spiral CostCo hams. I'm always afraid I'm going to overheat and dry in the oven. Although, mine is pretty small, I've got the 5 quart. But, I'm maybe seeing a bigger IP in my future. Also, I see you like Penzeys for spices. Have you ever heard of Savory? I'm a huge fan of their spice blends. Lots of fun ones. Savory Spice Shop They have a lot of stores in Colorado, but there are a few here in So Cal now too, in Laguna. I love the store. I'm obsessed with their Roman Pepper blend. Has a nice kick to it. And their Mexican blend...and the Parmesan Pesto sprinkle... |
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 3, 2016 14:21:45 GMT
Elaine, do you soak the black beans first? I did last time, and they came out great, but if I don't have to...they cook in an hour unsoaked?
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Post by elaine on Mar 3, 2016 14:28:09 GMT
Elaine, do you soak the black beans first? I did last time, and they came out great, but if I don't have to...they cook in an hour unsoaked? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't soak them. It seems the same to me. Unsoaked they cook at high pressure for 32 minutes and then natural pressure release, so it is about an hour total with the time it takes to have that much water come to pressure. |
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 3, 2016 16:03:31 GMT
okay thank you!
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Post by triplejscrapper on Mar 3, 2016 16:54:09 GMT
The Tikka Chicken sounds AWESOME!!!
I have quickly become disappointed with my pressure cooker. I did not inform myself well enough before I bought the one I did. It has been a great way to learn that I like pressure cooking and want to do more of it but I'm going to have to get a better one than the one I have. I can't brown or saute in it. I can't make yogurt in it. Those are both things that I would like to be able to do. So I'm looking for suggestions from those who have ones who do these things, which pressure cookers do you have and like?
I made the hummus I mentioned in a previous thread, it was really good. Nice and fresh tasting. I like mine really, lemony and wondered if it would work to put the juiced lemon "carcass?" in with the beans as they cooked? Would the essential oils in the lemon infuse into the beans and be too much? Bitter? Just a thought...
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Post by maryland on Mar 3, 2016 19:53:34 GMT
I am making an Indian chicken dish (Tikka masala?) in the crockpot. Made it a few months ago, then couldn't find the recipe until yesterday. Smells pretty good! Making jasmine rice to go with it.
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Post by maryland on Mar 3, 2016 19:56:03 GMT
We also went with Indian this week! Indian Butter Chicken - big hit with the family!! Followed directions exactly. (oh except didn't add toasted cumin seeds at end - ain't nobody got time for that! - especially when cumin already in recipe). Indian Butter ChickenLooks good! Is a pressure cooker a lot different than a crockpot? I don't have a pressure cooker, and it wouldn't be in the budget for a long time. But if I can make it in the crockpot, I would love to try it. |
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Post by jassy on Mar 3, 2016 20:22:25 GMT
It is different than a crockpot - it cooks much faster, and because it's "steaming" things tend to stay very juicy and not dry out. You could most definitely adapt to crockpot. I would cook the butter chicken for 4 hours on low and I think that would be plenty! Would also work well on stove top too I think!!
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Post by elaine on Mar 3, 2016 21:03:10 GMT
The Tikka Chicken sounds AWESOME!!! I have quickly become disappointed with my pressure cooker. I did not inform myself well enough before I bought the one I did. It has been a great way to learn that I like pressure cooking and want to do more of it but I'm going to have to get a better one than the one I have. I can't brown or saute in it. I can't make yogurt in it. Those are both things that I would like to be able to do. So I'm looking for suggestions from those who have ones who do these things, which pressure cookers do you have and like? I made the hummus I mentioned in a previous thread, it was really good. Nice and fresh tasting. I like mine really, lemony and wondered if it would work to put the juiced lemon "carcass?" in with the beans as they cooked? Would the essential oils in the lemon infuse into the beans and be too much? Bitter? Just a thought... I think that the perfect pressure cooker for you would be This 6 quart Instant Pot. Many will brown/sauté these days, but only a few have a yogurt setting. I make yogurt in this very cooker weekly - it works perfectly. I have been making yogurt for a few years now and only recently started making it in a pressure cooker, so I am familiar with the whole process and it is much easier in the pressure cooker, because I make it directly in the pot, much less messy, and tastes the same as my old stovetop followed by the bread proofer method. You could try adding the lemon to the chickpeas as they cooked - I have no idea how it would work, but it is worth a try. If I were you, I would try adding lemon zest to the hummus before you blend/food process it. That will really increase the lemon factor. |
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Post by triplejscrapper on Mar 3, 2016 21:08:46 GMT
Thanks elaine....I was thinking the Insta pot too!!!
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Post by elaine on Mar 3, 2016 21:56:44 GMT
I'm wondering how ham comes out in the IP. Like, those spiral CostCo hams. I'm always afraid I'm going to overheat and dry in the oven. Although, mine is pretty small, I've got the 5 quart. But, I'm maybe seeing a bigger IP in my future. Also, I see you like Penzeys for spices. Have you ever heard of Savory? I'm a huge fan of their spice blends. Lots of fun ones. Savory Spice Shop They have a lot of stores in Colorado, but there are a few here in So Cal now too, in Laguna. I love the store. I'm obsessed with their Roman Pepper blend. Has a nice kick to it. And their Mexican blend...and the Parmesan Pesto sprinkle... I forgot to thank you for the link to the Savory Spice Shop - I will have to try them. I love how easy fresh spice blends make cooking flavorful foods. My family strongly prefers spicy to bland.  |
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Post by elaine on Mar 5, 2016 0:46:00 GMT
Today I made my weekly batch of yogurt in the Instant Pot. It was done by 5 and is now straining for Greek yogurt. For dinner, I made Asian Style Cornish Game Hens in my 8 quart Fagor Lux. Since the recipe is for a stovetop pressure cooker, I looked up other recipes I have for Game Hens in an electric cooker and set the timer for 18 minutes. I served them on brown rice with the sauce over all of it and a chopped green salad as the side. Not a shred of hen left! I did use my rice cooker as I wanted to start the rice before the yogurt finished up. |
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Post by Kate * on Mar 5, 2016 4:27:25 GMT
I made the usual half dozen medium-hard cooked eggs, and cauliflower mashed 'potatoes' in the Instant Pot, to go with shrimp (kinda like shrimp & grits), and a green salad. So easy, all was done in about 1/2 hour.
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Post by gale w on Mar 5, 2016 5:58:32 GMT
Saturday night's supper will be stew made in the ninja cooker.
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Post by underwatermama on Mar 5, 2016 6:21:49 GMT
I'm just checking in since I asked about cookers a few weeks back. I finally made it to Costco and they didn't have any pressure cookers! Can you believe that?
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Post by peajays on Mar 5, 2016 14:50:36 GMT
My week has been pretty tame. Just rice, mashed potatoes and hard boiled eggs. I'm craving chicken noodle soup, and I might do that this weekend.
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Post by elaine on Mar 5, 2016 15:59:46 GMT
I'm just checking in since I asked about cookers a few weeks back. I finally made it to Costco and they didn't have any pressure cookers! Can you believe that? I'm sorry! I was just at my Costco and they still had the Cuisinart. There is always Amazon and even Walmart online, not to mention Bed Bath &Beyond online - both Walmart and BB&B have large selections online that they don't carry in their stores. |
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Post by underwatermama on Mar 5, 2016 16:24:24 GMT
I'm just checking in since I asked about cookers a few weeks back. I finally made it to Costco and they didn't have any pressure cookers! Can you believe that? I'm sorry! I was just at my Costco and they still had the Cuisinart. There is always Amazon and even Walmart online, not to mention Bed Bath &Beyond online - both Walmart and BB&B have large selections online that they don't carry in their stores. Ya, we have have BB&B close by. I was just annoyed that I waited to go to Costco since they are my go-to store and they didn't have it. It was actually kind of odd, that whole aisle felt really empty. I'm wondering if they are getting new products in soon or something (my store is right across the street from their corporate HQ so they sometimes have some different products.). I'm still not sold on the pressure cooker idea, but I do want to investigate further. |
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Post by Miss Ang on Mar 5, 2016 16:28:16 GMT
Is there a thread that you guys discussed what pressure cooker you're using? I'd really like to get an electric pressure cooker and I'm just not sure which to get. I have the original stove top pressure cooker that the little thing on the lid jiggles but it makes me so nervous every time I use it. haha!
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Post by gale w on Mar 5, 2016 18:14:10 GMT
Is there a thread that you guys discussed what pressure cooker you're using? I'd really like to get an electric pressure cooker and I'm just not sure which to get. I have the original stove top pressure cooker that the little thing on the lid jiggles but it makes me so nervous every time I use it. haha! I have a fagor which came highly recommended in a pressure cooker yahoo group. But if I was buying now I would either get the Fagor Lux (it has a ceramic insert) or the Instant Pot (stainless insert). Mine is just an older model Fagor. It works fine but I feel like I need to baby the pot because it's regular nonstick. |
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Post by elaine on Mar 5, 2016 18:26:08 GMT
Is there a thread that you guys discussed what pressure cooker you're using? I'd really like to get an electric pressure cooker and I'm just not sure which to get. I have the original stove top pressure cooker that the little thing on the lid jiggles but it makes me so nervous every time I use it. haha! I have a 6 qt Instant Pot 7-1 - which has a stainless pot - and an 8 qt Fagor Lux that has the ceramic pot Gale mentioned, and I bought a second pot for it that is stainless. (it was around $25 for the second pot). I had issues with the non-stick scratching on my older pressure cookers, and it actually was peeling on my old Cuisinart - which got 4-5 years of use, so I did get my money's worth. I have a family of 4, which includes 2 teen boys, so I use the 8 quart a lot. But, it isn't uncommon these days for me to have both of them going at once in order to prep dinner as I am trying to get rid of my other appliances - all the crockpots and yogurt maker have been donated. I still am going to keep my Ninja 4-1, but am going to store the rice maker in the basement and see if I can live without it now and use one of the pressure cookers regularly for rice (we eat rice about 3 times a week). |
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Post by peajays on Mar 6, 2016 1:26:21 GMT
Finally had my chicken noodle soup fix! It was perfect timing as DH is under the weather with a cold and a back spasm. Even my picky DS ate a whole bowl full. I had a small moment of panic when I came upstairs after the 30 minutes, and the cooker wasn't on even though the timer was set. I thought it had broken, but it turns out I somehow blew the breaker and had to wait another 40 minutes for dinner.  |
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Post by littlefish on Mar 6, 2016 1:35:15 GMT
Haven't tried anything new this week but I did find the right timing for baking a large sweet potato (18 on high pressure this time around)...finished it off in the oven for 10 minutes then mashed it with adobo sauce, Tabasco, and some melted butter--amazing!
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