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Post by elaine on Mar 7, 2016 22:11:14 GMT
Good evening everyone! I didn't cook yesterday - we went out to dinner - woo-hoo! Tonight I am going to grill pork chops, for a change - I haven't grilled in a couple of months.  But, I am going to try making braised fennel with lemon and pepper in my pressure cooker as a side dish. I have really been enjoying trying root vegetables in my pressure cooker and thankfully my kids have been liking them too. What are you guys making this week? |
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Post by keesha on Mar 8, 2016 0:37:19 GMT
My InstantPot is occupied making yogurt ( do a 24 hour one). I decided to try and skip the boiling step. It came out much thinner than usual. So an additional day it will be occupied with yogurt!
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 0:45:29 GMT
My InstantPot is occupied making yogurt ( do a 24 hour one). I decided to try and skip the boiling step. It came out much thinner than usual. So an additional day it will be occupied with yogurt! You have to do the boiling step regardless of how you make yogurt - crockpot, pressure cooker, or even yogurt maker. There is something about bringing the milk up to 180 degrees that changes the molecular structure of the milk allowing the active cultures to thrive and grow once you have cooled it back down and added them. Good luck! I'm not sure you will come out with something much different from Keifer without the boiling step. But Keifer is good too! We did Keifer for about a year, with my kiddos drinking a Keifer smoothie per day and then they burned out. |
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 0:48:50 GMT
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Post by keesha on Mar 8, 2016 1:01:22 GMT
My InstantPot is occupied making yogurt ( do a 24 hour one). I decided to try and skip the boiling step. It came out much thinner than usual. So an additional day it will be occupied with yogurt! You have to do the boiling step regardless of how you make yogurt - crockpot, pressure cooker, or even yogurt maker. There is something about bringing the milk up to 180 degrees that changes the molecular structure of the milk allowing the active cultures to thrive and grow once you have cooled it back down and added them. Good luck! I'm not sure you will come out with something much different from Keifer without the boiling step. But Keifer is good too! We did Keifer for about a year, with my kiddos drinking a Keifer smoothie per day and then they burned out. Now I know from experience. I had read that for the cultures to thrive you need to kill all other competing bacteria by boiling. Thought I would test --fail. I have been sucessfully making yogurt for months so thought I would experiment. I chose the InstantPot just for this feature. I don't mess around with jars--do a gallon at a time directly in the insert. I strain and make greek. It is excellent. Now I know! Thank you for the confirmation  |
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pridemom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,843 
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Post by pridemom on Mar 8, 2016 1:04:32 GMT
I used my pressure cooker to make rice today for fried rice. I started it when I came home from work, put the rice in the freezer, and after an hour made dinner. Yum.
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 1:20:54 GMT
You have to do the boiling step regardless of how you make yogurt - crockpot, pressure cooker, or even yogurt maker. There is something about bringing the milk up to 180 degrees that changes the molecular structure of the milk allowing the active cultures to thrive and grow once you have cooled it back down and added them. Good luck! I'm not sure you will come out with something much different from Keifer without the boiling step. But Keifer is good too! We did Keifer for about a year, with my kiddos drinking a Keifer smoothie per day and then they burned out. Now I know from experience. I had read that for the cultures to thrive you need to kill all other competing bacteria by boiling. Thought I would test --fail. I have been sucessfully making yogurt for months so thought I would experiment. I chose the InstantPot just for this feature. I don't mess around with jars--do a gallon at a time directly in the insert. I strain and make greek. It is excellent. Now I know! Thank you for the confirmation Yeah, I used to do the jars. I would boil the milk, cool it down, add the starter, pour it into quart jars and then put it in a bread proofer set at 110 for 6 hours, then strain for 3 hours for Greek yogurt. I switched to the bread proofer, because the itty bitty yogurt maker jars were annoying. Since I bought an Instant Pot, it has been heaven to just make it all in one pot. I make 1/2 gallon each week and just have enough left for starter for the next week's batch. It is always interesting to try different things and see how they work, though! Lately I have been buying grass fed milk for our yogurt and would hate to blow that amount of $, so I've been pretty by-the-book. |
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Post by dazeepetals on Mar 8, 2016 1:23:05 GMT
Tonight in my instant pot I'm making Green Split Pea Soup, will cook some rice, and steam some broccoli for lunches tomorrow.
I seriously love my Instant Pot. I got home from work later than usual, so it allows me to cook a meal quite quickly.
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mlana
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by mlana on Mar 8, 2016 1:48:14 GMT
You have to do the boiling step regardless of how you make yogurt - crockpot, pressure cooker, or even yogurt maker. There is something about bringing the milk up to 180 degrees that changes the molecular structure of the milk allowing the active cultures to thrive and grow once you have cooled it back down and added them. Good luck! I'm not sure you will come out with something much different from Keifer without the boiling step. But Keifer is good too! We did Keifer for about a year, with my kiddos drinking a Keifer smoothie per day and then they burned out. Now I know from experience. I had read that for the cultures to thrive you need to kill all other competing bacteria by boiling. Thought I would test --fail. I have been sucessfully making yogurt for months so thought I would experiment. I chose the InstantPot just for this feature. I don't mess around with jars--do a gallon at a time directly in the insert. I strain and make greek. It is excellent. Now I know! Thank you for the confirmation Do either of you add powdered milk to your milk before heating it? Alton Brown on Good Eats recommended this because it gives the yogurt more protein and thickness, especially if you're going to make Greek yogurt. I do this when I make yogurt and I do like how it comes out. I put my yogurt in the oven overnight with the oven set to proofing. Seems to work. I'm planning on doing a roast in my electric pressure cooker tomorrow. I can't wait! Marcy |
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Post by peajays on Mar 8, 2016 12:25:50 GMT
Thanks for linking the recipe elaine, I'd like to try it. Quick question though....what did you use when it calls for "dried red pepper". Is it one of those small hot peppers? Or something else? |
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 12:39:50 GMT
Thanks for linking the recipe elaine , I'd like to try it. Quick question though....what did you use when it calls for "dried red pepper". Is it one of those small hot peppers? Or something else? Yes, it is one of those. I have a bag of them that I bought in the Latino section of our grocery store. If you don't have one, I would think crushed red pepper flakes - 1/2 teaspoon - would work well. We really didn't taste any heat from the pepper - it just added a little flavor. |
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 12:42:36 GMT
Now I know from experience. I had read that for the cultures to thrive you need to kill all other competing bacteria by boiling. Thought I would test --fail. I have been sucessfully making yogurt for months so thought I would experiment. I chose the InstantPot just for this feature. I don't mess around with jars--do a gallon at a time directly in the insert. I strain and make greek. It is excellent. Now I know! Thank you for the confirmation Do either of you add powdered milk to your milk before heating it? Alton Brown on Good Eats recommended this because it gives the yogurt more protein and thickness, especially if you're going to make Greek yogurt. I do this when I make yogurt and I do like how it comes out. I put my yogurt in the oven overnight with the oven set to proofing. Seems to work. I'm planning on doing a roast in my electric pressure cooker tomorrow. I can't wait! Marcy Marcy, I can't wait to hear how your roast comes out! I don't add powdered milk to my yogurt, simply because I don't usually have it in the pantry and my family likes my yogurt as it comes out now. But, it is a great way to add both protein and calcium, so I probably should! |
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Post by keesha on Mar 8, 2016 19:43:14 GMT
I don't add powdered milk and didn't consider it. I have been very happy with how it turns out. I am using local (but not labeled grass fed) whole milk. I use a small amount of local plain yogurt (Nancy's) as the starter. Use a gallon at one time (perfect amount for the insert) and strain most of it for greek yogurt using this. I let it cook for min of 24 hours to remove lactose. It is a good consistency before and very thick after straining overnight. Looking for ways to use the whey I am dumping out from straining so if you have a great solution let me know! I don't think I would ever be able to use it all. Things I have learned making yogurt: Don't use more than a couple of tablespoons of yogurt as starter or the final product will have a grainy texture Remove the skin that forms on the top after cooling (or it leaves unappealing pieces in the final product) And now: Don't skip the boiling step unless you want it to be drinkable! |
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oh yvonne
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Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 8, 2016 20:16:21 GMT
Well so far this week I: made chicken adobo (chicken thighs, Filipino coconut vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppercorns and bayleaf) came out wonderful made a batch of apple sauce last night, came out YUMMY and tonight I am going to take a stab at my first batch of yogurt! I bought an extra gallon of milk and a small Fage plain yogurt. I'm thinking I'm only going to make half a gallon of it though, I have a smaller InstaPot so I don't know or think I have enough to make an entire gallon. I ordered two cookbooks from Amazon this week and I just got them. I got The Great Big Pressure Cookbook, and Great Food Fast. I took the Great Big PC to Staples and had it coiled bound, much easier to use that way. I also found another really good cookbook at our local library, Pressure Perfect. I really like it a lot, I might wind up ordering that one too. I like her recipes and she has great ideas for sides, and variation. It's a really nice little book. I'm officially in love with this pot. I was so stymied by it at the beginning and it didn't help that my first two dishes were flops, but I keep plugging away at it. It's almost like a fun new toy. And I LOVE the easy clean up. No stove mess, not a bunch of pots and pans. Tonight I'm making little chicken marsala meatballs (Giada's recipe) since my IP will be busy with yogurt. I swear if this yogurt thing goes over well I may just wind up buying a big pot. This is so much fun!  |
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oh yvonne
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Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 8, 2016 20:18:04 GMT
I don't add powdered milk and didn't consider it. I have been very happy with how it turns out. I am using local (but not labeled grass fed) whole milk. I use a small amount of local plain yogurt (Nancy's) as the starter. Use a gallon at one time (perfect amount for the insert) and strain most of it for greek yogurt using this. I let it cook for min of 24 hours to remove lactose. It is a good consistency before and very thick after straining overnight. Looking for ways to use the whey I am dumping out from straining so if you have a great solution let me know! I don't think I would ever be able to use it all. Things I have learned making yogurt: Don't use more than a couple of tablespoons of yogurt as starter or the final product will have a grainy texture Remove the skin that forms on the top after cooling (or it leaves unappealing pieces in the final product) And now: Don't skip the boiling step unless you want it to be drinkable! thank you for these tips! Very helpful..I am a bit nervous to try it out and I come across so many different recipes for yogurt. Do you guys ever make vanilla yogurt, or is it always just plain? What are your favorite add ins? |
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 20:35:02 GMT
I have made vanilla before, using a vanilla bean split open in the milk while boiling it. And then as the milk is cooling, I would take the pod out and scrape the seeds back in with a knife. In the end, my family prefers it plain, as my DH and I also use it as a substitute for sour cream. When ds wants sweeter yogurt, I just mix in a couple of spoonfuls of preserves. You can always add flavoring - even vanilla - to plain yogurt before eating, but you can't take it out.
I'm so glad you are enjoying your Instant Pot! It is gold!
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Post by elaine on Mar 8, 2016 20:40:01 GMT
I don't add powdered milk and didn't consider it. I have been very happy with how it turns out. I am using local (but not labeled grass fed) whole milk. I use a small amount of local plain yogurt (Nancy's) as the starter. Use a gallon at one time (perfect amount for the insert) and strain most of it for greek yogurt using this. I let it cook for min of 24 hours to remove lactose. It is a good consistency before and very thick after straining overnight. Looking for ways to use the whey I am dumping out from straining so if you have a great solution let me know! I don't think I would ever be able to use it all. Things I have learned making yogurt: Don't use more than a couple of tablespoons of yogurt as starter or the final product will have a grainy texture Remove the skin that forms on the top after cooling (or it leaves unappealing pieces in the final product) And now: Don't skip the boiling step unless you want it to be drinkable! Uses for whey: replace a couple of cups of water with whey when cooking beans Swap out 1 cup of broth for 1 cup of whey when making soup or a pot roast Use whey in place of water in baked goods recipes - it is supposedly excellent in bread. I haven't found that it changes the taste of anything I make, and adds a TON of protein. It just takes remembering to use it. I have also been known to let my dog lap up a cup. |
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Post by ghislaine on Mar 9, 2016 3:56:25 GMT
One of these days I will get around to making yogurt in my Instant Pot! Tonight I made this Asian shredded chicken dish: www.recipetineats.com/sweet-soy-sauce-shredded-chicken-breast/I used maple syrup instead of the jam because I didn't have any. I'll be buying some since it did not thicken like it should have. |
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Post by elaine on Mar 9, 2016 4:19:02 GMT
I made a pot roast in my Ninja 4-1 today. I started it this morning after applying a rub of olive oil and Penzey's Beef Roast seasoning. I browned it, removed it and browned 3 sliced onions and then put the beef back in with 3 cups of broth and 1 cup of whey from straining yogurt. During the afternoon, I tossed a big bowl of chopped butternut squash, beets, 2" chunks of carrots and celery with olive oil and salt and roasted them in the oven for 30 minutes at 450 F. I left the roasted veggies out and then 1 hour before dinner, I moved the roast to one end and added the veggies to the pot in order to reheat and soak up the gravy flavoring. I made mashed potatoes in the microwave using TJs frozen mashed potatoes. I added 1 cup of whey for the liquid + salt and they were so creamy! At dinner time, I took the roasted veggies back out using a slotted spoon and put them in a serving bowl. I took the roast out and added cornstarch to the gravy to thicken it. After it thickened, I put the beef back in and used my bear claws to shred it into pieces. My veggie-scared kid ate 2 helpings - he loves beets! The downside is that there are no leftovers and it was a $17 roast! I expected to at least have some for lunch tomorrow.  |
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Post by elaine on Mar 11, 2016 12:38:45 GMT
Last night was Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli. I took her advice and steamed the broccoli for 1 minute in the pressure cooker first and then put it in a bowl to add again at the end. My husband's complaint was that I didn't use enough broccoli, so I will double it next time. The sauce turned out perfect though - like something at a Chinese restaurant. |
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oh yvonne
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Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Mar 11, 2016 20:16:54 GMT
Well, life got in the way and I still haven't had time to make the yogurt..so tonight for sure, I'll make it and thanks for the tips Elaine, I'll go with plain and add flavorings later. I loving all my cookbooks but I'm starting to flag too many pages of recipes I want to try and am getting overwhelmed again, lol. I think I'm going to make a Word doc or something and just start listing faves, are the list is growing daily. Thanks so much for these posts, Elaine. If not for them KNOW I would have given up a long time ago. |
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Post by jinxmom2003 on Mar 11, 2016 20:44:56 GMT
This week- cheesecake with lime curd, stuffed cabbage soup, Mac and cheese, and cooking some refried beans right now.
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Post by elaine on Mar 11, 2016 21:10:30 GMT
Well, life got in the way and I still haven't had time to make the yogurt..so tonight for sure, I'll make it and thanks for the tips Elaine, I'll go with plain and add flavorings later. I loving all my cookbooks but I'm starting to flag too many pages of recipes I want to try and am getting overwhelmed again, lol. I think I'm going to make a Word doc or something and just start listing faves, are the list is growing daily. Thanks so much for these posts, Elaine. If not for them KNOW I would have given up a long time ago. If you get too overwhelmed, always keep in mind that you can take a Craftsy class with Mark and Bruce who wrote the Great Big Pressure Cooker Cookbook. The Craftsy class is supposed to be popular - I've emailed with Mark when I had a problem with a recipe in the cookbook and he is very nice and wrote me back, immediately. Tonight I am going to make Chicken and Pasta with Spicy Peanut Sauce from their cookbook. |
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Post by peajays on Mar 13, 2016 19:30:04 GMT
Today we are having beef stew (my version)
i pre pre seared the stewing beef pieces and threw in the carrots potatoes celery and a bit of garlic. I poured in a few cups of V8 and salt and pepper. I pressure cooked for 20 minutes and checked for doneness (everyone was just right) so added a few tbsp of minute tapioca for thickening. It's keeping warm now for dinner, but then I will top with some biscuit mix and cook again for a few minutes for some dumplings
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But, I am going to try making braised fennel with lemon and pepper in my pressure cooker as a side dish. I have really been enjoying trying root vegetables in my pressure cooker and thankfully my kids have been liking them too.
