instant pot

Lemon Garlic Instant Pot Chicken

This is one of those handy Instant Pot recipes that you can do minimal prep and work on other stuff as it cooks. I love that it has no weird or very expensive ingredients, I had everything on hand having just gotten a pack of chicken thighs. No long stirring or baking. One pot does it all. And it was literally finger licking good; the sauce is the bomb! Unless you don’t like lemon; in that case you could simply leave off the lemon; it goes in at the very end but honestly the lemon is what makes it so delectable! I think you could use navel oranges and it might be quite tasty.  Or skip the lemon slices and just use zest and juice for less lemony flavor. I have to say that the garlic complements the lemon and the spices very well. This is that rare case where I find it needs the fresh parsley; it is not just decorative; fresh parsley really adds to the wonderful flavor.

This is a great weeknight meal; add a side salad or a veg and you are set. I used a Wegman’s Rice Pilaf which wasn’t spicy but made an above average accompaniment to the chicken. It is definitely a recipe to hang on to. Winner winner, chicken dinner! Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Instant Pot Chicken

I know! Way too dark…bad kitchen lighting…. another mediocre photograph but luckily the food in this picture was delicious!

Ingredients:

4 decent sized chicken thighs, remove the skin (Or 6 smaller ones)

Rounded half tsp. garlic powder

Rounded half tsp. paprika

½ tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground or 1/8 white pepper ground (I was out of black so white worked fine)

2 Tbsp. mild olive oil

1 medium onion cut in long strips

1 medium to large carrot cut in rounds

3 big garlic cloves (or 4 smaller ones)

2 lemons, wash and let dry while you brown chicken

1-3 Tbsp butter

1/3-1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp corn starch and 1 Tbsp cold water; mixed together in a tiny bowl

2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions: Mix the dry spices including salt and pepper and rub over the chicken pieces (could use 6 smaller thighs).  Heat the olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in your Instant Pot. Carefully place chicken thighs in and cook 3 minutes on each side. I did 2 at a time as they were too large to all fit. While they brown zest one lemon and then juice it. Slice the other lemon into very thin slices, removing any seeds you see. Chop the parsley and make some rice. I used a Wegman’s rice pilaf. My goddaughter gave me a package of it; has baby garbanzo beans and dikon radish seeds. Cook for the time the box says. It went very well with this chicken. Or plain rice or perhaps noodles?

As you finish the browning place them in a bowl or on a plate. Someone told me to keep moving them every 30 seconds and they won’t stick; it works!  Add the onions to the pan and more butter as needed (up to 2 Tbsp) and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the carrots and cook one minute. Then add the minced fresh garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth and scrape the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to stir up the browned bits sticking on the bottom so they don’t burn. Add back the chicken pieces. Close up your IP and set it for 9 minutes. When the timer goes off give it 3 minutes to naturally decompress and then lift up the steam button and let it completely de pressurize.  Open and remove the chicken thighs, set it on saute mode. Add the cornstarch slush and stir for one minute. Turn off and add back the chicken pieces, the lemon juice and the zest. Stir and add fresh parsley and stir again. Turn off and serve with rice.

Rice pilaf cooked up and ready to serve. No added ingredients except water. Super easy to make.
I served a side of very thinly sliced zucchini sauteed in butter and olive oil with sliced leeks.

Tuscan Chicken Made Fast and Easy

Burrr…winter has us firmly in it’s icy grip and I am looking for comfort food. And easy stuff that makes me think of summer.  This recipe for chicken is my new fav. Tasty, quick to throw together, done in my Instant Pot and it does make me think of an Italian summer. Winner winner, chicken dinner!

I use chicken thighs; bone in and skin off. Use whatever cut you like.  You might go a minute less for breast meat.  If you hate artichokes; leave them out. Any pasta will do or make potatoes to serve with this entrée. I have used heavy cream, milk or half and half; all will work; less calories for milk, richer flavor for cream.

tuscan chicken

I took this picture quickly before devouring it. The chicken blends in with the sauce and pasta and this plate is totally not arranged for a photo shoot but you get the idea!

Tuscan Chicken with Pasta

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, bone in, skin removed

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil, EV if possible

1 large onion diced

1 carrot cut up into dice and/or 1 stalk celery diced

4-8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms

3-4 garlic cloves minced

1 -2 tsp. Italian seasoning; I did half basil and half oregano

1 cup chicken broth

¼ cup white wine

½ cup sundried tomatoes cut in half

1 small jar marinated artichokes, drained

1/3-1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half (I used half/half)

1 1/3 cup uncooked pasta

2 Tbsp. corn starch dissolved in ¼ cup cold water

¼ cup finely chopped parsley and/or kale (use ½ cup of that)

Directions. Heat IP on sauté feature. Add oil then onions, cook about 3 minutes until getting soft. Add the carrot/celery and cook 2=3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 2-3 minute later. Add garlic in last minute of sauté. Push veggies aside; fit chicken pieces in and pile veggies on top of the chicken; brown them on top and bottom; 3 minutes a side. Add the Italian seasoning; stir; then add wine; cook one minute; add broth and half the sun-dried tomatoes. Lock lid on and cook 8 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture; cook a minute; kale (if used and actually I would add that first; cook it 1-2 minutes before then adding the rest of the sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, cream and pasta (which you cooked but for 2-3 minutes less than package suggests.) I used rigatoni this last time and liked it for this recipe. Other pasta (ziti works well) will probably be great too. Cook it on sauté for a minute or two; don’t let it boil. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. You can guild the lily with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese; it is a nice touch but if you want to cut calories; leave that off and you can use whole milk rather than cream. I have done this with kale; great with spinach. Last time I just used fresh parsley. Enjoy!

PS: I used my IP but you could simmer the dish on your stove top in a big pan; so… after the adding of the broth; maybe 25 minutes to cook the chicken. Rest of recipe stays the same.  If you use chicken breasts cook them shorter either method of cooking; they take far less time than thighs.

Instant Pot Advice for My Peeps

If you haven’t heard of an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, you will now! I got mine almost a year and a half ago.  Bought it on Black Friday for almost half price; great deal! Purchased a cookbook and a glass lid for slow cooking.  I was very excited and not a little bit scared of using the big black device.  Mine is a six quart 7 in one, lots of features, some I still haven’t used. One of my girlfriends had been bugging me to investigate and get one as she knows how much I love to cook. It was slightly daunting to use it at first. But I tried out recipes from the little cookbook it came with and my full sized one I got for ten bucks. Almost everything I have made has been a resounding success.  I have used it infrequently as a slow cooker – I think it runs a bit hotter than my old slow cooker which was only about 2-3 years older and now resides in the basement on a shelf.

instant pot 2

So, let me tell you some of the things I love to make in it. I use it a lot with bone-in chicken thighs; it cooks them in about 16 minutes once it comes to pressure.  That means that when I lock the lid down it takes a bit of time to fully heat up and get pressurized; that time is not counted in the recipe cooking time.  Some people put frozen meat in recipes and so it can add quite a bit of time to the process. Once you lock it and it starts the process you can walk away and do any chore or activity you like. I also often saute things before starting the pressure cooking process. Yes; it sautes! This is a favorite task the IP does for me. I regularly saute onions/celery and such for a bit then add meat to cook for a while before the next step of pressure cooking or I do that in reverse; brown meat; remove it while I cook veggies then I add the meat back in as well as water or broth. Which brings me to one other important fact; it must have a cup of water or broth for it to pressurize.  I generally cook enough for 4-6 meals so I have enough but if you cook small amounts there is a 3 quart model; a friend of mine recently acquired one of those and loves it for her smaller needs. The other day I made rice pilaf in it which it does very well, I forgot a portion of the water and the rice came out a bit crunchy; I added the missing water and pressured it for 5 more minutes and it was fine.  Lesson learned; make sure you put in the right measure of liquid.

sausages in soup

Sausages in a soup base

In the back of my cookbook are charts for how long to cook meats, grains, etc.  They are invaluable. I use them all the time. Now that the IP has been in my kitchen for a while I adapt non-pressure cooker recipes to it. The charts help me judge how long to cook.

gumbo

Sausage gumbo

 

Other things I make in the IP are ribs; I cook them on the trivet that came with it and then lay them on foil on a baking sheet, slather in BBQ sauce and pop them in the oven or broiler for 10-15 minutes, so tender and delish! I have done baby backs, spare ribs and beef short ribs which do not get the oven step.  I have made some yummy stews and soups in there: beef vegetable stew, chicken noodle or rice soup or other soups. It cooks the beef really quickly. I have used it to make bean soups as well. Beans cook pretty quickly under pressure.  You can make a rotisserie style chicken in it; love that one!

There are settings for stewing and rice as well as a few other things. I do love rice made in it; perfect and fluffy, never burnt, never runs out of water.

shrimp-risotto

I’ve made risotto in it a few times and it is great as no stirring needed. If you don’t have the patience for risotto on the stove top this is a super alternative cooking method.

The other food I like to make is yogurt. I started doing that fairly recently, as I realized it would actually save me money and my sister who got one for Christmas says it tastes wonderful. So, with a bit of advice from her I did just that and found out it was indeed creamy and delightful. I get organic milk from Aldi’s to make mine and it makes a big difference. Great flavor and texture and once you’ve done it a couple of times it is quite simple.  I add a spoonful of jam or marmalade and I have a healthy and delish yogurt for lunch or a snack. And I get to use my glass lid for a change, LOL!

I haven’t used it for sweets yet, although I plan to; just ordered a small cheesecake pan; 7 inch size to fit inside the inner pot as my other latch cheesecake pans are too large for it. I plan to use it for several other things that can be steam baked like this recipe for caramel custard I discovered in my new IP Indian cookbook!

Folks in my IP Community fb group say IP cheesecakes are fantastic. Plan to test that and see if it’s true.

So, if you are thinking of buying an electric pressure cooker, I do recommend it for a number of things. It is one more great way to cook. I love that I can set it and go out to the yard and it finishes and keeps warm until I am ready to eat. That is my favorite thing about my IP!

Shrimp Risotto Made Easy

I love this recipe: fast, easy and delish. We all want easy recipes that taste great, don’t use too many pots/pans and are budget friendly.  I needed something quick that would use my instant pot electric pressure cooker (IP) as my  sisters were down for Easter and we were hoping to make supper in our mom’s assisted living room.

I had some shrimp in the freezer and all the usual ingredients for risotto.  I had read lots of comments on how good IP risotto was but had resisted until I tried this recipe…. being a lover of the traditional endless stirring method.  It still took as long as hand stirred risotto to make but was much easier for a meal made outside my kitchen and it was fresh and ready to enjoy.

Note: I made this again recently using Asiago cheese and was not a real big fan of that flavor; a good quality chunk of Parmesan is what you need for the best result. Other than that it came out with a perfect texture; for that version I put the peas right in the risotto after releasing it; stirred for a minute and it was ready to serve!

shrimp-risotto

IP Shrimp Risotto, serves 4

1 lb large to extra large shrimp; thawed and shelled

4 tbsp. butter divided

1 small yellow or red onion finely chopped

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

2 tbsp. vermouth or dry white wine

4 ½ cups low sodium great quality chicken broth

1 tsp. sea salt

¼-1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 minced garlic cloves

Finely grated rind of one small lemon

¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme or

2 tsp dried herbs (same ones)

1/3 cup freshly grated good quality parmesan cheese

Directions: Heat IP and add 2 tbsp. butter, melt and add onion, cook 4 minutes, add rice and cook 1 minute, add vermouth and cook 30 seconds, add 3 cups room temp chicken broth, salt and pepper and put lid on. Seal it and set for 9 minutes on manual pressure, do a quick release, add the minced garlic and then the shrimp the rest of the broth. Stir well and cook 5 minutes on Sauté.  Stir frequently. Turn it off and then add the zested lemon and the herbs, stir.  Add the cheese, stir and serve.

Notes: I think you might be able to cut ¼ cup broth; mine seemed just a tad too loose/wet. It was not quite as creamy as hand stirred but the process was a lot easier and a quick clean up.  We had a side serving of a salad.  The result was a gourmet meal that could be made anywhere; perfect for our situation. Enjoy!

 

Revised from original post from Spring 2017. No recipe changes.

Shrimp Risotto, IP Style: Winner!

We all want easy recipes that taste great, don’t use too many pots/pans and are budget friendly.  I needed something quick that would use my instant pot electric pressure cooker (IP) as I am recovering from a total knee replacement and Joe is cooking right now. He found making a roast chicken far too time consuming and frankly difficult.  I had to talk him through every tiny step.  That was rather exhausting for me!

We had some big fat shrimp in the freezer and all the usual ingredients for risotto.  I had read lots of comments on how good IP risotto was but had resisted until now being a lover of the traditional endless stirring method, LOL.  It still took as long as hand stirred risotto to make but was much easier for him to understand and to complete the tasks plus it was an IP training class for him. Now I think using the IP will be what he wants to do for meals; the quick cleanup sold him.

shrimp risotto

IP Shrimp Risotto, serves 4

1 lb large to extra large shrimp; thawed and shelled

4 tbsp. butter divided

1 small yellow or red onion finely chopped

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

2 tbsp. vermouth or dry white wine

4 ½ cups low sodium great quality chicken broth

1 tsp. sea salt

¼-1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 minced garlic cloves

Finely grated rind of one small lemon

¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme or

2 tsp dried herbs (same ones)

1/3 cup freshly grated good quality parmesan cheese

Directions: Heat IP and add 2 tbsp. butter, melt and add onion, cook 4 minutes, add rice and cook 1 minute, add vermouth and cook 30 seconds, add 3 cups room temp chicken broth, salt and pepper and put lid on. Seal it and set for 9 minutes on manual pressure, do a quick release, add the minced garlic and then the shrimp the rest of the broth. Stir well and cook 5 minutes on Sauté.  Stir frequently. Turn it off and then add the zested lemon and the herbs, stir.  Add the cheese, stir and serve.

Notes: I think you might be able to cut ¼ cup broth; mine seemed just a tad too loose/wet. It was not quite as creamy as hand stirred but the process was a lot easier for a beginner cook like Joe and he loved the quick clean up.  We had a side serving of peas cooked on stove top with some butter added as it cooked for about 3 minutes.  The result was a gourmet meal that a novice could pull off; perfect for our situation.