I haven't posted in quite a while... mostly because I have been hunkered down and doing nothing but keeping the fires burning (literally) and eating and cooking.... and I don't consider cooking to usually be something to post about. With odd exceptions, like homemade pizza and canning jams, cooking just doesn't hold interest for me anymore. Between cooking for two (and often one) and the move to high altitude where boiling water is like nailing jello to a tree, I have just about lost all desire to cook.
In fact, my cooking has devolved into "open can, pour in bowl, microwave". However, my new toy for Christmas (which was actually supposed to be for Hubby, who still loves to cook) has done a lot to change that. Well... maybe not. It is still all about "open lid, dump in stuff, press button", but delicious home-made food has been coming out of it instead of a mediocre can of soup and I don't have to baby-sit anything on the stove or fight with my terrible gas oven for that to happen.
What is this magical device? An electric pressure cooker. It is like a crock pot in safety, but it is a pressure cooker in speed... and I don't have to smell the yummy food all day like with a crock pot. No worry about a bean explosion and I can set it and walk away. My kind of cooking!
There are a lot of brands and types, and while I can't truly say any one is better than another, hubby and I did a lot of research and got the Instant Pot DUO60 while it was on sale during Black Friday. We mostly chose the Instant Pot brand because it is very highly rated, extremely popular, and one of the few with a stainless steel inner-pot.
And though hubby still has not had a chance to come home and try it out, I have done quite a bit of cooking in it, from beans to roasts, frozen chicken leg quarters, and even surprisingly-easy-to-peal hard boiled eggs! My favorite though is probably rice. I have never had a "rice cooker", but this thing makes great rice so easy.
So, while none of these recipes will mean anything to someone without an electric pressure cooker... I thought I would share what wonderful things I have been cooking...
Pork Loin - General Recipe
Pinto Beans with Ham Bone
Hard Boiled Eggs - Easy Peal with detailed electric pressure cooker instructions
Perfecting your rice and the easiest meal (Rice and Sausage)
Blackberry Rice - Just cook blackberries and a tablespoon of sugar right on top of your rice...
Sticky Coconut Rice - Super Easy and Slightly Sweet - Use plain as a side for all kinds of Asian dishes or add in cinnamon or other stuff for a slightly sweet breakfast
Creamy Bean and Chicken Soup
15 bean soup... cooked just like pintos and ham bone (but with turkey meat, yum!)
Simple Beef Tips in Gravy
Cherry Juice Rice
Amazingly Fall Apart Pork Shoulder Roast (turned into Pork and cheese tostada-pizza
Cream of Wheat
Split Pea and Pork Soup
Spinach and Cheese Ravioli from frozen with melted mozzarella and cream cheese
Cannellini Bean and Chicken soup (Cooked 1 1/2 as long as pintos)
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Still not sure if I trust myself with a pressure cooker however I can tell you are having fun and eating well also!