Whole Chicken with adjustments

I made the recipe my mom posted "Fall-off-the-bone" for the second time last night, but I tweaked it slightly... I only used 1 cup of stock and didn't have any lemon juice, but I thought it was still delicious all the same!

I also added the steamer rack in, after browning the breast side, so that it would be easier to get the finished chicken out of the pot. Which helped immensely—unless someone has a suggestion of another way to get the cooked chicken out of there.

(My chicken getting browned, breast-side down. Notice the timer I set to remind me to flip it)

Artisan Bread made SUPER EASY

It cost about .33 cents for the 3 loaves of bread, and it is so easy to make.
I usually end up eating one and giving the other 2 away...always a hit!

Ingredients:              1.5 T yeast
3 c warm water         1.5 T kosher salt

6.5 C flour

Cornmeal
Cup of ice water (while cooking)

Combine in bowl water (warm not hot), salt and yeast (UL).

Stir in flour with spoon (UR) do not knead.

Cover with plastic & towel 2 to 3 hours. (LL).

Divide into 3 equal parts.

 Take first one "cloaking" with flour, 

turning under edges to make round loaf (LR).

Place loaves to rise on peel that has been dusted with cornmeal (UL).

Let them rise 40 minutes (under towel)

Meantime, turn oven on 450 degrees to preheat with baking stone in
 the middle rack of the oven. 

After 40 minutes, dust each loaf with more flour and score the tops with
 designer cuts (UR).

Transfer bread off of peel onto hot stone in oven (with a "jerking motion")
Throw one cup of water (with a few ice cubes) into the oven and close doors.(*)
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove when bread crusty golden.
   *Do not open the door before 15 minutes have passed because the steam
is making the bread rise. Let cool completely, then bag.

Layered Enchilada Cassarole (Best of the Best - Bob Warden)

Since I have around 300 lbs of moose meat...I use it a lot. This was a fabulous recipe from the Best of the Best recipe books

Ingredients:
1T Olive Oil
1 Red Onion, dices
1 lb. lean ground beef
 Pinch of S & P
1 (16oz) jar chunky salsa (or salsa verde)
1 (4oz) can chopped chiles, drained
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 c Black Olives, sliced
1T Fresh Cilantro, chopped
12 (6") soft Corn tortillas
1 1/2 C Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded

Instructions:
   Put Instant pot on Saute and heat oil. Add onion, ground beef and S & P til browned.
   Stir salsa, green chhiles, tomatoes, olives, and cilantro into ground beef mixture, and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl.
   Fill bottom of pressure cooker with water (1/4"). Ladle1/5 of the beef and salsa mixtureinto the water, and then cover with a layer of 3 tortillas, overlapping them to fit.
   Cover the tortillas with another layer of 1/5 of the beef mixture. Create another layer of tortillas. Repeat 2 more layers, ending with tortillas topped with the final beef mixture.
   Securely lock the cooker's lid and set for 5 minutes on high.
   Quick release the pressure and sprinkle with cheese. Let rest at least 10 minutes. Served with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Homemade Quick Vegetable Stock & Quinoa

For Christmas, Stacy gave me a wonderful recipe book, Hip Pressure Cooking. WOW! Lot's of goodness in this publication.
One of the awesome educational was the way to  cook Quinoa
Cook what you want, keeping in this ratio:

2 C Quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
3 C water
1 t salt (if using broth, leave this out)

Put on manual HIGH for 1 minute and use the gradual steam release (letting it cook for another 10 minutes, as the pressure comes down). Open and fluff with fork.

Since I wanted to us a broth to cook the quinoa in (I think the flavor is better, I made a vegetable stock in the pressure cooker. Total success! Just enough liquid to use 3 C quinoa (plenty to use in a recipe and have left over in refrigerator).

Ingredients

• 1 large onions, peeled and halved
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 3 stalks celery, cut in half
• 10 peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 1/2 cups water

Instructions

1. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pressure cooker pot. Add the peppercorns, bay leaf, and water to completely cover the vegtables. Close and lock the lid.
2. Select high pressure and 15 minutes cook time.
3. When the beep sounds, turn the pressure cooker off and use a natural pressure release.
4. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer. Store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months
5. 
   

Steel Cut Oats

Kelly makes this recipe, so that the oats are more individual rather than super"soupy". Topped with Almond Milk  - it is a staple, for sure.

Ingredients:
   2 t Butter or vegan butter (Earth Balance)
   1 C Steel cut Oats
   1/4 t Salt
   2 1/2 C Hot Water
            Craisins 1/2c (Optional)
            Cinnamon 1/4t (Optional)

Instructions:
Put Instant Pot on saute and melt butter
Pour in Oats and stir them (coating them with the butter)
   continue sautéing for about 5 minutes, til a nutty smell
Push - Cancel
Put hot water in and salt - Stir
Program - Manual 12 minutes HIGH Pressure.

Spaghetti Squash & Rice

Used my Instant Pot twice this week! My first insta-cooked item (ever!) was a spaghetti squash that I halved, removed the seeds, and cooked manually with 1 c. water for 3 min. Next time I might do 4 or 5, it was still "al dente", but good!

I also made some white rice last night using the automatic Rice setting. Turned out perfect! None stuck to the bottom and it wasn't mushy—each grain was intact.

So far I've had a good experience with the Instant Pot... can't wait for my next instacooked meal!

[ The finished rice; sorry, no photos were taken of the squash ]

Fall-Off-The-Bone Pressure Cooker Chicken (in 30 Minutes!)

I just made this for Sunday Dinner! Everyone enjoyed the moistness of the meat. Took the whole chicken out of the freezer, the night before and put in cold water bath.

Prep time   Cook time    Total time

10 mins       35 mins        45 mins

     Serves: 6 (big eaters)

Ingredients:
1 whole - 4lb. Chicken
1 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil (or olive)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. sea salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled

Instructions:
    In a small bowl, combine paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Rub seasoning over outside of bird. (use a bit of oil)
    Heat oil in the pressure cooker to shimmering. Add chicken, breast side down and cook 6-7 minutes.
    Flip the chicken and add broth, lemon juice and garlic cloves.
    Lock pressure cooker lid and set for Poultry - 25 minutes on high.
    Let the pressure cooker release naturally. (I didn't...too hungry)
    Remove from pressure cooker and let stand for 5 minutes before carving.