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.