Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Hey hey hey!

I had a cooking adventure. I decided to make both my entrée and my side dish in the pressure cooker... on the same night.This meant as soon as the first dish was done, I had to quickly clean the pot and prepare the second. I made sure to have all of the ingredients for both dishes prepped and ready to go before I started to save time.

I wanted chicken with mashed potatoes.... so here's what to do, if you want to be like me. Which you should. I'm fun.

The Whole Bird
Recipe from Great Food Fast by Bob Warden

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning*
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, rinsed well
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1+1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine**
• Juice of 1 lemon

*Poultry seasoning is actually a real thing, like, on its own. This was news to me, so maybe it's news to you too.
**More is fine. Drink what you have leftover. :)

Directions
But first, pour yourself some wine.

You're making chicken, have a nice chilled white.

• In a small bowl/ramekin, combine paprika, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture into the entire surface of the chicken.

• Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" to heat pot. Heat oil until sizzling.
• Place chicken in cooker, breast side down, and cook until browned.
  (The book calls for ~7 minutes. I think this over-cooked the skin on this one section of the chicken. Also, it was crowded and awkward to maneuver. Consider doing this in a pan on the stove instead of in the pot.)

• Flip the chicken in the cooker and cover with remaining ingredients. Select "CANCEL."
• Securely lock the lid and ensure pressure valve is locked. Select "CHICKEN/MEAT" and "TIME ADJUSTMENT" to 25 minutes.
• When timer beeps, let the cookers pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
• Remove from cooker, and let rest 5 minutes before carving. Serve with juices from the cooker.

NOW WHAT! WHOA!
CLEAN THE POT QUICK! MAKE MASHED POTATOES!

Seriously though. I moved the chicken to a plate and covered it with tinfoil to keep it hot. I poured the juices into a glass bowl with a lid. Once the interior pot is out of the cooker, it cools down relatively quickly, but I recommend purchasing oven mitt gloves, for ease of handling while it's still quite hot. Like these! (Legit I use these all the time. Regular oven mitts are not even a thing in my house.)



Ohuhu Oven Gloves (bought on Amazon)

Okay NOW MAKE THE MASHED POTATOES!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Recipe from Great Food Fast by Bob Warden

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon*
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

*Full disclosure: I did not use bacon in my potatoes. I'm one of those weird people who just isn't all that caught up in Bacon-Mania.

Directions

• **The cookbook says to prepare the bacon in the pot until crisp, then finely chop and set aside. It's suggested to drain all but two teaspoons of the bacon grease. Since I did not make bacon, I just tossed a small amount of butter into the pot and heated it instead.***
• Add potatoes and water to the pot, securely lock the lid and ensure pressure valve is closed. Set timer for 6* minutes. (From previous recipes, I know that on the PPCXL the "BEAN/LENTILS" setting is for 5 minutes. Adjust up from there. *I found my potatoes a little undercooked at 6 minutes. I'd adjust up to 8 or 9.)
• When the timer beeps, release pressure. Drain the potatoes and return to pot.

• Use a hand mixer to mash the potatoes until smooth, adding the butter, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper as you go.
  (The book says to mash with a fork or potato masher; but a hand mixer worked so much easier and faster, and I prefer nice and smooth potatoes.)

• Top with finely chopped bacon, cheddar cheese, and scallions before serving warm.

Yummy!!

I don't regularly keep milk on hand at my house, but I wish I'd had some. The potatoes were a bit dry and could have used a splash of milk mixed in. Consider adding that to your recipe. Otherwise, I was pretty happy with how this all turned out.


Alright!! Well done, team. That's some delicious food for your face hole right there.



FOUR!! FOUR PRESSURE COOKER RECIPES! AH AH AH!

Who's hungry?
We're gonna cover a few different recipes here, all from my new favorite cookbook, Great Food Fast by my man Bob Warden. Seriously, the man is a genius.

Here's what's going down in the Pressure Cooker on this post:
1. Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken
2. Honey Garlic Chicken
3. Meatloaf
4. Layered Enchilada Casserole
Then a quick tutorial on a quick and easy way to dice onions that has helped me a lot :)

So get ready. Get set. Get unbelievably tasty food into your bellies.

As per usual, the versions posted here have been adjusted from the cookbook for my pressure cooker (the Power Pressure Cooker XL) and with my suggestions/notes. Take that as you will.

Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken



Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic*
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1+1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar*
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

*Notes:
Use fresh pressed garlic from cloves. None of that minced garlic in a jar. More on why in the next recipe.
I only had dark brown sugar, so I used that. I DO WHAT I WAAAANT!

Directions

• With the cooker's lid off, select CHICKEN/MEAT and heat oil until sizzling.
• Place onions in the cooker and cook until they begin to caramelize, about 8 minutes.
• Cover with chicken, teriyaki sauce, chicken stock, garlic, and onion powder and toss to fully coat chicken.
• Close & Lock lid. Select CANCEL/KEEP WARM, and then choose CHICKEN/MEAT to restart timer. (*NOTE* The cookbook calls for 8 minutes cooking time. The pressure cooker I have auto sets to 15 minutes on the Chicken/Meat setting. When I made this, I ran it for the full 15 and think the chicken was a bit dry. I'd suggest 10-11 mins, just set a separate timer.)
• When timer beeps, release pressure and again select CHICKEN/MEAT to keep pot heating.
• Remove chicken and set aside.
• Whisk brown sugar and cornstarch into the 2 tablespoons of water, and add this mixture into the cooker, stirring in to the sauce. Let simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.
• Add the chicken back into the pot and cover with sauce.
• Serve with sauce and onions.

I served mine on a bed of white minute rice, and it was very tasty.
I will admit it's not a very colorful dish. Consider topping with some green onions?? Let me know your suggestions for brightening this up!

looks bland, tastes delicious

Next up!
Honey Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions

• Toss chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• Select CHICKEN/MEAT to heat pot, and add butter until melted and sizzling.
• Place seasoned chicken in the cooker and brown on both sides.
• Pour the chicken stock into the pot.
• In a small bowl, combine minced garlic, honey, and soy sauce. Spread this mixture over the chicken breasts in the pot.
• Close & lock the lid. Select CANCEL and re-select CHICKEN/MEAT to start timer.
  (As with the recipe above, this recipe calls for 8 minutes. I cooked for a full 15. However the reason I did so on this recipe was because I was using almost-frozen breasts. I'd moved them from the freezer to the fridge at 9am and by 6pm they had hardly thawed. I ran them under warm water while prepping ingredients, but the cookbook suggested adding 7 minutes to cook time for frozen chicken. If you're using fresh, just set a timer and I'd suggest 10. Use your best judgment based on the thickness of the chicken, and a meat thermometer upon completion.)
• When the timer beeps, release pressure and serve immediately.

NOTES
DO NOT USE MINCED GARLIC IN A JAR FOR THIS RECIPE
TWO TABLESPOONS OF THAT WILL KILL YOU

OK not literally unless you're a vampire, which I believe we discussed in a previous blog post...

but HOLY GARLIC BATMAN

I even thought, "This seems like an excessive amount of garlic. I should use fresh and press some cloves."
I REALLY SHOULD HAVE.

Otherwise, this was very tasty.

Other note:
Keep your honey nearby. I squeezed some honey all over the final product including the rice, and it added some fresh sweetness to the dish. And some salt. It needed some salt.


Next!

Meatloaf


I wanted to put a picture of Meatloaf and be like "no not this meatloaf" but then
when I googled "Meatloaf singer"... one of these things is not like the other...

OK no really though
Meatloaf
(The food kind not the singer kind)
I had a couple issues with this one. It didn't go quite how I wanted it to, but I'll put the recipe mostly as it is in the book here, and add my comments for how I'd do it differently at the end.

Loaf Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 lbs lean ground beef (I would recommend 1.5)
• 1/2 cup Italian bread curmbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup finely minced yellow onion
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh pressed garlic (we've discussed this.)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup beef stock or broth

Directions

 

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef with all Loaf Ingredients (minus vegetable oil). (If you're one of those people who doesn't like handling raw meat with your bare hands, this might not be recipe for you. The best way to mix these all together is to get in there and mash all the beef into the ingredients by hand.)

 

• Form the mixture into a round loaf, small enough to fit into your pressure cooker.
• Select CHICKEN/MEAT to heat pot, and heat oil until sizzling.
• Place diced onion in the cooker and sauté until translucent (4-5 minutes).
• Stir in ketchup and beef stock, and top with the rounded meatloaf.
• Close & lock the lid. Click CANCEL and re-select CHICKEN/MEAT to set timer for 15 minutes.
• Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before quick-releasing any remaining pressure. Serve topped with sauce from the cooker.

NOTES:
What happened with my meatloaf:I used a full 2 pounds of ground beef and made one full loaf. After 15 mins, and 10 mins of natural pressure release, I cut into the loaf and it was NOT. cooked through. Quite still rare through most of the meat. So I closed it back up and ran it for another full 15 minutes. After that, I'd say it was a comfortable medium to medium-well.
My suggestions/what I'd do different:
I'd try 1.5 lbs or maybe even just 1 lb and cut back on the other ingredients. And, instead of one large loaf, I'd suggest making two smaller loafs to help cook through more fully.

Overall, the flavor was excellent and I would absolutely recommend this recipe. The pictures aren't exactly beautiful though, but don't let that stop you from giving this one a shot!


And last but not least, my new favorite:
Layered Enchilada Casserole
AKA deliciousness that'll make you want to eat it for every meal forever

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 (16-ounce) jar chunky salsa
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives*
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas*
• 1+1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend*
• Sour cream

Notes
1. I left olives out of mine cus I DO WHAT I WAAAANT
2. Corn tortillas. NOT FLOUR. CORN. This is important. Don't do what you want here. GET CORN THEY'RE BETTER

3. I had like six bags of shredded cheese of various types at home so I wasn't about to buy more. I mixed mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and monterrey jack for my own "Mexican cheese blend" and gosh darn it, it worked just fine. DO WHAT YOU WAAAANT

Directions

• Heat oil in a large sauté pan on the stove over high heat. Add onion, ground beef, and a pinch of salt & pepper, sautéing until browned.
• Stir in salsa, green chiles, tomatoes, olives, and cilantro into the ground beef mixture, and remove from heat.

• Fill the bottom of the pressure cooker with water, just until 1/4 of an inch deep. Ladle 1/5 of the beef and salsa mixture into the water, then cover with a later of 3 tortillas, overlapping to fit.
• Cover tortillas with another layer of the beef mixture, and add another layer of tortillas. Repeat for another 2 layers, ending with tortillas topped with the final layer of beef mixture.
• Cover & lock the cooker and select BEAN/LENTILS to cook for 5 minutes.
• When timer beeps, release pressure and open. Sprinkle with cheese and close the lid again. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving with sour cream.

YOU GUYS. This is so delicious. The only thing I didn't do right was I ended with a layer of tortillas, so my cheese kind of melted onto the tortillas, but whatever it was fine. AND SO TASTY.
I'd suggest serving with a side of Mexican rice and refried beans. I didn't do that because 1, I forgot I had those things and 2, I was so hungry and it smelled so good.

I'm drooling right now.

OKAY.
The last thing I wanted to share is a little trick I learned about chopping/dicing onions.

First of all, I read a "life hack" (hate that term) about chewing gum while chopping onions will keep you from getting all teary eyed.

I've noticed that while red onions don't really bug me, yellow onions make me get all kinds of weepy and it's very annoying. So I popped some Trident while making the meatloaf, and by golly it worked!! So keep that in mind.

That's not the little trick I was talking about, though, although it is helpful.

Here's just a simple way to dice onions quickly:
(I dunno, maybe this is common knowledge, but for me it wasn't, and now it's a time saver. So if this *is* common knowledge, keep it to yourself smarty pants)

1. Cut ends off onion, and cut onion in half.
2. Place open side down and slice almost to core in strips, lengthwise.

1. Turn onion to the side and chop the opposite way down to the core.

1. Voila, you've diced an onion!

Alright.
That's all for now.
My next plan will be to add individual pressure cooker recipes to the side of this blog like I did with all of my other recipes I made back in the day. I'll do that sometime. Eventually. Maybe. I dunno.