Archive for January, 2016

Electric Pressure Cooker

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas. I actually got a few gift cards and used them to buy one for myself. I do use a pressure cooker for canning in the summer, but have never cooked a meal in one.

Originally, I was looking at another brand and saw the Instant Pot as another option. I had never heard of this brand but once I started reading the reviews on Amazon, I was convinced. LOL

I’ve been using it for over a month and just love it. I’ve made the best beef stew we’ve ever had in an hour. I also cooked a whole spaghetti squash in eight minutes.

It makes amazing rice, yogurt, oatmeal, cooks veggies quickly and meats tenderly. I don’t eat pasta, but people are making it in here in minutes too. It’s a slow cooker too!

There’s a Facebook group with over 30,000 people on it sharing recipes and tips daily. I really excited to be able to use this to cook in the summer and not heat up the kitchen.

The pot itself is stainless steel and it’s six quarts. You can make a quick and wonderful bone broth in it.

I’ve also adapted Nigella Lawson’s Praised Chicken recipe, cooks a whole chicken in 30 minutes (plus add 20-30 for pressure to come up and release). It’s easy and delicious.

Whole Chicken recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole organic chicken

1 tlb organic garlic olive oil

1 tsp organic Herbs de Provence

1 tsp Celtic salt

½ tsp organic pepper

½ cup vermouth or white wine

1 cup water

Directions:

Brown chicken in oil for a few minutes per side (using the sauté option) – turn off sauté and place the trivet (also stainless) under the chicken. Pour vermouth and water in the bottom and put the seasoning on top of the chicken.

Set the pressure cooker for 6 minutes per pound, plus four minutes – I usually round up just a few minutes as I’m at 1400 feet altitude.   When the pot beeps that it’s finished, turn it off and let it sit for 20 minutes or so to come down to pressure.

This chicken is SO good and you’ll end up with two cups of amazing broth at the bottom of the pot. Save that!   After we’ve eaten the chicken, I save all the bone and put it back in the pot, with some onion, carrot, celery and a bay leaf. Cook for 30- 60 minutes. Let the pot come down to pressure on it’s own.

Strain and you have a pot of chicken broth. Enjoy!

If you google ‘Instant Pot Recipes’ there are many links and so many more I plan to try. Click the link below to buy. (affiliate link)