Pressure Cooker Chicken Thighs

This is my favorite!  Do you want tender, moist, delicious chicken that is super easy to make?  This recipe is for you!  Use the chicken in your favorite recipe!

Frozen chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups chicken bone broth
Salt
Real Salt Organic Garlic Pepper (or regular pepper)

Place frozen chicken thighs in pressure cooker.  Add chicken bone broth.  Season with salt and garlic pepper.  Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.  Let it natural release for at least 10 minutes.  Release pressure, remove from pressure cooker, and shred. 

Note:  12 large chicken thighs makes about 8 cups shredded chicken

Pressure Cooker Brown Rice

Pressure cooking brown rice is hands down the best way to cook it!  It's much quicker, and super yummy!

2 cups brown rice
2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Put brown rice, water and salt in pressure cooker.  Cook on high pressure for 22 minutes.  Quick release, and serve!

Copycat Zupas Tomato Basil Soup - Instant Pot

Zupas Tomato Basil Soup is one of my all time favorite things.  I've tried several different recipes for Tomato Basil soup and I've liked some of them, but this hands down is my fav!  It tastes exactly like it!  Wahoo!  It's thick and creamy and fills my whole soul with comfort!  Yum!  Thanks to my sister for sharing it!  The original recipe came from devourdinner.com.  I like to use the S&W Tomatoes (Stewed Italian Recipe) and Costco's Kirkland Basil Pesto, for the canned tomatoes and the pesto.

3 tablespoons butter

3 stalks celery, diced

1 cup onions, diced

4 14.5 oz cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes 

1 cup basil pesto 

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Fresh Parmesan to garnish

Place butter in the Instant Pot.  Add celery and onions.  Saute until soft, stirring often.  Add canned tomatoes, pesto, sugar, salt and chicken broth.  Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.  When finished, use quick release to release the pressure.  Pour hot soup in blender and blend until smooth.  (Or you can use an immersion blender.)  Pour blended soup back into the Instant Pot.  Stir in whipping cream.  If the cream cooled the soup down too much, just press the saute button, and heat it for a minute or two.  Turn off saute when it's the temperature you'd like, and press keep warm.  Serve with fresh parmesan if desired.

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

The pressure cooker is my new favorite way to make pot roast!  It's so tender and delicious!  The seasonings in this recipe are spot on and the flavor of the gravy comes out perfect!

3 - 3 1/2 lb beef roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 - 2 small onions, quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon GF Worcestershire sauce
2 cups water
2 GF beef bouillon cubes

Mix together salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion power and pepper on a plate.  Roll roast into seasoning mixture.  Turn pressure cooker on to the saute setting and heat 1 tablespoon olive oil until hot.  Sear roast on all sides for 30-60 seconds.  Remove roast and set aside.  Deglaze bottom of pan with butter and add onions.  Saute onions.  Add balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, water and beef bouillon cubes.  Turn off pressure cooker.  Place pressure cooker trivet on top of onions and put roast on trivet.  Cook on meat/stew setting for 70 minutes.  Let it natural release for at least 20 minutes.

My family likes carrots cooked with pot roast, so at this point I pull out the pot roast and cover it with tinfoil.  I add a large bag of baby carrots to the liquid and set the pressure cooker to cook on high for 4 minutes.  Release manually and remove carrots.

Use the juices to make gravy.  Remove the onion pieces.  Turn pressure cooker on to saute.  Make a cornstarch slurry with corn starch and water.  Add slurry to the boiling liquid until the gravy is the consistency you like.  Salt and pepper to taste.  (I make the gravy by taste and will add salt, pepper, beef bouillon, and water according to taste.  If it needs more flavoring I add beef bouillon.  If it's too strong I add water, then possibly more cornstarch slurry to get it back to the thickness I like.)

Pressure Cooker Black Beans

This recipe is from my Grandma Carlson.  When I make these beans I think of her.  Her house was always filled with wonderful aromas!  She was a fantastic cook!  When she made them they would soak overnight and cook for several hours during the day.  I love that I can have the same beans in less than an hour - starting with dry beans!  She would have loved electric pressure cookers!

1 pound black beans
1 medium onion, diced
3 large stalks celery, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic
5 teaspoons oil
1 jalapeno pepper
8 cups water
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Rinse and sort beans.  Place in pressure cooker.  Add onions, celery, garlic, oil, whole jalapeno pepper, and water.  Cook on high heat for 32 minutes, use the quick release method.  Pour off, most of the water then add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm!

Note:  If you soak the beans overnight, cook them on high temperature for 24 minutes.

Pressure Cooker Sausage Pasta

I love the sausage and basil flavor of this easy pasta recipe.  The brown rice pasta cooked perfectly in the pressure cooker!  5 minutes was the perfect amount of time for the pasta to cook.  This is a kid friendly recipe that adults will enjoy too!  I got the recipe from the recipe book Pressure Cooker Perfection and adjusted it to be gluten free!  This recipe is so versatile.  You could change up the spices, or use beef instead of sausage!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
16 oz bag brown rice macaroni noodles
1 29-ounce can tomato sauce
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons dried basil or 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat oil in pressure cooker until hot.  Add sausage, onion and green pepper.  Brown until sausage is no longer pink.  Add tomato sauce, water and pasta.  Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.  Use the quick pressure release, then take the lid off.  Stir in basil and salt and pepper, to taste.  Serve!

Pressure Cooker Mongolian Beef

I can't say enough about how much fun I'm having with my electric pressure cooker.  This recipe is definitely becoming a "regular".  The meat is so tender and delicious!  When I made this the other day, my son walked in and asked, "what smells so good?"  He said, "it smells like a fancy restaurant!"  Woo hoo!  It makes me happy when my kids love dinner!  I got this recipe from Pressure Cooking today, and made it gluten free.  Here's the link.

2 pounds flank steak, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
3-4 green onions, sliced

Season beef with salt and pepper.  Put oil in the pressure cooker and select browning.  When oil is hot, brown the meat in batches until all meat is browned.  Transfer meat to a plate when browned.

Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar and ginger.  Stir.  Add browned beef.  Select high pressure, cook for 12 minutes, then use the quick pressure release.

In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water and stir until smooth.  Add cornstarch mixture to the beef and stir.  Select simmer and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.

Stir in green onions and serve with rice.

Pressure Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

My sister-in-law first introduced me to Indian Butter Chicken several years ago.  It's incredibly flavorful and delicious!  I recently came across a recipe from Pressure Cooking Today and thought I'd give it a try.  I changed a couple things to fit my family, but mostly followed their recipe.  My 4 year old daughter had 3 servings, and the boys gobbled it up!  It will definitely become a regular!

The pressure cooker made it super easy.  It is much faster than the recipe I made several years ago, but even though it only cooks for 5 minutes you still need to plan 35 - 40 minutes .  It's about 10-15 minutes prep, about 10 minutes to get to pressure, 5 minutes to cook, 10 minutes to release pressure, and few minutes to bring it back to a boil.  It's soooo worth it!  It easily served 8 of us and we have leftovers.

10 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 29 ounce can tomato sauce
1 medium/large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, peeled and grated (about a 3 inch piece)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground roasted cumin seeds (roast in a pan on the stovetop for a few minutes)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/3 - 1/2 bunch cilantro, minced

1.  Cut the chicken thighs into quarters.

2.  Put tomato sauce, jalapeno and ginger in a blender and blend to a fine puree.

3.  Add butter to pressure cooking pot, select Browning.  When butter is melted and foam begins to subside, add 1/2 the chicken pieces and sear until they are nicely browned all over (about 2-3 minutes).  Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl and put aside.  Brown the other 1/2 of the chicken, then place in the bowl also.

4.  Add the ground cumin and paprika to the butter in the pot.  Stir and cook for 10 -15 seconds.  Add the tomato mixture, salt, cream, yogurt and chicken pieces (with any juices that have accumulated in the bowl) to the pot.  Stir together.

5.  Cook on High for 5 minutes.  When timer beeps, turn off and use natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then use the quick pressure release.

6.  Stir in the garam masala and roasted cumin.  Whisk together cornstarch and water in a small bowl.  Stir into the sauce.  Select saute and bring to a boil.  Turn off pressure cooker and stir in cilantro.

Serve with rice.

Perfect Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

I continue to be amazed at how awesome my electric pressure cooker is!  Here is a recipe for perfect mashed potatoes in a jiffy!  I've found in takes about 10 minutes to get up to high pressure.  So you'll have perfectly cooked potatoes ready in about 17 minutes!

 

4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
salt
milk

Peel and quarter potatoes.  4 lbs for me = 5 russet potatoes.  Place in electric pressure cooker.  Add 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt.  Cook on high pressure for 7 minutes.  When finished cooking, use the quick release method.

Drain potatoes and pour into a large bowl.  Add butter and mash.  Add milk until it's the consistency you like.  Add salt if needed.  Serve.

Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash

I just got an electric pressure cooker and am super excited to start trying it out!  I want to start posting my recipes using it, even though they aren't much of a recipe. So EASY!

I love butternut squash, but often don't have my act together in enough time to cook it for dinner.  Now, it's a breeze!  I cooked it for 4 minutes and the squash was still in chunks, and could easily be mashed.  If you want it more firm, cook it for 3 minutes.

1 butternut squash
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper

Peel squash and scoop the seeds out.  Cut into bite sized cubes.  Place in pressure cooker with 1/2 cup water.  Season it with salt and pepper.  Close the lid and turn on pressure cooker, select high pressure and set time for 3 or 4 minutes.  (Time will begin when unit gets up to pressure.  It takes about 5 - 7 minutes.)  When cooking is done, use the Quick Pressure Release to release the pressure.