Tag Archives: Pressure Cooking

February 1, 2020 · 3:50 pm

Mashed Potatoes for Two

If you think you can’t enjoy mashed potatoes without sacrificing your waistline or health, think again. For my Mashed Potatoes for Two, I use 1 pat of butter…real butter, no substitute. A pat of real butter is 1.5 tsp. or 50 calories. That’s 25 calories per serving. The butter adds plenty of flavor with a tiny amount of fat.

For my recipe you need only two russets, a pat of butter, salt/pepper, and a cup of water. The water goes into the pressure cooker. The peeled and halved potatoes go on a trivet above the water.

Pressure cook 15 minutes, allow pressure to drop 5 minutes on its own, then quick-release. Reserve the cooking liquid. Carefully remove the cooked potatoes to a bowl and add the butter to melt with the potatoes.

Using a fork, mash and stir the potatoes. Add a tablespoon or two of the starchy cooking water to loosen the mash. If mixture is still too stiff, add more of the cooking water. Season to taste.

That’s it. Potatoes boiled in water lose much of their flavor. By steaming potatoes above the water, you retain the natural flavor and nutrients. There’s no need to add anything beyond the small amounts of butter and cooking water for creamy mashed potatoes.

Add mashed potatoes to your Hasty, Tasty meals. Serve with fat free gravy, if desired.

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November 9, 2019 · 2:36 pm

Pork Tenderloin—Hasty and Tasty

My grocer had pork tenderloins on sale this week buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO). Pork tenderloin, not to be confused with pork loin, is a lean and tender cut ideal for a Hasty Tasty Meal. It’s easily over cooked, which is why it’s crucial to distinguish tenderloin from loin. Yet it’s also difficult to pass up a BOGO, so I decided it was time to master pork tenderloin.

Baking or roasting pork tenderloin using a meat thermometer (internal temperature of 145°) is a foolproof cooking technique, yet I wanted to use my pressure cooker. Why? We’re campers and don’t travel with an oven or even a microwave oven. But I do have a 3 quart Instant Pot Duo Mini in my travel trailer. Even when “roughing it,” I like to prepare good meals.

I experimented with steaming the tenderloin on a trivet over the liquid as well as braising in the cooking liquid. I tried chicken broth, water, and apple juice for the cooking liquid. All techniques produced edible meat, but here’s my favorite and most successful recipe.

RECIPE

Hasty Tasty Pork Tenderloin Roast

Serves Four

Ingredients:

  • 1 pork tenderloin, approximately 1.5 pound
  • 2 tsp. Canola oil or your choice vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 fennel bulb, sliced
  • 1 apple (gala or Granny Smith works well), sliced
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat multi cooker on sauté mode.
  2. When heated, add oil and brown all sides of the tenderloin.
  3. Remove tenderloin to a plate. Add fennel, apple, and onion to the pot and sauté approximately 5 minutes. Salt and pepper. Turn off heat.
  4. While vegetables sauté, use a sharp paring knife and make slits evenly throughout the meat to insert the garlic pieces.
  5. Pour water slowly into the pot. Using a wooden spoon, deglaze the pot of any cooked-on bits.
  6. Return tenderloin to the cooker and place atop the fennel, apple, and onion slices.
  7. Seal cooker and set pressure cooking time for zero minutes (or lowest time setting available).
  8. After cooking time completes, hit cancel. Do not allow cooker to “keep warm.” Allow pressure to drop on its own one minute and then vent.
  9. Open cooker, remove meat to a plate, and pour cooking liquid into a heavy duty blender (I use a Vitamix) to purée.* Return liquid to pot, and hit sauté.
  10. While liquid reduces, allow tenderloin to rest. Tent with foil to keep warm. After the cooking liquid boils down to desired thickness, turn off cooker and add butter. Salt and pepper sauce to taste. Slice the tenderloin and serve drizzled with the sauce.

Browned tenderloins cook quickly.

Whisk in butter right before serving.

Serve with sauce and side dishes of your choice.

*For a chunkier sauce, mash the cooked apple, fennel, and onion mixture with a potato masher.

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June 5, 2019 · 2:23 pm

Zesty Pinto Beans

We often eat beans. We like them, they’re good for us, and they are inexpensive. Today’s pintos (made in my Instant Pot) are made zesty with the addition of hot Hatch Chilies.

We discovered Hatch Chilies in Texas one summer. Although next to impossible to find fresh in my area, Hatch Chilies in cans are usually found in my pantry.

Here’s my recipe:

Zesty Pintos

RECIPE

Zesty Pinto Beans

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  1. 1 cup Dried Pinto Beans
  2. 1 cup Chopped Onion
  3. 1/2 cup Diced Sweet Pepper
  4. 1/2 cup Hatch Chilies (we like hot, but choose your heat level)
  5. 1 clove garlic, minced
  6. Water or Broth
  7. Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

  1. Soak beans overnight or do a 1-hour Quick Soak in a Pressure Cooker.*
  2. Rinse beans and set aside. Wipe the pressure cooker dry and preheat (Sauté Mode).
  3. When pot is hot, add 1 Tbsp. oil. Allow oil to heat.
  4. Sauté chopped onions for 2 minutes before adding peppers.
  5. Sauté peppers 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat (or hit Cancel).
  6. Stir in garlic.
  7. Add presoaked beans. Add liquid just to cover beans. Set cooker for 30 minutes.
  8. Seal and bring to pressure. After cooking, allow pressure to drop on its own.
  9. Open cooker, stir, and serve.

*For the 1-hour Quick Presoak, place beans in a pressure cooker. Add water to completely cover the beans. Add 1 Tbsp salt. Pressure cook for one minute, cancel, and then allow beans to soak undisturbed for one hour. Rinse and drain before cooking.

.

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November 29, 2017 · 12:30 pm

Easy Weeknight Pot Roast

We don’t eat much red meat, but when we do, I splurge. I buy only meat from grass-fed livestock that has no added hormones or antibiotics. We enjoy pot roast, but a traditional recipe cooks hours. I’m about “hasty” meals, so here’s my version. I promise it’s just as yummy as the slow-cooker version. Using a packet of soup mix saves time with your spices. It’s all there, including salt and pepper. You need only an hour total for this Hasty Tasty Meal.

RECIPE

Easy Weeknight Pot Roast

I use a pressure cooker to reduce cooking time. Since so many of you have asked for Instant Pot meals, I used my 6-quart Instant Pot. However, the recipe works in any pressure cooker, electric or stovetop.

Ingredients:

  • 1 – 2 pound beef roast, any cut
  • cooking spray (I prefer Pam®)
  • 1 packet dehydrated (low-sodium if available) onion soup mix
  • 2 medium russet potatoes, quartered (or 6 whole baby Yukon golds if you prefer). Peel if you want, but after cooking, the skins slide off easily.
  • 2 yellow onions, quartered or roughly chopped
  • 2 sweet peppers, sliced (optional)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. Tomato paste
  • 1 cup chicken broth (Yes, chicken broth* not beef broth) or water
  • ½ pound carrots (I prefer Bunny Luv Organic)
  • Slurry of 1 Tbsp. corn starch mixed in 2 ounces cold water

Directions:

  1. Preheat the pot using the sauté setting. When the display reads Hot, spray generously with cooking spray and add onions.
  2. Using the dehydrated onion soup mix, dry-rub the meat thoroughly.
  3. Slice meat into 1½ to 2 inch pieces. Add meat to the pot to brown.
  4. After a couple of minutes, turn off the Instant Pot. Add garlic and tomato paste. Stir.
  5. Pour in the broth. Using a wooden spoon, deglaze the pot, incorporating the flavors into the broth. Add sweet peppers if using.
  6. Place the potatoes on top the meat.
  7. Seal the Instant Pot and program (using either the meat or manual buttons) for 30 minutes. If your model has two pressure settings, select high (which is the default).
  8. While meat cooks, prepare the slurry, and slice carrots into 1″ pieces.
  9. After 30 minutes, hit Cancel and allow pressure to drop on its own for 10 minutes. Then release remaining pressure and carefully open the pot.
  10. Add the carrots, replace seal, and return the Instant Pot to pressure for 0 minutes. Allow pressure to drop on its own completely before opening the pot.
  11. Using a large spatula, lift the meat, potatoes, and carrots onto a platter. Tent with foil to keep warm.
  12. Using the sauté button (Never cover the pot with the lid while using the sauté function), bring cooking liquid to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch slurry. As soon as the liquid begins to thicken, turn off the pot, remove it (careful! Use your silicone mittens for this) to a heatsafe trivet or folded towel, and gently pour it into a measuring cup or gravy boat to serve.
  13. Serve platter with a drizzle of the gravy and a dinner roll.100_1510

Why use chicken broth instead of beef? Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a store-bought beef broth that tasted good. There’s an artificial, almost “tinny” taste to it. Yet chicken broth or stock is mild and actually brings out the umami flavor of the meat. If you have neither, use water. It’s only a cup and it’s better to go plain than bad-tasting for your cooking liquid.

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