Instant pot

Soup Time! Instant Pot* Chicken Tortilla Soup

/ TaMara

This soup is one of my favorites.  Quick, easy and full of goodness.  And using the electric pressure cooker makes an easy recipe even easier.

I was being overrun with tomatoes, and then our heatwave broke with a nice cold, rainy weekend. Perfect time to start some soup.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

  • 4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed**
  • 8 cups of water
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp orange  juice
  • 1 tbsp limejuice
  • ½ tsp ea. – Mexican oregano, basil, rosemary
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 large chopped green, yellow, or red pepper
  • 1 to 4 jalapenos chopped (depending on the heat you like)
  • 1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
  • 12 oz frozen sliced carrots
  • 8 oz frozen green beans
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1/2 small onion
  • 16 oz frozen sweet corn
  • 14 oz canned or fresh tomatoes
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro, washed and chopped
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 flour small flour tortillas
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instant pot, Multi-Pot or *any electric pressure cooker

Continue reading →

Four Minute Potato Salad

/ TaMara

This recipe is a family favorite!

From 2018:

At the last minute yesterday, I decided we needed potato salad at our cookout. Luckily, electric pressure cooker to the rescue!  Four minutes cooking time, about 10 minutes prep. I left potatoes and eggs in the fridge to cool while we ran around. Added mayo, mustard, some dill pickle juice just before dinner and served with grilled hamburgers and corn. Yum.

Perfect Picnic Potato Salad

  • 6 large potatoes, peeled, cubed
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
  • mayo and yellow mustard to taste – I used less than a cup of mayo and about 1/4 cup mustard – but I know some people like a lot more. I added a 1/4 cup of dill pickle juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Add the steaming basket to the pressure cooker and add enough water to come to bottom of the basket. Add cubed potatoes (and you don’t need to be too fancy with cutting the pieces – just relatively same size for uniform cooking). Place washed eggs on top of the potatoes. Close the unit, set to steam for 4 minutes. When finished, use the rapid release method to ensure eggs don’t over cook and potatoes stay firm.

Add eggs to a cold water ice bath. Remove potatoes and drain excess water. Add to large serving bowl.  Peel eggs, wash and cube. Add to potatoes. Let cool completely before mixing so as not to turn the potatoes into mush.

Once cooled, add remaining ingredients and fold until well mixed.  Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 easily

Instant Pot Corned Beef

/ TaMara

I wasn’t going to make corned beef this year – I’m a so-so fan of it.  I really have to be in the mood. But I found a great deal on a premium corned beef, so I impulsively purchased it.

I decided to up my game a bit and use my mom’s version, where she used to finish it in the oven with a nice glaze. It was definitely worth the effort.

I decided I would also make it an instant pot version – which is very similar to my stovetop pressure cooker recipe. Continue reading →

Instant Pot: Perfect Pot Roast

/ TaMara

Sunday Pot Roast

Revisiting this recipe because it’s been ridiculously cold this week and I’ve about had it with ducks being inside and puppies crazed because they aren’t getting enough outdoor time. So this and French Bread are all that’s holding me together.

From 2020:

In my quest to update some of my older recipes for Instant Pot style cooking, here is one of my favorites. I love being able to set this up and an hour and a half later have a perfectly cooked pot roast – tender and flavorful – along with all the sides.

Sunday Pot Roast On A Weeknight 

  • 4 lbs Pot Roast (chuck roast)
  • ¼  cup good whiskey (or red wine)
  • ¼ cup beef broth or water (more if needed)
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
  • ½ tsp salt & pepper
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • 6 medium potatoes, quartered
  • 1 lb bag baby carrots

slow-cooker or Instant Pot Continue reading →

Dinner Menu: Buffalo Chicken Bites and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

/ TaMara / 1 Comment

For the Super Bowl this year, we kept it simple: pizza, super nachos and ice cream. I toyed with making wings, but in the end, it seemed like too much work after a very long week.

But I found myself craving Buffalo chicken all week, so finally I cubed up a large chicken breast and made this super simple, yet flavorful dinner.

I served over shredded lettuce with ranch dressing, along with Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and of course, carrot and celery sticks.

Skillet Buffalo Chicken Bites

  • 1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • extra light olive oil
  • 1 cup potato starch
  • 1/4 tsp of each:
    • salt & pepper
    • garlic powder
    • cayenne pepper
    • adobo seasoning
  • buffalo wing sauce
  • bleu cheese or ranch dressing

skillet Continue reading →

Nick Stellino’s Italian Meatballs

/ TaMara

 

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I have celebrity chef crushes: Nigella Lawson, Ming Tsai, Michael Symon…and Nick Stellino

These are more than just following their recipes, it’s about enjoying their story-telling, their cooking style, their outlook on life. Right now, I’m enjoying a story a day from Nick Stellino, via his Storyteller in the Kitchen series.

May be an image of 1 person, standing, suit and outerwear

Here’s the link to the meatball recipe. I believe you can easily use the electric pressure cooker (instant pot, etc) for this. Just use the saute setting first to bring it to a boil, then reduce to the slow cooker high setting for about 2 hours, or until the meatballs are cooked through to the center.  I would not use the pressure cooking setting – the sauce will burn and the meatballs will fall apart.

 

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

/ TaMara / 4 Comments

Cool weather has settled in and I’ve had a pot of soup on most days. Today I felt like some simple, quick chicken noodle.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

  • 8 cups water
  • 12 oz sliced carrots (I used frozen)
  • 2 stalks of celery, sliced
  • 1 lb boneless chicken breast, cubed
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 2 tsp dried poultry seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 oz egg noodles

electric pressure cooker (instant pot, multi-pot, etc), blender Continue reading →

Holiday Dinner Menu: Flank Steak Pinwheels

/ TaMara

What’s on your plate for this holiday weekend (how did that happen)? Are you sad summer is waning or is fall more your season? Most importantly, whatcha cookin’?

This steak is easy to make in the oven, but I thought I’d try it on the grill this time. Works great – just remember to cook it away from the coals or turn the grill off if it’s electric, like mine.

Flank Pinwheel Prep Final

This steak can be prepped the day before, just wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap. Makes it great for a date night, anniversary or small dinner party. I pan-seared and finished in the oven/on the grill in the same pan, because of the cheese. The reward was great pan drippings when I was finished, which I drizzled over the potatoes before serving.

Flank Steak Pinwheels Final

On the board:

  • Flank Steak Pinwheels
  • Grilled Sweet Corn
  • 4-Minute Potato Salad (recipe here)
  • Fresh Sliced Peaches

Flank Steak Pinwheels

  • 1 large flank steak, butterflied
  • salt and pepper
  • crushed garlic (at least 2 cloves)
  • 8 oz sliced provolone cheese
  • 1 bunch washed and dried spinach leaves
  • 8 wooden skewers
  • olive oil

Cast iron skillet Continue reading →