1 Recipe, 1 Tool, 2 Preps

If you saw my post from a couple days ago, you saw my new "kitchen toy".

It's a Power Pressure Cooker PRO
and I have enjoyed using it.  Recently life has been pretty hectic and we all know having a tool where dinner can set up ahead of time is worth it's weight in gold! One thing I run into is having limited space makes it impractical to have several different machines to do different things.



This machine ill pressure cook, slow cook, it has a stew setting, pressure canning setting, rice cooker and browner settings. I didn't use the browning setting for these recipes as I am trying this one thing at a time.

On to the recipe.

I had picked up a package of large cube steaks and was going to cook them as a kind of Swiss Steak/Pepper Steak hybrid.  You know the old saying "best laid plans"? That is kind of what happened to me. I didn't have any fresh peppers as I thought, nor did I have any fingerling potatoes. How does one forget they used the fingerling potatoes?

So I improvised.

Rather than cook it all at once and heat up the leftovers I decided to use half one day and pressure cook it and the other half the next day using the slow cooker function.

On to the recipe. I had two 1# cube steaks. I cut these into smaller pieces. Rather than dredge them in flour I used a shaker can of flour and shook flour, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders on one side. Like this:

I then put 3 Tablespoons of Light Olive Oil in a skillet and set the burner temp to medium. When the oil was hot I placed the meat flour side down in the oil. While that side browned I added the flour, salt, pepper and powders to the other side.

While the meat was browning I added 1-1/2 cups beef bullion, 1/2 a can of petite diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup each of diced onions and diced peppers (from the freezer) to the pressure cooker.

When the meat had finished browning I added it to the pressure cooker, closed the top and set it for 10 minutes at the default pressure, which is about 14 PSI.

While the meat was cooking I added 3 cups of beef bullion to a saucepan, brought it to a boil and added wide egg noodles until the noodles were
just below the level of the liquid. I boiled these for 5 minutes and then removed from the heat and covered to allow them to finish cooking while the meat finished.

The end result:

Tasty noodles and tender meat.

For the second day, I used the same recipe using the slow cooker (Low Temp Cook) function and also cooked some rice in beef bullion.

Since I was going to be out I used the delay cook timer and set it to cook for 1-1/2 hours. I was gone longer then expected and still had to cook the rice when I got home. No problem, the Keep Warm feature kept the food hot and ready until I was set to serve it up!

Both ways were tasty and tender. The pressure cooked meat was tender with still a bit of chewiness.  The pressure cooked meat as a little more tender but not falling apart.  If you desire your meat to be practically falling apart I would use the pressure cooker for 15 minutes instead of 10 and the slow cooker feature for 2 hours instead of 1-1/2.

Also, if one desired the juices in the pot could be made into gravy.  I may try that next time.

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it!

My New Toy

I did it. I finally got a pressure cooker! To be honest, I've had it a few months, but with everything going on I haven't had time to blog about it.

 

Power Pressure Cooker PRO

It's a Power Pressure Cooker PRO. I have used it a few times. I've pressure cooked chicken, dry beans and beef stew and used the slow cooker feature for beef stew and for pepper steak. They all came out good and I hope to try more items in the VERY near future. One of the features I am looking forward to trying is the pressure canning feature.

Be sure to check in often, or sign up to follow my blog, as I see what I can do with this amazing piece of equipment!

Easy Red Beans and Rice

Long a comfort food from down south, Red Beans and Rice also has a bit of history attached to it.  Ham was the traditional Sunday dinner (or supper as they often called it).  Back then Monday was also often called "Washday" as it was the day all the laundry was done..   For the ladies of the house, a pot of beans, with the leftover ham bone and spices added for flavoring, was an easy Monday dinner that wouldn't take a lot of attention away from getting the washing done. They could assemble the ingredients and let it simmer while they attended to the laundry.

I don't know about you, but a ham is not a traditional Sunday dinner at my house.  As a matter of fact, we probably only have ham 2 or 3 times a year.  This can be a problem since various ham & beans recipes, especially Red Beans and Rice, are among my favorites. I've come up with this recipe which has a bit of flavor but is not overly spicy, as traditional Red Beans and Rice is actually rather mild and served with a bottle of hot sauce so everyone can adjust the octane level to their own desires.

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom.

Let's go!

1 pound package dry red beans
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound Andouille (Cajun Sausages, or hot links)
White Rice

Sort and rinse the beans as per the package directions. Place in the pot with the onion and garlic, add enough water so the beans are covered by about 1-1/2".  Add the red pepper flakes and black pepper and stir.  Bring to a boil, the lower the heat until it is at a simmer.   Simmer for about 2 hours.  Slice the sausage on an angle into pieces about 1/2" thick.  Add to the pot and return to a boil.  Once at a boil, again lower the heat to a simmer for about an hour.

While the pot is simmering, cook a couple cups of rice per the package directions.  I like to use Chicken Broth instead of water when making the rice.

When the beans are cooked and ready, serve over rice. You can garnish it with a fresh parsley sprig or with green onions for a "fancy look" if you like.

As an aside, corn bread or biscuits are great with this dish!

This is a real basic recipe.  You can add additional spices such as parsley, thyme, bay leaf.  You can add chopped ham or bacon crumbles if you want more meat.  You can add diced bell pepper and/or chopped celery.   Try different ways until you find the recipe you like and make it your own!

Basic Beef Stew

It amazes me how many people I've talked with that love beef stew but don't have the slightest idea of how to make it.  I've had folks say they looked up directions but it looked too complicated.

"Dredge in flour? Brown in oil?  How do I do that?"

I am here to the rescue with a basic recipe that requires no dredging, digging, oiling, browning or even stirring (if you don't want to stir it, that is).

Basic items:

1 to 1.5 pounds beef stew meat
1# package of baby carrots
3-4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into eighths
1 medium onion chopped (or 1 cup of frozen chopped onions)
1 clove of garlic chopped (or 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic from the jar)
Beef stock (about 2 quarts)
Salt
Pepper

Optional items:
1/2 cup or so of diced bell peppers (any color)
1 - 8oz can of corn, drained
1 - 15oz can of black beans, undrained

Take the beef out of the package and rinse it off, place it in a 6 quart Dutch Oven and add beef stock to cover.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about an hour, a little longer is ok if you're busy.

Then add the baby carrots (after taking them out of the package), potatoes, onion, garlic, a pinch of salt and a couple of ground pepper. Also add the bell peppers if you're using them. Add enough beef stock to cover and return to a boil.  Turn down heat to a simmer again, and let it cook for about an hour, or until the potatoes and carrots are done.

Add the cans of corn and beans at this point, if you are using them, and if needed more beef stock to keep everything covered.

Let it simmer for about 20 minutes and then it is ready to eat!

If you're using a Slow Cooker, it's even easier.  Remove everything from the packages, put it in the slow cooker, pour in enough beef stock to cover everything, put the lid on it and turn the heat on the low setting for 6 - 8 hours.  How hard is that?

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't.  I found this at Do It Yourself...Naturally in an article written by Matt Jabs.  It made a lot of sense to try, to I made up a batch.  Great stuff!

Simplified, you need a Fifth of Vodka and 6 Madagascar Vanilla Beans.  LIGHTLY rinse the beans, slice them either lengthwise or into 1" chunks and add them to the bottle of Vodka. You will probably have to remove a little vodka to make room for the beans (HIC!)   Shake it up, then put it in a cool, dark place.

Every few days, give it a shake.

In about 2 months you'll have vanilla extract!

Strain it through a coffee filter and you're ready to go.

Because I had store bought vanilla I needed to use up, mine actually aged for about 4 months.  It has a nice strong vanilla smell and taste.

It's so easy and so much less expensive then store bought extract I will be using this the rest of my life!