Tonight I branched out, away from published recipes, and tried something I threw together on my own. Truly "threw together" since I made it up as I went along using ingredients I had on hand. Apparently, like the Hunger Games inspired sticker says, the odds were "ever in my flavour".
Ground beef sauteed in the pot with a small amount of onion. Add 1 can of mushroom soup whisked until smooth, 4.5 cups of beef broth, 1 can of diced tomatoes, and 16 ounces of fusilli pasta. All dumped into the pot together and then cooked on high pressure for 6 minutes. Quick release. Salt and pepper to taste. A variety of other spices could be added, but the important part, for me, was that I got the ratio of liquids and the timing right. It was perfectly cooked and neither too dry nor too moist.
Yay! The odds aren't always in my favour, but they were this time.
5 comments:
That looks tasty for sure. I love my Instant Pot pressure cooker. I think it is my favorite "specialty" kitchen appliance. I would say that it is my favorite, but the coffeemaker and microwave are my true favorites.
I'm still getting used to my IP. I don't cook as large of meals as I used to, we only have the 3 quart, but it works. It's great for brown rice. Since I'm working on losing weight, I try to keep things simple and to a minimum.
I'd place my coffeemaker and microwave first too Gene! I don't actually find that the Instant Pot saves a lot of time, in many cases, since there is the time it takes to actually reach pressure before the official cook time begins.
The Instant Pot does make cooking more fuss free though. For instance with this meal I set the pot and walked away. The more traditional way I would have had to wait for the water to boil, add the pasta, then stay nearby to turn it down to prevent it boiling over.
So many of the recipes that are available are for amounts that require the 6 quart size that I'm glad I got that size, Martha, though I can see the appeal of a smaller size too. If a recipe is larger than the three of us will eat in one meal I either enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day or I freeze them for another day. I've been making some fabulous soups, and for the weight conscious those can be made filling, yet low calorie, by fitting in lots of veggies.
Yum! I was going to use mine to make tarragon chicken last night, but the store was out of fresh tarragon, so I used rosemary and thyme and fresh lemon juice instead. :)
Sounds delicious C! I've only made chicken once and it was one of my less successful dinners. Got any hints to share?
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