Instant Pot Ideas

Happy New Year!

I, like a lot of people, got an Instant Pot for Christmas.  I'd been shopping for a great deal (the only way I like to buy things!) for over a year and had never pulled the trigger.  My sweet husband surprised me with one on Christmas morning and we had an Instant Pot side dish with Christmas dinner!

Todd's mom had asked for tacos for dinner. Because, really, when AREN'T tacos the right answer when someone asks you what you want for dinner?!  So I ran my test with water and didn't blow up the house or lose an eye (an ever-present danger evidently) and proceeded to make Mexican rice.

You know me - I have a huge cookbook collection. But I don't YET have an Instant Pot cookbook so I hit the Internet.  I found a great one at Cooking Classy.  It was great because it 1) is written to be used with an Instant Pot, 2) only called for ingredients I already had in the house, and 3) ultimately turned out to be absolutely delicious.  My husband's comment:  "This one's a keeper!"

Instant Pot Mexican Rice

This Instant Pot Mexican Rice will likely become a new go-to side dish to your favorite Mexican food! It's easy to make and cooks quickly in the pressure cooker, plus it has that delicious, authentic tomato based flavor.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Mexican Rice

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 222 kcal

Author: Jaclyn

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
• 3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 (14.5 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (8oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups long-grain white rice

Instructions

1. Select saute/browning on pressure cooker, once it reads "hot" add vegetable oil and onions, saute 2 - 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer (if using garlic powder add along with other spices).
2. Press "cancel" then pour in chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste, stir. Mix in rice. 
3. Lock the lid in place, make sure valve is set to "sealing" position, select manual (or high pressure) and 4 minutes cook time. 
4. When the cook time ends, turn the pressure cooker off and let the pressure release naturally for 10 - 15 minutes
5. Once steaming stops finish using the quick pressure release method according to manufacturers instructions. Fluff rice with a fork and serve warm.
6. Recipe source: recipe adapted from The Electric Pressure Cookbook by Barbara Shieving

I'd love to hear from anyone who has other great Instant Pot Keepers!

And head's up - I did get a cast iron skillet cookbook so look forward to seeing some of those recipes featured in 2019!

All the best to you in the new year!

Copyright 2018 Cooking Classy

Italian Style Casserole

This is gonna be quick!  No photos, no big story.  Just a "here's a great family dish I found on Facebook and doctored so it better suited my pantry and my palate".  Eat this. You'll like it.

Italian Style Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cups uncooked medium egg noodles
5 green onions, chopped
1 8 ounce container sour cream
1 3 ounce package cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried parsley (optional)

In large skillet over medium heat cook beef until no longer pink. Add yellow onion and cook until beginning to soften.

Add next 13 ingredients. Stir to mix and simmer over low while preparing remaining ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook egg noodles al dente according to package and drain well.

Soften, but don't melt, cream cheese in microwave. Blend with sour cream until smooth. Stir in green onion. Fold in cooked egg noodles until coated.

Spread 3 Tbsp beef mixture in bottom of 13x9 inch baking ban.  Add all of noodle mixture. Top with remaining beef mixture. Top with cheeses (combined or layered).  Sprinkle with parsley flakes.

Spray cooking oil on a sheet of aluminum foil. Place oil side down over casserole. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake 10 minutes more.

Spent Grain Bread

My husband started home brewing beer a couple of months ago and if you've never seen the process you might find it interesting that the combination of grains that makes the beer are steeped in a pot of hot water in what can be described as a great big tea bag.  Not exactly, but it gives you an idea.  Once those grains have steeped long enough to make delicious beer they are removed and discarded.  I thought they looked too good to just throw out so I did a web search for some spent grain bread recipes.  I found one that looked interesting and gave it a try.

Some people use those spent grains as bird feed.  Perhaps that's what I should have done!  The loaf looked great when it came out of the oven.  I lovingly brushed it with butter and waited, drooling, for it to cool enough to slice into it!  It was like a novelty shop gag gift loaf.  The knife went through the crust into a great void of hot, delicious-smelling air, with an inch of sticky, glue-like dough on the bottom. Definitely one of those laugh-or-you'll-cry moments in the kitchen!  I believe the extra moisture in the wet grains was to blame.  Or, more accurately, I was to blame for not compensating for the extra moisture in the wet grains.  Lesson learned.

The hubs brewed again yesterday.  In the weeks since my last bread effort I've given some thought to what I'd do differently.  I hit the internet again for ideas.  Nothing I found looked quite like what I wanted.  So I grabbed bits and pieces of recipes I liked and came up with my own recipe which resulted in a rustic, dense loaf with a hearty, crisped crust.

Here is the recipe I came up with.  This is just how I made mine - not how I will probably tweak it going forward.  I'll share those results as they happen.

Whitacre Dry Spent Grain Bread

1 ½ cups warm water

1 Tbs honey

1 Tbs yeast

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour + extra for kneading

½ cup wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 cups dried spent grains*

Combine water, honey and yeast in small glass bowl and let activate for 8 minutes.  In food processor combine wheat flour, 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and salt.  Pulse to combine.  Add yeast mixture to flour and process until smooth.  Add spent grains and remaining cup of all-purpose flour.  Process for 30 seconds until ball forms.  Turn out on lightly floured board and knead until firm but elastic, adding additional flour as necessary.  Place in greased bowl, cover with towel and let rise in warm place until doubled (about one hour).

Divide bread into two pieces.  Form into oblong loaves and place on lightly floured baking sheet.  Allow to rise for an additional hour. Slice tops with sharp knife before baking.

Bake in 450F preheated oven for 25-35 minutes.  Place a pan of water on the lower shelf to create a crispier crust.  Cool slightly and serve!

* For dried spent grains:  take 3 cups wet spent grains that have been allowed to drain a bit and spread them evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake in oven on low (170F) in 20 minute increments, stirring after each 20 minutes, until dry (about 2 hours).  Process in food processor until desired coarseness is achieved. Yields approximately 1 ½ cups dried grain.

Things I'd like to try going forward:  More honey.  Longer rising times. Molasses and raisins? Press some fresh rosemary sprigs into the crust before baking? Bake that bad boy in my pizza oven in the yard. (I also found a spent grain pizza dough recipe.  You'll be hearing more about that I'm sure!)

Tell me, bakers, what are you thoughts?  Have you tried baking with spent grains?  Do you have any hints, tips, or suggestions for me?

Winter Cocktail

I know, I know...I haven't been here for almost a year!  It is just amazing how quickly time flies!

When I logged in I noticed I have a draft sitting here for some web-popular sugar cookies. A draft that I started 10 months ago! I'll revisit that later and post it.

My Ingredient Challenge group is going to be doing a Finger Food & Cocktails night later this month so for our Cocktail Experiment for the weekend I tried Drunk Jack Frosties. I'd just seen this on Facebook and followed this link to the Delish website for the full recipe.  I didn't want to be eyeballing ingredients from the quick video for my friends.  Maybe I should have.  I followed the recipe and got a nearly undrinkable beverage. Probably would have been undrinkable for the masses, but my hubs and I are no quitters!

DRUNK JACK FROSTIES

1 C vodka
1 C Champagne
1/2 C Blue Curacao
1/2 C lemonade
3 C ice
Lemon wedge
White sanding sugar

In a blender, combine vodka, champagne, blue curacao, lemonade and ice.  Blend until combined.

Run a lemon wedge around the rim of each glass, then dip in sanding sugar.

Pour frosties into rimmed glasses and serve immediately.

Here's their photo:


Isn't it beautiful?!

I neglected to get a picture of mine.  Probably because I switched gears immediately and made myself an amaretto sour instead.  But mine did NOT look like this.  It was much, much bluer.  Like a melted blue snow cone (or sno-cone,  Merriam-Webster will accept either). Which leads me to my hints/tips.

When I made this I followed the instructions with two small changes, neither of which should have changed the taste or color. I put the ice and vodka in the blender and ran it on "ice breaker" for a bit before I added the other ingredients. And I didn't add the champagne until I had everything else fully blended.  I added it at the very end and gave the blender a couple of quick whirls.  I didn't want to "crush" the bubbles.

If I were to make it again I would start with 1/2 the Blue Curacao.  And I'd probably make my own lemonade and make it much sweeter than the store-bought stuff I used.  And then I'd probably set it all aside and make myself a cocktail that I like.  But don't take my word for it!  Everyone has their own preferences and you might love this stuff!  Let me know!

Like mother, like daughter

It is well-established that I am a recipe junkie and that I get that from my mother.  She loved trying recipes from magazines, cookbooks, friends, and labels from cans and boxes.  I was just looking through my small, blue recipe box for a specific recipe of hers. I noticed her small, beige recipe card box on the shelf above mine and thought I'd check in there.  Still haven't found the recipe I'm looking for (guess I've got to dig into the big boxes!) but I did find nearly identical copies of  B.T.S. Cake.  B.T.S. stands for Better Than Sex and I remember how scandalized my mother was when her co-worker told her that!  I'm not sure if my mom or her friend typed up copies, but Mom sent me one to me.  Pretty fun to see how similar our recipe hoarding styles are!

The funny thing is - neither of us ever actually made this recipe.  Mom's friend had taken it to a potluck and mom thought it was delicious so she shared the recipe with me right away.  I'll make it soon and let you know if it lives up to the name!

I also came across this recipe for a family staple.  Good ol' Macaroni-Beef Casserole.

I can't count the number of times my family shared this around the dinner table.  I've only made this once in the past 30 years but I'll have to give it another go.  Here's what I love about this copy.  1) So many of the recipes that I have from my mom are folded because she mailed them to me after I left home.  2) Mom started writing it down for me.  3)  She must have gotten busy and asked my younger brother Jeff to take over. 4)  Jeff seems to have gotten distracted and my older brother Nick took over.  Three of my loved ones were thinking of me and sharing time and love and food with me from 350 miles away at a time when you didn't just snap a photo and send it in seconds.  No wonder I'm hooked.

As always - I'd love to see or hear about your favorite family recipes!

HRR update 2/9/17

HOME

I'm off to a great real estate start in 2017 - making the top 5 in my office for the month of January. I have several other deals pending and plan to make the list repeatedly this year!

RUN

Today is day 1187 of the running streak though I have not yet run.  My treadmill isn't working properly and we are having a windstorm here today.  I'm dressed to head out as soon as I see a few moments of calm.  If you've ever blown in a babie's face you have some idea how well I handle running in the wind!

RECIPES

My Ingredient Challenge Group meets this weekend for an Italian feast!  I'm still undecided about what to take.  Meat-filled cannoli?  Dessert cannoli? An Italian cocktail to serve double-duty as my Ingredient Challenge AND my cocktail challenge?  I'll run it by Todd and get back to you with a recipe and photos!

Whipped Cream Biscuits

Way back when I started this blog I shared a recipe for 2 Ingredient Scones.  I had seen the recipe and had to try it.  They turned out surprisingly well and I loved how simple it was to make them.

I have a great recipe for biscuits that I got from my mother.  LOVE them!  But I'm a recipe junkie and whenever I tell my husband I've found another biscuit recipe that I want to try he says, "Why mess with perfection?".  So I've held off. Until now.

My sister, Sheila, the same one that shared Diana's delicious casserole with us recently, told me she'd tried a new recipe that were on a par with Mom's.  She does not lie. And these actually require less work because the shortening, eggs and milk are replaced with plain old whipping cream which reminds me of the simplicity of the scones.

Sheila found this in the recipes section of www.familyfun.com.

Ethereal Whipped-cream Biscuits

1 cup flour
1 cup cake flour*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups cold heavy cream

Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 and get out a large, light-colored baking sheet.  Test Kitchen Tip:  Don't use a dark or nonstick sheet, or the biscuit bottoms will burn.
Step 2
Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.  Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream in a medium-size bowl until it thickens, but not enough to hold soft peaks.  Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the cream.  With a wooden spoon, stir briskly just until the dough coheres.

Step 3
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  With floured hands, knead the dough 3 or 4  times, then pat 3/4 to 1 inch thick.
Step 4
Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds and transfer them to the baking sheet, leaving room between them.  Gather the dough scraps and cut them into rounds as well.

Step 5
Bake the biscuits until light golden brown, about 15-17 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to a  cloth-lined basket and serve as soon as possible.  Makes about 12-14 biscuits.

* To make your own cake flour remove 2 tablespoons of flour from a measured cup of flour, replace with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Instead of making 12-14 small biscuits, I made 6 large ones.  So instead of a baking sheet, I used a small casserole dish with sides to help contain the biscuity goodness.  Because of their size I also let them cook about 5 minutes longer.

These are so good Coco was willing to trade her Tiny Frog for an opportunity to lick the plate!

If you've got a favorite biscuit recipe - please share it in the comments!