Refried Beans - Instant Pot

2 pounds dried pinto beans, sorted

Mmmm, look at all that cilantro!

1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons lard
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1-2 teaspoons sea salt ( after cooked)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the sorted dried pinto beans and fill the bowl with enough water to cover the beans by several inches. Set aside to soak for 15 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. To the Instant Pot bowl, add the chopped onion, garlic cloves, jalapeno, dried oregano, ground cumin, ground black pepper, lard, chicken broth, and water.
3. Use a colander to strain the beans and discard the soaking liquid. Rinse with fresh water.
4. Now add the beans to the Instant Pot bowl, and stir all of the ingredients together. It’s okay if the lard is in a solid lump, as soon as the Instant Pot comes up to pressure/temperature, the lard will melt.
5. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and ensure the steam release valve is set to sealing. Press the “Bean/Chili” key, which will show 30 minutes of cooking time, and increase the time to 45 minutes. Now walk away. When the Instant Pot is done cooking, it will come down from pressure naturally, about 40 minutes.
6. When the pressure is released, open the lid of the Instant Pot and add the sea salt to taste. Use an immersion blender to blend the beans to the desired consistency. The beans will appear soupy, but will thicken as they cool.

NOTES:

• From the original recipe: "I don’t recommend salting the beans prior to cooking, because I’ve experience instances where they never soften. I only recommend salting beans once they are soft and cooked through."
• Replace the lard with bacon fat.
• I replaced the jalapeno with a can of diced chilies.  (Better safe than sorry around here.)
• I ended up cooking them for an additional 30 minutes because they didn't seem to be quite done at 45.  That was probably overkill, but underdone is bad imo.
• Freeze them in ziplocs for efficient storage.  This time I happened to have a bunch of 1 cup container bowls, so I did that instead.

Zuppa Toscana - Instant Pot

½ pound bacon, chopped

1 pound mild Italian sausage
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
28 oz honey gold potatoes, scrubbed clean quartered
10 cups water, divided
3 tbsp. Chicken Base
5-6 cups chopped kale (approximately, I did not measure)
2 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper, to taste

Steps

1. With instant pot on  sauté mode, cook bacon until crisp, set aside. 
2. Crumble in sausage and red pepper flakes, cook until almost done, then add onion and cook 3-4 minutes. 
3. Next add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Turn IP off. 
4. Add potatoes, 8 cups of water, and bullion. Lock lid in place, set knob to seal, set IP to manual 10 minutes. 
5. Let stay on keep warm mode for 15 minutes, then turn IP off and turn knob to venting. 
6. Once all pressure released, open lid and add kale and 2 additional cups of water. 
7. Set to sauté mode and cook 10-15 minutes to tenderize the kale. 
8. Turn off, once soup stops boiling, add cream. Serve with crumbled bacon.

NOTES:

• This called for 12 cups of water (four cups in step 6 instead of the two I added).  That seemed like too much.
• I used a carton of chicken broth in place of a bunch of the water.
• I also a left the bacon in during the cooking process instead of serving it on top at the end.
• Add more red pepper if you like it hotter.  The original called for 1 tbsp.
• We also would have preferred it to be thicker.  I'd recommend a roux in the last step.
• Opinion: This is one of those recipes that made me not buy an Instant Pot.  Basically, it cooked the potatoes a little faster, although not really once you consider how long it takes to build pressure.  The saute mode steps are probably less efficient using the IP than they would be on the stove top.  Especially my lovely gas stove where I have better control over the temp. 
• Having said that, the recipe is good - we all liked it.

Source

Steel Cut Oats - Instant Pot

3 tbls butter
1 c steel cut oats
3-1/2 c water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c  brown sugar

1. With the cooker's lid off, heat butter on high until melted.
2. Add the oats, water, cinnamon and salt.  Lock the pressure cooker's lid and set for 5 minutes on high.
3. Perform a quick release to release the cooker's pressure.
4. Stir in brown sugar (original recipe also says to store in 1/4 c of milk).

NOTES:

• This worked well and actually took a reasonable amount of cooking time (plug in to pressure release), but there was lots of liquid that had not yet absorbed by the end of the cooking time.  All of this extra liquid was absorbed about a half hour later.
• It made 4 servings.  I packaged them to reheat for breakfasts this week.
• Using apple juice instead of water would probably be worth a try.
• I'd add fruit (raisins, craisins, or granny smith apples) before cooking next time.
• Definitely good.  Could easily be doubled.

Hard Cooked Eggs - Instant Pot

A friend loaned me her Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) to test over the next few days and I started with this easiest "recipe" for eggs.

Basically, I cooked a dozen eggs for 7 minutes at low pressure.  Release the steam immediately after the timer beeped, and let them cool a bit.  (I moved them to a bowl of cold water.)

In just a few minutes they were cool enough to peel, which was the really big part of the show!  After cracking them around the middle and removing a few pieces, almost all of the shells came off in two halves.  It was pretty impressive and the eggs were perfectly cooked.

Slightly more detailed instructions here.

Taco Seasoning

Adapted from Pioneer Woman:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/how-to-make-taco-seasoning/


Ingedients

• 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

Mix well and add to taco meat.  Probably enough for 2 lbs of meat.   

Notes: A bit spicier than we usually eat but that's easily fixed by reducing the amount of red pepper flakes.  Very good flavor! 

Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

I'll probably never be able to repeat this creation, but I'll do my best to retrace my steps.  It would be worth the effort for an encore.

I started with this recipe, which tasted fine, but I probably won't make again until I figure out how to cook meat in a crockpot that isn't overcooked to the point of (1) being way too dry and/or (2) falling apart.  So we ate it for one meal, but it was really dry and there were lots of leftovers.  (To throw away, or not - that was the question.)  It was haunting me in the fridge a week later when the idea of shredded chicken sandwiches occurred to me, so I found a sauce.

That was this.  I didn't follow it carefully, but did use the ingredient list as guidelines.
Soy Sauce
Honey
Sesame oil
Lime juice (didn't have orange)
and definitely that teaspoon of fresh grated ginger :)

I also added the end of some barbecue sauce from Don Bickford and added a little more of Wee Willy's BBQ Sauce, (Steve Swanson's favorite and the secret to his delicious ribs).

Anyway, this sauce, whole wheat buns (onion buns would have been good too), and grilled pineapple slices.  Highly recommended and it saved my dry chicken from the trash.

Steamed Hard Cooked Eggs

Be sure to use large eggs that have no cracks and are cold from the refrigerator. You can use this method for fewer than six eggs without altering the timing. This recipe calls for a steamer basket, but if you don’t have one you can use a spoon or tongs to gently place the eggs directly in the water. It does not matter if the eggs are above the water or partially submerged; they will cook the same. 

6 large eggs

1. Bring 1 inch water to rolling boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Place eggs in steamer basket. Transfer steamer basket to pot. Cover saucepan, lower heat to medium-low, and cook eggs for 13 minutes.

2. When eggs are almost finished cooking, place 2 cups ice cubes and 2 cups cold water in medium bowl. Using tongs or spoon, transfer eggs to ice water bath; let sit 15 minutes. Peel and use as desired.