Crack Chicken stars in "Death to Diets!"

     

This is how mine turned out over rice!  (It tastes divine!)

     I have been dreaming of Crack Chicken since I got my Instant Pot and heard about Aunt Bee's IP Crack Chicken which is linked.  But here is the problem, it is a devastator to diets.  I have been slowly losing weight by cooking more vegetables, decreasing my portion size, and being careful with what I eat.  However, this recipe drove all moderation out the door and chased it down the street beating it into submission!  I kid you not, I didn't want to stop eating it even after I was full (incidentally this is probably part of my "weight" problem.).  My kids had more than one bowl and three of us ate it for lunch the next day.  Unlike others, I doubled the recipe to make sure that we had leftovers. 

 This package of chicken had 8 chicken breasts.

I used precooked bacon, because it is easier.

     I started by putting the full 8 chicken breasts in the pot after having put a portion of the chicken stock  and dusting it with the dry Ranch dressing mix.  I then put the cream cheese on top of the chicken and poured the remainder of the chicken stock over the top.  (I used hot chicken stock and had the pot on Saute while I was doing all this to decrease the time it takes to come to pressure.)

This is the chicken before cooking in the chicken stock. (I would cube it next time!)

     I set the pot on Manual for 15 minutes and walked away.  (The only thing I will do differently next time is to dice the chicken prior to cooking to make shredding it easier after.)  About 25 minutes later it had cooked and Natural pressure released (NPR) for 5 minutes and I QR (Quick Released) the remainder of the pressure. 

This is when I QR the pressure.  (I hate that you cannot see the billowing steam!)  That is the PVC piece I use to redirect the steam away from my cabinets.  (Available here or at Home Depot.)

This is how the chicken looked after cooking and prior to shredding.

     The chicken was completely cooked and I chopped and shredded it, while periodically whisking the cheese and chicken stock mixture on Saute.  I deviated slightly by adding about 3/4 cup of sour cream.  The sauce thickened in the next 3-5 minutes.  I like my green onions slightly cooked, so I added them in when I added the chicken back in.  I then added the mayo, bacon (1 full cup of cooked bacon), and cheese and stirred it all up.  I then served it over white rice that I cooked in my rice cooker. 

This is how it turned out and it has been fantastic! 

(Yes Virginia, it is the same photo from the beginning!)

     I would recommend this recipe to anyone who wants very filling, hardy, excellent food that is visually, textually, and nose pleasing recipes that I have enjoyed cooking in my IP.  You go Aunt Bee!  This recipe is easy to follow, easy to prepare, and a joy to eat, but don't blame me if it causes an expansion of the waistline!  

Instant Pot Easy Beef Stroganoff

   

My family loves my Beef Stroganoff and I have been making it traditionally for years, so it was a no-brainer for me to convert it to the IP.  The Instant Pot makes it quick, one pot, and easier than I ever did it before.  I start with frozen hamburger, but you could use fresh or utilize other cuts of beef for it. (I have actually used chicken breast as well! - frozen too)  Back then,  I would steam/boil it in water and spend tons of time breaking it up as the exterior thawed and removed the thawed beef and have to watch it to make sure portions of the beef didn't burn.  Now I add two cups of water to the bottom of my Instant Pot:

     I use as hot water as my tap will produce and then I turn it on Saute while I work on getting the hamburger out of the freezer bags we put it in.  (We buy the 10 pound sleeves and then divide it into ten equal segments and freeze them.  It is more useful to have it in one pound segments.) 

This is what they look like going in completely frozen:

     I use two pounds in my recipe, but you could cut it in half if your family is smaller.  My kids love this recipe and will often choose to eat leftovers for lunch/snack the next day or even the next evening, so it never goes to waste.  In my opinion, that is a win!

     I then push off and then manual and set it for 10 minutes.  I put the lid on and set it for sealing. It looks like this on the front of my IP:

     I then get working on the rice.  I know, you say why don't you cook the rice in your IP?  I say, because I like a LOT of rice and I have a perfectly efficient rice cooker that can cook up to 10 cups.  It will be finished in time to eat with the perfectly cooked stroganoff and dinner is on the table, with me being able to catch up on my reading, clean the kitchen, or play a game with the kids.  You see the power of the IP is that I can walk away and let it do it's thing while I do something else.  (Before I would have to watch it almost constantly to make sure it didn't burn.)

     I utilize an Aroma Rice cooker that was given to me by a friend who had outgrown it with just her and her husband at home, thanks tons Stacy!  For my 7 person family, it was a gift from God.  We eat rice at least twice a week, so having enough to have leftovers is just great.  You can get one on Amazon here:  Aroma 20 Cup Rice Cooker.  I have really love having it. 

     I start with 5 cups of rice:

     I like my rice sticky, so I added 6 cups of water, one tablespoon of chicken stock, and two tablespoons of butter.  I like Knorr Chicken Bouillon, because it comes in a solid container and has great flavor.  

     I stir the water and rice a couple of times.  I use Basmati Rice: Member's Mark Basmati Rice.  I get it at Sam's Club and we go through 20 pounds in about two months and it is cheap.  $8.34 for the whole bag.  I don't wash it beforehand and it turns out great every time.  I put it on cook and then go relax until the IP is finished with the hamburger.  This is what the rice looks like after I have mixed it up when it is done.

     This becomes the base for my stroganoff.  It also gives me plenty to take to lunch at work the next day or to send with my adult children.  All in all it works out great.  After 15-20 minutes, the IP will finish cooking the hamburger and will beep and then start counting how much time since it finished cooking.  This shows up as L 0000 and counts up form there.  I QR the pressure and divert the steam using my 90 degree 2 Inch Schedule 40 PVC piece:

     Flip the steam release to release and place the PVC over it to redirect the steam.  Occasionally, I get some drips, so I place a washcloth to catch any drips.

Ironically, you cannot see the steam coming out of the PVC, but I assure you it is coming out!  Once your valve drops, you can remove the PVC, wipe any moisture off the top.  Then open your lid to your nearly finished hamburger base.

      This is with using Manual and cooking it from frozen to thawed and ready to be browned in 10 minutes, after it comes to pressure.  (Incidentally, this is why I use really hot water and turn it on Saute while I get the beef out of the freezer bags.)  Drain the hamburger by using a lid from another pot.  I have a Pyrex lid that fits nearly perfectly!

     Break up the hamburger and Saute it for 8-10 minutes until is as brown as you like it.  Add 2 tbs. of Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1 tbs. of Minced Garlic, 2 tbs. of Chopped Chives (fresh or dried) and complete the cooking of the hamburger.  It should look something like this when you are done:

     Add 6 cups of Milk (I use whole but other types work well.), 3/4 cup Sour Cream and two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup.  Leave the Instant Pot on Saute and let the pot continue to heat up the mixture.  Stir occasionally as it comes to a slow boil.  While it is doing so pour 1 cup of milk into a Measuring Cup and mix in 3 tbs. of Corn Starch and mix it well. (This is the thickening agent that you will add next.)

    When the mixture it starting to boil, then add the Corn Starch mixture to it and continue stirring it for 5-8 minutes and it will thicken relatively rapidly.  When it is as thick as you like it, we like it really pretty thick, then serve it over the rice that will by now be ready.  The sauce should look like this after you have added the thickener.

This is how I serve it up to my family and they usually come back for seconds!

     When I have fresh mushrooms, I add them during the Sauteing of the hamburger.  I use button mushrooms and put about a half pound into it cut into fourths.  The following are the things that went into this recipe and the actual recipe is below.  

Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff by Carv

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs.        Hamburger (Frozen)

2 tbs.        Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 tbs.        Chopped Chives (either fresh or dried like mine)

1 tbs.        Minced Garlic

6 cups      Milk (I use whole, but any regular milk will work.)

3/4 cup    Sour Cream

2 cans      Cream of Mushroom Soup (Mine were Western Family)

Thickener

3 tbs.        Corn Starch (Argo for me)

1 cup        Milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Put 2 cups HOT water in the IP set to Saute.  Place 2 lbs. Hamburger into the IP.  (It takes me a minute or two to get the hamburger out of the freezer bags we have it in and the water is heating up while I do it, thus reducing the time it takes to come to pressure and cook.)  Push cancel and then Manual for 10 minutes and put your lid on and set it for sealing.  
2. QR when the timer beeps and wait for your valve to drop.  (Be careful the steam will be very hot!)  Remove the lid and set it aside.  (You might want to hold it sideways over the pot as it usually has some moisture built up.)  Drain the water from the hamburger and place the liner back into your Instant Pot.  (Make sure that the outside of your liner is free from moisture, oils or anything before you do.)  Hit cancel again and again set it to Saute.  Brown the hamburger and add the seasonings, chives and garlic while you are cooking.  (Approximates 8-10 minutes)
3. Leave it on Saute and add milk, sour cream, and cream of mushroom soup. Stir every couple of minutes as it comes to a slow boil.  While it is heating prepare your thickener by mixing the corn starch with one cup of milk.  (Mix it completely so that you don't have clumps.)  When it starts to boil, add the thickener and stir it until it is thick and creamy.  (about 5-8 minutes.)
4. Using a ladle, serve it over rice, noodles, or bread.  

     My family loves this recipe.  I let them salt it to their taste.  You could add some jalepenos if you wanted to kick it up a notch or diced chiles.  However, my family loves the meaty, rich, creamy, and tasty way that I cook it.  Good Luck and have fun with your Instant Pot!

Cleaning that annoying spot at the top of your pot

     In the Instant Pot community, we regularly have visitors ask how everyone keeps the spot at the top of your pot clean.  I have literally responded to that question a few times and I thought perhaps I would post what my solution is to the problem.  

     I have seen fancy solutions that involve specialized tools that you have to order on Amazon, which isn't a bad thing, just more than I was willing to do.  Then I saw microfiber wash cloths at All a Dollar:  

     I took one and put it in soapy water and rolled at illustrated.  Then I take one end and thread it under the metal flanges on the top of the IP and pull it in a circle to the back part of the IP where it is easy to access any gunk that comes out.  Like this:

     This is me pulling as explained:

Normally, I would use both hands as it sometimes wants to pop out where it is slightly thicker!

     I end up with a clean pot and it takes little to no time to do it.  I do it first with my hot soapy water when I am cleaning up the mess from cooking, which thanks to the IP isn't much!  Mostly it consists of measuring spoons, cups, and clean plates after dinner.  

     I hope that this is a helpful tip!

It's Creamy Potato Soup Time

    Tonight I am going to make Creamy Potato Soup, because it is date night and my wife and I will be gone.  I still want my kids to have a healthy, flavorful dinner that they enjoy.  I don't know about your kids, but mine will play games and forget about food, so my wife and I like to give them some good options.  This is the recipe that I will be following: Instant Pot Potato Soup, thanks Tricia!  I already know that I will be modifying it slightly.  I love the addition of other vegetables, but also some color, so I will be adding carrots, and chives for their color and flavor.  (One of the reasons that I love the IP is it is easy to make soups and stews with little to no prep time, especially if you have a dicer like this: OXO Good Grips Vegetable and Onion Chopper with Easy Pour Opening - except mine is the old version, which was round and I long since lost the base, but it sure does process veggies fast!) This is my old dicer!

      I wash my veggies, slice the potatoes into about half inch rounds and push them through the dicer.

     I do the same with the carrots.  You could also use it for the white or yellow onion, however I just cut up my green onions or chives.  I toss all of it in to the Instant Pot with the chicken stock made to instructions (I am told that better than bullion is amazing, though I haven't tried it yet.  I use Knorr because it is cheap and easy. This is the blended chicken stock with garlic tossed in.

  I will toss in the garlic and some Montreal Steak seasoning from McCormick, along with some shredded chicken that I have leftover from another meal.  Once it has finished cooking, then I will add the shredded cheese, a half cup of sour cream (rather than cream cheese), and I love cream of chicken soup , so will add that to make it extra creamy.  I don't have any bacon right now, but it should taste pretty good.

This is my version:

     The soup turned out great.  All my kids loved it and it was finished in less than 30 minutes.  I would call that a success by any measure.  Even cooler, I had left overs to enjoy tomorrow!

I know you didn't come to my blog to learn about movies, but I have to give a shout out to one of the best movies I have seen in years: The Greatest Showman!  The music is spectacular, the story true or otherwise is compelling, and the quality is on a par with Les Miserables.  It is the first soundtrack that I have purchased in over a decade. In my opinion, the critics are fools.  It is a great feel good movie and left you joyous and happy as you left the theater.  Hugh Jackman once again shows his singing and dancing chops.

Perfect Pasta - NOT!

     I know I rave about how my Instant Pot does amazing things!  It really does if you follow the directions, but when you leave pasta cooking 11 minutes past its appropriate time, then you get substantially mushy pasta.  My goal was to cook this pasta:

     This is 16 oz package of Elbow Macaroni, which I added 4 cups of water and about a table spoon of salt. It is best to cook pasta in salt water.  (I have a family of 6 who really love pasta, so I actually doubled it and cooked two packages with 8-8 and a half cups of water with a bit of salt.)  By the time I actually opened the pot the pasta had absorbed all of water.  By the way, when you release the pressure it will splatter a bit as it is really full of liquid.  I recommend you have a really light weight towel or dish rag that you lay carefully over the top to of the went to minimize the mess.  Make sure that it is light enough that steam can still escape, but that it will absorb any of the liquid exiting the vent!

     The Instant Pot cooks perfect pasta, in only 4 minutes, but it does require that you pay attention and remove the pasta immediately after cooking so that it will al dente!  However, if you get distracted, as I did, you will end up with substantially soggy pasta.  (I ran cold water over this pasta to immediately stop the majority of cooking.) At this point I would normally add the fixings for the Macaroni and Cheese from this recipe, which my kids loved, but I had leftover Nacho Cheese with spices and sausage from New Years Eve that I heated up and mixed into this to create my hybrid version of Mac N' Cheese.  The kids said it was tooo cheesy.  Who knew you could actually have too much cheese? Creamy Mac and Cheese! Thanks Corey!

    The end result, mushy pasta and all, looked and tasted like Mac n' Cheese with sausage, taco seasoning, with a touch of heat from Cheyenne pepper.  It was edible, but was very rich and required you to have something to drink to cut the richness.  My ratio of cheese to pasta was a tad bit off.  I used 3-4 cups of the Nacho Cheese mix, which I realized upon tasting it was too much.  I usually add 3/4 of a cup of Parmesan cheese to the mix, sour cream, and half a block of cream cheese.  (This is in addition to the regular stuff of the recipe.  Mostly because I am into the rich creamy taste that it gives the macaroni and cheese.)  If you family likes to have a little protein to the mix, I will add half a cup of bacon crumbles.  (Like these below available at Sam's Club.)  I have also grilled chicken and chopped it into bite sized pieces and added it to the Mac and Cheese. 

So much easier than cooking and chopping your own bacon!

One Year Ago last Christmas

     Last year, for the entire Fall during our lunches (we are teachers at a junior high) my friend Jason Vilos talked about this magic machine that transformed freezer burnt venison into delicious street tacos for his picky eater kids.  He spoke of hard boiled eggs that peeled like a dream and soups, stews, and really just about everything he put into it came out amazing!

     As you might imagine, as a fairly accomplished cook, I was hesitant about a cooker that seemed almost magical.  I also looked at the price tag and being the cheap skate that I am, I wondered if spending so much money (it was between $79-109 depending upon options on Amazon) was worth it and if I would actually use it often.  Being a school teacher, I tend to spend a fair amount of time analyzing the options as to whether they will be usable, efficient, or user friendly.  The reviews on Amazon at the time also had those that complained that it doesn't save time, was scary to use, and was not user friendly!  I am not usually intimidated by cooking ware as the only way to learn is to experiment, but it did install doubt into my mind.  I had just about decided to save the money for it after Christmas (you all know about how tight it can get around Christmas with 5 kids right?), when surprise, surprise Jason shows up one day before Christmas with this wrapped box which was surprisingly heavy!  I wondered what my friend had brought me, but waited till Christmas morning to open it.  I was very surprised to find that he had decided to give me an Instant Pot!  

     I joined the FB group first thing (Thanks YOU Melody Greenlaw!) and like most men I didn't bother reading the instructions!  I NEVER did the pressure test at all.  I figured that it would come to pressure or not and that would answer most of my questions.  Jason recommended the IP Umami Pot Roast by ThisOldGal (https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-classic-pot-roast-dinner/) I diced the onions and made rounds of the carrots and I happened to have some mushrooms, so I just tossed them into the mix with dried rosemary and thyme.  My kids raved about it.  (They are fairly picky, so I counted it as a win.)  My second adventure was Mongolian Beef from AuntBeesRecipes here:  http://www.auntbeesrecipes.com/2016/12/instant-pot-mongolian-beef.html.  I didn't have any Green Onions, so I substituted white onions and added green peppers (just cause I like them.)  I also didn't have flank steak, so I used hamburger. (after all its still beef!) I cooked the meat and onion mixture with the liquid and spices for the set time and then dumped the chopped up green peppers after I QR the pressure and put it back on for 2 minutes.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  It was as good or better than what I get at a good Chinese Restaurant.  My boys picked out the green peppers, but they liked it as well.  

     Next I decided to get really adventurous!  I have always wanted to make Cheesecake, however I was always intimidated by the steps and time it would take (It can literally take hours!)  Being the kind of guy that doesn't like multiple step recipes, I was excited about the possibility of creating a cheesecake in a short amount of time.  I read the many options and decided to do Cheesecake #17, after all they had tested and refined 16 other times to get this one so it would have to be good. (Thank you Amy and Jacky for the amazing recipe!  You can find it here:  https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-cheesecake-new-york/)  I of course didn't have a spring loaded pan, so I just used a Pyrex dish I had that would fit in the Instant Pot.  I folded tinfoil to lower it onto the trivet.  I followed the recipe exactly as that seemed safest.  I tented tinfoil over the top a bit to reduce the drips and after chilling it for a couple of hours we literally devoured it in short order.  It looked exactly like the pictures, except for the creases where the tinfoil had come into contact with it.  It had a slight crease in the top, but tasted amazing.  

     My adventures over the last year have been amazing.  We have had great food, good food and some stuff I added too much spice to and ruined, but it has saved me time and been a fun adventure.  I also cannot also end my first blog of the adventure without a shout out to my family's favorite recipe the Honey BBQ wings of CopyMeThat found here: https://www.copymethat.com/r/W0y6emt/honey-bbq-chicken-wings-instant-pot/   We use Thighs and Legs rather than wings because there is more meat.  This has been a tradition for 4-5 years now that I make BBQ wings rather than purchase them fully prepped.  4 years ago it took me almost three hours to finish cooking the 15 pounds we make.  This last time, from start to finish was less than an hour!  And the flavor was out of this world, because the IP pushed the flavor of the sauce into the meat in only 12 minutes.  (10 if they are thawed.)  I will add a picture later tonight.  

Here is the finished Honey BBQ Thighs: 

I was eating them for lunch at school.

     This blog is to document the amazing fun I am having with my Instant Pot.  Help anyone who would like to see good food cooked in the pot.  Finally, it is just to help those intimidated by this wondrous machine of magic called the Instant Pot.  Yes world, I am a Pothead!

Any ideas for a decal that I can put on my old Instant Pot and the new 8 qt. that I just got for Christmas?