Main Course

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Quick brined pan seared oven roasted pork chop.

Mixed a few teaspoons of salt, brown sugar and water placed chop in for about half hour. Pan seared for 3-4 minutes on one side flipped and put in 400 degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes until temperature was about 145. Let sit covered loosely for 5 or so minutes and pigged out. Lyn was on a cleansing diet not me. 

Thicker Instant Pot Beef Stew
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Thicker Instant Pot Beef Stew

It was a cold day and the skies were threatening snow we were off to the grocery store and my stomach spoke up Beef…. Beef Stew. I wanted a stew that was thicker than the other Instant pot stew I made and this one looked good, so good I’m using their finished picture. It came out just like my mind’s eye had pictured full of flavor and the veggies cooked perfectly. The only thing I did was substitute some red wine for the sherry also had pre-cut stew meat. The extra effort and time was well worth it!

They said and I agree:

You’ll Enjoy Instant Pot Beef Stew Because:

  • Easy to make
  • Cut short half the cooking time comparing to cooking on stovetop
  • Huge flavors – packed with *umami!
  • Soul-satisfying, cozy comfort food
  • Healthy – packed with earthy root vegetables
  • Tenderized, juicy, moist beef in hearty thick sauce full of body & texture

Instant Pot Beef Stew are Great for:

  • Cold weather
  • When you’re craving for a filling & comforting meal
  • Dinner parties
  • Holiday meals

*Umami (/uˈmɑːmi/), or savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). It has been described as brothy or meaty. People taste umamithrough taste receptors specific to glutamate.

INSTANT POT BEEF STEW

Classic American Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe: Make this soul-satisfying beef stew. Tender & moist pressure cooker chuck roast immersed in a rich, hearty, umami sauce.

Author: Amy + Jacky | Pressure Cook Recipes
Recipe type: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Meat, Stew, Vegetables, Easy
Cuisine: American

  PREP: 10 MINS |  COOK: 110 MINS |  TOTAL: 2 HRS
SERVING: 2 – 4

  

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 pounds (1001g) USDA Choice Grade Chuck Steak (Canada AAA Grade Blade Steak), 1.5 inch in thickness – I bought precut stew meat.
  • 3 medium garlic cloves (15g), crushed and minced
  • 12 white mushrooms (150g), thinly sliced
  • 2 small onions (214g), thinly sliced
  • 2 celery stalks (150g), cut in 1 ½ inch (4cm) chunks
  • 2 medium carrots (200g), cut in 1 ½ inch (4cm) chunks
  • 3 – 4 small Yukon gold potatoes (365g), quartered
  • ½ cup (65g) frozen peas
  • ¼ cup (63ml) of sherry wine – I used Juxtapoz red wine instead that I had opened.
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon (0.35g) dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon (8g) flour
  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

 

Chicken Stock Mixture

  • 1 ½ cup (375ml) unsalted homemade chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons (50ml) tomato paste

 

Note:

One batch of vegetables stayed in the pot to enhance flavor and acts as a natural thickener for the beef stew.

The other batch of vegetables was set aside and added back into the beef stew afterwards. This adds texture for the overall dish.

 

How

  1. Prepare the Pressure Cooker:Heat up your pressure cooker (Instant Pot: press Sauté button and click the adjust button to go to Sauté More function) over medium high heat. Make sure your pot is as hot as it can be (Instant Pot: wait until the indicator says HOT).
  2. Brown Chuck Steak:Note: I had already cut up pieces but browned the same way except season all sides first.
  3. Season one side of the chuck steak generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil in pressure cooker. Ensure to coat the oil over whole bottom of the pot. Carefully place the seasoned side of chuck steak in pressure cooker. Generously season the other side with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brown for 6 – 8 minutes on each side without constantly flipping the steak. Remove and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Make Chicken Stock Mixture:While the chuck steak is browning in pressure cooker, mix 1 tablespoon (15ml) Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon (15ml) light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce, 3 tablespoons (50ml) tomato paste with 1 ½ cup (375ml) unsalted homemade chicken stock.
  5. Sauté the Mushrooms:Add sliced mushrooms in pressure cooker. Sauté until all moisture from the mushrooms have evaporated and the edges are slightly crisped & browned. Roughly 6 minutes. Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary. Remove and set aside.

Their picture was better than mine.

  1. Sauté the Vegetables:Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) of olive oil in pressure cooker if necessary. Add thinly sliced small onions and sauté until soften and slightly browned. Add minced garlic cloves and stir for roughly 30 seconds until fragrant. Add all celery chunks, carrots chunks and sauté until slightly browned. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary.
  2. Deglaze: Pour in ¼ cup (63 ml) sherry wine and completely deglaze bottom of the pot by scrubbing the flavorful brown bits with a wooden spoon. Let the sherry wine reduce to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate.
  3. Pressure Cook the Vegetables:Add 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp (0.35g) dried thyme, quartered potatoes, and chicken stock mixture in the pot. Mix well. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 4 minutes and Quick Release. Open the lid.
  4. Cut the Chuck Steak:While the vegetables are pressure cooking. Cut the chuck steak into 1.5 inch – 2 inches stew cubes on a large chopping board. Place all chuck stew meat and the flavorful meat juice back in the large mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon (8g) flour in mixing bowl and mix well with the stew meat. Don’t worry, your pressure cooker can get up to pressure with a small amount of flour.
  5. Pressure Cook the Beef Stew:Remove half of the carrots, celery, potatoes from pressure cooker and set aside. Place beef stew meat and all its juice in the pressure cooker. Partially submerge the beef stew meat in the liquid without stirring, as you don’t want too much flour in the liquid at this point. Close lid and pressure cook at High Pressure for 32 minutes + 10 minutes Natural Release. Turn off the heat. Release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.
  6. Thicken Beef Stew and Add Vegetables:On medium heat (Instant Pot: press Sauté button), breakdown the mushy potatoes and carrots with a wooden spoon. Stir to thicken the stew. Add frozen peas, sautéed mushrooms, and the set aside carrots, celery and potatoes in the pot. Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary. We added 2 pinches of kosher salt.
  7. Serve:Serve with mashed potatoes, pasta or your favorite starch.

Doesn’t their picture look so good?

I did notice that leftovers required a little more liquid when reheating

 

Cooking Tips for Instant Pot Beef Stew

  1. Why are we browning the chuck steak as a whole before cutting it up?
    Due to less surface area, browning the chuck steak as a whole will retain more moisture. Maillard reaction excels in dry and high heat environment, so the chuck steak will also brown faster and better when compared to cubed stew.

The caramelized flavors from browning is one of the secrets to a rich hearty beef stew.

  1. Can I use other beef cuts for this recipe?
    Chuck roast is one of the most suitable cuts for the pressure cooker. For optimal result, choose one that is well marbled! Beef Brisket is also a good choice, but it will take a longer time (~70 minutes).
  2. Can I skip the sauté steps and dump everything into the pressure cooker for this beef stew?
    Yes, you can dump everything into the pressure cooker and cook for 32 minutes. But if you want to up your beef stew game, give it some time and love.
  3. In Step 7 – Dried thyme:Release the flavor of dried thyme by scrubbing them against your fingers while adding them to the stew.
  4. In Step 9, why did we remove half of the carrots, celery, potatoes from the Instant Pot?
    We first perfectly cooked all the vegetables and separated them into 2 batches.

 

Cooking from the gut Mexican melt
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Cooking from the gut Mexican melt

It was another one of those days where I got home  hungry,  but had no idea what I wanted, Lyn was on a special cleansing diet so I was on my own, I’m plenty clean.

I had taken a hamburger out of the freezer in the morning, but that was not going to cut it.

Scanning the refrigerator I saw the last jar of What to do with 5 lbs. of Green Unripen Tomato – Salsa!, chunk of Iris cheddar, some nice early spring asparagus, an avocado and I remember a rare thing a bag of chips in the pantry.

So grabbed the burger and browned while chopping it up over medium heat, when that was browned I added some of the salsa. My thoughts were to moisten it up enough to soften the chips. Grated the cheddar, chopped the asparagus into bite size pieces

Put a layer of chips in a small baking dish covered that with  the meat mixture, then with most of the cheese then sliced an avocado and made a layer of that topped with more cheese. Baked at 350 until the cheese melted maybe 10 minutes.

I looked over and Lyn was staring at it with wanting eyes but she is the most dedicated woman I know she stuck with the cleansing and I ate too much.

I guess you could call it Nachos now that I think about it.

Nothing fancy but kicked A over a burger in a bun.

 

 

 

 

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Rolled chicken breast with spinach, feta and peppers.

Came home with feta on my brain,  had a chicken breast in frig so I butterflied it gave it a little pound and rolled with feta, spinach and an orange pepper, secured with string. Pan seared all sides and oven roasted at 425 for about 20 minutes lower to 350 for 5 minutes or so until done temp was around 160ish. I let stand for 15 minutes loosely covered. Sliced and we ate.  Pretty darn good if I say so myself for a last minute meal.

Chicken Piccata with Artichokes – Gluten Free substitute cornstarch for flour
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Chicken Piccata with Artichokes – Gluten Free substitute cornstarch for flour

 

Love the flavor of this sauce dish is so simple and always brings a smile to my tummy.

Lyn loves artichokes and it something that I should but don’t prepare often enough.

We both saw the add and approached each other almost the same day. What do you think bout making…… well yesterday we did.

I adapted ever so slightly from their recipe and after dinner we decided that this was going to be one of the dishes, although gluten free, for our annual Russo Easter dinner 2017 at our house.

 

Ingredients:

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  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • About 1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz./75 g) all-purpose flour or cornstarch if making Gluten free
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 jar (6 oz./185 g) artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and quartered
  • 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) low-sodium chicken broth
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbs. capers, rinsed and drained
  • 1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Zest from 1 lemon (I don’t think this is traditional but I like the added flavor)
  • Cornstarch solution to thicken sauce if needed.

 

 

Directions:

Butterfly the chicken breasts and cut them in half. Working with one chicken breast half at a time, place the chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and, using a meat pounder or other heavy, flat object, gently pound to an even thickness of about 1/4 inch (6 mm).

Pour the flour onto a large plate and season it well with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil until very hot but not smoking. Working in batches as needed to avoid crowding, add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and opaque throughout, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

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Return the pan to medium-high heat; do not wipe the pan clean. Melt 1 Tbs. of the butter with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the garlic and artichoke hearts and sauté just until the garlic is soft, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, lemon juice and capers. Reduce the heat to medium, bring to a gentle simmer and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbs. butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the parsley and lemon zest. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

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Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat each piece with the sauce. Cook just until the chicken is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Chicken Night, by Kate McMillan (Weldon Owen, 2014)

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Quick Stuffed Turkey Breast
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Quick Stuffed Turkey Breast

Had a boneless turkey breast in freezer and Lyn roasted some red peppers. So I butterflied the breast, stuffed with goat cheese, spinage, and the peppers. Rolled back up put the skin back in and with Lyn’s help secured with twine. Roasted at 400 for about 45 minutes then let rest.


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Tri Tip Roast

Just about a 3 lbs roast, which is a first for me up to now only able to find small steaks. Read today that in East butchers usually use the cut to make steak tips. 

Anyway rubbed the meat with  salt, pepper and diced smoked garlic, wrapped in plastic in frig for about 7 hours. 

Heated grill to hot about 15 minutes, rubbed with olive seared each side about 8 minutes then turned heat to one side with meat on cool side with cover down bring to about 350 or medium and roast for about 35-40 minutes. Loosely cover with tin foil and rest for 15-20 minutes. Sliced against grain which is tough since the grain goes 2 ways so I cut along the different grains first.

Came out very very tasty and tender. Served with avacado salsa and roasted potatoes. 

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce.
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Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce.

Lyn and I went to Eataly Boston today, a Italian market at The Prudential. So much to choose from came out with smoked Garlic, pasta, jams and a few others things such as these Butternut Squash Ravioli. So I made a butter sage sauce to go along and Lyn whipped up this roasted butternut squash, broccoli and diced tomatoes side dish. Didn’t think we would be hungry after lunch at Sweetcheeks BBQ. Wrong! Gobbled these down.

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All about instant pot button and how to use.

http://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-buttons/

Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice
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Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice

 

Skip the takeout and try this paleo-friendly cauliflower shrimp “fried rice” recipe! You won’t believe how easy and flavorful homemade Chinese food can be.

Lyn read the caption looked at the head of cauliflower and instead of making our standby cauliflower pizza crust she thought with Josie coming this would be a good thing to try. I came home to most of the ingredients layout and a smile on her face…I thought this would be a good thing to try. Off to the train station as the last passengers strolled by memories of the last time we went there to pick her up rose. Josie and Maria on their way back from a DC visit thought her stop was the last stop and as we stood at the 3rd from last stop watching the train pull away and watching the last of the passengers stroll by. Anyway with much to do we ended up chasing the train to South Station where customer service called us because Josie’s battery had died. Not this time we called, phone worked and she was in the elevator, all was well at least in our little corner of life.

Oh ya back to the food, although I had to make a few substitutions this was really good, had tried others in the past but most used a lot of Soy sauce for flavor and very little spice. This was definitely an improvement thanks.

 

I’ll put Liz’s recipe and my substation will be noted

I can hardly wait to try the recipe her way

 

Adapted FROM THE LEMON BOWL – Thanks

 

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 262 kcal

Author Liz DellaCroce

Ingredients

  • 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (we always have a bag of cooked frozen shrimp so our cooking time was not as long)
  • 1 teaspoon salt divided (1/4 and ¾ tsps.)
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 head cauliflower – grated or riced see video
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 5 scallions diced whites and greens separated (did not have them so I used shallot but cooked with vegis)
  • 2 cup medium carrots diced or 1 frozen
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2 cloves garlic grated
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
  • ¼ cup soy saucelow sodium (used gluten free)
  • 2 tablespoons Nakano rice vinegar (only had 1 TBs so mixed with 1 TBS apple cider)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • srirachaoptional
  • We tossed some parsley mostly for color and almond slivers in at the end

Instructions

  1. Heat a large, deep pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Season shrimp with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper before adding to the hot pan.
  2. Cook shrimp in an even layer, turning once, until pink (about 90 seconds per side.) Remove cooked shrimp from the pan and set aside.
  3. While shrimp is cooking, rice the cauliflower using a food processor, blender or a cheese grater; set aside.
  4. Whisk together eggs and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Spray pan with more cooking spray then reduce heat to medium. Pour eggs into the pan and cook, stirring frequently, 1-2 minutes. Remove cooked eggs and place in the bowl with reserved shrimp; set aside.
  5. Add diced onion, scallion whites, carrots, peas, garlic, and ginger to the pan and cook until soft and tender, stirring frequently. This should take 4-5 minutes.
  6. When veggies are cooked through, add cauliflower, soy sauce and rice vinegar to the pan. Stir well to combine then walk away for a few minutes so that the cauliflower can start to cook and create a nice crust. Come back, stir it around then walk away again. The flavor comes from letting the cauliflower brown a bit and become crispy. This process may take up to 10 minutes. It’s worth the wait!
  7. Add cooked shrimp and egg back to the pan and cook until warmed through. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and garnish with scallion greens and Sriracha to serve.

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