Chicken Mock Pie

My husband and I have been married two years now, and I'm still working on some of the little things that I get wrong in our relationship. I still call him cute, (I guess handsome is a more manly adjective), I give away his golf magazines (those are "reference"), I never seem to remember the important part of facts that I hear on the radio or read online ("Babe, did you know that there are so many people on Facebook now that they've surpassed some really big number? I don't remember what it was. The population of a small country? No?"), I shed hair everywhere (There's no solving that. I've just got a lot of hair.), and I make desserts with lemon in them.

I do get a lot of things right, though. This recipe is one of them. My husband likes chicken pot pie, but he's a big texture eater and the crust is never crispy enough for him. I want to make pot pie more often for him, but rarely have time on a weeknight.

Enter, the chicken mock pie. 

It's chicken pot pie filling, (in this case cooked in a pressure cooker, but you could easily use this recipe.) topped with crispy strips of pie crust. Finally, a pot pie recipe that makes both of us happy. It's done in less than 30 minutes, and it has as much crispy pie crust as my husband could want. 

Halfway through eating it, my husband paused and said, "You're putting this on your blog, right? You should. It's awesome." I assured him that I was. It is a winner in my book, too. I didn't even tell him it was low fat because it was thickened with potato flakes and not a traditional butter/flour mixture. I just let him enjoy it for what it was, because in two years of marriage I have learned that I shouldn't share when food is "healthy".

I do get some things right.

Chicken Mock Pie

Ingredients

1 T butter

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 carrots, cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 T fresh lemon juice

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced medium

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp dried tarragon

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups frozen green peas

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup half and half or milk

1 T butter, softened (optional)

1/4 cup potato buds

1/4 cup flour

2 pie crusts, unbaked, and rolled out

Directions:

1. In pressure cooker, heat butter. Add onion, garlic and carrots and saute in hot oil over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, stir, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, lemon juice, potatoes, salt, pepper and herbs. Secure lid. Over high heat, develop steam to high pressure. Reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook 5 minutes. Release pressure according to manufacturer's directions. remove lid. 

2. While pot pie filling is cooking, cut pie crusts into 1/2 -3/4 inch strips using a pizza or pastry cutter. Place strips on a cookie sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for 6-8 minutes, or until strips are lightly browned on the edges. Remove and let cool. 

3. Carefully remove about 3/4 cup of cooking liquid and stir in peas and corn. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium. Discard bay leaf. Combine half and half, butter (If using. This just makes it a little more richly flavored.), potato buds and flour, blending until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture until thoroughly mixed. Heat until mixture is hot and has thickened.

4. Serve pot pie filling in bowls, passing pie crust strips to top. 

Recipe Source: Inspired by Every Easy Meal Cookbook and adapted from The Pressure Cooker Cookbook.

Pressure Cooker Mexican-Style Chicken and Rice

This is most magical recipe I've made in the pressure cooker yet. Chicken, rice and seasonings all go in the pressure cooker at the same time, and 14 minutes later you have moist chicken and spicy mexican-style rice all cooked perfectly and ready to eat. 

Do you ever call your mom to tell her when you've made something truly wonderful in the kitchen because you want to share the recipe right then? Maybe I'm the only weirdo that does, but I can tell you that I called her after I made this recipe. The conversation went something like, "Mom, try this recipe in your pressure cooker. It's amazing. The chicken is so moist and tastes so good with the rice. Except maybe cut down the cumin and chili powder for you and dad." Yep, we're fascinating folks. I'd share more of the conversation but I wouldn't want to stimulate your brain too much on a Monday morning. The point is, though, that this is a recipe worth keeping and sharing. 

I feel a little bad even sharing such a magical recipe because unlike the other pressure cooker recipes that I've shared, I don't even dare to attempt to figure out some modifications so you can on the stovetop with a regular saucepan. So if you are pressure cooker-less, I'm sorry. 

Because this recipe is really good.   

Pressure Cooker Mexican-Style Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (8 oz each) trimmed

salt and pepper

4 tsp vegetable oil

2 onions, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced (I use one because I'm a wimp)

1 T cumin

1 T chili powder

8 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 cup water

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups long-grain white rice

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

4 scallions, sliced thin

Lime wedges (for serving)

1. Dry the chicken with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the chicken lightly on both sides, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a clean plate.

2. Add the remaining 2 tsp oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, jalapenos, cumin, and chili powder. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in the water, scraping up any browned bits, then pour into the pressure cooker.

3. Stir the broth and rice into the pressure cooker. Arrange the chicken on top of the rice and press lightly to partially submerge. Sprinkle the tomatoes over the chicken (do not stir). Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure over high heat. Cook for exactly 4 minutes (6 minutes in my electric pressure cooker) adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain high pressure.

4. Remove the pressure cooker from the heat. Allow the pressure to naturally release for 8 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Carefully remove the lid, allowing the steam to escape away fro you. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil.

5. Stir in the beans and cilantro into the rice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Replace the lid (do not lock) and let the rice sit off the heat until it is completely tender, about 2 minutes. Slice the chicken 1/2 inch thick. Transfer the rice to a serving platter. Arrange the chicken slices over the rice and sprinkle with the scallions. Serve with lime wedges. 

Recipe Source: Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Festive Rice with Fruits and Nuts

This might be my new favorite rice dish. For one, chopped nuts in rice is a combination like peas and carrots. They just go together. The flavor of nuts goes so well with the naturally nutty flavor of rice, and provides just enough crunch and texture. The dried fruit provides a little sweetness, and using different kinds of fruit it keeps every bite different and interesting. Using basmati rice means even the rice itself lends great flavor. And, layers of taste aside, it's fast and easy to make. Yes, it is a pressure cooker recipe, which means "incredibly fast to cook", but even the preparation time is minimal. The recipe comes from Lorna Sass, the pressure cooking maven with an extensive collection of cookbooks that are almost required reading for people who own a pressure cooker. I've yet to find a Lorna Sass recipe that I dislike, and this one might be my favorite so far. For those who haven't been convinced yet that they need a pressure cooker, I'm including stovetop cooking suggestions.

Festive Rice with Fruits and Nuts

Ingredients:

1T butter (unsalted) or oil

1 1/2 cups long-grain basmati rice

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 1/4 cups water (2 2/3 cups water for stovetop cooking)

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup mixed chopped dried fruits, such as figs, dates and apricots

1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries

3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts, whole or coarsely chopped

Directions: 

1. Heat the butter in a 4 quart or larger cooker (or large saucepan) over high heat. Stir in the rice, allspice and cinnamon, taking care to coat rice with butter. Stir in the water and salt. 

2. For pressure cooker, lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally for 6 minutes before quick-releasing remaining pressure. (For my electric pressure cooker I cooked 6 minutes under high pressure with 2 minutes of natural release before quick releasing pressure.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape. 

    For stovetop cooking, bring rice and water to a boil, cover pot and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat, or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. 

3. Quickly stir in the dried fruits and adjust the seasonings. Immediately cover and let steam until fruits are hot and rice is tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss in the nuts and serve. 

Recipe source: Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass

No Fail Risotto

Risotto is an amazing dish. You cook rice in broth, stirring in liquid as it gets absorbed by the grains, and it creates this dish with a creamy consistency and amazing taste. You feel like you are eating something sinful, but there's no cream in it at all. The only downside is making it. It requires a lot of babysitting, since you have to stir it frequently (some people say constantly) and add liquid for 20 minutes or so. The results are worth it, but it's still a lot of standing by the stove and watching a pot. Some people really enjoy this process, but I'm not one of them. Even for those who enjoy standing by a hot stove becoming one with their food, risotto is often relegated to a special occasion or at least a weekend dish due to how intense its preparation is.

Here's where you're going to hate me if you don't own a pressure cooker - in a pressure cooker risotto can be made in about 15 minutes with no stirring at all. No standing by the stove, no adding broth just as the liquid in the pan gets absorbed. None of that. You just saute some onions in butter with the uncooked rice grains, add broth and cook under pressure for 10 minutes. Unbelievable? Believe it. For those of you who are pressure-cooker-less, I'm including suggested instructions so you aren't left out of the risotto party. Though if you are a big fan of risotto, this might be a good excuse to go buy one.

No Fail Risotto

1 T butter
1/4 cup diced onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Arborio rice (do no substitute long grain rice. If you can find arborio, use short or medium grain rice)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth (about 4 1/2 cups if you are using traditional stovetop method)
1/4 cup white wine (I substitute with 2T juice and 2T water)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 T minced fresh parsley

1. In a pressure cooker or large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion and rice and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add wine (or substitution) and stir until the liquid has been absorbed.


2. Pressure cooker directions: Add the broth, close the lid and heat to high pressure. Cook for 8-10 minutes at high pressure. When done, release the pressure and open the cooker. The risotto will look a little soupy, but this is normal. The rice should be cooked to al dente. If it is still a little too hard, cook at a low simmer until done. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and parsley and serve.


2. Stovetop directions: While cooking the onion and rice, warm chicken broth in a small pot over low heat. When onion and rice have finished cooking, add in the hot stock, a few ladles at a time, and stir for a minute with each addition to develop the starch and the creamy aspect. Total cooking time will be about 18 minutes or so. Keep adding stock each time the pan starts to become dry at the edges. When rice is cooked to al dente, stir in the cheese and parsley and serve.

 Recipe source: Adapted from Fagor 3-in-1 Electric Multicooker Recipe Book

Pineapple Sweet Potatoes

What's not to like about mashed sweet potatoes? They're sweet, but you can eat them as a side dish. They've got great color, and they're easy to make. They even have good vitamins. Well, it turns out there can be a lot to not to like about sweet potatoes, including tons of butter, marshmallow toppings, too much sugar and so on. This recipe avoids all those potential problems. It's not overly sweet, and not loaded with butter or spices. Pineapple isn't something I'd normally associate with sweet potatoes, but they go well together and one flavor doesn't overpower the other. I like that it's a different twist on sweet potatoes, and delicious and healthy to boot. Plus, it's quick to put together, which is always a plus.

Pineapple Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sweet otatoes, peeled and cubed into 1-1.5" chunks
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 T butter
1 T drained crushed pineapple, canned it its own juice
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
2 T light brown sugar
1 tsp butter

1. Pressure cooker instructions: Arrange the sweet potatoes in a steamer basket that fits easily in your pressure cooker. Lower the steamer basket into the pressure cooker. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure, then lower heat and cook for 3-5 minutes. Release the pressure using the quick release knob, remove the lid and lift out the sweet potatoes. Proceed to step 2.

1. Stovetop instructions: Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add water just to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer sweet potatoes until tender, 15-20 minutes. Pour off water and proceed to step 2.
2. Preheat over to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a 1 quart casserole dish with vegetable oil spray.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mash sweet potatoes. Add pineapple juice and 1 T butter and beat until fluffy. Stir in pineapple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Spread mixture in casserole dish.

4. Spread brown sugar over sweet potato mixture and dot with butter.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

Recipe Source: The New American Heart Association Cookbook

Pressure Cooking

I don't want to brag, but check out what my parents got me for Christmas:

Beautiful, isn't it? It's an electric pressure cooker. Actually, it's a 3 in 1 multifunction electric pressure cooker, meaning it's also a slow cooker and a rice cooker. Calling it a rice cooker is a little bit misleading because it cooks rice under pressure, so really the only thing that makes it them call it a rice cooker is a pre-programmed button for rice. That's a little like calling a microwave a 2 in 1 microwave and popcorn cooker because it has a popcorn button. That minor point aside, it's still awesome.

For those of you who have never used a pressure cooker (which was me until this past Christmas) let me tell you why people who own pressure cookers rave about cooking with them. It's because they are magical. It's true.You put your food in there, turn it on (or put it on a burner and bring to high pressure) and in minutes you have a cooked meal. Most food cook in about 1/2 to 1/3 or the time it would take in a pan on the stovetop.

So why doesn't everyone have one? Part of the reason is that the food cooks under high pressure, so there is a greater chance that an accident with a pressure cooker would be bigger than with regular cooking. Pressure cookers decades ago didn't have as many safety features as they do now, so most stories that have been passed around about pressure cookers exploding have to do with older pressure cookers. Today they have many more safety features so it's impossible to steam your face off by opening it to early. Which is good because steaming your face off just doesn't sound fun. There's a great page here if you want to learn more than you ever wanted to know about pressure cooker safety.

Electric pressure cookers like I have are a great way to get into pressure cooker because they are idiot proof. You don't have to watch your pot to see when it gets to high pressure and then turn the heat down and start timing. The electric ones do that all for you. That said, having an electric pressure cooker makes some people with traditional pressure cookers think you are a sissy pants. The stovetop pressure cookers get to a higher pressure and can cook about 10 percent faster than electric ones. Plus, you have a little more flexibility with cooking because you can release the pressure very quickly under cold water from a tap. You can adjust for this with your electric pressure cooker, and it seems like with most pressure cooking recipes there's a little bit of variance on how long it takes to cook things. You just have to try it out in your own pressure cooker and see how things work for you to find the perfect amount of time to use.

I know that not everyone who reads this blog owns a pressure cooker, and I don't think you're going to run out and buy one just because I say its awesome. I do know that at least two people who read this blog own a pressure cooker (one of those people is my mom), so in the future I'm going to post some recipes that I've been using for my pressure cooker, but with modifications, if it can be modified, for cooking on a stovetop. I'll aso try to include modifications of some regular recipes that I use that can be made faster with a pressure cooker. You know, to convince you that need to run out and buy one. I'm evil like that.