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In , , on December 23, 2016 with No Comments

Baked Scallops

I love scallops, but here in Iowa, we just don’t have access to fresh seafood, so we have to make do with the frozen section and hope we come across some good stuff. I’d stopped in our local locker the other day looking for soup bones to make bone broth, and I noticed they’ve started to carry some seafood. So, of course, I started browsing and found they had some really nice-looking scallops. Nice big ones that were actually more than an appetizer bite size. Of course, I came home with a couple of packages lol.

I wanted to make those scallops tonight, but I wanted to try something different. I usually make scallops in a large skillet, browning them and then using my shrimp scampi sauce. They are really good that way, but these were really nice scallops, so I wanted to do something that would “wow” my family. The fact that even my husband said I had to blog about this recipe “right now” must mean I accomplished my mission lol.

That said, this is one of those off-the-top-of-my-head recipes. I didn’t measure anything. I knew what ingredients I wanted to use, and I went strictly by taste. I’ve tried to approximate the ingredients below, but do yourself a favor and just taste the sauce as you make it. My family likes garlic, so I probably use more garlic than most families would like, so feel free to experiment to find the level of garlic you like. The wine is optional, but it really adds a nice layer of flavor to the sauce.




I topped the scallops and the sauce with a simple bread crumb mixture. Since I’m trying to go Paleo, I used gluten-free Panko, but you could easily substitute regular bread crumbs, regular Panko, or even seasoned varieties of the two to add another layer of flavor. This really is a simple recipe, but the end result was absolutely delicious.

 

 

Baked Scallops

2 pounds large scallops (I worked with 22 – 5 each plus 2 for the boys to fight over)

1/2 stick butter, melted

About 1/3 cup dry white wine

Garlic salt

Freshly ground black pepper (or use a coarser/restaurant-style black pepper)

Gluten-free Panko (or your favorite bread crumbs)

Parsley

Extra-virgin olive oil

 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the melted butter, white wine, about 2 to 3 teaspoons of garlic salt, and several grinds of black pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

Dip each scallop in the melted butter mixture to completely coat. Place the scallops in a medium-sized casserole dish or on a large rimmed baking sheet (I used a jelly roll pan). Once all the scallops have been dipped in the butter mixture and are on the baking dish, pour the remaining butter sauce over the scallops.

In another small bowl, combine about 3/4 cup to 1 cup bread crumbs, about 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic salt, more freshly ground black pepper, and about 2 to 3 tablespoons parsley. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the bread crumb mixture, and combine until the mixture starts to clump together. Once everything is mixed, sprinkle the bread crumb/Panko mixture on top of the scallops. (The bread crumbs will soak up any extra butter sauce as it bakes.)

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly 15 to 20 minutes, depending how big your scallops are, until the fish is nice and flaky. Serve with veggies or a green salad and homemade bread, and you’ve good a great meal that will impress your family and friends.

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In , on December 18, 2016 with No Comments

Limoncello

I love giving homemade gifts for Christmas. In the past, when I actually had time to do crafts, I would make cross-stitched wall hangings or something quilted like a quilt to curl up under while watching TV, table runners, or placemats. Something the receiver could keep and reuse during the holidays. This year, unfortunately, I just didn’t have any extra time to do any crafting, but I still wanted to give something homemade. Then I stumbled across a few recipes for how to make limoncello, and my dilemma was solved.

I love limoncello. It’s great to drink after a meal, and it’s super easy to make. I had sampled some homemade limoncello at Red Vespa in Solon, IA, when my husband and I went there for dinner. Not only do they make a mean wood-fired pizza, but they make their own limoncello and a killer tiramisu. I was inspired to make limoncello after that, and this recipe comes pretty close to what I had there.




I doubled the recipe below—everything except the number of lemons I used, that is. I wanted to make one bottle to keep and one bottle to gift this Christmas. Ten lemons are definitely enough to infuse 2 bottles of vodka.

I’ve seen recipes where you only soak the lemon peels for a few days, and I’ve seen recipes where you soak them for 4 weeks and every time length in between. I went with 4 weeks. I figured the longer the peels soaked, the more lemony the drink would be. I bottled the limoncello last night, and it was definitely worth the wait.

After this success, I’m going to try my hand at other vodka-infused liqueurs. I have a bunch of frozen blueberries, and in the summer and fall I have lots of fruit just waiting for me to do something fun with. I might even try to make homemade Kahlua, so I’m sure I’ll be posting future do-it-yourself liquor recipes in the future.

Limoncello

10 organic lemons

750 mL good-quality vodka (the better it tastes by itself, the better the limoncello will be)

3 cups sugar

2 cups water

Using a peeler, peel the yellow rind from 10 lemons. Make sure you don’t get any of the white pitch beneath the rind, as this will make the limoncello bitter. Place the lemon rind into a large glass container (I used a 2-quart Mason jar), and fill the container with the vodka. Place a lid on the container, and keep the mixture in a room temperature area out of the sun. Every day give the container a stir (or a shake in my case with the Mason jar). Let set for 4 weeks.

After the vodka mixture has sat for 4 weeks, strain out the lemon peels using a coffee filter or some cheesecloth. Set the vodka aside, and discard the peels.

In a small saucepan, combine the water and the sugar. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

When the simple syrup is cooled, combine it with the infused vodka. Pour into bottles or some other decorative decanter if you’re gifting the limoncello. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

 

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In , , , on December 17, 2016 with No Comments

Pressure Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken

My family loves Chinese food, and my youngest son is always asking me to make Orange Chicken, probably his most favorite Chinese dish. While it’s one of my favorites too, I wanted to change things up a bit, as I hate always making the same thing for dinner. Variety is the spice of life, right? While looking through some pressure cooker recipes on Pinterest (that site is way to addictive!), I found a recipe for Sesame Honey Chicken on the Key Ingredient website that sounded quick and delicious. It really takes very little time to do in a pressure cooker, and I think it’s going to be a new family favorite.




While I usually brown chicken and beef in a cast iron skillet before I add it to a pressure cooker or a slow cooker, I cooked everything in the Instant Pot for this recipe. Talk about a time saver—saving time doing dishes, that is. I only had one dish to clean, instead of my huge cast iron skillet, which is a big plus in my book.

The recipe calls for soy sauce, but since I’m trying to follow a Paleo-style diet, I substituted coconut aminos for the soy sauce. You could also substitute tamarind sauce. Both of these are gluten-free, and you can’t tell the difference taste-wise when you are adding them to a sauce.

Sesame Honey Chicken

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite-sized pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil (or your favorite cooking oil)

1/2 cup diced onion

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used coconut aminos)

1/4 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons water

Toasted sesame seeds

Chopped green onions, for garnishing (optional)

 

Salt and pepper the chicken pieces to taste.

Preheat the pressure cooker pot by selecting the sauté function. When the cooking pot is hot, add the olive oil, the chicken pieces, the onion, and the garlic to the pot, and sauté until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes or so. Add the soy sauce, ketchup, and red pepper flakes to the pot, and stir to combine the ingredients.

Lock on the lid, and cook at high pressure for 3 minutes. When the cooker beeps, do a quick pressure release.

Add the honey to the pot, and stir to combine. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and the water. Add this to the pressure cooker pot.

Select the sauté function, and stir until the sauce begins to thicken, roughly 3 to 4 minutes.

Serve chicken and sauce over cooked rice, and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions, if using.

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In , , on December 12, 2016 with No Comments

Pressure Cooker Honey Bourbon Chicken Wings

I had originally purchased some chicken wings thinking I would make some chicken stock in the Instant Pot, but when the snowstorm hit last weekend, I needed something quick to fix for my son and husband, who spent the weekend plowing snow. I came across a recipe on This Old Gal’s website, and it sounded yummy and delicious. I didn’t have any bourbon in the house, but I had some whiskey, which substituted just fine. I also discovered that the broiler on my stove wasn’t working (I rarely use it), so after pressure cooking the wings, I turned the oven up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and cooked the wings for 15 minutes (10 minutes without the glaze and an additional 5 minutes after I glazed the wings). The result was good, but the wings didn’t have the crispy texture that using the broiler would give. My youngest son had the suggestion to deep fry the wings first and then put them in the oven with the sauce for a few minutes. This would give the crispy texture we love on our wings, so I’ll try that next time. All in all, the sauce was delicious, and I’ll definitely make this again.




Pressure Cooker Honey Bourbon Chicken Wings

3/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup onion, finely minced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

4 to 5 pounds chicken wings

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup bourbon or whiskey

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

Using the sauté function on your pressure cooker, sauté the ketchup, liquid smoke, brown sugar, onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the water and remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Add the chicken wings, and stir to coat them with the sauce. Lock on the lid, making sure to close the pressure valve. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. When the pressure cooker beeps, do a quick release to release the pressure.

Turn on the oven to broil.

Line a baking sheet with foil, and carefully remove the wings from the pressure cooker, and place them on the baking sheet. Place wings in the oven, and broil for 5 minutes on each side.

While the wings are in the oven, turn the pressure cooker back to sauté, and stir the sauce until it thickens.

After the wings have been under the broiler for 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet, and coat the wings with the thickened sauce. Place the wings back in the oven, and broil for an additional 5 minutes per side, or until the sauce and wings start to look crispy and brown.

Use any extra sauce for dipping.

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In , , on December 10, 2016 with No Comments

Pressure Cooker Cubed Swiss Steak

I was hungry for Swiss steak, so I went to the grocery store looking for some beef. While I know that Swiss steak is traditionally made using minute steaks, I knew I would be serving this over mashed potatoes, so I decided to look for a cheap cut of beef that I could cube. Since I would be using my Instant Pot, I knew whatever cut of beef I used would turn out tender. But what cut is “charcoal steak”? That’s what I ended up buying because it was cheap. I have no idea whether it was arm roast, chuck roast, or whatever, but the package had enough beef, so I went with it. It turned out extremely tender, so have no fear when you see packages labeled this way.




Mom always made her Swiss steak with tomatoes, celery, and carrots. I decided to use the “trinity”—green bell pepper, onion, and carrots—in mine, and I really liked it this way. I actually cooked everything in the Instant Pot this time, even sautéing the beef in the cooking pot. Usually I break out my cast iron skillet and sear the meat in that first, but the Instant Pot really is a one-stop cooking appliance, which made cooking and cleanup easy peasy. You could serve this cubed Swiss steak over rice or cooked egg noodles, but I was hungry for mashed potatoes, so that’s what I did. This made a delicious and quick meal that had no leftovers.

 

Pressure Cooker Cubed Swiss Steak

2 pounds beef roast, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 onion, largely diced

1 green bell pepper, largely diced

1 cup diced carrots

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

Splash of red wine

1 can diced tomatoes (I used tomatoes seasoned with basil and garlic)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste), plus more for seasoning beef

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning beef

1 bay leaf

Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker pot, and select the sauté function. When the oil is hot, add the cubed beef, and sauté until the beef is lightly browned. Remove beef cubes with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Add the onion, green pepper, and carrots to the cooking pot, and sauté for a few minutes until the veggies are slightly softened. Add the diced garlic, and cook for another minute or so until it starts to soften. Add a splash of red wine to deglaze the pot, stirring to loosen any browned bits at the bottom.

Add the diced tomatoes and the tomato paste. Add the Worcestershire sauce, paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the browned beef back to the pot, and stir to combine everything. Add the bay leaf to the cooking pot.

Lock the lid in place, and select the manual setting. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. When the pressure cooker beeps, turn off the cooker, and let the cooker naturally release the pressure. While you’re waiting for the pressure to reduce, mash your cooked potatoes or make some rice or egg noodles to serve with the Swiss steak.

When your potatoes, rice, or noodles are ready, release any remaining pressure (if any). Remove the lid, and serve.

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In , , on December 10, 2016 with No Comments

Pressure Cooker Beef Stock

I love making homemade soups and stews, but I’m kind of picky about the stocks I use in them. If I go grocery shopping in the city, I can usually find decent organic beef and chicken stock that doesn’t have a lot of salt in them, but the taste is usually meh. I’ve made homemade stock and bone broth before, but doing it the traditional way is extremely time consuming. I guess it’s really not that bad—if you have an entire day that you can devote to watching your pot. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of time, so when I got my Instant Pot, I thought I’d give stock making another go, and I’m so glad I did. The pressure cooker does all the work, and in the end, I had a flavorful, delicious beef stock to use however I wanted.

I have the 6-quart Instant Pot, so I really didn’t end up with a bunch of beef bone broth. After filling the pressure cooker to its limit, I ended up with just under 3 quarts of stock, just enough really for a good batch of soup. One day I might get ambitious and make several batches of bone broth and pressure can it, but for now, this small-size batch works for me. I can make up the stock and keep it refrigerated for a few days until I’m ready to use it. Instant flavor just sitting there ready to be used—if it makes it to soup anyway. I like to heat up a cup just to drink in all that collagen goodness.




You can make bone broth or stock with whatever you like as far as vegetables go. Just remember that using the pressure cooker intensifies the flavors of what you put in it. If you’re used to making stock with lots of veggies, you can cut back to just one stalk of celery or 1 piece of carrot. The cooker will infuse the broth with the flavor just fine. I make my stock without salt, but feel free to add some if you wish. I like to control the salt level when I’m making a recipe, and the salt-free stock helps me do this.

To help pull out all the goodness in the bones, you need to have some sort of acid in the pot. Most recipes call for adding some apple cider vinegar, but I’ve also seen a recipe that added a tomato. I’ll try that this summer when I have fresh garden tomatoes available, but this time I used a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, which added some really nice flavor.

I pressure cooked my stock for 120 minutes. I’ve seen recipes that will cook for just an hour, and you’ll still get great-tasting bone broth, but since I had the time, I wanted to get as much flavor as I could. A lot of recipes call for roasting the bones in the oven before making the stock. I’ve done that, and it does add a richness of flavor, but you can simply sauté the bones in the Instant Pot until nicely browned, if you want, and you’ll get the same result plus save a bunch of time. Or you can simply add everything to the pressure cooker, seal the lid, and cook. That’s what I did.

Pressure Cooker Beef Stock

3-1/2 pounds meaty beef bones (my butcher had nice neck bones)

Half an onion

1 stalk of celery

1 carrot, unpeeled

1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

10 cups water (or enough to cover everything but not go past full capacity of the cooking pot)

Yield: I ended up with almost 3 quarts of bone broth.

Place all ingredients in the pressure cooker pot. Seal the lid. Select the manual setting, and set cooking time to 120 minutes. When the pressure cooker beeps, turn off the cooker, and let it naturally release the pressure. Mine took about 2 hours to come down to normal pressure. If you’re in a hurry, you can use the quick-release venting option.

Ladle stock through some cheesecloth into another large container or straight into glass Mason jars. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Can keep in the refrigerator for a few days, or place in freezer containers and freeze until ready to use. If you make large batches of stock, you can also pressure can it. I recommend the Ball website for canning instructions.

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In , on December 9, 2016 with No Comments

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

Last summer I bought a bunch of fresh blueberries from an outlet in Michigan that were so good that this fall I put in an order for some frozen blueberries to have in the freezer this winter. I like to have them on hand for smoothies and muffins, and if there are any left later this winter when I have the time, I want to make some blueberry jam.




The other night my oldest son asked me to make a cake, so I went through my recipes on Pinterest and came across one on Who Needs a Cape’s blog for a lemon blueberry buttermilk cake. I had all the ingredients on hand, so I thought I’d give it a try.

As soon as the cake was cool enough to cut, the kids (and hubby) were into it. They didn’t even wait for me to make the glaze for the cake because it smelled so delicious. The cake lasted all of 10 minutes before there was nothing but crumbs on the plate! I guess that means it was a hit, but next time I’m making them wait until I get the glaze on the cake. Take a peek on her website—you’ll find lots of yummy recipes there.

Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Zest of 1 lemon

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1-3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon good vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups blueberries (I used frozen)

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon softened butter

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

Combine 2-1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and the lemon zest. Add the butter, and cream mixture on medium speed for about 3 to 5 minutes until thoroughly combined.

Reduce speed to low, and add in the eggs one at a time, mixing for a minute between adding each egg. Scrape down sides of the bowl, and add the vanilla.

Add in some of the flour followed by some of the buttermilk, and mix until combined. Repeat until all flour and buttermilk have been added.

In a separate bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of flour and the blueberries. Toss to coat berries. Gently fold the blueberries into the cake batter.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan, and smooth out the top of the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes (mine took about 65 in my oven), or until it tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack, then turn out onto a serving plate. Let cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and butter. Glaze should be thick, but you can add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time to make it thinner.

Cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature—if yours lasts that long!

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In on December 8, 2016 with No Comments

Sweet and Sour Pork

After making a huge pork roast the other night, we had plenty of leftover pork, and I wanted to come up with something simple to use it in. My youngest son had been hollering for Chinese food, so I decided to make a sweet and sour pork with some of the leftover pork roast. Since the pork had already been cooked, throwing everything else together was quick and easy.




While I love sweet and sour anything, I don’t love the store-bought sweet and sour sauces you can buy. They are just too sweet for me, so I made a quick and easy sauce from scratch. My youngest said I now have to make this anytime he makes egg rolls. Guess that’s one for the win column for me 🙂

If you’re using raw pork, sauté it in a little sesame oil first. Once it’s browned, remove the pork from the skillet, and then sauté your vegetables and continue with the recipe. You can use whatever veggies you like—asparagus would be good, as would fresh mushrooms and carrots. I was hungry for peppers, so that’s what I went with.

 

 

Sweet and Sour Pork

Leftover pork roast (or about 1 pound of pork loin cut into 1-inch pieces)

Sesame oil for sautéing

One green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

One red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

Half an onion, cut into bite-sized pieces

One package broccoli florets

8 ounces pineapple tidbits

Sweet and Sour Sauce (recipe below)

Rice or noodles for serving

 

In a large skillet, heat sesame oil. If using fresh pork loin, sauté the pieces until browned and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

In the same skillet, sauté the peppers and the onions until crisp-tender. Add in the broccoli, cooked pork, and pineapple, stirring to combine. Add enough sweet and sour sauce to completely coat everything in the skillet, and cook for a few minutes until everything is nice and hot.

Serve over rice or hot cooked noodles.

 

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons ketchup

Add all ingredients to a medium-sized saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. It took me about 5 minutes to thicken it.

 

 

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In , on December 8, 2016 with No Comments

Pressure Cooker Balsamic Maple Pork Roast

One of the first things I wanted to try in my new Instant Pot was a roast. We eat a lot of roast, both beef and pork, and I usually drag out my trusty Crock-Pot for these. It frees up my stove and oven, and I can put a roast on in the morning and go about my business without having to do anything else. I love my slow cooker so much that I have two of them, and I’ve often had two different recipes going at the same time simply because of the convenience they afford for meal prep.

With that said, my new favorite kitchen appliance is my Instant Pot. I cooked a huge pork roast the other night (7 pounds), and it was the best-tasting, most tender pork roast I’d ever made. My husband even commented (several times!) during dinner that it was the best pork roast he’d had. While I still love my Crock-Pot, it’s being moved to my basement shelving (sniff, sniff) to make room for the Instant Pot in my kitchen cupboards. Now I can’t wait to try a beef roast. I’m sure I’ll have the same wonderful results.




This pork roast marinade was simply an idea I had by looking in the cupboards to see what ingredients I had on hand. I knew I didn’t want barbecue or pulled pork (we have that a lot at our house), so I came up with this marinade. I pressure cooked my huge roast for 60 minutes, and it was tender and juicy, but if you have a “normal-sized” roast (3 to 4 pounds) you can bump back the cooking time to 50 minutes.

 

Pressure Cooker Balsamic Maple Pork Roast

7-pound pork butt (cut into pieces that fit in the pressure cooker pot)

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons stone-ground mustard

2 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce

Place the pork butt in a large plastic bag. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, and stir to thoroughly combine. Pour the sauce into the plastic bag with the pork butt, and seal. Turn the bag over a couple times to completely coat the roast, and marinate the roast in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

Place the marinated pork butt in the pressure cooker pot, and add the marinating liquid to the pot as well. Lock on the pressure cooker lid, and select the manual setting. Pressure cook the roast on high for 60 minutes. When the pressure cooker beeps, let it go to the keep warm setting, and let the pressure naturally release. When the pressure is reduced, remove the lid, and slice up the roast. Serve.

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In , , , on December 6, 2016 with No Comments

Pressure Cooker Jambalaya

I absolutely love jambalaya and any other Cajun-inspired dish. My family traveled to New Orleans after my senior year of high school, and I fell in love with the cuisine, so I’ve tried to recreate those flavors in my recipes.

My youngest son requested that I make jambalaya, so since I’d recently bought an Instant Pot, I decided it was high time I made this for dinner. The pressure cooker makes it super easy to pull this recipe together quickly, and in no time I had a delicious meal on the table.




You can certainly brown the meats in the pressure cooker using the sauté function, but I prefer to use my large cast iron skillet to brown the meat. I then added the meat to the recipe after the rice had finished pressure cooking.

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Pressure Cooker Jambalaya

1 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces

12 ounces Andouille sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces

8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, divided

1 teaspoon chipotle powder, divided

2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 green bell pepper, diced

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 small onion, diced

2 cups diced tomatoes, drained (I used 1 quart of home-canned tomatoes)

2 cups Jasmine rice

2 cups chicken stock

Fresh parsley

 

In a cast iron skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil, and brown the chicken and sausage pieces. Sprinkle the meat with half of the Cajun and chipotle seasonings and half the dried thyme. When just about browned, add the raw shrimp, and cook until the shrimp just turns pink. Set aside.

In the cooking pot of the pressure cooker, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Select the sauté function, and sauté the garlic, onion, and green pepper with the remaining Cajun and chipotle seasonings and half the dried thyme just until tender. Add the tomatoes, rice, and chicken stock, and stir to combine.

Lock the pressure cooker lid in place, and cook at high pressure for 8 minutes.

Use the quick-release setting to release the pressure. Remove the lid, and add in the cooked meats and the parsley to taste (I used about 3 tablespoons). Replace the lid, and let the jambalaya sit for 6 minutes on the warm function. Serve.

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