Risotto with Chicken

Hi everyone, I'm back again with another Instant Pot success and boy was it yummy too!

I belong to a Instant Pot Facebook group and it is a great place to find recipes where others have tried and had good luck in making.  One of the members posted a recipe for Risotto with mushrooms in it but we don't really like mushrooms so I substituted peas in ours.  It was so good, even though I forgot to add the grated Parmesan cheese and the salt and pepper too, doh!

The first picture is what it looked like right after I removed the lid, all nice an creamy and the second picture is what it looked like after sitting for about 10 minutes.

The lady who shared the recipe didn't add chicken to her's but I had a couple of small chicken breast that I wanted to use, so I cut them into chunks.  Kinda of reminded me of Chicken and Rice Casserole!

Here is how I made it:
1.  Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the Instant Pot.  Select Saute' and let the oil get hot, then add in 1 small chopped onion and that is when I added in my chicken too.  Saute' for about 5 minutes.
2.  Add in 2 cups of Arborio Rice, stirring for about one minute.  Turn off the Instant Pot.
3.  Add 5 cups of chicken broth ( I used 5 cups of water and added 5 teaspoons of Better Than Bouillon, stirring the mixture well).
4.  Place your Instant Pot lid on, turn to lock position, press manual, then decrease the time to 6 minutes.  Once the Instant Pot comes to pressure (this takes about 5 minutes or so), the time will start counting down.
5. When timer beeps, turn the Instant Pot off and do a Quick Release, this is done by turning the steam release handle to Venting.
6. Once all of the pressure is released, the little float valve on top will drop and no more steam will come out.  You now can safely remove the Instant Pot lid.  Add in 1 to 2 cups of peas.
7.  Add 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to your taste.
8. Give the food a good stirring, and you are now ready to eat!!

I'm getting to where I really am enjoying this little Pot, it will be so nice to be able to cook this summer and not heat up the whole kitchen.  I want to try a Turkey Breast in it next!!  Did you know that you can hard-boil eggs in this?!  Yep, in about 6 minutes.  Oh you can also make your potatoes in it along with your eggs and have the fix in's for Potato Salad in less time then it takes to get a pot of water boiling to cook the eggs or potatoes on the stove top!

Have a great day!!  Mary

Pie Crust From a Cake Mix

How to make a pie crust with a dry cake mix!!

Watch this video to see how easy it is!!

http://bit.ly/1M4Lc9k

Just think of all the neat combos you could come up with!!

Enjoy.

The Maillard Reaction

"DID YOU KNOW? You could add a pinch of baking soda when  sauté or browning to speed up the Maillard reaction? The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between carbohydrates (sugar) and amino acids (proteins). In food, it has a profound effect on flavor, color and aroma. Maillard reactions are important in baking, frying or otherwise heating of nearly all foods. It is responsible for the savory flavor of roasted meats as well as the toasted flavor of baked breads to name a few.

During Maillard's reaction, sugar and amino acids combine to form hundreds of new and different flavor compounds. Each type of food has a very distinctive set of flavor compounds that are formed during the Maillard reaction. In fact, these same compounds have been used by flavor scientists to create artificial flavors.
One of the keys to great cooking is managing the Maillard reaction. One way to accelerate the Maillard reaction without burning food is to increase the PH by adding baking soda. Take browning onions (substitute shallots if onions bother your bladder). Adding a pinch of baking soda accelerates the browning process and greatly enhances the flavor.

Watch this video - to the end, to see the difference between 'fried' onions, and sweet 'caramelized' onions."  As written by Tamara Harden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3IFLtZZipk

I found this tip on one of the Facebook Groups I belong to for Electric Pressure Cooking.  Thanks Tamara for this great cooking tip!