Last night I made pork tenderloin in the pressure cooker. The entire meal took 12 minutes to cook! Having never made pork tenderloin before, I had no idea it would shrink as much as it did. I suspect it was over cooked, but was assured by my meat eating honey that it was delicious and moist.
The last two weeks, I've had to work many nights until 11 or 12 at night. More than ever, I am looking to the pressure cooker to help lessen the cooking time on some of the meals I make for mom. I'm also looking to do entire meals in one pot. And I'm interested in the nutritional benefits of cooking with this method (less loss of vitamins and minerals).
I hope to make a new delivery to mom by the end of the week. Here is what the menu is starting to look like:
MENU
*Pork Tenderloin with roasted potatoes and carrots
*Lemon garlic chicken breasts with cognac wine sauce, brown rice risotto with peas and shaved parmesan, asparagus
*Beef stroganoff with brocolli and whole wheat egg noodles
Tomorrow I'm planning on making the stroganoff. So far, it's feeling much easier for my schedule to make mom's meals one dish at a time over a period of days rather than all at once in a one-day marathon.
I'll have to see what kind of fish to include in this batch of meals. Mom always loves to have a fish option.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Pressure Cooker Deliciousness
Tonight I cooked two dishes in the pressure cooker: brown rice risotto and lemon garlic marinated chicken breasts.
The rice dish was unbelievably delicious--the recipe called it risotto, which I didn't believe could be done in a pressure cooker. It's not Italian bistro perfect risotto, but it's darned close! And I used medium grain brown rice, not a short white grain like arborio. It's absolutely mind boggling how delicious this rice is!
The chicken breasts were moist and succulent. First you saute the chicken in a small amount of an oil and butter mixture. Then remove the chicken and saute onion ring in the remaining fats. Then lay the chicken breasts on top of the onion. Pour in equal parts marinade, white wine, and stock (chicken or vegetable) and a couple of tablespoons of brandy or cognac. Cook in the pressure cooker for about 15 minutes. That's it!
I put these two dishes in a meal container and sauteed some asparagus. One whole meal is prepared for mom.
The rice dish was unbelievably delicious--the recipe called it risotto, which I didn't believe could be done in a pressure cooker. It's not Italian bistro perfect risotto, but it's darned close! And I used medium grain brown rice, not a short white grain like arborio. It's absolutely mind boggling how delicious this rice is!
The chicken breasts were moist and succulent. First you saute the chicken in a small amount of an oil and butter mixture. Then remove the chicken and saute onion ring in the remaining fats. Then lay the chicken breasts on top of the onion. Pour in equal parts marinade, white wine, and stock (chicken or vegetable) and a couple of tablespoons of brandy or cognac. Cook in the pressure cooker for about 15 minutes. That's it!
I put these two dishes in a meal container and sauteed some asparagus. One whole meal is prepared for mom.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Time Pressures
For the past month, I have been very busy with work. The work I do is not 9 to 5, but often involves seeing a project through even if that means working late into the night.
Because of this, I have new time pressures on cooking for mom. This month, I have tried several new strategies to help get the job done quicker and more efficiently.
First, I decided at Easter time, that even though I didn't have time to make a full batch of food, I could make multiples of one entree. On Easter, I cooked for Easter brunch and I cooked one entree for mom. It was panko crusted tilapia, sweet potatoes, and green beans almondine. I brought three servings, which I'm sure she has made into six.
During the two weeks since Easter, I have been swamped with work. But I knew mom was going to need more food soon. So it was on my mind. Gotta get going on the menu for mom!
We decided to get a new pressure cooker and try it out. My old one is decades old! We got a beautiful, sleek stainless steel pot with all the latest safety features.
For the first meal cooked in the pressure cooker, I chose pot roast. It was awesome! This pot cooked a three pound roast, onions, potatoes, and turnips in 45 minutes total! In one 1-hour period, I was able to create an entire meal for mom. Fantastic.
Today, I had a chunk of four hours free to devote only to cooking. I made a flat roasted chicken--once again a method that cut the roasting time in half. The entire chicken with potatoes and onions took 40 minutes. And one chicken produced five full meals for mom who will probably make them last to 10 meals. Unbelievable!
I also made crab cakes, probably the most time-intensive item on this menu because of all the ingredients that have to be chopped and prepped.
I will deliver the food to mom tomorrow. I think she'll really like this menu. It has a little bit of everything she likes. And many of the flavors will taste new to her. The pot roast has a gorgeous sauce that came directly out of the pot, no messing with gravy!
Menu
* Pot roast with red wine sauce/potatoes/turnips and onions
* Roasted chicken with lemon garlic brandy & white wine sauce/potatoes/braised red cabbage
* Crab cakes with garlic aioli/brown rice/sauteed spinach
* Tuna salad
* Spinach and cheese frittata
Because of this, I have new time pressures on cooking for mom. This month, I have tried several new strategies to help get the job done quicker and more efficiently.
First, I decided at Easter time, that even though I didn't have time to make a full batch of food, I could make multiples of one entree. On Easter, I cooked for Easter brunch and I cooked one entree for mom. It was panko crusted tilapia, sweet potatoes, and green beans almondine. I brought three servings, which I'm sure she has made into six.
During the two weeks since Easter, I have been swamped with work. But I knew mom was going to need more food soon. So it was on my mind. Gotta get going on the menu for mom!
We decided to get a new pressure cooker and try it out. My old one is decades old! We got a beautiful, sleek stainless steel pot with all the latest safety features.
For the first meal cooked in the pressure cooker, I chose pot roast. It was awesome! This pot cooked a three pound roast, onions, potatoes, and turnips in 45 minutes total! In one 1-hour period, I was able to create an entire meal for mom. Fantastic.
Today, I had a chunk of four hours free to devote only to cooking. I made a flat roasted chicken--once again a method that cut the roasting time in half. The entire chicken with potatoes and onions took 40 minutes. And one chicken produced five full meals for mom who will probably make them last to 10 meals. Unbelievable!
I also made crab cakes, probably the most time-intensive item on this menu because of all the ingredients that have to be chopped and prepped.
I will deliver the food to mom tomorrow. I think she'll really like this menu. It has a little bit of everything she likes. And many of the flavors will taste new to her. The pot roast has a gorgeous sauce that came directly out of the pot, no messing with gravy!
Menu
* Pot roast with red wine sauce/potatoes/turnips and onions
* Roasted chicken with lemon garlic brandy & white wine sauce/potatoes/braised red cabbage
* Crab cakes with garlic aioli/brown rice/sauteed spinach
* Tuna salad
* Spinach and cheese frittata
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I spoke with mom this morning and she says she's wearing green from head to toe today! I love remembering when we were kids, mom would serve us green milk and mashed potatoes. We loved it! Mom always brought our Irish heritage into our home in many different ways.
I delivered a batch of meals to mom last week. I included a corned beef and cabbage entree that I think she will like. The menu is as follows:
Cream of broccoli/cheese soup
Spinach frittata
Rotisserie chicken salad
Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes
Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans almondine
Scallops wrapped in bacon, lemon garlic spinach, brown rice
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I delivered a batch of meals to mom last week. I included a corned beef and cabbage entree that I think she will like. The menu is as follows:
Cream of broccoli/cheese soup
Spinach frittata
Rotisserie chicken salad
Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes
Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans almondine
Scallops wrapped in bacon, lemon garlic spinach, brown rice
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
New Delivery
I delivered a new batch of food to mom last week. Mom is now enjoying a whole new selection of entrees. She called yesterday to tell me how yummy the frittata is—in fact, she interrupted EATING the frittata to call me about it! That was funny. I do believe frittata is turning into one of her favorite meals.
This time, I made the food in two sessions: I cooked on Friday for nine hours and then again for two hours on Saturday before driving to mom's with the food. It would have taken longer if I had made soup, but there wasn't time.
The current menu is as follows.
Three cheese spinach frittata
Tuna salad
Tri-tip roast with red wine gravy/turnips, carrots, onions, potatoes
Panko crusted chicken tenders/brown rice pilaf/green beans almondine
Pecan crusted Tilapia/roasted potatoes, pearled onions, and carrots
I had a very challenging work week, so I needed to try some efficiencies to shorten the cooking time. I cut out the soup. Also, I cut down on the number of different kinds of meals I cooked. Instead of four meals with three servings each, I made three meals with four servings each. It did save time to cook one less meal—one meal usually comprises three different recipes! So, it made a significant difference not to have to plan, buy extra ingredients, and cook three extra dishes.
It feels incomplete though: It feels as if I need to begin cooking again soon because I didn't cook enough for her this time.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent . I'll have to create more fish entrees next time. Mom will love that!
This time, I made the food in two sessions: I cooked on Friday for nine hours and then again for two hours on Saturday before driving to mom's with the food. It would have taken longer if I had made soup, but there wasn't time.
The current menu is as follows.
Three cheese spinach frittata
Tuna salad
Tri-tip roast with red wine gravy/turnips, carrots, onions, potatoes
Panko crusted chicken tenders/brown rice pilaf/green beans almondine
Pecan crusted Tilapia/roasted potatoes, pearled onions, and carrots
I had a very challenging work week, so I needed to try some efficiencies to shorten the cooking time. I cut out the soup. Also, I cut down on the number of different kinds of meals I cooked. Instead of four meals with three servings each, I made three meals with four servings each. It did save time to cook one less meal—one meal usually comprises three different recipes! So, it made a significant difference not to have to plan, buy extra ingredients, and cook three extra dishes.
It feels incomplete though: It feels as if I need to begin cooking again soon because I didn't cook enough for her this time.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent . I'll have to create more fish entrees next time. Mom will love that!
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