I want to see a duet with her and Klaus Nomi.
1979
(1 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
Loading... I made these two dishes over the last week, and they both ended up being really, really good. Plus, they even go well together; I'm planning on having the leftovers from these two for my lunch tomorrow. And I'm sure these recipes would be doable without the technological marvel that is an Instant Pot, but this is how I made them. Plus, it gave me another reason to use the steam diverter my wife got for Christmas, which my kids call "angry daddy." It looks pretty funny when it goes off, plus it makes it easy to turn the release valve without using a hot pad.
Chicken Tacos
(taken from here, with some small changes)
I had some leftover poblano peppers when I found this recipe, and thought I'd give it a shot. It ended up with a bit more liquid in it than I would have preferred for tacos, but the chicken was tasty, and not at all dried out. I'll probably try less liquid next time. I was also worried beforehand that it would taste too much like orange juice, but it ended up just having a hint of orange flavor.
Set Instant Pot to sauté mode, and add a little oil. Season chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. When oil is hot, work in batches to sear chicken on both sides, leaving it alone for long enough to get a nice brown on it (not sure this step actually did much; could probably skip it, but I could get the chopping done while the chicken was in, so it probably didn't add that much time). Remove to a plate when they are done browning.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add peppers and onions. Cook 5 minutes or so, until tender. Then, add cumin and garlic, stirring for about a minute until fragrant. Add back in the chicken along with the stock and orange juice.
Seal up the cover, and set for 35 minutes. When timer goes off, wait 5 minutes, then release steam. Remove the chicken, shred it, then stir it back in to the sauce. Serve on lightly-charred corn tortillas with lime, cilantro, cheese, guacamole, hot sauce, etc.
I didn't think of writing this up until after dinner, so I didn't take a picture of the tacos, but here's what part of the leftovers looked like:
Black Beans
(taken from here, with some adjustments)
So those chicken tacos were good, but these black beans are great. Everyone it the family loved them. Both of my kids ate multiple rounds at dinner, and one said they are his favorite beans ever (which is saying something from a kid who could probably eat an entire can of refried beans by himself). They end up tasting rich and salty, with the creamy liquid pairing with the just-slightly-al-dente beans to make a perfect texture combination. Plus, it's super cheap and easy, and no soak required.
This is the recipe for half the original batch on the website above, which still makes a lot of beans. They save well in the fridge, but a full pound of beans is more than we can get through in a week.
Put everything in the Instant Pot. Seal the lid, and set if for 30 minutes. (The recipe I took this from called for only 22 minutes, but the beans were still pretty crunchy at that point, so I kept adding time and testing it, and it ended up being about 30 total.) Let it sit for 10 minutes when the time is up, then release the steam and serve.
These beans are great on their own or with some hot sauce. Sour cream would make some sense here, too. They work as a side for grilled meat or tacos, as a vegetarian burrito filling, or just on their own; a bowl of these beans makes for a pretty great lunch.
I also didn't take a picture of this when I made it, but it still looks pretty good after a couple of days in the fridge.
By popular demand, here is an improvised version of curry chicken pot pie.
The good doctor requested fall food because the outside air temp dropped below boiling. We had a curry in London that resembled super smooth butternut squash soup with chicken bits, and decided that we could make that happen at home. After several attempts we discovered that we were missing some fat source be it cream / butter / ???. We shelved the recipe in favor of a Korma recipe that is always solid only to return to the idea when the weather turned cool(ish). To do this you'll need:
cubed butternut squash
cubed sweet potato
diced carrots
peas
a toe of garlic smashed
a small hand full of raisins
diced chicken parts (we used breasts, though thighs would def. amp up the flavor values)
curry seasoning (make your own if you feel sassy)
nutmeg
a bay leaf
salt and pepper
pie crust (if you make your own then you win) (trader joes is pretty alright, pilsbury is more than alright)
pyrex or similar oven safe bowls (though some consumer groups say that pyrex aint what it used to be... so be careful when dealing with wild temp swings and glass cookware)
The ratios of this are really not hard math, I used a bag of butternut squash cubes from trader joes (because lazy), 4 carrots, two small sweet potatoes from my garden. I roasted half the veg to roast, and half the veg for the sauce. I ended up with thee of the 2 cup pyrex individual pot pies. I used the left over crust to make a flower top for decorative / more pie crust goodness
Method:
I roasted half the sweet potato and butternut squash along with the carrots to add flavor / texture dimension to the final product. I tossed the veg with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and curry powder prior to roasting in a 450 degree oven. I removed the veg when brown / starting to blacken on the edges (about 25 minutes). I dumped a handful plus of frozen peas onto the roasting pan after I removed it from the oven (both arrests the cooking of the veg and thaws the peas). While the veg is roasting I add the remaining butternut squash and sweet potato (you can also add some carrot / parsnips) to a 2 quart sauce pan with just enough water to cover, plus salt and pepper and a dose of curry seasoning, and bring to a roiling boil. Boil this mixture until the veg falls apart, and mash in the pan. At this point the liquid in the pan should be fairly runny. Add the diced chicken parts to the pan with another dose of curry seasoning, the bay leaf, a pinch of nutmeg (my secret weapon...) and the smashed garlic toe. Simmer until the chicken in cooked through and the sauce is thickened to your desired taste. Add the roasted veg + peas + a handful of raisins to the pot and simmer out any additional liquid. As this happens have your oven preheated to 425 (YMMV). Portion out your sauce / chicken / veg mix into your baking dish(s), and cut your pie crusts to hang over the edges. Cut some vents and bake until the crust is golden brown. (an egg wash will help with browning, but isn't necessary for flavors). Basically this is a boiler plate for seasoned chicken pot pie with no dairy. You could use (gasp) tofu, ginger, lemongrass, green thai curry etc etc etc etc as flavor enhancers.
you're welcome.
Ain't I'm clean!?
1973
(2 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)Loading... Howdy, Citizens. This has been sitting in drafts since June 10th, and I'm very work-averse at the moment, so I'm gonna finish this up. My pickle juice brined Chicken Fingers await. Continue reading Brined and Breaded Chicken Fingers
Hot on the heels of my wildly popular Mexican Tuna Melt, I thought I'd share tonight's dinner as well. Whereas the last one was the result of my raiding the pantry for anything that might plausibly go together, this meal was planned well in advance. Originally, I was going to be cooking for a dinner date, but things got postponed. But that was not going to stop me from having this delicious meal. Continue reading Chicken Stir Fry
