Recipes - Pressure Cookers

[Winchester]

This is the creamiest mac and cheese ever! And as quickly as it comes together, this beats The Box from Kraft. From Bob Warden's Great Food Fast cookbook.

Pressure Cooked Macaroni and Cheese

For the macaroni:

2-1/2 cups elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons chicken base mixed into 2 cups water (OR 2 cups chicken broth)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

For the cheese:
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I use Cabot's 75% low-fat)
2 ounces cream cheese (1/4 of an 8-ounce block; I use 1/3 fat)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
 

Add all macaroni ingredients to pressure cooker, securely lock on lid and set the cooker to high and cook for 6 minutes.

Perform a quick release to release the pressure. Carefully remove the lid and slowly stir in cheese ingredients until melted and serve immediately.

Note: Feel free to add other ingredients. I added a bit of shredded smoked cheddar to the mix. And some crispy smoked apple bacon. Chopped broccoli would be good as would a bit of diced red pepper for color. The reason I use Cabot's is because it's a low-fat cheese, but it melts very well.

 

[Winchester]

My electric pressure cooker has a Brown feature, so I can brown meat right in the cooker.

Pressure Cooked Pot Roast

2 to 3 pound boneless chuck roast

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Ground black pepper

1/2 cup red wine

2 teaspoons beef base mixed in 2 cups water (I used 2 cups of beef stock)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 sprig fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

6 small red potatoes

1 small onions, peeled and quartered

2 cups baby carrots

2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional) 

Add oil to pressure cooker and heat on High or “brown” with the lid off.

Sprinkle the top of the roast with half of the celery salt, onion powder and a pinch of ground black pepper.

Place the roast, seasoned side down, in pressure cooker to brown. Sprinkle the remaining celery salt, onion powder and another pinch of black pepper over top as the roast browns. Once the bottom has seared until dark brown and almost crusty, flip the roast and sear the other side.

Pour in red wine, stab roast with a meat fork and push roast around the bottom of pan to release the glaze you have created.

Add beef base mixture (or beef stock), garlic, thyme or bay leaves and salt. Securely lock the pressure cooker's lid, set the cooker to High and cook for 40 minutes.

Perform a quick release to relieve the cooker's pressure. Safely remove the lid and add the vegetables. Relock the pressure cooker's lid, set the cooker to High and cook for 5 additional minutes.

Perform a quick release to release the cooker's pressure. Serve covered in the au jus from cooker. To thicken the juice into gravy: combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water in a small dish and stir into cooker on High or “brown” with the lid off until thick.

 

[Winchester]

   Pressure Cooked Pulled Pork w/Warm BBQ Apple Slaw

4 to 5 pound pork shoulder or butt                                           

2 Tbsp. light brown sugar                                               

1 Tbsp. chili powder                                                      

2 tsp. paprika                                                                            

2 tsp. salt (I use 1 tsp.)                                                   

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dry mustard         

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1½ c. chicken stock or broth      

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar     

2 tsp. liquid smoke                                            

16 oz. prepared BBQ sauce

Crusty sandwich rolls

Slice pork into 2-inch thick slices (to allow for quicker cooking time).

Combine brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper and dry mustard. Rub onto all surfaces of the pork slices.

Place vegetable oil into pressure cooker's pot. Using the Brown cycle or High cycle, heat oil to sizzling. Place pork slices into the cooker and brown well on each side.

Add chicken stock, vinegar, and liquid smoke to the cooker. Lock the lid and set for 100 minutes on High.

Let the cooker's pressure release naturally for 15 minutes before quick-releasing any remaining pressure.

Using tongs, remove the pork from the cooker. Drain liquid from cooker. With the cooker's lid off, heat the BBQ sauce on High until simmering. Pull or shred the pork into the simmering sauce before serving.

Note: The original recipe calls for one teaspoon of liquid smoke, but I use two teaspoons. If you don't want to shred the pork into the BBQ sauce, simply shred the pork into a bowl. Pass warmed BBQ sauce on the side. Serve this with BBQ Warm Apple Slaw on your sandwiches.

BBQ Warm Apple Slaw

16 oz. bag coleslaw mix                                                  

⅓ c. cider vinegar                                                                      

½  c. BBQ sauce                                                                       

1 tsp. yellow mustard                                                                             

1 tsp. light brown sugar

¼ tsp. salt        

¼ tsp. pepper   

2 lg. apples, cored and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. butter

When there's about 20 minutes left on the cooker's timer, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, except apples and butter, and reduce heat to medium. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the sliced apples and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to Low and stir in butter. Keep the slaw on the lowest heat until the pork is ready to serve.

Serve the slaw with the pork in crusty buns or on the side.