Monday, August 8

PSA: Kitchen Gadget Must-Have

Now that I am settled in (mostly), I have all of my own kitchen stuff back!

And I am back in love with my pressure cooker. Every bandster should own this little piece of genius. Seriously. It makes the MOST tender meat. I ate 1.5 pork chops the other night! Amazing. I haven't eaten pork chops in a long time, because they are too tough for me. Not with the pressure cooker - 15 min of cooking, and they were fork-tender. And delicious! I've also made a beef roast, meatballs, and chicken drumsticks in it. All this week. Yep, a slight bit of an addiction. But hey, I am definitely meeting my protein goals.

One of the really nice things about my pressure cooker is you can brown or saute in it before you cook in it. Only 1 dirty pot + no hot oven = Happy Amy.

ETA: To answer a few questions.
  • I'd say for most things, they cut the cooking time down by about 1/3, not 1/2. It still takes time for the unit to come up to pressure, then cook, and sometimes the cut of meat calls for natural pressure release (which takes time). However, the trade-off is the meat is ALWAYS tender. Always.
  • It IS old-school, but they've kind of come back 'in'. The new ones are totally safe, no danger of exploding. Also, they are pretty much fool-proof. No checking pressure, no messing with temps, etc. Push a few buttons and it regulates itself. So easy. Plus, since you can't stir it or anything once it starts, I always have my kitchen cleaned up by the time it's done. It's a two-fer! :)
  • I made the porkchops breaded - dipped in egg and then seasoned breadcrumbs. Lightly browned them on both sides for a few minutes in 2 T. evoo. Right in the pressure cooker. Took them out, put the rack in, added 1 c. of chicken broth, and added the pork chops back in (the rack keeps them from sitting in the liquid). Added a sliced onion on top of the chops. Cooked for 15 min on high pressure (could have done less, but I wanted them really tender). Served with steamed broccoli and cauliflower and a Lipton noodle thing (don't remember what, since I don't really eat that.) It was good. And easy!

Here's the pressure cooker I have. I seriously love it! You can get it on amazon, if you are interested.

7 comments:

  1. My mother loves her pressure cooker! She uses it all the time!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've always wondered how those thingy's worked. For some reason I thought they were totally old school. How did you do your pork chops? Oh and I haven't forgotten about responding to your email, but I've been swamped with doing back to school shopping/house cleaning/etc...I will write you back!

    ReplyDelete
  3. oooo fancy! do they really cut the cooking time in half?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have the one you put on the stove. It's so funny to me bc I was talking to someone the other day who cooks a lot and never has used one. My mom used the hell out of her pressure cookers. I love to do chicken in it. Its really great bc you can buy a whole chicken for really cheap, plop it in, put some water in and pressure cook it for 15-20 and when you open it up it just falls off the bone. I then save or freeze the broth to use with all the soups I make. Its wonderful. My mom used to make roast in hers all the time, complete with the carrots and taters.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just read your stats...you are doing amazing sista! Keep it up! Smiles...)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have always wanted to try one. I may have to break down and do that. You look amazing by the way! What a inspiration you are to us all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have been wondering about a pressure cooker-you have sold me!!

    ReplyDelete