Red Lentil and Brown Rice soup - in the Instant Pot...

This recipe is not original with me.  I found the basic recipe at www.allrecipes.com and modified it for the Instant Pot. We are in our 3rd day of a power outage because of a freezing rain storm. My husband has a gasoline powered generator that we are using to keep our food cold in the fridge and the freezer, but also, when it's on, I can do a little cooking.  I just can't use the kitchen range, as it draws too much power.  Each afternoon, my sweet husband hauls the generator over to the neighbor and hooks it up there for their freezer.  He's a good man.

So, he deserves good food.  Today we are having scrambled eggs, made in the electric skillet, the Red Lentil and Brown Rice soup, cooked in an Instant Pot, and cornbread baked in an Instant Pot.  My tummy is telling me it's time to eat.  I'm just waiting for the cornbread to get done.  :)

Red Lentil and Brown Rice Soup - Instant Pot

With the IP set on "saute", cook together, stirring until onions are wilting:

1 coarsely chopped red onion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 Tablepoons extra-virgin California olive oil

Add the following, put on the lid, set to seal and cook for 35 minutes on manual. Let it cool for 10 minutes, and then quick release and open the pot, carefully

4 cups vegetable broth ( I made my "broth" using 4 teaspoons Better than Bouillon vegetable broth paste.)
1, 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 T Italian Seasoning
1 T. dried celery flakes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried marjoram

Adjust salt and pepper to your liking.

This soup is really delicious, nice and thick and comforting on this cold day in Indiana!

Broccoli cheddar soup with zucchini and carrot...

My neighbor gave me a zucchini squash the other day.  It's been sitting on the counter looking at me ever since. I considered sauteing it with some onion and butter, but didn't.  I decided to incorporate it into some broccoli cheddar soup. I ran into a similar recipe online and tweaked it for what I had on hand. I used a food processor to grate the vegetables, but of course you can use a hand grater just as well.  This is a winner.  

SOUP

2 Tablespoons butter

Small to medium zucchini squash, grated

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 cloves (or more) garlic, minced

1/2 onion, grated

1 pound frozen broccoli florets (or you can use fresh, of course)

3 cups chicken stock (or some bone broth - whatever you like)

2 more Tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup white flour

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter.  Add the onion, carrot and zucchini and saute until tender, stirring constantly.  Then add the garlic and cook just a little longer.

Pour in the broth and add the broccoli florets.  Simmer just until the broccoli is tender.

While it is simmering, in a skillet, melt the butter, add the flour and stir that around well and then gradually add the milk and cream, whisking smooth.  When it thickens, add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and incorporated.

Pour the cheese sauce into the other pot and stir well.  Salt to taste.  Add some pepper if you like.

This  may be frozen. 

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup!

The weather has been such, lately, that I have been able to forage a lot of oyster mushrooms.  I had two pounds of them in the refrigerator that I needed to use up, so here is what I did to make the Cream of Mushroom Soup.

The ingredients:

First, chop the mushrooms.

Next, melt 1/4 cup butter in a heavy skillet (mine is cast iron.)

Then stir and saute the mushrooms...

until they are tender and look like this:

There will still be some liquid in the pan. Next,

stir in the chicken broth and then the arrowroot 

powder in water (see recipe below.)

Keep stirring until it simmers and thickens.  Then,

stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 1.5 teaspoons salt

and a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper.

Last, transfer the soup to a mixing bowl, and using

a stick blender, blend it nicely.

Voila!  You can also blend it in a regular blender or

a food processor, but the stick blender makes it

so very quick and easy!

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 pounds cleaned mushrooms of your choice

1/4 cup butter

6 Tablespoon arrowroot powder (or corn starch)

1/2 cup water

3 cups broth (I used homemade chicken stock)

1/2 cup evaporated milk (or cream)

Chop the mushrooms and saute them in the butter until tender.

Add the broth and then the arrowroot mixed into the water.

Stir and bring to a simmer until thickened.

Add the salt, pepper and evaporated milk and combine well.

Pour the soup into a bowl and blend with a stick blender.

Enjoy!

This post is shared at THIS blog hop!

Something little - gluten-free "dumplings."

Are you on a gluten-free diet?  I'm not, but my husband is currently doing the ketogenic diet in order to lose some weight, and I thought maybe I could make some dumplings for soup for him.  These are nice!  They are very tender, and I suggest you make them right before serving the soup, and cooking them in the soup.

Tender, gluten-free dumplings

1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 Tablespoons blanched almond flour

Crack the egg into a little bowl and whisk it up with a fork.  Add the other ingredients and stir it thoroughly.

Bring your soup to a boil, and reduce it to a simmer.  Dip a teaspoon in the hot broth, and then scoop out some of your batter and put it in the broth.  Dip in the spoon in the broth between each scoop.  Continue until all the dumplings are in the soup.  Simmer for two minutes.  That's it!

You might want to scoop the dumplings out in order to treat them gently, then replace them in the bowls of soup.  These would also be very nice with some savory gravy, or with a homemade "cream" soup ladled over them.

I try not to waste food...

I've talked to you before about making "Leftover Soup."  This morning, looking through the contents of our refrigerator, I found the following that needed to be used up:

1. One bowl of chili
2. A smallish amount of homemade pizza sauce
3. Some leftover green beans that I had frozen
4. A good handful of foraged oyster mushrooms
5. One-fourth of a can of evaporated milk
6. One-half cup of sweet peas

First, I chopped the oyster mushrooms and sauteed them in butter.  Then, I thawed out some frozen chicken stock.

I combined all of the above plus "enough" chicken stock in a saucepan and brought it to a simmer and simmered it for a few minutes. The rest of the stock went back into the freezer.  That way, if anything is getting close to being too old, it will still be safe to eat for about a week.

Next I put it all in my blender and pureed it.

So...  please say hello to "Cream of Leftovers Soup!"

By the way, it is absolutely delicious.

Next time you have bits of various things that no one is eating, give it a try!  I ended up with about 5 cups of yummy soup. It would freeze well, too.

Dehydrating to save space...

Since we are now in a considerably smaller house, and my food storage space is much reduced, I've been doing a lot more dehydrating this year.  I've canned a few things, But now all of that space is filled.  Here is the shelf where I have the things I've dehydrated.

It is so convenient to make soup in a pressure saucepan, and I really enjoy having these items to use.  It only takes 10 minutes, at pressure, for the soup to be ready and as good as if I had simmered it all day.

I think these are the things I have done: green beans, sweet corn, diced potatoes, kale powder, tomatoes, tomato powder, small yellow tomatoes, summer squash, celery, cucumbers, green tomato slices, oyster mushrooms and okra.

Mystery soup.... ;)

Husband: "What are you making?"

Me: "I don't know."

Husband: "Sounds scary."

I agreed, but was on a mission to cook something nice with what I had that needed using up, like some leftover meatloaf.  I cut it into cubes.

On the left, you can see the meatloaf.  I scrubbed and cubed a nice potato.

...put some good extra-virgin olive oil in my cast iron Dutch oven and sauteed some cut-up red cabbage and a diced onion until the onion was starting to brown, stirring the whole time.

I had about 3 cups of leftover chicken bone broth/stock and poured that into the pan.

Last night I put 1/2 cup of lentils to soak in plenty of cold water.  Here they are, drained and rinsed.  These go into the pot next along with a minced clove of garlic and the potato chunks.

There it is all is together, and I will bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer it, covered, for 30 minutes:

While it was simmering, I cooked 1 cup of "bow-tie" pasta in water and drained it.  Why bow-tie?  Because it's pretty, of course!  :)

After the pasta was cooked and drained, I added it and the cubes of meatloaf to the soup, as well as 1 teaspoon sea salt and a few cranks of black pepper.

Here it is!  It is now in the fridge.  I will reheat if for dinner and serve it with some good homemade bread and butter.  

It tastes wonderful!  Hmmmm...  I just need a good name for it.  Any suggestions?

Our New Year's Day Dinner

The Garden Fairy and I decided to try to make a southern style meal for our New Year's Day feast.  It worked out well and was delicious.  I made this pot of black eyed peas in my 6-quart pressure cooker!

Black Eyed Peas

1 pound dried black eyed peas, sorted, rinsed and soaked in lots of cold water at least overnight, and drained.
1/2 pound bacon - fried and crumbled
1/2 pound ham - diced
1 medium onion, chopped, and sauteed in the bacon grease and butter until it is a little brown.
1/4 cup butter
6 cups chicken stock

Prepare all of these ingredients and combine them in a 6-quart pressure cooker.  Put on the lid and petcock and bring up to pressure over medium heat.  Reduce heat so the petcock is rocking gently and allow to cook for 40 minutes.  Remove from heat and let the pressure release naturally.

Here are the soaked and drained peas:

The onion cooking in the butter and bacon grease:

Diced ham:

Everything together in the pressure cooker:

Finished soup!

Along with this we had corn bread, collard greens sauteed with bacon, and a wonderful pork butt roast that I cooked in my big Crockpot.

Oh, it was all so good.  I am very grateful for all of the good food and the blessings of family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!

Pressure cooking - Chapter 10

I got home rather late in the day and had planned to make vegetable soup.  So... I went ahead and made it - in the pressure saucepan!  It only takes a few minutes to cook and tastes as if it had been simmered for hours.

I will tell you how I made it, but please don't think you have to have just what I put in it.  This is more of a method than an exact recipe.. ok?

Today's Vegetable - Bacon Soup

1/2 pint home canned bacon ends and pieces (you could use bacon from the store.)
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 big handful of mushrooms, chopped (I have some of those oyster mushrooms left.)
1 large carrot, diced
1 pint canned corn
1 quart green beans, drained
2 cups loosely packed chopped collards
1 quart tomato juice
1 cup chicken bone broth
Sea salt and pepper to taste

In a 6 quart pressure saucepan, start the bacon cooking.  Add the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.

Add all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper.  Put on the lid and the petcock.  Bring up to pressure.  Allow to cook for 5  minutes with the petcock rocking gently.  Remove from heat.  Let the pressure come down by itself.

Open the cooker, salt and pepper to taste and serve!  I had mine with some nice homemade bread and butter.

This is so quick and easy.... my version of convenience food!  :)

Leftover Soup...

Sometimes when I have a variety of small amounts of leftovers in the refrigerator, I use them to make "Leftover Soup."  It can be surprisingly good, and today was one of those days.  Here is what I pulled out of the fridge - a quart of bone broth, some oyster mushrooms that I found a week ago, leftover fried beef liver and onions, a little bit of corn, half an onion, and some mashed potatoes!  :)

First, I sauteed the onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil:

 Next I blended the potatoes with a little warm water and added that along with everything else in that first picture:

Then it was time to make a small batch of egg noodles - just one egg's worth:

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

unbleached all purpose flour

Mix until a good firmish dough forms, knead until smooth and roll it out as thin as you can:

Then, using flour so it won't stick, roll it up and cup into rounds and plop them into the simmering soup:

Voila!  

I added 1.5 teaspoons salt

a few "cranks" of black pepper

and

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Oh, my!  It's really good!

As usual, this is more about method than an exact recipe.  If you have some foods about to get too old, make some Leftover Soup out of them.  You might be surprised how good it can be!

Pressure Cooking - Chapter 8 - Greek Lentil Soup

Link to photo

Now, that is not my photo (as noted,)  but I did make Greek Lentil Soup in my 6 quart pressure saucepan today and I have to say, this is the BEST it's ever been.  I've been making this soup for many years, but never cooked it under pressure before.  It came out Thick and Creamy.  I am so pleased!

This recipe comes from this book: The New Laurel's Kitchen

Greek Lentil Soup -cooked in a pressure saucepan

2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained

1/2 onion, chopped

1 small potato, diced

1 small carrot, diced

2 bay leaves

8 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (I used raw apple cider vinegar because that's what I have.)

Combine all ingredients except the vinegar in a pressure saucepan that is at least 6 quarts in size.
Put on the lid and regulator and bring the pressure up until the regulator is rocking gently.
Turn down the heat enough so it will continue a Gentle rocking.
Allow to cook for 15 minutes.
Turn off the burner and allow the pressure to escape naturally.
Just before serving, add the vinegar.

Delicious, fast, inexpensive, very nutritious and easy.  Enjoy!

Pressure Cooking - Chapter 7

In chapter 1 I mentioned that I made some soup in the pressure cooker.  I did the same thing this evening and want to tell you how I did it.  Now, my soup recipes really are more about method than ingredients, so please don't  not make some if you don't have the same ingredients I do.  Just use what you have!

Here is what I used: A quart of homemade bone broth, 1 medium onion - sliced, 2 stalks celery - sliced, 3 carrots peeled and sliced, pint of home-canned shell-out beans (Musica pole beans), handful of sliced dried mushrooms,  pint of home-canned sweet corn, quart of home-canned green beans - drained, 1/2 pint home-canned bacon ends and pieces, pint home-canned salsa, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a few cranks of freshly-ground pepper.

Put the bacon in the cooker on medium heat and saute the onion and celery for a few minutes.  Then, add everything else.  Put on the lid and petcock and bring up to pressure, reduce heat and allow to cook for 12 minutes.  Remove from heat and bring pressure down under cold running water.  That's it!

Here is what it looked like when I opened the pot.  It got rave reviews!

Pressure Cooking - Chapter 2

In 1972, my husband and I didn't have very much money.  We made it, but there was definitely no "extra" so we did everything we could figure out to pinch pennies.  One day, he shot and killed a ground hog. It was a fairly large animal.  After preparing it for cooking, we cut it into two portions.  The first portion I roasted in the oven.  It was as tough as shoe leather.  Very difficult to eat.  The second half I cooked in our pressure cooker.  It was falling-off-the-bone tender, moist and delicious!  The moral of this story is that you can purchase less-expensive cuts of meat, and if you pressure cook them, they become tender.

I did not cook a ground hog today.  Instead, I made ham and Great Northern bean soup and cornbread in the pressure saucepans.  Here we go!

The night before, pour 1 pound of dried Great Northern beans into a colander, rinse thoroughly, pour them into a large bowl, add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 3 times as much cold water as there are beans.  Let that sit on the counter until you are ready to cook the next day. As in yesterday's post, I am using TWO pressure saucepans for this meal.

This is what they look like after soaking.

 

Pour the soaked beans into your colander and rinse them thoroughly.

Put a nice meaty ham hock into the smaller cooker, on the trivet, with 2 cups of water.  Secure the lid and bring up to temperature.  Allow to cook at pressure for 15 minutes, then cool quickly under running cold water.

When the pressure releases, open the cooker and the ham hock will look like this.

Pour the cooked meat and the liquid over the beans that by now you have poured into the 6-quart pressure cooker.  Add enough more water to cover the beans by at least 1/2 inch.  I added one whole inch since we like our soup a little more watery.  Here it is, ready to cook.

Prepare a batch of cornbread (recipe follows.)  Pour it into an appropriately sized pan or Pyrex bowl.  I used a 1.5 quart Pyrex bowl, well buttered.  Add 1.5 cups of water and the trivet to the smaller pan.  Cover the bowl or pan tightly with aluminum foil.  Place it in the cooker on the trivet and water.  Secure lid.  Bring to pressure, cook for 22 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow the pressure to go down by itself.  Here is what it looked like after cooking.

Here are both cookers on the stove.  When you cook the bean soup, bring it up to pressure, reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes.  That's right.  Only FIVE minutes.  Remove from heat and allow the pressure to go down naturally.

The corn bread was moist, sweet, and delicious!

The soup was just right!  I also added a teaspoon of Realsalt and some freshly ground black pepper.

My husband likes to put a piece of cornbread in his bowl and pour his soup over that.  I prefer to eat them separately.  Here is mine with butter and some lovely honey.  Oh my!  Such luxury!

I hope you will try this.  It saves time and energy and the food turns out so nicely.  Here is the cornbread recipe I promised:

Pressure-Cooker Cornbread

1 1/3 cups corn meal
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients together well.  Pour the wet into the dry and stir with a fork, just until the batter is moist.  Do not beat it.  Pour into greased baking vessel and then proceed as described above, cooking at pressure for 22 minutes, with 1.5 cups water in the pan and the trivet.  Be sure to cover your pan or bowl tightly with aluminum foil and allow the pressure to go down by itself.

This is fun.