Mexican rice in an Instant Pot

After a busy day at work, cooking a dinner with minimal effort and not needing to watch a pan on the stove is a blessing  This is my first venture into cooking rice in my instant pot and it was a hit, really easy and great tasting rice.

Ingredients

Olive oil

Red onion, finely chopped

Garlic, finely chopped 

Red pepper, chopped

1 tsp paprika

1 cup long grain easy cook rice

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 large tomato, chopped

Salt and pepper

Parsley, finely chopped

Method

Switch on sauté mode.

Wash rice in a sieve until water runs clear. Leave to drain.

Pop in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and garlic, sauté until soft. Add pepper and sauté until garlic is beginning to go golden. Cancel programme.

Add paprika and stir well. Add rice, stock, salt and pepper and stir well. Sprinkle over tomato but don’t stir. Pop on lid with valve set to pressurise and set on Rice setting.

When instant pot finishes cooking, turn off and set timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes release steam, sprinkle over chopped parsley and fork rice to fluff up grains.

Serves 3

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Savoury rice with hake - and another update on hubby

I wanted to use basmati rice as it has low glycemic index and better than white long grain and hubby isn't keen on brown rice, so I did some research and developed the following recipe.

Waitrose Frozen hake fillets are amazing, they are perfect for this dish.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 banana red pepper, finely sliced

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup basmati rice

1 chicken stock cube

Water to cover by 1/2 inch

1 cup frozen peas

4 hake frozen fillets

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat oil in a large sauté pan (make sure you have a lid for it).

Add onion, garlic and peppers, gently sauté for 1 minute add tomato and cook until soft.

Add the rice and fry gently mixing for about 1 minute. Add the stock cube and water and bring to the boil. Season. Add the frozen peas, stir, then lay the hake over the top pushing the fillets just under the liquid. Cover and simmer very gently until all the liquid has evaporated. Don't stir, just leave the pan to steam. Carefully serve onto plates, fluffing the rice slightly with a fork.

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Chicken Fajitas - when short cuts are good

A very successful dinner last night.

As our daughter has an intolerance to wheat, gluten and dairy, we had bought a Fajita Kit a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I used this to save some time and create a healthy dinner for all of us.
The kit came with the tortillas, salsa and the fajita spice mix.
I used one chicken breast, plus a red and a green pepper and one onion to make the fajitas.
I added some salad leaves and slices of avocado when building the fajitas with the salsa.
A big hit, the aromas in the kitchen were wonderful. A great store cupboard hit, full of nutrients and very low fat.

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Chicken Fricassee

I bought a whole free range chicken and then took the breast off for our meal.

Electric Steamer

We were lucky to receive an electric steamer last year from my sister-in-law, which is brilliant for cooking the vegetables to serve with the dinner, just pop them in using however many tiers as necessary, I even cook my rice in it too, saves on pots and pans and also doesn't need to be watched. The biggest benefit is you don't need salt and keep the vitamins and minerals in the veg, none is cooked away in the water.

Potato Ricer

I also have a potato ricer, this is amazing, no worry of lumps and I don't need butter or milk unless turning into "creamed potatoes". I use the potato ricer to produce small threads of potato, I carefully spoon them onto the plate when serving without compressing them. I also use the ricer directly onto fish pies and cottage style pies, low calorie, lovely crunchy top.

Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 banana shallots, finely diced

1 red pepper (I used a long thin pepper) cut into thin strips

2 large chestnut mushrooms, halved and cut into thin slices

1 organic chicken stock cube

1/2 pint water

1 free range chicken breast, cut into small bite sized chunks

handful of french beans, cut into small pieces

Skimmed milk

2 tablespoons cornflour

Method

Heat the oil gently and add the shallots, gently fry the shallots until soft, then add the peppers, keep frying until they soften. Once the peppers and shallots are soft add the mushrooms and fry for another minute.

Add the water and stock cube and turn up the heat until the stock is bubbling, add the chicken and beans and lower to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked and the beans are just tender.

Mix the cornflour in a small cup with enough water to make a thin paste. Carefully add this to the pan stirring constantly, thin out the sauce with milk until it is the desired thickness, it should be thick enough to cover the vegetables and chicken with a thick layer.

Check seasoning and add pepper if needed.

I served with mashed (riced) potatoes, tender stem broccoli and carrot batons

Feedback from family was yum.

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Beef Goulash

It's great when I feel relaxed, that's when I get inspired to start cooking and love to refresh old recipes and try new ideas too.  The days are beginning to shorten, it's cooler in the morning and I start to get the preserving bug. I can't resist the roadside stalls with gluts of fresh vegetables and fruit which cry out to be pickled, made into chutneys or jams. I need elastic cupboards though, there is never enough room to store the pots and jars. Even my husband is raiding the reduced shelves at the supermarket bringing back ingredients that he knows I'll be using.

I've also decided that I'm going to make the Christmas Cakes over the next couple of weeks, they can then be matured and drizzled with brandy, I'm determined to have them ready before the start of term this year. Yesterday was a cold and damp day, so I decided that something warming was needed and I haven't made a Goulash for ages. I hope you enjoy the recipe.  

Ingredients
Goulash: olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1lb Braising steak, in 1 inch cubes
seasoned flour
1 red pepper, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp paprika
1/2 pint beef stock
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf

Dumplings:
4oz SR flour
2oz suet
Salt and pepper
1 tsp Chopped fresh thyme
1 tblsp chopped parsley
cold water

Method
Preheat oven Gas 4. Fry off the onion in some olive oil until the onions are soft. Pop these in a casserole dish. Add more oil if necessary. Toss the beef in seasoned flour and fry in small batches until browned on all sides, transfer to the casserole dish. Add the peppers to the pan, fry for 1 minute, add the garlic and caraway seeds, fry for a few seconds and then add the paprika. Pour in the stock and bubble to release the juices on the bottom of the pan, add the tomatoes, heat through and pour into the casserole. Add the bay leaf and thyme sprig. Stir together and cover with a lid. Cook in the oven for 2 hours until tender.

30 minutes before serving, in a medium bowl, mix the flour, suet, chopped herbs, salt and pepper with enough cold water to make a stiff dough. With wet hands, break off walnut sized pieces of the dough and roll into balls. Remove casserole from oven, stir and then pop the dumplings around the stew, leaving space between each, cover with the lid and pop back into the over for approximately 30 minutes for the dumplings to steam.

Serve with some fresh steamed beans, broccoli or peas and a dollop of sour cream.

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