Mediterranean Chicken (in the pressure cooker of course!)

I prepared Mediterranean Chicken for our Nutrition Connect meeting this month. I am trying to win others over to pressure-cooking, it is safe, easy and so fast. I am amazed at the great meals that you can put together in very little time.

Ingredients:

• A 3-4 pound chicken
• 1-2 TBSP. Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 2 1/2 cups frozen, bell pepper/onion mix (you can use fresh as well)
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes (you can use fresh, you will need 8)
• garlic powder
• dried basil 
• dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• sea salt

I did not put down measured amounts of the spices because you can adjust to personal taste, start with 1 tsp of everything and you can add more or less as desired. 

 I cut the chicken up, it is easiest to put the cutting board in the sink and cut it up there. After you are finished, you can wash your cutting board and sink, rinse then sanitize both. (Sanitizer recipe - 1 cup water, 2 drops of plain un-scented bleach, spray or slosh over the entire surface of the sink, don't forget the back splash, water handles and sprayer attachment, leave on for two minutes).

Season the cut up chicken with the garlic powder, basil, oregano and sea salt.

Heat 1 TBSP. of coconut oil in pressure cooker pot and melt over med-high heat.

 Saute bell pepper/onion mixture until onions are translucent and water is mostly reduced (do not completely dry it out). Remove peppers from pot and set aside.

 Add one more TBSP. of coconut oil to pot if needed. Brown seasoned chicken pieces.

Once chicken is browned, add peppers/onion mix, tomatoes and bay leaf.                                                                                                                                                        

 Place lid on cooker and build pressure over high heat. Once pressure has built start timer for 8 minutes and turn heat down to medium (this will vary according to type and model of cooker).  When timer goes off, remove pot from heat and vent. When venting is complete the lock will disengage and you can remove the lid (be careful of steam, the contents are very hot). Remove bay leaf. You can serve as-is or over "Riced" Cauliflower.

Enjoy!

"Riced" Cauliflower

This is a wonderful substitute for those who want rice but are trying to limit their carbohydrate intake (I wouldn't try it in rice-pudding though ;-)

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

Chop fresh cauliflower florets into rice-sized pieces. You can use the shredder attachment on your food processor to make this process quicker. Place chopped/shredded cauliflower into an oiled cast iron frying pan. I used coconut oil, you could also use butter or regular (not extra-virgin olive oil).

Roast cauliflower until it starts to get brown flecks, stir and then continue roasting. Keep an eye on it you do not want to burn your cauliflower. It may take as long as 25 minutes to complete, quicker if you are using a convection oven.

 Once browned, remove from oven and season as you would rice, I used butter, sea salt and pepper.

Indoor-Grilled Fish

Fish is a wonderful, protein packed food. Many times it is avoided unless someone else cooks it and here in NC that usually means breaded and deep fat fried. There are many ways other than frying to cook fish (baking, pan-frying, packet, in soup and outdoor grilled).

If your your outdoor grill has been packed away for the winter, you can still grill if you have a "George Foreman" or any other type of indoor grill.

You can generally grill any type of fish, I like to grill heavier, meatier types because they do not fall apart as easily as your thinner, lighter varieties. They also have a stronger flavor which allows you to go heavier on the spices.

Grilled Fish

2 pounds fish fillets (I used Barramundi)
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt
black pepper

Sauce

1/2 stick of butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice (add more or less to taste, I like a strong lemon flavor)
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried parsley

Coat the fish in the olive oil, make sure the entire surface of the fish is covered.

Make the sauce, I used fresh lemon juice but bottled will work just as well. Melt the butter, add the lemon juice and spices. The fish cooks so quickly that you want to have the sauce prepared first. 

Grill the fish, usually takes about 2-3 minutes per side, but remember the "George Foreman" type grills cook the top and bottom at the same time so keep an eye on it and do not overcook. 

When the fish is done, remove from the grill and top with the sauce. 

Before I started preparing the fish and sauce, I place my sides in the oven. We had roasted broccoli and Brussels Sprouts. So easy, just toss the vegetables in a little olive oil and season, I used garlic powder, salt, pepper and a little cayenne pepper. Place on the center rack of a 400 degree oven and roast 20-25 minutes.
I like to roast in a cast iron pan because the veggies brown so nicely in it.

Spinach, Pepper & Bacon Frittata

Here is a one-pan breakfast to get you going in the morning.

Ingredients
Turn on oven broiler on high
Bacon of choice; beef, pork, turkey, etc.. (I used 5 strips of nitrate/nitrite free bacon)
Eggs (I used 10, this recipe was feeding 5 so adjust accordingly)
2.5 cups of frozen bell pepper/onion mix
2 cups of frozen spinach
1/3 cup buttermilk
sea salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste

Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan and chop

Mix, egg, buttermilk, salt, pepper and cayenne.







Saute peppers until hot and the liquid is reduced, then add spinach and do the same.

Pour egg mixture on the veggies add chopped bacon and mix in, leave on medium heat until the bottom is set (approximately 3-4 minutes)

Place pan in oven on the center rack, broil on high for 2-3 minutes until set on top (watch the frittata, you don't want to burn it.

 Slice and serve, you can top with salsa if you like.

Butter Chicken in 15 Minutes!

Here is another great Pressure Cooker Recipe. Delicious and quick.

Ingredients:

A 2 1/3 - 3 pound whole chicken (you can use parts if you prefer, just reduce cooking time down to 8 minutes).
2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 Tbsp real butter (do not use margarine)
1 1/2 cups of water
sea salt and fresh milled pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the pressure cooker pot and saute the onions until very lightly browned. Brown the chicken in the butter and onions on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pot and place in the steamer basket. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Place the steamer basket into the pot (do not use the trivet if you have one to rest the steamer basket on, you want the basket in the water). Place the cover on the pot, once you have built steam start your timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up remove the pot from the heat and let the pressure fall on its own. Remove the basket from the pot and look at the sauce, if it is too thin boil it to evaporate the extra water, then pour over your chicken. Total time, maybe 30 minutes (15 prepping, 15 cooking). Too easy.

New Year Dinner

I purchased a pressure cooker to go with my new stove. It is one of the most wonderful contraptions. You can make food that tastes like it took all day to cook, without taking all day to cook.

Menu : Oxtails, Whipped Cauliflower and Green Beans with Almonds. 

Oxtail Recipe

4 1/2 pounds of Oxtails
2 Tbsp oil (I used virgin coconut)
1 large onion, sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 tsp herbs provincial
1 tsp flour (I used organic, sprouted spelt)
1 bottle of beer (I used a bottle of Guiness Stout)
1 cup of water

Brown the Oxtails in small batches, remove from the pressure cooker pot and set aside.

Brown the onions in the pot, add more oil if necessary.

Add the remaining ingredients, scrapping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

Add the meat, put on the pressure cooker lid and build the steam. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the pressure drop on its on. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the cauliflower. Place a whole head cauliflower that has been cut into florets into a dish and add 1/2 cup of water (you can use frozen and skip adding the water). Place in the microwave and cook on high for 10-12 minutes.

Add cooked cauliflower, 3 Tbsp of butter, salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until smooth.

While the cauliflower is in the microwave, cook the green beans on the stove. I put 3 cups of frozen, thin green beans, added a little water to the pot, 2 Tbsp of butter, sea salt and a couple of Tbsp of crushed almonds (place whole almonds into a zip lock bag and smash with a mallet).

Viola! A meal in 30 minutes instead of 3-4 hours. I love my new pressure cooker.

The recipe for the oxtails came from '80 recipes for your....Pressure Cooker' by Richard Ehrlich. I modified it just a little bit.