Mashed Potatoes in 8 Minutes, Beef Stew in 35

Posted on November 24, 2016 by admin

Back in March I began a new career in wine sales. I love my job but find one of the biggest challenges is getting a good meal together if I haven’t planned ahead. But last Christmas I bought my husband an electric programmable pressure cooker, and it’s been a life-saver. I am using it all the time.

One thing about my job is the inconsistency in my schedule. I am driving all over lower Fairfield County and at the mercy of I95 and Merritt Parkway traffic, which seems to get worse each week. I sometimes have shorter days where I’ll get home at a reasonable time, and then at the end of each month, I’m working well into the late evening. So, planning dinner is a challenge, as I’m not always certain when I’ll get home and not always sure if my husband will be home with food ready or ready to cook.

I have found that I can still get dinner on the table in under 45 minutes if I use the pressure cooker, but more often can get it done in 20 minutes if it’s not elaborate or needing extra time to cook. Beef stew, like our family recipe of “Eintopf” which normally takes at least 3 hours to cook, can been cooked from start to finish in around 45-50 minutes– including the peeling of potatoes, cutting of onions and browning of beef. My Instant Pot cooks the stew in 35 minutes. Now, if I had planned I could also use the slow cooker (crockpot) to make it, but this is for when I haven’t planned, which is more often than not.

How about cooking potatoes in 7-8 minutes to mash? For those nights when I can make dinner in 20 minutes (because we’ve got a practice, scout meeting, etc and that’s all the time I have), it’s a game-changer. And I just learnt that I can make baked potatoes using it in 25 minutes.
Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes
4-5 medium to large Russet potatoes
1/4 cup milk
1/3 stick of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes in half or quarters (not too small), add to pressure cooker and cover with cold water. Set Manual time to 8 minutes Pressure. When done and steam/pressure is released, drain potatoes and add milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash until you’ve got consistency you like. (You can add more milk if you need.)

We made chicken curry last week in 10 minutes… using chicken thighs. All we had to do was add the cut up chicken thighs to a good-quality jarred sauce with a little extra water (the water will evaporate). The entire meal took 15 minutes– the time it took to cook the rice.

I am not getting paid to endorse any product, I just love this! And I’m sure it’ll make a great gift for the busy person.

A Little Sneakiness Sometimes Necessary

Posted on October 20, 2014 by admin

Not usually one to sneak vegetables into my kids food, except maybe throwing some kale or spinach into smoothies, every once in a while I feel it necessary. My youngest two are the picky ones and if we’ve been out and about a lot, I realize they aren’t getting enough greens. Unfortunately, my youngest isn’t getting it at school either, since he doesn’t like how they cook the vegetables and only picks carrots for the raw ones. So, I made a green sauce as a way to combat this. Luckily my kids aren’t afraid of or avoid green sauces: they like pesto and green Thai curries. Since my middle son complains when too many items are mixed together- say in one pot meals, it prompted me. Instead of having lots of greens they may pick out and mushrooms, which all three eschew, I blended them all together with herbs and garlic to make the sauce.

Green Vegetable & Herb Pasta Sauce
Blend together in food processor or blender:
2-4 garlic cloves (depending on size and desired intensity)
2 good handfuls of basil, parsley, and/or cilantro
6-8 baby crimini or white button mushrooms
2 cups kale, spinach or swiss chard (or similar green vegetable)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
(Optional: add 1/4 tsp cayenne for extra spice)

Using thighs or breast, cut chicken into bite sized pieces and add to 1 Tbsp Olive oil over medium-high heat sautéing until slightly browned. Lower heat and continue to cook chicken until nearly cooked through. Add cup of sauce to the chicken. Add 1/4 cup of cream. Add any extra vegetables you wish (or don’t add any if your kids won’t eat the dish with them in it). I put in baby kale and spinach. Cook another 5-7 minutes until sauce is heated through and vegetables slightly wilted. Serve tossed with pasta. Finish with Parmesan if wanted. I also added tomatoes at the end (although I knew the youngest two wouldn’t eat the tomatoes).

At least I knew my kids got a meal they found delicious and one I didn’t care if they pushed aside the greens.

Meals for Practice, Game & Other Activities Nights

Posted on May 21, 2014 by admin

Spring is such a busy time around my town. Many moms I know are so happy when summer arrives because evenings less hectic, since we usually don’t have to cart kids around to practices/games/scout meetings/lessons/club meetings plus still get home for dinner, homework, baths/showers as well as getting them to bed in time so they’ll get off to school the next morning on time with hair neatish, teeth brushed, homework completed and fed breakfast. Lately I’ve noticed requests and conversations about how to feed kids on those hectic spring evenings when they have all those after school activities. Especially if a mom/dad has more than one kid in a variety of sports with different days and times when these are scheduled.

Fresh vegetables are easy to take with you.

So, how to get kids fed nutritious food they’ll eat as well as not drive us crazy trying to prepare in the 50 seconds we’re home?
I’ve had a few posts with 10-20 minute recipes and other suggestions here, here, here and here.

Crockpots are a wonderful way to have dinner ready when you’ll be home for enough time it takes to eat. I’ve made stews, ratatouille, chili, soups in mine.

Cooking a pork butt to make pulled pork is always a kid pleaser. (Cooking the pork one day letting it cool in fridge overnight makes it easier to remove the fat. Just reheat portions with bbq sauce). I often serve it with coleslaw and either over noodles or on rolls. You can even wrap with foil to bring to your game/practice, etc.
Chicken stew with dumplings my mother-in-law introduced me to is a family favorite. Using the left-overs for a chicken pot pie stretches the one into two meals.
Roasting a chicken whole. Slice onions and line bottom of crockpot. Remove the giblets/neck and stuff chicken loosely with celery, carrots, thyme. Coat it with olive oil, salt pepper and Penzy’s Mural of Flavor Spice/Herb Mix and cook for 6 hours on top of the onions low. You can use the leftover bones to make stock in same crockpot.

What if we’re not home at dinner-time? Picnic-style dinners to bring with you, maybe even eat in the car.
Cucumbers, sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers are fabulous to travel with and you can always bring some Ranch dressing if your kids like it. Yesterday we met with friends and I had a store-prepared tabouli, hummus, couple of cheeses, crackers, carrots, olives and yogurt squeezers with a bottle of seltzer. This was fine to tide them over or even to give them a balanced meal.

Cold pasta salad with vegetables & pesto

Tomatoes sliced, basil chiffonade…

CSA greens, Tatsoi & Cilantro salad

As I mentioned before you can wrap sandwiches in foil as well as burritos, quesadillas, and even full meals. There are so many containers out there to help you manage eating on the run.

If you have time before they get home from school plus the creativity and patience it takes, you can make fun bento-style containers for each kid. I love looking at some of the designs out there, but I’ve never had the time nor inclination to do it myself!

Quiche/Egg Pie – whether you make it or buy it many kids will like this classic egg pie. There are so many varieties with various ingredients. My kids love the NZ version with 2 crusts: Bacon & Egg Pie.

So, no need to always go to the drive-through at fast food chains or always stopping to pick up a pizza. It can be done with either some preparation or just a little planning. And summer is just around the corner! (Even though it feels as though winter finally just ended.)

The Dr. Seuss Method of Getting Kids to Eat

Posted on March 6, 2014 by admin

Last year I wrote about being the character Sam of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. I was just reading the book, in celebration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, to my youngest son the other night. Then last night had a moment where I felt like I was again Sam-I-Am. My youngest is now seven years old and until a couple of weeks ago, broccoli was one of his favorite foods– not just one of his favorite vegetables, but of all foods. Until two weeks ago that is; now he’s decided he no longer likes broccoli. No, he hates broccoli. My logo is of him eating broccoli with a huge smile on his face. If he hates broccoli, I think, I’m done for. But I remember what my mother said she learnt from Dr. Spock (not the Klingon Dr. Spock, but the baby book author that was popular in the 60’s & 70’s). She said kids will go on “jags” eating nothing but one food until they suddenly no longer want that food. I’m hoping this broccoli dislike is temporary.

Anyway, my youngest is already my pickiest eater by far. Well, when I made dinner last night, I took the vegetables I was going to use for a stir-fry and instead made a pasta dish. It had garlic, shallots, green onions, broccoli, purple cabbage, shredded carrots, shredded cauliflower, zucchini, sugar snap peas and chick peas with a little olive oil and stock. Number Two cried a bit at first then added ketchup (a trick a friend told him about and I said he could try), took a couple chickpeas out and ate most of it. My eldest ate all of it and declared it delicious. My youngest son refused to taste it. Wouldn’t eat a bite. I just said he wouldn’t get anything else until he ate it… or at least tried it.

Fast forward an hour or so. Youngest son is in the bath, probably with dessert on his mind. I brought the pasta dish in to him and said, “Just try it, try it and you may see.” He did without fuss and then requested I heat it up. Of course I obliged and then proceeded to feed him in the bath (yes, I fed him like when he was a baby) with no train, fox, mouse or car in sight. He even said he liked the broccoli “with the pasta” though he didn’t eat every piece and he asked to not have to eat the chickpeas (he loves hummus but not whole chickpeas). The other thing he tried which previously he said he disliked was zucchini. I explained that he might actually like it if he gave it a chance. Immediately he said he didn’t but as he chewed and then swallowed his face softened and he said he did actually like it!

He liked it!

I was so happy he ate so much of his dinner that he’d originally refused to touch with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot-pole. It seems like I had the Sam-I-Am touch again.

Don’t give up; sometimes you just have to catch them at the right moment — like when they are hungry enough to not fight you on it and they will actually try something new or healthy.

Easy Peasy Pie Crust

Posted on November 27, 2013 by admin

I used to shy away from making my own pie crusts because I thought it was difficult and time consuming. Then I read Mark Bittman’s recipe and how it just takes a few minutes with a food processor. The recipe I use is adapted from Allison Holst’s pie crust in her Bacon & Egg pie recipe. You can add some sugar for a sweet pie crust.

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups AP flour (more if needed plus some for dusting surface)
1/4 cup spelt flour (optional- use more AP if omitting)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, very cold & cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vinegar

Add vinegar to milk and set aside.

Pulse dry ingredients together in food processor until mixed. Add butter and process until butter is mostly incorporated (fine if small pieces, but don’t over do it as you want some chunky bits for flakiness).

Slowly add milk/vinegar. The dough should start coming together, if too sticky add more flour. It will be done when it forms a ball.

Place on floured surface and split into 2 or you can wrap well and place in fridge for a couple of days.
Roll with flour on both sides so it doesn’t stick.

When it is your desired thickness/thinness you can place in pie plate. Fill and bake!

This was a version of bacon & egg pie I made because I messed up a recipe calling for egg yolks– I blended the whole egg together; actually 11 whole eggs.

At least I have a great lunch and possibly dinner!

Now to go get some more eggs so I can make my Thanksgiving Day Apple Cream Pie (using just egg yolks!)

My Top 2 Tips on Getting Toddlers/Children to Eat Well

Posted on September 24, 2013 by admin

I’m sure everyone knows the pregnant mom’s bible What to Expect When Expecting. I used it throughout my pregnancies, especially when I needed reassurance that everything was normal! Well they have a website that has tons of data instantly available and also a blog by moms sharing experiences and helpful information as well as funny stories. I was honored to be asked to write a post for them. I decided to include my top 2 tips on getting kids (especially toddlers) to eat well.

I find toddler-hood is a crucial time for developing a child’s taste preferences and whether they’ll eat a variety of foods later. It is especially an important time to get them to like vegetables. Not many vegetables are immediately palatable to young ones since they may be bitter. But with perseverance and these tips, you can be not only successful, but also secure in knowing your child is getting his or her nutrients necessary for a healthy life.

Find the post here.

Rosemary Olive Bread

Posted on August 2, 2013 by admin

Yesterday’s Rosemary Olive Bread

Yesterday I baked a white loaf for a friend who’d recently had surgery. Since it was a crummy day and the oven was hot I decided to make some more bread; just something a bit different. I came up with this recipe and tried to duplicate it today without the bread maker (which I used just to mix/knead the dough) and I’d used the last of the potato flour yesterday. Today’s was a bit different, but really didn’t matter too much as they were both delicious!

Today’s Rosemary Olive Bread

Continue reading →

Grilled Corn Elote

Posted on July 23, 2013 by admin

So many of our meals in the summer are cooked outside on the grill. Whether it’s meat, fish, chicken or vegetables the grill is a wonderful way to get out of a hot kitchen and provide tasty dinner. We get a bit repetitive with some of our favorite warm weather meals but every once in a while I like to change it up a bit by adding a little twist.

chili lime butter for corn

Like the corn I’ll be grilling this weekend at my son’s annual camp out birthday party. We always provide dinner on the beach and those who want to camp out join us for breakfast. I love corn that’s grilled in its husk. It steams it but also imparts a smokiness. Sometimes we’ll take them out of the husk and might par-boil in a pan then finish on the grill for a more smoky-grilled-woodiness. This time I’ll be adding a butter to the cobs while in the husk to add a Mexican touch. Continue reading →

Another way to cook potatoes

Posted on June 28, 2013 by admin

I have learned many different techniques from my husband, a classically trained chef. One is a method to cook potatoes when using them in mashed potatoes, gnocchi, potato salad, fries, home fries, etc. Boil them whole in their jackets. This keeps the flavor and nutrients inside while reducing the water from making them soggy.

Bring evenly sized, clean potatoes to a boil then reduce and keep them on an easy, medium boil (so they’re not getting banged about, water spilling over, etc). Cook them until they’re soft (which depends on their size– anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes usually). Use a skewer to check doneness.

Potatoes boiled in their skins (jackets).

They’re so easy to peal this way too! Strain them and if you need plunge them into cold water to stop cooking. Using a cloth (and you might want a glove if they’re hot) take a paring knife and scrape off or peel off the skin. It should just peel away.

And you can then do whatever you need with the cooked potatoes.

I made some German Style Potato Soup (which is fine use peeled-cooked potatoes since you can use the water they were cooked in) and home fries.

Later I’ll post the recipe for the soup– so nice and refreshing in summer.

That smells so good!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by admin

It can be hard coming up with new recipes all the time. I’ve been working a few extra p/t jobs since my husband is still out of work and it seems like we get in a rut of the same ol’ same ol’ rotation of foods. But with summer trying to spring upon us (if the damn rain would just hold up for a while) new foods (and some summer-time favorites) are getting into our weekly menus.

At the supermarket the other day I saw a special on shoulder lamb chops from Down Under (NZ/Australia) and scooped up a few packs. I thought it would be nice to put a dry rub on them instead of just grilling/cooking them with just salt and pepper.

sprinkle spice mixture on lamb

Since it was pouring out we cooked them inside. My suggested rub was fabulous and the house smelled so good while they were cooking (I’m not a big fan of cooking-lamb smell)! You could imagine yourself in some Middle Eastern or Northern African bazaar.

Lamb with Aromatic Spices
In a small bowl mix together these ground spices:

2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp turmeric
½ Tbsp coriander
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cayenne
½ tsp sumac
1 tsp salt

I used ½ inch thick shoulder lamb chops.

Preheat oven to 350°F or get outdoor grill started. Sprinkle spice mixture on lamb, let sit for a few seconds before rubbing in/around. You don’t need to use up all the spices, just lightly coat. (Using gloves help prevent staining, eases cleanup) Let sit for 10 minutes.
For oven method: in a hot iron skillet (on medium-high) place a tsp neutral oil and sear the meat until brown then place in oven to finish. Cook approximately 15 minutes (depending on thickness). For grill: place on indirect heat (so that spices don’t burn) for 8-10 minutes each side.

Sear in iron skillet

finish lamb in oven

My husband and I came up with a delicious sauce too– plain yogurt with fresh chopped mint, sriracha and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. We served them with boiled new potatoes, corn off the cob, haricot vert and broccoli. All the boys love each of those vegetables, but I wasn’t sure about the lamb. I thought it might be too spicy for my youngest two so we left two small chops naked.

It was a good call. Everyone enjoyed it all and there were no tears or cries of “too spicy”. And now I’ve got a new item to add to our rotation.

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

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