Quick Mojo Sprite Pork Roast

Sorry for the bite I took out of the roast in the picture but just could not wait to try this fast but tasty treat. First I am not a great lover of pork unless I am watching it frolic in the fields but our neighbor brought us this roast and my husband had a big hunger and wanted meat when he came home from playing a gig with his band. So I prepared the pork by soaking it in a bath of 1 cup of white vinegar and a 4 cups of water for about 20 minutes. This get all the bad stuff out of the meat and helps to tenderize it. 

Then I made a quick sauce for it to swim in while it cooked in the Instapot. After draining the vinegar and water mixture off the roast, I poured in the following to the Instapot:

2 cups of Sprite

8 ounces of store brand (Publix) mojo marinade

1/2 cup of brown sugar

The roast was about 4 lbs. So if yours is smaller or large you need to adjust the measurements a bit. 

Next I mixed the ingredients together so then blended around the roast. Then I placed the lid on the Instapot and set it for 1 hour on the meat/soup setting. I walked away to enjoy some tv and left it to stew in its own juices...LOL 

That's it! NOW if you want it more succulent and not in a hurry. Leave the roast in the pot and turn the Instapot  over to the slow cook setting and let it simmer with the lid on for a few more hours. This will make it into a fall off the bone juicy pot of pork. 

When I took the piece out to try. I dipped in a Boars Head horseradish and white wine mustard...YUM 

Hope you enjoy!! 

Oriental Chicken Breasts

I found this recipe for garlic chicken and it looked oh so yummy. When I started the process of making it and adding the chicken stock laced with the spices it was so dull I knew it was not going to be a big hit. Then the Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce would have come out and that would be the end of the chicken ala garlic.

So below is the new and zingier version which we will see if it meets the taste expectations of the hubby.

Use the saute function of the pressure cooker and melt 3/4 of a stick of butter.

Rinse 3 large or 4 medium boneless, skinless breasts

Combine is a small dish:
1/8 tsp of salt  OR NO SALT AT ALL!!!
1 tsp of black course pepper
2 tsps of garlic powder

Coat the chicken with the above mixture and place in the chicken in the bottom of the pressure cooker to brown and seer in the coating

In a larger dish combine:
1 cup of chicken broth
1 minced clove of garlic
3 Tablespoons of honey
1/2Tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium will work or teriyaki sauce for more zing)
1/2 tsp of Indian Curry mild not hot

Pour the mixture over the chicken and place the lid on the pressure cooker securely. Set on poultry for 10 minutes at high pressure.
When finished release the pressure manually and serve over noodles, rice or greens.

One Note : I cut the soy sauce and salt way back in this recipe because the broth had a very salty taste. If you like that taste up and it won't send your blood pressure through the roof, then add more soy sauce to taste and keep the salt in the beginning.

Fat Flush Soup in the Pressure Cooker

If you are not familiar with the Fat Flush Soup Diet, well this is a great one which is easy and satisfying. One of my sons, Steven, had moved his weight to almost 400 lbs due to becoming depressed about his life situation. He went to counseling and the  counselor suggested this great soup and Ann Louise, the First Lady of Nutrition.

He lost from the top weight of about 385 lbs down to 195 lbs by eating a veggie omelet for breakfast and about 11:30 AM when he got hungry ate a coffee mug full of soup every couple of hours or so until dinner time. Then he ate a small piece of meat, salad and if he needed more ate the soup. This took about six months and he never got bored because you can use different meats, veggies and beans in the soup to change the taste.

Steven has kept the weight off for over two years now and when he thinks he is going to fall off the good habits he has established goes back on the soup to get back on track. He has helped a lot of people lose and keep weight off too by telling them about the diet and how he has used it for his success.

Here is the link to Ann Louise's website and the basic recipe.

http://annlouise.com/2012/10/18/my-fat-flush-soup-diet/

http://annlouise.com/project/fat-flush-soup-diet-womens-world/

 Steven at almost his heaviest above....

This is a skinnier version but he is smaller than this now.

Chicken Fried Cubed Steak and Gravy

A couple of weeks ago I needed a really quick meal because I was home late from work to a starving husband. No he can't or won't cook. Anyway, I digress, I had some cube steaks in the fridge that needed cooking and thought I would just do in the skillet and serve over some rice I had made the day before. When I got them breaded and in the skillet they were not looking like I wanted so drug out my pressure cooker and put about 1/8 cup or less of oil in the bottom set the pot on saute. Then I just threw the steaks in a couple at a time and finished the browning process in the pot. Being tired and lazy I just added about two cups of water to them and some cumin on top and attached the lid. Set the pot on meat and let it cook.

Well as you can see in the picture below they were amazing. After 35 minutes in the Instapot I took the steam down and opened the lid they looked yummy. When I pulled the steaks out and added a about a 1/2 cup of milk to the gravy and stirred it was heaven for the mouth.

I put them on the plate with rice and the gravy on the side. Add a green veggie and your are done.
Here is the recipe:

In a bowl place a cup of flour, a 1/2 tsp of salt and black pepper to taste. Rinse the steaks under water and dredge through the flour mixture. I use a small paperbag like a lunch bag and put the flour in that then throw the steaks in one at a time so it is not so messy plus I shake the bag and get them really coated.

Make sure your pressure cooker is set on saute or brown and add about 1/8 cup of vegetable oil. Brown the steaks in the oil on both side and add 2 cups of water. Then sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of cumin on top of  the steaks.

Finally place the top on the pressure cooker, set on the meat setting which should be about 35 minutes. Take the pressure off as soon as its finishes remove steaks add either 1/2 cup of milk or sour cream to the gravy, more salt and pepper to taste then serve.

You will get rave reviews and it is all in the pot!!!

Chicken and Veggies Stew

While doing some deep Spring cleaning we suddenly found ourselves hungry. So I went through the fridge to see what could go into the pressure cooker. So here is what you are seeing below:

Six boneless, skinless Tyson chicken thighs and one large onion sauted in about a 1/4 cup of oil. Then you add 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1/8 a tsp of course black pepper, 1/8 tsp of paprika, a splash of sea salt. As the seasonings are searing into the chicken and onion I chopped a half a head of cabbage and threw with about a half bag of baby carrots. For the final seasoning I added  one envelope of Lipton's Onion  Mushroom Recipe Secrets then three cups of water. I popped the top on the pressure cooker and set it for meats and stews. This is usually about 35 minutes on the Instapot. 

6 boneless skinless Tyson chicken thighs

One large onion

1/4 cup of oil ( your fav)

1 tablespoon of cumin (if you don't like cumin exchange if for Adobo or Everglade's Seasoning)

1/8 tsp of course black pepper

1/8 tsp. of paprika

splash of sea salt 

1/2 small head of cabbage

1/2 a pound of baby carrots

1 envelop of Lipton's Onion Mushroom Recipe Secrets (you can use Lipton soup or chicken base)

3 Cups of water 

Set pressure cooker at meat/stew and then wait  I served this over noodles to give it a bit more body. Also added more pepper and salt for my taste. Hope you like...BTW the cumin is an excellent addition to any meat. 

Chicken and Rice in a Hurry

Sorry to make this blog post without a picture but we ate it. I had some boneless chicken thighs that needed to  be use and not much time last night. So I pulled out the pressure cooker and went to work.

First I turned on the saute and threw in a chopped onion, a handful of fresh garlic, salt, pepper, adobe, and the chicken thighs into the bottom of the pressure cooker where I was heating about 1/8 a cup of oil (use your choice of oils). I let the onions turn to a little translucent and seared the chicken for about five minutes. 

Then I added a cup and a half of rice, two tablespoons of butter, and three cups of water. I made sure the butter was melted to give some flavor to the whole thing- nobody said it was healthy!!!  The top was ready to go on and push the meat/stew button and away we go. The cooking time was about 35 minutes under pressure.It came out really great. The rice was perfect. I let it rest as the chefs would say and then mixed it up a little. 

This was good, filling with a veggie on the side. We called it dinner and leftovers for the next day. I usually try to take a picture so you can see what it looks like but there was not time. The husband had his fork and knife in hand waiting for a plate to attack.