INSTANT POT 101 - COOKING BROWN RICE

If you have been following my recent posts, you know what my experiences so far have been with my latest toy, my Instant Pot. My DIL Sara told me to do the water test first and then I could try cooking brown rice. If we have the choice we eat brown rice instead of white rice. In fact I can't remember the last time I cooked white rice.

Most IPs have a minimum liquid of 1 cup when liquids are required. I don't know why but my IP that I got at Costco (a Costco Exclusive) is a Duo Gourmet and it requires a minimum of 1-1/2 cups of water. That started my stress right there when she told me to use 1 cup water and 1 cup of brown rice. So using the ratio 1 to 1 - water to rice, I knew I would have to use 1-1/2 cups of brown rice with the 1-1/2 cups of water. 

All I could think about is how much cooked rice I was going to have since 1 cup of dry rice equals 3 cups cooked rice. Sara said it warmed up nicely in the IP. (I haven't asked her how to do that, but that will be for another day.) What do I think about? Well, I'll just make some Rice Pudding, one of my favorites, but not Wayne's. I will be sharing the recipe I used for the Rice Pudding in another post. The post would be too long to share it in this one with all of the pictures I show. I promise it will be shared later this week.

My first attempt at this recipe wasn't great because my first attempt at cooking brown rice wasn't great. If you have already read about this, forgive me, but for those of you who didn't read my other description, I used the plastic measuring cup that came with my IP and probably came with yours to measure both the rice and the water. The cup was not meant to measure water as the measurements are not true measurements. That meant I didn't have enough water when I cooked my rice and it didn't cook done. I also didn't know how to deal with the NR (natural release) and waited 44 minutes before I opened the lid.

My second attempt at cooking the brown rice, I measured 1-1/2 cups water, added a tablespoon of butter, and a little salt + 1-1/2 "cups" of brown rice using the plastic cup that came with my  IP.  Just remember the Ratio 1 to 1 - water to rice when you are making it. Here's how it all worked out with me.

I sprayed the inner pot with nonstick cooking spray,

rinsed the rice, and

then I added the rice,

water,

salt, and

then butter to the inner pot and

did not stir.

I covered it with the lid,

pressed the Brown Rice button on my IP and, did not adjust the cooking time that automatically came up,

cooked it for 30 minutes even though instructions said 20 minutes - I wanted to be sure it was done.

At the end of cooking...I intended to  release the pressure/steam naturally (NR) for 10 minutes, but 

got busy with something else and it was 14 minutes before I checked it again.

I did a QR by turning the lever to the right until all steam was released, opened the lid, and

fluffed it with a fork and

it was perfect!

Wanna check out some of my other recipes and experiences with the Instant Pot? 

Baked Penne Pasta

Chicken Breasts w/recipe

  

HOT DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COCOA

 I have been concerned lately since we are limiting activities again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, of my depression coming back. I have quit going to the Y and walking on the Lazy River, we already quit dining out (we do pick-up but not as often as we were), and my canasta friends have quit gathering in the park as the temperatures have cooled. We were having Worship on the Lawn at church for about a month, but that has also stopped because of the new restrictions on gathering outside. I can feel the walls closing in on me. I am going to continue to go to the thrift shop and clean on Monday mornings when the shop is closed except just for the volunteers. That will give me a reason to bake something and while I am usually by myself while cleaning, I do get to see some of the other volunteers at a distance.

You might be feeling the same way. I don't know. BUT do I have a pick-me-up to share with you today.

I was looking through my Blue Binder of Clipped Recipes from years ago and I found this small recipe I had cut from a Woman's Day magazine for Peppermint Hot Chocolate. It was just three sentences but three sentences that excited me. There is no telling how many times I have flipped through this binder and that little recipe finally caught my eye.

Like usual, my imagination has gone wild, and I have come up with so many other options. As I have always said, I am only limited by my imagination. I substituted Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips for the semi-sweet chocolate chips the recipe called for. BUT why not use peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips, or caramel chips, etc. You see where I am going, don't you? You might want to stock up on candy canes/peppermint stick candy during this holiday season though. Wayne has started adding some hot cocoa mix in his cup of coffee. I bet he will be trying this in his coffee too. Will see.

I can enjoy this pick-me-up at least once a day without feeling too guilty because I use Sugar-Free Instant Hot Cocoa mix. I need to stock up on that. Just writing this post, my spirits have been lifted!😊

HOT DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COCOA

1     tablespoon chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, etc

Instant hot-chocolate mix

Hot water

Peppermint stick

Place 1 tablespoon of chips in cup.

Add instant hot-chocolate mix and

hot water.

Stir with a Peppermint stick.

I left my peppermint stick in the cup while I sipped the hot cocoa. This is what the candy cane looked like  by the time I had finished it. 😁

Enjoy and hope your spirits are lifted!

UPDATE: Since I originally wrote this post, I have had a chance to try it with peanut butter chips. OMG! So-o-o-o Go-o-o-o-d!!!

CHICKEN AND CORNBREAD CASSEROLE W/IP CHICKEN

This recipe calls for chicken, but after eating it and thinking about Thanksgiving and how the CDC's recommendation to not travel and have a smaller Thanksgiving this year means people who do cook a turkey on Thanksgiving will probably have leftover turkey could substitute leftover turkey for the chicken. (Wow! That just might be the longest sentence I have ever written! I do have a tendency to do that.) 

It is a good idea though that you might want to think about. Either way what a nice change this casserole is for chicken. It is especially good if you make a pan of my best cornbread in the world recipe. 

The original recipe was for a potluck and was made in a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish. I cut it in half since it called for 2 eggs and cooked it in an 8 - inch square baking dish. I cooked the chicken breast in my IP that I got a few weeks ago which was fun. So if you need to feed an army, just double the ingredients and cook for 45 minutes in a 9 x 13 - inch pan.

CHICKEN AND CORNBREAD CASSEROLE

3       cups crumbed cornbread

1/4    cup butter, melted

2       tablespoons minced onion

1-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I added a tablespoon of dried parsley)

1/2    teaspoon celery seeds

1/4    teaspoon salt

1/4    teaspoon poultry seasoning

dash of pepper

2 - 2-1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken, enough to cover the cornbread mixture (I used 2 boneless chicken breasts)

2       tablespoons butter

2       tablespoons flour

3/4    teaspoon salt

1       cup chicken broth

2       cups milk

1       egg, beaten

Make a pan of cornbread. It took about half of the pan of my cornbread to make 3 cups crumbled.

Combine the cornbread crumbles, 1/4 cup melted butter, onion, parsley, celery seeds, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper in a large bowl; toss gently with a fork.

Spoon cornbread mixture into a greased or sprayed 8 - inch square baking dish.

Arrange chopped chicken evenly over the cornbread mixture, and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy medium sized saucepan over low heat;

add flour and salt,

stirring until smooth.

Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Gradually add chicken broth;

cook over medium heat, continuing to stir constantly, until mixture is thoroughly heated.

Combine milk and beaten egg, stirring well.

Gradually add mixture to chicken broth mixture; (at this point I realized my saucepan was too small and switched to a medium-sized pan)

cook over low heat, stirring constantly,

until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Spoon sauce over chicken.

Sprinkle top with additional pepper if you like.

Bake, uncovered in preheat 375 degrees F oven for 30 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated.

Serve warm.

Here is how I cooked the chicken breast in the IP.

I was cooking two boneless chicken breasts with a total weight of a tad over 1 lb. My IP requires a minimum of 1-1/2 cups of liquid (most just say 1 cup) so I made 1-12 cups of chicken broth using a chicken bouillon cube in 1-1/2 cups boiling water. Pour broth in inner pot and add chicken breasts.

Place inner pot in IP,

close the lid and

press Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. (I didn't take a picture, but the timer will change to ON when it starts to pressurize.)

Remember it will take 5 to 10 minutes for the pressure to build before it will start cooking the chicken. Once the IP has pressurized, the timer will show again and start counting down.

When chicken is done or when the time is finished you set,

allow IP to come to a Natural Release. (In other words do nothing but check to see if the float value has lowered into the lid. It took maybe 15 minutes to NR. I got busy and hadn't looked for a bit and

noticed it had been 17 minutes. I wish there was some kind of signal.) Once IP has depressurized,

remove lid (remember to press down on lid as you turn to open), have a towel to catch the water, and remove chicken to cut up.

I saved the broth for when my husband cooks some noodles he bought. You could use it for other recipes also.

I have been sharing my experience with my new Instant Pot with recipes and tips along the way. If you missed my first one and would like to check it out, click Things You Probably Won't Find in the IP Manual . HERE also is a 5 - Star recipe for Baked Penne Pasta I cooked in the IP you definitely don't want to miss and I have learned to cook Brown Rice.