#recipes – Life, on purpose!

Ah, the nostalgia. Growing up, I remember my grandmother planting a huge garden every year. And, every year, I spent the better part of my summers sitting on her front porch picking, shucking, and snapping until I thought my little fingers would snap off because, well, “we’ll be eating good this winter.” I also remember how she would arrange all of the freshly prepared bounty of vegetables in the kitchen in preparation for the very meticulous job of canning. She would run everyone out of the kitchen once she was ready to begin the process, as canning was a sterile job and the pressure cooker could “blow up.” Year after year, we were graced with countless jars of green beans, corn, and tomatoes; along with various other delicious foods, such as canned soup mixes and sauerkraut. I still can close my eyes and breathe in the heavenly aroma filling the entire house as the vegetable and fruits were meticulously prepped for canning or freezing.

As an adult, once I had become a mother, I had longed to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps in having a healthy and bountiful winter harvest prepared for my family. So, I began to take up gardening myself. After a first couple of successful seasons with the produce I created, I decided it was time to take my gardening to the next level. I purchased a pressure cooker and various sizes of canning jars. To be completely honest, I was terrified of trying the pressure cooker out for the first time. It was massive in size and given that my grandmother had never allowed anyone in her kitchen while she was doing her actual canning, I had never really seen on used before. At that time, there was no such thing as smart phones, YouTube, or Google, so I read the instructions provided with the pressure cooker, and reluctantly set about canning my first vegetables. Before long, I had my pantry filled Mason jars of green beans, tomatoes, and corn. I had also even attempted pickles, and while they did not turn out as crunchy as hoped, they tasted amazing. The sense of pride I felt was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

However, as time went on, my job changed and with it, my life had changed as well. The time that was necessary for tending a garden and canning vegetables seemed to be lost to me forever. So, eventually, I got rid of my treasured pressure cooker. For the following years, I really never thought much about it. It had been a time consuming and unnerving process, with the fear of the cooker “blowing up” always in the back of my mind.

Recently there has been a resurgence of sorts in the pressure cooker. They certainly do not look like the pressure cookers of old and are used commonly in most households today for preparing meals, rather than canning. This new generation of pressure cooker has become a staple of many homes. Understandably so, with the ability to cook a pack of chicken from still frozen to ready to shred in a mere fifteen minutes. You can search the internet and find hundreds upon hundreds of recipes for the modern pressure cooker. Additionally, they still have the ability to do canning as well. However, I have not found many people using them for canning as much as meal preparation.

Following the watching of a myriad of YouTube videos, reading some blogs online, and a handful of infomercials on the television, I decided on purchasing the Power Pressure Cooker XL. It would be no stretch to say that I am utterly in love with this new addition to my kitchen. Although admittedly, when I used my modern day pressure cooker for the first time, I was nervous because of the underlying threat that had been instilled into the recesses of my mind from childhood. It did not take me long to get more comfortable with my new cooker and begin to experimenting with new recipes. With the ability to boil a dozen eggs in a mere six minutes and prepare a creamy chicken and rice dish in under twenty minutes, it is no surprise why these modern pressure cookers are all the rage.

I sometimes follow recipes that I can find online, but I often play around with ingredients that I have on hand and make my own versions of many popular dishes. I recently prepared a dish for my family that was a huge favorite. And, in light of the fact that I only used one pan- the pressure cooker- it will be a dish that I intend to make often. I decided on a chicken taco soup, and given that it was a Tuesday, it seemed a fitting dish for Taco Tuesday.

I prepared my chicken in the pressure cooker, which only took fifteen minutes. Then I removed the chicken to cool and emptied the water in the bowl. While the chicken was cooling, I replaced the bowl to the cooker base and added my remaining ingredients. Finally, I shredded the chicken and added to the mixture and stirred to mix it well. Then, I set the pressure cooker on the slow cooker setting, which has an automatic time set of two hours, then it will shift to keep warm. I went back to finish my workday and let the pressure cooker take care of the soup. At the end of my workday, my family was treated with an absolutely delicious chicken taco soup, and I became the hero of the household. But, we all know the real credit goes to the Power Pressure XL!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken ( for my recipe I used chicken tenderloins- if using large breasts, only 1 lb needed)

1 ½ C water (for pressure cooking chicken)

2 cans black beans

2 cans whole kernel corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 packet taco seasoning

1 ½ C chicken stock

PREPARATION:

Place 1 ½ cup water in pressure cooker
Set rack in cooker and add chicken on top of rack
Close pressure valve
Press the chicken button on cooker- 15 minutes
Once completed, open pressure valve to release steam (USE CAUTION)
Remove chicken and allow to cool
Remove wire rack and empty water from bowl
Replace bowl and all tomatoes, beans, corn, chicken stock and taco seasoning
Shred chicken and add to mixture, stir to mix well
Select slow cook setting on pressure cooker- 2 hours
Serve warm with tortilla chips and favorite toppings.
ENJOY!

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Over time, many families develop favorite recipes that are handed down from generation to generation. Those recipes become the tried and true go to dishes that moms, daughters, or aunts always know they can throw together for any social gathering and, in a pinch, present a delicious and filling dish that will win over the hearts of even the most finicky eaters. There is such a dish in my family, not handed down from generations, or found as some otherwise undiscovered page in a recipe book. But this dish has become an absolute favorite for my family, and my own daughter and son have adopted the recipe and now, as adult children, are able to make this dish for themselves without any hesitation. This dish is sure to be a hit with your own family. No matter if you are entertaining friends over for the big game, providing for the company luncheon, taking a dish to the church pot luck, or making a filling appetizer for a family holiday get together, this hearty cheese dip will be sure to please everyone. Utilizing only one pot, this recipe is easy, simple, and sure to become one of your favorite go to dishes.
The first thing you will need to do is assemble your ingredients. There are relatively few ingredients in this dish, but they make a big impact with the result. For this dip, you will need one pound of ground beef, one pound of ground sausage – I usually just get the Tennessee Pride or Jimmy Dean mild, but have used other brands and really do not notice any difference regardless of the brand of sausage used,- one can of Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilis, one can each of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup – in regards to the soup, I have substituted the Campbell’s brand for Walmart and Kroger brands, and I can tell a little difference in that the Campbell’s soup does seem to be more creamy than the store brands,- and you will need one two-pound block of processed cheese for melting. The recipe calls for the Velveeta brand, but given the price difference, I always substitute this for the store brand, and have never noticed a marked difference in the cheese.
Then, you will begin by browning the ground beef and sausage in a large pot. Cook them until no longer pink, and then drain. Add in the cans of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup and the can of Ro-Tel tomatoes. Mix the ingredients together until well blended. Then you can cut the cheese into cubes and begin adding to the mixture. You will want to add a little at a time, and stir continually until the cheese begins to melt. Once you have added all of the cheese to the mixture, you will want to stay close by because this dip is very creamy and cheesy and will stick to the bottom of the pan and scorch very easily. Once the dip is well blended, however, it is an easy to keep dish, by simply turning the stove eye on low and keep it stirred every so often. It also re-heats well in the microwave in just a few seconds, I usually warm in 30 second increments.
Finally, once the cheese has been completely melted and the dip is well blended, you will want to serve up warm with tortilla chips. However, over the many times I have prepared this dish for my family, they have discovered their own ways of wanting to serve the dip up for themselves. Some like to spoon it onto a flour tortilla and roll it up to eat it like a burrito. While others have found that poured over crumbled cornbread into a bowl is a choice way to eat it.
This recipe was taught to me many years ago by a paramedic that I worked with during my time working as and EMT for the county I lived in. It was always a huge hit with the firefighters and other EMTs and Paramedics in our department. When I first began trying the dish at home for my own family, there was no doubt this was going to be a long time traditional favorite food for us for many years to come. No matter what creative ways you or your family and friends decide to enjoy this hearty cheese dip, it will definitely be a fan favorite for any occasion.

The recipe:
1 (16 oz package) ground sausage
1 (lb) ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilis
1 (2 LB)package of processed cheese product (like Velveeta)

Directions:
Brown ground beef and sausage in a large pot, drain. Add cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and Ro-tel tomatoes. Blend well. Cut cheese product into cubes and slowly add to mixture until thoroughly melted. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
This recipe can also be placed in a crock pot- once beef and sausage are browned, place all ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for two hours to melt cheese. Place crock pot on keep warm setting, and stir occasionally.

Tag: #recipes

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