Pressure Cooker Buffalo Mac & Cheese

This recipe makes 2 main-dish sized servings. But it can be easily modified to make more.

From my research the key is to grate your own cheese from a block and not to use pre-grated packaged cheese.

1 large chicken breast, cut into small pieces
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 stalk of celery, chopped
buffalo wing sauce, to taste
8oz pasta (I used large macaroni)
water or chicken broth (I used water and a bit of bouillon)
salt and white pepper, to taste

Preheat oil in cooker. Turn onto meat setting for 15 minutes and let preheat. Add chicken and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute another 3 minutes. 

Add buffalo wing sauce and stir to coat chicken.

Place pasta in pressure cooker.  Pour water/broth over until barely at level with pasta. 

Give a stir. Cook for 6 minutes on rice setting. Quick release and add...

1 generous cup of grated cheese (I used mostly pepper jack with a bit of medium cheddar)

Stir well to melt cheese.

Add some sour cream  to make it a bit smoother. Mine only needed a tad. But add what you like.

It will thicken as it sits for a few minutes before serving. 

Pressure Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

We made this for our youth group's Valentine's banquet fundraiser a couple of years ago. Except we did it in giant roaster ovens and served it over pasta. But with my pressure cooker I can do it all in one pot with only 6 minutes cook time.

2 cut up chicken breasts
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 oz cream cheese, cut into 8 chunks
1/2 can of cream of mushroom soup
6 oz dry pasta
1 Tablespoon chicken bouillon
1 package of dry Italian dressing mix
1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
black pepper
water

Preheat olive oil in cooker. Turn onto meat setting for 15 minutes and let preheat. Add chicken and saute for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute another 3-4 minutes.

Add cream cheese, soup, pasta, bouillon, dressing mix, and spices. Pour water into pot until pasta is just covered.

Put lid on cooker, turn onto rice setting for 6 minutes. Quick release steam and remove lid.

Stir to mix and melt cream cheese. Set sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

Pressure Cooker Pepper Bacon Mac & Cheese

This recipe makes 2 main-dish sized servings. But it can be easily modified to make more.

From my research the key is to grate your own cheese from a block and not to use pre-grated packaged cheese.

8oz pasta (I used large macaroni)
2 cups water or chicken
broth (I used water and a bit of bouillon)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter
3 strips of cooked bacon broken into pieces
black pepper, to taste

Place in pressure cooker. Give a stir. Cook for 6 minutes on rice setting. Quick release and add...

1 generous cup of grated cheese (I used black pepper smoked white cheddar with a bit of medium cheddar)

Stir well to melt cheese.

Add some heavy cream to make it a bit smoother. Mine only needed a splash. But add what you like.

Pierogi Casserole

I love pierogi but I would never make them! They are so much work! Lately I’ve been making a lot of dishes I love into casseroles: cabbage rolls, stuffed green peppers…

This one combines all the things I love about pierogis in one dish!

1 pound gnocchi, cooked and drained

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup sauerkraut, drained and rinsed (this is optional)

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced or chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch ground cloves

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

Sauté cabbage, onion, mushrooms and garlic with seasonings in 4 Tablespoons of butter until tender.

Toss with gnocchi and sauerkraut (if using). Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Green Bean & Mizithra Carbonara

This is what you make when you don’t have peas or parmesan cheese but do have plenty of pasta and eggs… not to mention green beans and mizithra cheese. Turned out pretty tasty!

4 room temperature eggs

1/4 cup heavy cream

Whisk together and set aside.

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 pound diced bacon

Sauté bacon in frying pan until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Pour off remaining grease. Sauté garlic and onion until tender.

1 pound pasta

2 cups fresh green beans

Cook pasta and beans in the same pot until tender.Drain.

1/4 cup butter

While pasta/beans is cooking, place butter in glass 9x13 baking dish. Put in the oven at 350 until butter melts.

As soon as pasta is drained, place in pan with butter and bacon mixture. Toss well. Slowly pour eggs & cream over pasta while stirring. The egg will cook with the hot pan and pasta.

3/4 to 1 cup grated mizithra cheese

salt & pepper, to taste

Toss with pasta and serve immediately.

No Drain Pasta

I have a feeling we’ll be eating this quite a bit this summer with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden. And with more homemade sausage… Mmmmm!

It is quick and easy and only dirties up one pot!

This made enough pasta to serve four with breadsticks and salad on the side.

6-7oz angel hair pasta, broken in half (I used whole wheat)

1/2 onion, sliced thinly

3-4 cloves minced garlic

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 teaspoon Italian spice blend

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

4 diced Roma tomatoes

2 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons chicken or beef bullion

Your favorite cooked sausage

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in small stockpot. Saute onion and garlic until tender.

    

Add remaining ingredients. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Stir often and cook until pasta is tender and most of the water is absorbed.

Watch the pasta carefully! I took it off before all the water was gone…

Cook your sausage as desired and then place on top of pasta. As soon as I had it all sliced, I wished I had left it whole and just laid the link on top. :o(

  

 

 

 

 

 

But it still tasted delicious and I doubt anyone but me really cared. :o)

Pesto Pasta with Veggies & Sausage

This isn’t really as recipe as much as it is a suggestion…

It’s a quick and easy supper and the perfect way to use up those veggies from your garden or the farmer’s market!

Wash and cut up and fresh veggies you have and/or like. (green beans, mushrooms, squash, peppers, onions, garlic, asparagus, tomatoes, peas…)

Cook up some pasta (any shape will do). I threw my green beans in with the pasta to cook together.

Slice your favorite Italian sausage links. Brown them in a skillet until heated through. Throw in your veggies to sauté with the sausage links.

Drain your pasta, mix in sausage and veggies. Toss with your favorite pesto (store-bought or homemade).

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Lasagna Roll-Ups

This is my new favorite way to prepare lasagna! I love it! It isn’t any more difficult and is so much easier and prettier to serve than a slab of falling apart lasagna. It went together fast and didn’t take nearly as long to bake, either.

I made 10 rolls for our supper with salad and bread and it was enough to serve the 5 of us. But this recipe can be easily changed to make as little or as much as you need. You could also add cooked meat like pepperoni, Italian sausage or hamburger.

This recipe is for 10 lasagna roll-ups:

1 can spaghetti sauce

10 lasagna noodles: boiled, drained, rinsed, and laid out to dry on a towel

1 container ricotta cheese

2-3 cups shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 egg, beaten

2-4 cloves of minced garlic

chopped spinach, fresh or frozen (if using frozen, thaw it and pat it dry before using)

Spray a glass 9x13 baking pan with non-stick spray. Cover the bottom with spaghetti sauce.

Mix the ricotta, half the shredded cheeses, egg and garlic in a small bowl. Stir in spinach.

Spread a bit of the ricotta mixture on each noodle.

Loosely roll them and place them seam side down in the baking dish.

Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the rolls. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 until bubbly and heated through. It took mine about 30-40 minutes.

Browned Butter & Mizithra Pasta

We love the Pasta a’la Homer at the Spaghetti Factory! It is our favorite dish there by far! So simple and yet so perfect! I’ve made it several times at home…

Here’s how ya do it:

Grate mizithra cheese with a fine grater.

Cook your desired amount of angel hair or thin spaghetti pasta. You don’t want anything chunky or heavy for this. Drain and keep hot.

Melt 1 cube of butter in a saucepan over med to med-high heat. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM BROWNING BUTTER!!! Whisk constantly until butter just starts to turn a golden brown and gets this lovely nutty smell! You’ll know when it’s at that point because it will smell heavenly, not burnt!

Pour browned butter over pasta and toss to combine.

Some like to toss the cheese in with the pasta and butter. But we just each sprinkle our own cheese on top.

We also discovered that browned butter and mizithra cheese are delightful on fresh steamed green beans!!! They are the BOMB!

So, then I thought… Why not combine them??? So, I did it. I just chucked some of my frozen green beans from the garden into the water with the pasta.

Then I thought… What’s good with green beans? Bacon! Actually, bacon is good with EVERYTHING so I gave it a shot.

It was a bit salty with the butter, the cheese and the bacon but hey, salt isn’t bad, right???

Whether you choose to eat it au natural or dressed up a bit, you’re sure to enjoy this simple yet elegant dish!

Cajun Chicken Linguine

This was a pretty simple and tasty recipe I got from myrecipes.com. Well seasoned with the perfect amount of spice and a nice mixture of vegetables. Made a nice supper with a salad and a loaf of sourdough bread.

The original recipe is HERE.

• 12 ounces uncooked linguine
• 2 pounds chicken breast strips
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 (8-oz.) package fresh mushrooms
• 2 green onions (white and light green parts only), sliced
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Garnish: chopped green onions

Preparation

• Prepare pasta according to package directions.
• Sprinkle chicken evenly with Cajun seasoning and 1 tsp. salt.
• 
• Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done. Remove chicken.
• Add bell peppers, mushrooms, and green onions to skillet, and sauté 9 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and liquid evaporates.

• Return chicken to skillet; stir in half-and-half, next 3 ingredients, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat 3 to 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add linguine; toss to coat.
• 
• Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.

Garlic Mushroom Pasta

This dish requires a little more time to prepare but is well worth the effort! It is a meal that Chris and I were very disappointed when the boys decided they liked it, too. :o( The best part is dipping crusty Italian bread in the extra sauce on the plate!

Roast 2 bulbs of garlic in the oven. (Use a garlic roaster or foil) Remove the cloves of garlic.

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup sliced green onion

3-4 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup milk

Melt butter in large skillet. Add mushrooms and green onion and saute until butter is absorbed. Add chicken broth, thyme, red pepper, and roasted garlic cloves. Simmer over low heat until liquid is reduced by half.

Stir in milk. Warm through.

Toss sauce into cooked and drained angel hair pasta.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.