Beef Stew

 After a full day of cleaning house, the last thing on my mind was cooking. But alas...dinner must be made. So I turned to my faithful pressure cooker and made a pot of beef stew. 

I tweaked my usual recipe for stew as I didn't have everything on hand...but I refused t go to the market when I knew I could improvise. 

At one of the holiday markets we went to last December, we picked up a bag of all purpose seasoning from a vendor that works for Alamo Seasonings. I really like this all-purpose seasoning as it is not salty at all & has great flavor. So I added some to my stew to give it that little taste of Texas! :) 

This recipe could be made using the traditional stove top dutch oven cooking style, but since time was quickly ticking away, I pressure cooked it. 

Before

2-lbs. beef stew meat
1-lb peeled baby carrots
2-c. peeled, cubed potatoes
1 jar beef gravy
1 large carton beef stock
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1-Tblsp minced garlic
1-tsp dried minced onion
1 (4-oz) can sliced mushrooms; drained

cracked ground pepper to taste
1 1/2-tsp Alamo all purpose seasoning
1/2 tsp. McCormick's Grill Mates hamburger seasoning

In the cooking pot of your pressure add all ingredients and stir to mix. Place cooking pot into the pressure cooker & cover with lid; making sure to place in locked position. Close pressure valve. Cook on soup/stew setting for 48 minutes. Either quick release or natural release. Serve alone or over cooked rice.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Calico Casserole

Not really knowing what to cook today and time drawing near for my sweetie to come in from work, I decided a casserole was just the thing. But what kind of casserole?

Perusing the refrigerator, I spied a roll of ground turkey breakfast sausage. Now that the star of the casserole was decided, I began pulling things out of the pantry to start creating dinner. It may not look gourmet, but let me tell you....it tasted pretty scrumptious!


1-lb. roll ground turkey breakfast sausage
1 box macaroni & cheese with cheese sauce (not powder mix) 
1 family size can ranch style beans (1/2 of the juice drained) 
1 10-oz can ro-tel 
1 10.75-oz can cream of chicken soup 
1/2 of a 9-oz can Fritos jalapeno cheddar dip 

Prepare macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Do not stir in cheese yet. 

In a skillet, crumble and cook sausage until no longer pink. Drain fat. 

In a 9x13 oval casserole, combine cooked sausage, cooked & drained macaroni noodles, soup and ro-tel. Stir to mix. Squeeze cheese sauce into casserole and stir. Stir in beans and jalapeno cheese dip until well combined. Bake in a 350* oven for 20 minutes or until all ingredients are hot and bubbly.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Pot Roast Under Pressure

 

Pot roast in 48 minutes...

1 3-4 lb beef pot roast 
1 small bag fresh mini carrots
1 carton beef stock
Salt & pepper to taste
small red potatoes (optional)

Place roast, stock and seasoning in the cooking pot. Lock lid and close pressure valve. Cook for 38 minutes on Meat setting, then stop cooking and do a quick release on the pressure valve being careful not to burn yourself.

Add carrots and potatoes if using. Lock lid again and close pressure valve. Set timer for 10 minutes and cook on vegetable setting. Quick release being careful not to burn yourself and viola! The most tender, juicy roast ever. 

Click HERE for printable recipe

Chicken Enchilada Taco Soup

In the mood for a delicious, easy and quick soup? Well, look no further because this fits the bill...

Chicken Enchilada Taco Soup 

4 cups fajita seasoned chicken, cubed 
1 can ro-tel 
1 can tomato sauce 
1 can black beans, undrained 
1 can ranch style beans, undrained 
1 can diced green chilies in juice 
1 can enchilada sauce 
1 can shoepeg corn, undrained 
1 pkt taco seasoning 
1pkt dry ranch dressing mix 
1 carton chicken stock 
1/2 tsp chili powder 
1/4 tsp ground cumin 
1 tblsp dried minced onion 
1 tblsp minced garlic 
Ground white pepper to taste 

 Place all ingredients in cooking pot. Stir to mix. Lock lid on pressure cooker and turn pressure valve to the closed position. Cook on Soup/Stew for 20 minutes. Quick release on pressure valve being careful not to burn yourself. 

Stir in a dollop of sour cream and/or grated cheese if desired. Serve warm.

Click HERE for printable recipe