I used the chicken skin and bones to make stock on the stovetop. This helped get rid of the rest of the blinky vegetables in the fridge and half a carton of commercial stock that was leftover from something else.

My recipe is much the same as WTG's in the "recipe" thread and it cam out very well. I used herbs from the garden and the difference was noticeable.

Next up - Chicken Noodle Soup. Again, a recipe from JoCooks. I like the looks of pretty much everything I see on that website and may work my way through it one recipe at a time.

Best chicken soup ever! Only change was to use more of my homemade stock instead of the 2 cups of water you are supposed to add toward the end.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter unsalted
1 large onion chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp pepper or to taste
1 tsp thyme dry, 1 tbsp if using fresh
1 tbsp parsley fresh, chopped
1 tbsp oregano fresh, chopped, 1 tsp if using dry
4 cups chicken broth no sodium added
2 lbs chicken with skin and bones, use at least 1 chicken breast
4 cups water
5 oz egg noodles uncooked, (about 2 cups)

Instructions

Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. (See your manufacturer's guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot.)

Add the butter and cook until the butter has melted. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute for 3 minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent.

Season with salt and pepper, add the thyme, parsley, oregano and stir. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the chicken pieces and add another 4 cups of water.

Close the lid (follow the manufacturer's guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Soup setting and set the timer to 7 minutes.

Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 10 minutes. Follow the manufacturer's guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.

Remove the chicken pieces from the soup and shred with two forks.

Add the noodles to the soup and set the Instant Pot to the saute setting again. Cook for another 6 minutes uncovered, or until the noodles are cooked.

Turn off the Instant Pot, by pressing the cancel button. Add the shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot, taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Garnish with additional parsley if preferred.

Thanks, Steve! I'll try your Butter Chicken recipe and see how it compares to the one I've been making.

How do you make your chicken stock? Instant Pot?

(maybe you already posted a recipe earlier in this thread....)

quote:

Originally posted by well-tempered gardener:How do you make your chicken stock? Instant Pot?

(maybe you already posted a recipe earlier in this thread....)

I don't have a real recipe. It's bones and fat from the giant chicken thighs I used to make the butter chicken, three carrots, three big stalks of celery with leaves, "Scarborough Fair" herbs from the garden - maybe a couple of tablespoons of each. Two cloves of garlic, smashed. Two dried bay leaves - I wonder if I can grow bay here? Six or so quarts of water. I will also use any commercial stock we have left over in the fridge. With just two of us home it is likely to go bad before we use it.

Simmer for a few hours, adding water to keep everything covered. Strain and refrigerate. Skim fat once it's cold.

I see Alton Brown recommends simmering for more like 8 hours. I've never tried that.

I made it on the stove top because I was using the IP to make the butter chicken at the same time. I saw your recipe for IP stock and mean to try it soon.

Ah, you do make it on the stove top the old-fashioned way.

Yea, I make it in the IP and freeze it in 2 cup portions to use in various recipes.

I'm lazy.

Well this should be interesting. Sharon wants to do Weight Watchers for a while. Lord knows I could stand to lose as a few so I’m doing it too. Sharon has been on the program before and it definitely works. This is my first time.

What I remember from the last time Sharon was on the program is that Weight Watcher recipes are generally terrible. No spices, no technique, lots and lots of green pepper. The new IP recipes are no better, even though the clean, fresh, ingredients are good. I see opportunity.

Spices are unlimited as are most veg. I have a 3 point chicken cacciatore in the IP right now to use as a baseline. I think I’ll try it (over “cauliflower rice” - who knew?) and then make it again with more punch.

Suggestions?

It's fun to report successes but this time the recipe did not work out. Jambalaya in the Instant Pot. Some $30 worth of ingredients and it's close to inedible. I won't bother posting the recipe - all of the internet recipes look about the same and this is not what Jambalaya is supposed to taste like. 5 stars does not always mean good.

Biggest problem is the rice. It cooked to a sticky mush. I don't think you can do rice this way in an IP and have it come out any different.

Second problem is my fault. The only Andouille sausage I could get was "Chicken Andouille", which, as it turns out, is an abomination. Little flavor, not enough fat.

Third problem is that it takes longer to make Jambalaya in the IP than on the stove top.

I'll probably eat what I made over the course of time (with enough hot sauce I can eat anything), or I may pick out the shrimp, sausage and chicken, but I will not be making it again.

I do rice in the Instant Pot all the time, and it comes out perfect.

Yesterday, I made Trader Joe's Harvest Grains in the Instant Pot. I mixed in some jasmine rice and cooked it for 14 minutes, a little longer than the rice setting (which is 12 minutes). Came out great. The rice was a little sticky but good, and the harvest grains came out just right.

I know the IP makes rice very well, but putting rice in a recipe like Jambalaya where it goes in with everything else does not seem to work.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
I know the IP makes rice very well, but putting rice in a recipe like Jambalaya where it goes in with everything else does not seem to work.

Yeah, I'd make the rice separately.

We got a small second Instant Pot for that exact purpose. (I say "we", but I mean "I"; Mary Anna acceded, but I would hesitate to claim that she thought it was a world-class idea.)

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
I know the IP makes rice very well, but putting rice in a recipe like Jambalaya where it goes in with everything else does not seem to work.

Yeah, I'd make the rice separately.

We got a small second Instant Pot for that exact purpose. (I say "we", but I mean "I"; Mary Anna acceded, but I would hesitate to claim that she thought it was a world-class idea.)

I did the same. Best decision ever.

Yes. Mr. AM gave me a Zojirushi rice cooker for the same birthday the kids gave me the Instant Pot. They work well together.

The rice cooker has lots of settings, and it takes longer (60 min) than my 35 year old rice cooker (45 mins) did. But the old one had an ancient scraped up aluminum pot, so it was time to go.

I am really liking the rice mixture I made in the Instant Pot (Trader Joe's Harvest Grains about 50%, about 50% jasmine rice). We had it with curry last night, and it was great! And more fiber and more protein than rice alone (there are halved baby garbonzo beans and quinoa in the Trader Joe's stuff).

This is going into my regular rotation.

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
And more fiber and more protein than rice alone (there are halved baby garbonzo beans and quinoa in the Trader Joe's stuff).

You may be in luck. My farmer friend in WA State told me that chickpea (garbanzo bean) prices are down by nearly 1/2 after the tariff went in to effect. I wonder how long it will take to see lower prices n the stores?

I'll have to tell my son about the Trader Joe's Harvest Grains. He's trying to up his protein and having a hard time doing it unless he eats nothing but meat at all meals.

The same son got me a rice cooker about a year ago. Best. Appliance. Ever How did I live without it?

He's the cook in the family, and swears by his Instapot.

quote:

Originally posted by Nina:
I'll have to tell my son about the Trader Joe's Harvest Grains. He's trying to up his protein and having a hard time doing it unless he eats nothing but meat at all meals.

The same son got me a rice cooker about a year ago. Best. Appliance. Ever How did I live without it?

He's the cook in the family, and swears by his Instapot.

Please do share with me what he figures out. I'm working on eating more protein myself, but at the same time I'm trying to eat more beans and less meat. So far, garbonzos are the staple (and Chipotle), but I'm going to experiment with mixing lentils into things. Like maybe the Harvest Grains.