Reduce your cooking time up to 70%

Last year I wrote about how to cook twice and get four meals.  Today I am going to discuss the miracle method of pressure cooking which reduces your cooking time as much as 70%!

Although pressure cookers have been around for decades, I did not discover them until a couple of months ago and I will never go back to using a crock pot or cooking a pot roast in an oven ever again.  This thing has literally given be more hours in a day.   I can not tell you how many times 5:00 has snuck up and slapped me in the face and asked, "What's for dinner?"

Pre Pressure Cooker, I would run through half a dozen recipes in my head only to dismiss all of them because there would be no way I could get to the store for ingredients, chop, brown and braise or roast in time to serve dinner at 6:30.  Either one of two things usually ensued 1) Delivery or  2) My infamous "Three Continents" which is just a fancy way of saying, whatever hodge podge items found in the fridge, freezer and panty thrown together. 

Post Pressure Cooker?  Well, I could fit in a marathon, that is if I ran.  Take today, I went to the store at 4:45 to pick up three pounds of pork shoulder and I was serving tender as butter goulash at 6:30.  Technically, it was ready at 6:10 but why raise expectations?!?  Look for yourself:

Browned and ready to go.

Eight minutes later.  EIGHT -  as in single digit.  
And yes, those are potatoes you see.

As you can see, I saved about 1.5 hours of slow simmering or 6 hours in a slow cooker.  Just like everything else, pressure cookers come in a range of price and sizes. I started out with a cheap TFal from Target for $37.00.  I have since upgraded to a $300 Kuhn Rikon.  Worth every penny. The Tfal one would have taken 35 mins for this recipe. Still a huge time saver for all intents and purposes.  Because of the material used in the Kuhn Rikon,  Eight minutes and BAM!, you're done. 

I recommend getting the next size up from the one you think you need.  You can always freeze a second portion for another night (perfect for camping!)  If you would like to learn more about pressure cookers, check out Ms. Vickie's site. 

Tomorrow? I am thinking of scheduling a massage.  You know, because I have all this extra time on my hands. Am hoping to try a cheesecake recipe soon. I will be sure to post the results.