Make Tomorrow Taco (Soup) Tuesday!

I have a marvelous soup recipe for you.  What I don't have is sparkling wit and insightful commentary.  No funny stories.  No relatable anecdotes.  I got nothing.  I drank 2 martinis and more than a full bottle of wine on Saturday night and I swear my brain is still fried.  I went out to the front of the restaurant I was at when they closed at 1 am to wait for my cab, reached into my purse and pulled out the half-full bottle of wine that my friend and I still had on our table when they closed the place down.  I don't even remember putting it there, and I'm pretty sure I broke the law by carrying it out of there.  But you better believe we drank it from the bottle while we sat on the curb and waited for our ride, because we are classy bitches.  You can take the girl outta north St. Louis county.... 

So, yeah.  I think I'm still recovering from that outing.  I was still functional enough to make this recipe perfectly on the first try, but that must have used up the last of my operational brain cells.  Therefore, bon appetit.  Hopefully I'll recover some semblance of writing ability in the near future.

 
By the way, I just want you to know, it's hard to take a good picture of soup.  Granted, I don't really take very good pictures of anything, but soup is particularly hard.  My husband and I both absolutely devoured this, and the best picture I could take makes it look a bowl of barf.  So pardon how unattractive this looks.  I promise it is very tasty.

Pressure Cooker Taco Soup with Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream

Notes:  I used my 6 quart Instant Pot.  I call for fresh corn, but you could easily substitute canned or frozen corn.  I just love the crunch of the fresh stuff, and since it's still plentiful right now, I went for it.  I always fry (or sometimes bake) my own tortilla strips, but you could certainly use a bag of tortilla chips.  They don't hold up as well, but I understand what it's like to be busy. :)  Don't drain the cans of Rotel.  I used fire roasted, but choose any version you like.  Also, don't soak your beans.  Both the dried beans and the meat have a similar cooking time and will come out perfect together.

2 tsp. oil
half of a large onion, chopped
half of a large poblano pepper, diced
salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. round steak, cut into small (~1/2") cubes
2 (10 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, such as Rotel
1/2 lb. dried black beans
1/2 lb. dried pinto beans
4 cups water
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1 (15 oz.) can cream style corn
2 ears of fresh corn on the cob, corn kernels cut off

1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. lime zest
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro
pinch of salt

Possible toppings:
shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
tortilla chips or fried tortilla strips
diced avocado
chopped green onion
fresh lime wedges

For the cilantro-lime sour cream, combine the sour cream, lime zest, cilantro, and pinch of salt in a food processor and process until cilantro is completely chopped and incorporated.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the soup, turn the pressure cooker to saute mode and add the oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the onion, poblano pepper, and a pinch of salt.  Cook until the onions and peppers are softened.  Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so until fragrant.  Add the round steak, Rotel (with its juices), beans, water, taco seasoning, and dressing mix.  Cook on high pressure for 55 minutes.  Do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then finish with a quick release. 

Stir in the cream corn and fresh corn and heat through.  If you're adding frozen corn, you'll probably want to turn on saute mode to make sure it heats through.  If you're adding fresh or canned corn, the soup will probably already be hot enough to heat the corn without turning the pot back on.  Serve with the cilantro-lime sour cream and other desired toppings.

Cheese, Pasta, and Moar Cheese! Disgusting Fungus, Optional

STOP THE PRESSES.  My daughter ate what I made for dinner tonight!  It was probably only about 6 bites, but still.  She's not quite 4, and about as big around as my pinky finger, so that was probably enough to fill her up anyway.  It's a big deal when she eats things I've cooked from scratch, though, whether it's 6 bites or a hundred.  I've tried to get her more interested in eating homemade foods by getting her involved in making them.  She really is becoming my little kitchen buddy.  She helps measure, dump, stir, and is happy to sample certain fresh ingredients to make sure they're tasty.  She's even learning to crack eggs.  You would think being so invested in the meal prep should make her excited to try it when it's done.  And you would be wrong. 

 Usually she declares, before ever trying a bite, that she doesn't like it (whatever "it" is), and ends up eating a hot dog as I shed a silent tear.  "But Violet, you  helped me make this!  Remember when you helped me dump the <insert ingredient name here> in and stir it up?"  "I don't LIKE it," she says, in her little super sass-mouth way that leaves me both snickering and infuriated.  Kids are such assholes.

Tonight, things were backwards.  She didn't help me with any meal prep at all.  She was too busy "making crafts," i.e. scribbling furiously and claiming that somewhere in her chicken scratch was a drawing of a sea monster who lives in a castle at the top of a beanstalk and inexplicably has mashed potatoes on top of his head.  "Isn't that so silly, mommy?"  But then she DID try what I cooked.  And--wait for it--she said, "mommy, thank you for making this yummy supper," in a sweet, dainty voice.  Aww....kids aren't always assholes, thank goodness.

And she was right; it was yummy.  If you like fully intact, crisp-tender chunks of broccoli, this is not for you.  If you want to feel like you're eating broccoli cheese soup-covered noodles, pull up a chair.  I love recipes that I can tweak, and this is nicely tweakable.  Change the pasta type to rotini or penne, maybe.  Leave out the asiago if it's not your favorite and bump up the amount of one of the other cheeses.  Shred up some rotisserie chicken to toss on top after you serve.  Put in more broccoli.  Put in less broccoli.  Your family hates fancy cheese that vaguely tastes of sheep but loves Velveeta so that's the only cheese you're going to put in?  You do you, babe.  I'm not here to judge your cheese choices.  Live and let live, and all that.  If you make a homemade dinner for your family, you're already doing well in my eyes.

P.S.  I HATE mushrooms.  Hate. Them.  I'm told they're perfect for this.  I'll have to take my mom and my husband's word for it.  Because there was no way I was going to cook the entire dish with mushrooms in it, I sauteed them in a skillet and let the fungus lovers add their own after serving.  I do not know how it would work out if you threw raw mushrooms in your instant pot, so don't even ask me if you can do that.  You're on your own there. Side note:  I suspect that would taste like shit.  Because mushrooms.

Four Cheese Pasta with Broccoli

Note: I started with blocks of cheese and grated them fresh on a microplane grater.  This is my favorite way to cook with cheese because I think the flavor is better.  If you're going to start with pre-grated cheeses, measure them out by weight, because freshly grated hard cheeses are super fluffy and might measure differently in a measuring cup than pre-grated would.  Pecorino romano and asiago are both strongly flavored cheeses.  Real pecorino romano is especially full of character.  It's made from sheep's milk and is very salty and kind of pungent.  I think it's awesome, but it's worth admitting that it's not for everyone.  If you find an American version it will most likely be made of cow's milk and taste milder, so keep that in mind.  I used my 6 qt. Instant Pot.

1 lb. pasta--I usually use shells
4 cups water
4 Tbs. butter, cut into a few pieces
1 tsp. salt
12 oz. broccoli, cut into large florets
1/2 oz. pecorino romano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 oz. asiago cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1 oz. parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
4 oz. fontina cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
4 oz. processed cheese, like Velveeta, cubed
12 oz. evaporated milk--you may only need part of the can
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
pepper, to taste
10 oz. mushrooms, optional

Add the uncooked pasta, water, butter, and salt to the pot.  Scatter the broccoli over the top.  Cover and set on manual on high pressure for 4 minutes, then do a quick pressure release.  Turn to saute mode and begin to slowly add evaporated milk and cheeses, stirring constantly.  If you feel like it's getting too hot and starting to stick, just turn the pot off and use the residual heat to finish melting the cheese.  You'll likely need most of the can of milk, but maybe not all.  Add until you've got a consistency you like.  Add garlic powder and pepper to taste and stir to combine. 

No Carb Left Behind!!!

It's the weekend.  That means I indulge.  It means cocktails, or ice cream, or homemade tortilla chips.  It means cinnamon rolls for breakfast, nachos for lunch, steak with a big dollop of herbed butter on top for dinner, and German chocolate cake for dessert.  Some people go out to eat on the weekend.  I, on the other hand, usually have 3 or 4 decadent, fattening recipes on deck, waiting for a turn to be tinkered with.  I don't have TIME to eat out most weekends.  I have too many things I want to cook.

Enter this loaded potato soup, and it's carby, calorie-laden goodness.  It screams weekend.  (It also screams winter, but screw that.  That's still a long way away.  I can eat soup on a hot day if it's this good.)  It's got bacon and butter and cheese and cream.  It's terrible for you, and I will not apologize for that.  You've been warned.  Luckily, after you eat it, you won't care.

Pressure Cooker Loaded Potato Soup

A few notes:  I used my 8 quart Instant Pot for this recipe, and it was fairly full.  I'm guessing it would all fit in a 6 qt., but it would be a close call.  You could cut the recipe in half without too much trouble to make sure it will fit into a 6 qt. cooker if you're concerned about it.  (The recipe as written makes a LOT, anyway.)  Keep the cooking time the same.  This is a lot of liquid, so it will take a few minutes to come to pressure.

1 lb. bacon, diced

4-5 stalks celery, diced

1 medium (or half of a large) onion, diced

5 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small cubes, about 1/4" (you can peel them if you want; I didn't)

4 cups water

4 cups milk

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) butter

1 cup flour

2 cups heavy cream

crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions for garnish

Add the bacon, celery, and onion to the pressure cooker and turn it to saute mode.  Cook until the vegetables are softened and the bacon is cooked through.  Add the potatoes, water, milk, salt, and pepper to the pot.  Set the cooker to manual on high pressure for 8 minutes.  

When the 8 minutes is up, do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then vent the remaining pressure.  Have a towel handy, because it's a full pot and will probably spit a little bit.  During the natural pressure release time, melt the butter in a 10" skillet.  Add the flour to the melted butter to make a roux and cook until the mixture bubbles, stirring constantly.  Take the roux off heat once it has bubbled for a minute or 2. Once the pressure has released and you can take the lid off of the pot, turn the pot to saute and slowly stir in the roux.  (The soup may look a little curdled at this stage; it will come back together after thickening and blending).  Cook and stir until the soup thickens, then turn the pot off.  Stir in the cream.  Use a stick (immersion) blender to blend the soup completely.  Serve and top with your desired garnishes.  Roll yourself from the table to the couch and spend the next hour or so in a carb stupor.

In Which I am a Jerkass to People Who Don't Like Pressure Cookers

I'm on several Facebook groups devoted to pressure cooker recipes and tips, and every once in a while you get a naysayer in the group who complains that the Instant Pot isn't really "instant."  Their argument is usually that it takes time for the pot to come to pressure, or that you might spend some time waiting for the pressure to release naturally after cooking.  They usually say something about how misleading it is to say, for example, that you can cook corn on the cob in 2 minutes because it takes 5 or 10 minutes or whatever for the pressure to build.  Bitch, please.  Do you not also have to wait for a pot of water to boil if you cook corn on the cob on the stove?  Do you not have to wait for your oven or your grill to preheat for some recipes?  Do you not have to wait for meat to rest if you've cooked a whole chicken or a roast?  Yes, you do.  Shut up.  Because you know you wouldn't buy the product if the company called it the Moderately Faster than Your Usual Method Pot.

Besides, in many cases, the electric pressure cooker actually does save you a ton of time.  This is especially true with tough cuts of meat that need a lot of cooking time to become tender.  Like brisket.  Holy cats, do I have an awesome brisket recipe in the pipeline for you.  The next time I make it, I will definitely take some pictures and post the recipe.  Stew meat, or chuck roast (from which stew meat is sometimes cut) are other examples.  This goulash takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to cook on the stove top.  And that's just the simmering time; no prep time included.  I made this, start to finish, in about 1 hour.  That includes about 15 minutes spent cutting one half of a damn onion because I kept having to stop cutting to keep the baby from ripping pages out of his sister's book.  Add the time savings to the fact that you never have to stir a pot, or fiddle with the controls on your burner to get the simmer at just the right level.  Hands off cooking?  Every mother (hell, every adult) can appreciate that.

Hungarian Goulash

2 Tbs. oil
1 medium onion, or about half of a big onion, sliced
2 lbs. stew meat or chuck roast cut into about 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cups ketchup
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. Hungarian style sweet paprika
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Mix the ketchup, Worcestershire, brown sugar, garlic, paprika, salt, and dry mustard together in a bowl and set aside.  Turn your pressure cooker to saute mode and add the oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onion and a sprinkling of salt, and cook until the onions are softened.  Add the meat and cook until it is browned.  Add the water and ketchup mixture and stir to distribute the sauce all over the meat.  Turn the pressure cooker to the meat setting and set for 30 minutes.  When the 30 minute cooking time is over, do a natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes.  You can serve it right away, or you can thicken it at this point if you prefer.  To thicken, stir together 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbs. flour.  Turn your cooker back to saute and add the flour and water mixture slowly, stirring constantly.  Bring it to a simmer and let it bubble away for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened.  Serve over hot egg noodles.