Saturday Recipes

Maybe on Saturdays I’ll review the recipes I’ve tried online and post the recipes that I’ve used that aren’t online. I’ll do each recipe on a separate post. Does that help? You know me . . I aim to please! 🙂

Recipes I’ve used this week. These are mostly recipes used in the pressure cooker.  I know I’ve talked about it ad nauseam but there will be someone who asks which pressure cooker I’m using. I got the Cuisinart 6 quart electric model. I got one for Nicole too and they’ve been using the heck out of theirs and loving it. We gave an Instant Pot version as another gift and I don’t think that one has been used yet. It wasn’t opened til Christmas Day.

Let’s do dessert first, ok?  

• Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Cheesecake – This was the first one I made and it was delicious. The only thing I would change about this one is this: If you aren’t going to eat the cheesecake all in one sitting, put the caramel topping on each slice and not on the whole cheesecake. My topping got real runny in the fridge so I’m guessing it absorbed moisture from the cheesecake.
• Meyer Lemon Cheesecake – I didn’t get to taste this one but it was beautiful. It set up perfectly, came out of the pan perfectly and from the little smidgens of crumbs I was able to get from the pan, it should have been delicious too.

Soups which were all made in the pressure cooker, were absolutely delicious! I don’t think I can even describe how good they were . .  you’ll just have to look at the ingredients and if they look like something you’d like, you need to try them for yourself.

• Pumpkin, Corn, Chicken Chowder – This was the first soup I made in the pressure cooker . . the first anything I made I believe. When we began eating it, the first thing Vince said was “Why are we just now getting this cooker?” Of course, all of this could be made in a stovetop pressure cooker — just not as easily. The electric model is so easy to use. And, I’m sure these recipes could be adapted for a slow cooker too. The pressure just seems to be so much more flavorful, maybe because the seasonings are “pressured” right into the food.
• Sweet Potato, Ginger, Miso Soup – Vince just couldn’t stop talking about this soup. It was not made in the pressure cooker, by the way. Vince said “You have to share this with your friend” so I took her a jar of it last night and can’t wait to hear what she thinks about it.
• Black Bean, Sweet Potato, Quinoa, Chicken Chili – This is an example of why I love having a well stocked pantry! When I saw this recipe posted last week, I knew it was something I had to make. I think I liked it better than any of the other soups, while Vince liked the Sweet Potato, Ginger, Miso Soup the best.
• Mini Baked Ham Sandwiches – I still haven’t figured out the point in refrigerating these overnight. It isn’t like there are flavor in there that need to marinate. I’m guessing it’s just for the convenience of having them made and ready to slip into the oven as needed. I made mine just before serving and they were delicious. We’ll have these often. There are several recipes on the internet for making your own Hawaiian type rolls but I haven’t tried any of them  yet.

Other Recipes:

• Hummus – This can be made with canned garbanza beans but it’s so much better (in my opinion) when made with dried beans that you cook just before making the recipe.
• Pita Bread – I love using Pita Bread for “chips” with hummus!
• Coleslaw Dressing using Miso – This reminds me of the salad made using Napa cabbage and Ramen noodles, only it’s all homemade and better! The only thing I did differently . . I added a bit more sugar and I used a bit less than 1/8th cup of sesame oil and then vegetable oil to make the total 3/4 cup of oil as called for.

We love coleslaw, either as a salad or on sandwiches. Some years ago I began buying the bags of pre-cut slaw, either cabbage or broccoli slaw. Then I realized how much I was paying per pound and went back to chopping my own. I can easily cut enough cabbage for dinner in no time at all and it’s much fresher than what I was buying in bags. This time of year, when there’s no lettuce in the garden and when lettuce is more expensive and kinda yucky in our grocery stores, and cabbage is dirty cheap and soon, I’ll have it in the garden, we mostly have slaw instead of salad.

The miso dressing mentioned above makes enough dressing for us to have slaw for at least four meals.

I think that’s all the recipes I tried this past week. I’ll do another recipe post next Saturday!