Category: Quick

Breakfast and lunch combined today due to my schedule:  made scrambled eggs (one whole egg plus one white) with the “usual” mushroom, spinach, and some of the grape tomatoes from my garden.  NO bread or starch.  Off to appointments and work.

Late Evening: Having pre-sliced the bell peppers and cucumber the other night made the “immediate upon arrival in the house after work” gnosh much easier and less caloric. Man, I am ravenous between 5:30 and 6 pm.  After a handful of each, I threw 2 chicken breasts into the pressure cooker after covering the top of each with a little mustard.  Added a bit of tamari and ginger to the 3/4 cup of water in the bottom.  Hit the pot on high until the pressure came up – then 8 minutes on the lowest heat that allows the pot to maintain the pressure.  PERFECTLY done!  While the chicken was “pressuring” – I reheated some cauliflower, cabbage and a couple of mushrooms in the microwave.  In 15 minutes, I had 1/2 chicken breast on a plate with mounds of vegetables.  That’s “fast food”!  The broth is in a container for use later.  The vegetables will be pureed tomorrow or Thursday for soup.  Left over chicken will be lunch tomorrow.  One pot, one bowl – Kitchen’s already clean.

TRUTH TIME:  After all of these no-added fat, no starch meals, I admit that an hour or so later I am SO looking for sweets. Hopefully this too will pass.  Can’t be soon enough for me.  Guess I should just be happy that I am eating cleaner food, more often and that I have not resorted to pasta in 11 days.

Also known as .. Pressure Cooker Use 1st Try  

This little Fagor Splendid 10-qt  pressure cooker thingie is a little daunting. Probably because I was raised by the generation that was rightfully scared of exploding cookers.  Any way — last evening’s treat was amazingly simple.

So here is the process: 

1. Marinate 2 chicken breasts in a baggie with soy sauce, ginger, honey.
2. Leave in the icebox for hours
3. Return and fret about how to actually cook them.  “Should I use the oven or the new cooker?”
4. Decide on the pressure cooker:
1. Insert the rack
2. Add a bit more than 1/2 cup water
3. Place chicken on rack
4. Pour remaining marinade (ok I know that is not an approved use of marinade but come on) over chicken in the pot
5. Close pot and place on high
6. Watch for steam then reduce temp
7. Cook for 8 minutes once temp is reduced

So – really yummy and perfectly cooked — Except … the pressure indicator never popped up.  I’m thinking that here at elevation it may take longer to get the pressure, even though the steam was coming out as the instructions indicated – or I didn’t have the lid on correctly.