Earl's Chili

1 lb ground meat

¼ cup onion, chopped

¼ cup green pepper, chopped

8 oz tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

1 lb can diced tomato (seasoned if desired)

1 lb can red kidney beans (drained)

1 tsp salt or garlic salt

   1 - 2 tsp chili powder

PREP: Chop green peppers and onions.  Put can tomatoes in blender if you don’t like them chunked.

Brown meat, onion and green pepper. Drain.  Add kidney beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, chili powder and bay leaf.  Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Serve alone, over mashed potatoes, with shredded cheddar cheese or crumble tostito chips into the chili.

Chicken Noodle Soup for the Pressure Cooker

by Ellie Weightman

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast                       
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp olive or vegetable oil
3 med carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large sweet onion, peeled and diced   
1 clove garlic
½ tsp sea or kosher salt
1 tsp dried parsley
1 small bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
4 cups chicken broth - homemade best - see below
2 cups water
1 cup alphabet pasta or soup noodles - cooked separately
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Optional to add at end 
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
3 dashes cinnamon
2 grates of a hole nutmeg
juice of 1 lemon

Melt the butter and bring to temperature with the oil in the pressure cooker over medium heat.  Add the carrots and celery; saute for 2 minutes.  Add the onion; saute for 3 minutes or until the onion is soft.  Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Add the salt, parsley, thyme, chicken broth, water and chicken.

Lock the lid into place and bring to low temperature maintaining pressure for 20 minutes.   Remove from heat and quick-release the pressure.  Remove the lid.

While the soup is cooking, boil water and then cook the noodles according to the pasta directions. Drain.  Toss with a bit of olive oil to keep from sticking while waiting to add to soup.

Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken breast to a cutting board.  Once cool enough to handle, shred the meat or cut into bite-size pieces.  Return the chicken to the pressure cooker.

Return the pressure cooker to simmer WITHOUT THE LID.  Add the cooked pasta.  Add optional beans, peas, lemon, nutmeg and cinnamon and stir well. Taste for seasonings and add additional salt and pepper if desired.  

*Use my Homemade Chicken Broth / Stock recipe to make broth for this dish.

Chicken Broth / Stock for Pressure Cooker

by Ellie Weightman - this will make a more brown, flavorful broth/stock

5 lb chicken wings, backs, necks or rotisserie chicken bones & parts
2 med onions, quartered
2  carrots, cleaned and coarsely cut
2 celery stalks, rinsed and coarsely cut
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 whole cloves
4 fresh flat leaf parsley sprigs
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 tsp whole black peppercorns

Preheat oven to 350̊

Do not rinse chicken or it will not brown when roasting. Roast all chicken parts on a baking sheet in oven until they brown, usually about 45 minutes.  Remove the chicken parts but reserve the juices on the baking sheet - adding white wine or water to the baking sheet to get up all the fond left by the chicken.  Put the chicken parts and its juices in the pressure cooker on the cooker rack with all the other ingredients and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches (do not fill more than 2/3 of the pot or according to the instructions on your pressure cooker).  Put pot over high heat until the gauge measures 15 PSI, lower heat to maintain 15 PSI for 50 minutes.  Turn off.

When pressure goes to 0 or all pressure is gone using your fast release button if your cooker is equipped with one, remove the lid.  Strain the broth with a stainless mesh strainer until clear, it could require straining 2 times or the use of a cheesecloth.  Put broth in bowl, cover and set in frig overnight. 

The next day skim the hardened fat off the top - it will be thick and waxy. Bring the broth back to a boil and simmer until reduced by 1/3, at least 30 minutes. 

Divide among resealable bags (8 oz each is good size) and freeze OR use the pressure CANNER to can it in jars.




This broth is excellent as a replacement for water in stuffing, rice, cous cous and many other dishes.  It can also be used for broth/water when making chicken soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

by Ellie Weightman, Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Recipe
Crock pot option - allow more time

Ingredients for Stock:

1 tblsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground chicken
3 small boiler onions (cut in half) OR 1 small onion, chopped med (about 1 cup)
1 med carrot, peeled and chopped medium (1/2 cup)
1 med celery stalk, chop medium
3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
1 quart water
2 quarts (64 oz) low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
2 tsp table salt
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 oz each), cut in half crosswise

Ingredients for Soup:

3 tblsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 small onion, halved and sliced thin (1 cup)
1 med celery stalk, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces (1/2 cup)
1 med russet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cup)
4 oz egg noodles (1 cup)
2 cups Collard Greens (frozen or fresh)
1 tblsp minced fresh parsley or 1/2 tblsp dried

Stock:  Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until simmering.  Add ground chicken, onion, carrot, garlic and celery.  Cook, stirring frequently until chicken is no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes but do not brown.

Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add water, broth, bay leaves, salt and chicken breasts: cover and cook 30 minutes.  Remove lid, increase heat to high and bring to boil.  (If liquid is already boiling when lid is removed, remove chicken breasts immediately and continue with recipe).  Transfer chicken breasts to large plate and set aside.  Continue to cook stock for 20 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain gentle boil.  Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer into large pot or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Allow liquid to settle 5 minues and skim off fat

Soup:  Return stock to Dutch oven set over medium-high heat.  In small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth slurry forms; stir into stock and bring to gentle boil. 

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Option 1:  Add onion, carrots, celery and potato and cook until potato pieces are almost tender, 10-15 minutes, adjusting as necessary to maintain gentle boil.  Add egg noodles and continue to cook until all vegetables and noodles are tender, about 5 minutes longer.j

Remove skin and bones from reserved cooked chicken and discard.  Shred meat with fingers or 2 forks.  Add shredded chicken, collard greens and parsley to soup and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

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Option 2 - Crock Pot:  In a crock pot, add onion, carrots, celery and potato and cook on high until potato pieces are almost tender (approximately 2 1/2 - 3 hours depending on the size you cut your potatoes).  Meanwhile, remove bone and skin from chicken and shred chicken with fingers.

Once the vegetables are tender, add egg noodles, shredded chicken, collard greens and parsley to soup and cook until heated through, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Ham & Potato Soup

by Jennifer Bertotti, adapted from allrecipes.com
 

This is a variation of allrecipes.com's recipe - I changed a few things.  I made this on a day when we had 2 foot of snow, and my husband raved about it!!  He said this is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients

•      4 cups peeled and diced potatoes
•      1/3 cup diced celery
•      1/3 cup finely chopped onion
•      3/4 cup diced cooked ham
•      1 cup water 
•      1 can of chicken broth
•      1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
•      5 tablespoons butter
•      5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•      2 cups milk

Directions

   Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham, chicken broth, and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the pepper.

   In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

You can also add some shredded cheddar cheese to the top!

Note:  My husband had leftovers the next day, said to just add a little bit of water because the fridge can make it a little thick.