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Lora’s Pressure-Cooker Red Beans and Rice

January 31, 2021January 31, 2021 FloraD

No, it’s not a typo. This is is Lora’s recipe, not Flora’s. It’s also the last dish I made to finish off the Christmas ham. You’ll find this recipe to be super tasty and easy to make plus there are tons of leftovers that are good to freeze. The hardest part is to remember to soak the beans the night before. Make yourself a little reminder so you don’t forget.

Before you start prepping your ingredients, make some rice. I use my Instant Pot as rice cooker, which is what I did, but you can obviously make it over the stove. I just recommend getting this out of the way before you make the rest of the meal.

While your rice is cooking, start on your chopping. There’s a lot of chopping, but that’s ok. You’ve got this. For instance, chop up an onion by using this little trick of cutting the onion in half, leave the root attached, slice into strips up to the root, and then across. You’ll end up with perfectly chopped onion pieces.

After you’ve chopped your ham and veggies into bit-sized pieces, start adding everything to your Instant Pot.

The only changes I made was to use Italian-style sausage instead of andouille and the only hot pepper sauce I could find in my fridge was sriracha.

Toss everything in the Instant Pot pot except your rice, which should be done by now. I keep two stainless steels pots so I can switch them out for this very purpose. Pull the rice pot out and put the beans pot in. Seal it up and cook on high for 30 minutes. Quick release and you’re done. Seriously that easy.

Maybe this is a preference, I did find a lot more liquid than I would have liked so I used a slotted spoon to scoop out the bean mixture before serving it over rice. If I made this again, I’d experiment with 2 cups of water instead of 4.

This recipe makes 10 servings so you should have plenty to freeze for another time. I froze a couple containers without the recipe so I can make fresh rice next time.

Lora’s Pressure-Cooker Red Beans and Rice

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Servings 10

Ingredients

16 ounces dried kidney beans
2 cups cooked ham cubed
12 ounces Italian-style chicken sausage or other sausage sliced
1 medium green pepper chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 teaspoon sriracha or other hot sauce
2 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups water
hot cooked rice

Instructions

Rinse and sort beans. Soak overnight according to package directions. Drain, discarding water, and rinse with cool water.
Prepare rice ahead of time and set aside.
In a 6-qt. Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker), combine beans, ham, sausage, vegetables, sriracha, garlic, salt, and water.
Lock lid and close pressure-release valve. Pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Quick-release pressure. Serve over hot cooked rice.

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Ham and Cheese Tortellini

January 24, 2021November 13, 2021 FloraD

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The first time I made this recipe was an utter failure and I don’t think it was me. There. I said it. My son liked it, but I don’t know why. It was so dry. Where’s the sauce? Where’s the cheese? It was full of peas, which he managed to remove with the precision of a surgeon. This was pretty much the top worst five “edible” recipes I’ve ever made.

Determined to make it right, I changed the recipe so drastically that I don’t consider it to be the same recipe anymore. I struggle to give the original recipe owners any credit because it might actually be bad publicity for them. I hope that’s not too harsh. My Catholic guilt is seeping through about the whole affair.

Ok, I’m over it. Make this. It’s super tasty and an easy weeknight dinner.

First prep your ingredients like mincing up a shallot and a few cloves of garlic. Dice your ham into bite-sized cubes. Shred your Swiss cheese. Sneak a few bits for yourself.

Heat up a pan with some olive oil, and cook the shallot and garlic until soft.

Add ham and cook for several minutes, stirring half way through, until browned on a couple sides. Add some pepper, and then add fresh tortellini and frozen peas.

The original recipe didn’t specify fresh tortellini and had you use twice as much. They also called for 2 cups of peas. I love peas, but way too many peas.

After you’ve stirred it up a bit, add broth and cover. The original recipe called for less broth and not cover. Adding sufficient liquid and covering it is essential to making sure the tortellini is cooked through.

After this mixture has simmered for about 10 minutes (cook for however long your tortellini package tells you to cook it for), add cream and cheeses.

Here was another major flaw of the original recipe. Not enough cream and cheese. I know. Start your diet tomorrow. But seriously, if you want a cheesy sauce, you have to do it right.

After it’s all mixed up, serve and garnish with a little parsley to make it look pretty.

My family agreed this was 100% better than the first attempt. I’m pleased and you will be too.

Ham and Cheese Tortellini

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium shallot minced
1 1/2 cups diced ham
freshly ground pepper
9 ounces fresh tortellini
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add shallot and garlic. Cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add ham and cook until browned, stirring once half way through, 6 minutes.
Season with pepper. Add fresh tortellini and frozen peas. Stir until mixed and then add chicken broth. Simmer until tortellini are al dente, about 10 minutes (or what the package recommends).
Add heavy cream and both cheeses. Stir until creamy. Serve and garnish with parsley.

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Ham Tetrazzini

January 18, 2021January 19, 2021 FloraD

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For just the three of us, I bought a huge ham for Christmas thinking we’d be eating ham all year. Funny how delicious and easy ham is for a main course, sandwich, or just a snack. By the time I made this Ham Tetrazzini recipe by Spicy Southern Kitchen, the ham was gone. We ate it all. Wow. I’m tempted to buy another one. Who says who can’t order a huge hunk of ham any time of year?

Instead, I made this recipe with a ham steak, which is pretty easy to find at the grocery store and relatively inexpensive unless you buy the organic, uncured kind that I feel compelled to buy. I think it tastes better, but it’s probably just my imagination. Buy whatever ham you want.

This recipe is definitely a make again. The only change I made was to leave out the mushrooms since the boys won’t touch them with a 6-foot pole. I also didn’t cook the frozen peas because I didn’t want them to get mushy. Another thing I noticed is that the recipe didn’t give me any cooking times so I decided to add that to the recipe to help you guys out. I like to be able to time things and I’m sure some of you do too.

By the way, tetrazzini is totally old school and I’m okay with that. You should be too. I remember my grandmother telling me how much she loved it. And what’s not to love? It’s got meat. It’s got carbs. It’s got cheese. These are all good things.

Gather your ingredients. Dice up an onion and some ham. Measure out your peas and cheeses.

Boil some spaghetti. You can use any kind of pasta so I think fettuccine or even egg noodles would have worked. The tall boiling pot I like to use encourages me to break the pasta in half. Frankly, I prefer shorter spaghetti. I know I’m “breaking” the rules. Not sorry.

I waited for my pasta to be done before making the sauce, but you can get a head start if you like. In a skillet, melt some butter and add your onion. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the soup, milk, and peppers. I actually ran out of white pepper so I added more than the prescribed black pepper. I actually don’t know why you need both black and white pepper, but let’s go with it.

Mix that all up and then add your ham, peas, and cheeses.

Stir it all up and cook until it’s melted, which is about a minute or two.

The recipe said to salt it to taste, but I think it’s perfect without any additional salt because of the ham and cream of chicken soup.

Drain your cooked pasta and add it to the skillet. Mix it up.

Put some onto a plate. Throw some parsley on it to make it look pretty. Voila! Dinner is served!

What I liked about this dish is the creaminess without it being too rich. You can sub out milk for cream, but with the cheeses you don’t really need to do that. The smokiness of the ham adds another depth of flavor that is salty and comforting. Definitely go retro and make this.

Ham Tetrazzini

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Servings 4

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion diced
10.75 ounces cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups ham diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook spaghetti according to package directions in salted water.
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Add soup, milk, and both peppers to the skillet and mix well.
Add ham, peas, cheddar cheese, and Parmesan cheese and stir and cook over medium heat until cheese is melted, about 1-2 minutes.
Add drained pasta to the pan and mix well.

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Ham and Bean Soup

January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 FloraD

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I made an 8-pound ham for the three of us for Christmas dinner. Needless to say, I have more ham than I know what to do with. After eating plates and plates of sliced ham and leftover sides, I decided we needed to change it up a bit. I tried a ham and peas tortellini dish that needs a lot of improvement so I’ll share that once I’ve worked out the kinks. For now, we’re going straight to comfort food: Soup.

I got all ambitious and made my own ham broth, but that’s completely not necessary. I only did this because I had a ham bone and making broth is super simple to make in the Instant Pot. Here’s what you do. Take the meat bones (ham, chicken, turkey, anything really) and stick it in an Instant Pot along with chopped carrots, celery, and onions. Throw in some peppercorns if you have them and a bay leaf. Cover with water. Cook on high for 60 minutes and natural release. Done. Let it cool, strain all the stuff out, bag it in 2 cup servings, and freeze flat.

Now back to the soup. The base of the soup is from a recipe on the back of a bean package, but I made it better by adding ham and using broth instead of water. Always use broth or stock when you are making soups. Water just isn’t going to cut it if you want the depth of flavor. I don’t cook soup all day so using broth really makes the difference.

The hardest part is remembering to soak your beans overnight. I completely forgot so I soaked them all day instead. It was all good, but I was a little nervous there for a moment. I used cannellini beans because that’s what I had, but you can use any (pandemic) beans you happen to have.

Gather your ingredients. Rinse your beans in cold water and drain. Chop up everything that needs chopping.

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat up some olive oil and saute your chopped veggies. Throw in some garlic powder (because you completely forgot to mince up some garlic…hey I’m not perfect, but try to use minced garlic instead) and a little black pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes so the onion is softened.

Add chopped ham and mix it around a bit, cooking for a few minutes.

Then, add beans and 5 cups of broth. You can use more or less broth. Start with 5 cups and if you want your soup to be thinner, add more broth at the end.

Bring the whole thing to a boil and then reduce the heat until it’s simmering, which on my stove is the lowest setting. Cover and cook for a couple of hours. The longer you cook it, the creamier it’ll get. I was too impatient for that so cooked the soup until the beans were tender. Before serving, add more broth if you want. Taste it. Add salt and pepper if it needs it. Usually, I salt sooner, but the ham is already salty so you want to be careful not to over salt it. Serve in bowls and sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top because like bacon, everything’s better with cheese.

I really like how this recipe is simple, healthy, and comforting. Nothing beats a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold winter day. Sorry canned soups. This is much better.

Ham and Bean Soup

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Servings 4

Ingredients

1 cup cannellini beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion chopped
1 carrot sliced
2 stalks celery chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
ground pepper to taste
4 cups ham broth or other type of broth such as chicken or vegetable
1/2 pound chopped ham
salt to taste
grated Parmesan

Instructions

Soak beans overnight in a bowl with at least 3 cups of water. Rinse beans with cold water and drain.
In a dutch oven or soup pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic powder, and pepper. Saute for 10 minutes until onions are softened.
Add ham and saute for another 5 minutes or until ham starts to cook a bit.
Add drained beans and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 90 minutes or longer, until the beans are soft and the soup is as creamy as you want it. The longer you cook the soup, the creamier it will be. If the soup is too thick, add more broth.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve with a little grated Parmesan on top.