Mirepoix Rice, a Review, and My love of the IP

Several months ago I asked, OK I begged, for one of those fancy schmancy electric pressure cookers. A 7 in 1 electric pressure cooker. An Instant Pot.  My friend had recently gotten one and shared with me all the wonderful things she was cooking.  Admittedly,  I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets and I just HAD to have one of these pots.

I have a stove top pressure cooker and I can't really say I didn't use it much for fear of blowing up the house. My mama used one often when I was growing up and I always felt safe, but I do know that you don't venture far away from them when in use. 

So, enter the Instant Pot (and I am not affiliated with the company at all, just sharing the one that I love to use).  I use this pot almost every day of the week. It is simple to use and easy to clean up. I'm also comfortable with leaving it on while I run out to feed the chickens and pigs. 😊

One of my favorite foods to cook in the IP is rice. We have rice at least once a week because of how good it tastes and cooks in the pressure cooker.
I really like rice from Palmetto Farms. The flavor is sweet and nutty. Of course rice is so versatile also.  Oh and their grits are the best!

I made a mirepoix rice dish in the electric instant pot that was delicious. Mirepoix is a combination of rough chopped onion, carrots, and celery. This rice was filling and comforting. You can always add in chicken, pork, or shrimp to make it a complete meal. My daughter said it reminded her of chicken and rice soup even without the chicken.
I'm sharing my recipe for the rice cooked in the pressure cooker, but you could certainly adapt it for cooking on the stove top or even baked in the oven.

Pressure Cooker Mirepoix Rice

2 Tbsp butter or oil, plus 2 more Tbsp butter (added at end)
1/2 small sweet onion, rough chopped
2 medium carrots, rough chopped
2 stalks of celery, rough chopped
2 cups rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the pressure cooker using the Saute function. Add the butter. Once melted, add in the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. 
Turn pressure cooker off when veggies are just about tender. 
Next, add to the pressure cooker pot the rice, chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Give it a stir. Lock the lid and cook on Manual, High Pressure for 3 minutes. Once the pressure cooker is done and beeps, allow it to naturally release for 7 minutes. Open the lid, add in 2 Tbsp butter, stir and enjoy! 

Unstuffed Peppers

Who  is enjoying their summer garden? Are you getting lots of yummy veggies? Our garden has done fairly well this summer. We have had so much squash and zucchini.  My girls are now fans of zucchini bread.  We have had several cucumbers, many radishes and banana peppers, some potatoes, and a few green peppers. If you are harvesting loads of green peppers, how do you like to eat them? I love stuffed peppers! The girls do not love to eat the actual pepper though. They like the "stuff". So...I came up with this recipe because they kept asking me to cook the "stuff". Now, I've seen a similar recipe and it is called Spanish rice. I wasn't sure what to call it because I did not go by a stuffed pepper recipe and it was a bit different from Spanish rice.  My husband called it good! (points!)  So I posted a picture on Instagram and threw out a couple ideas for a name... Unstuffed Peppers won. It is a fitting name and the girls loved it...a lot!

Unstuffed Peppers

1 1/2- 2 pounds ground beef

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 15oz. cans tomato sauce

Cooked rice (cook enough for 4 servings) 

(I don't use minute rice. I use the rice that cooks a little longer...it tastes better!)

Shredded cheddar cheese

• Brown the ground beef, cook the onions with it in a large frying pan or cast iron pan.  Add the green pepper when the beef is almost done. ( l like my peppers a little crunchy) Continue cooking until beef is done and onions are tender.
• Drain the beef mixture if needed
• Return to pan and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. Stir until combined over med-low heat. 
• Add the cooked rice and stir well. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• When done, top with the shredded cheese. You can add cheese to the mixture if you like it really cheesy!

Enjoy!!!