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For the past few weeks, we’ve been experimenting with our new Fagor Duo Pressure Cooker.  Like many people, our comfort level with the pressure cooker had been less than cozy.  After all, we’re old enough to remember the stories about exploding pressure cookers — though perhaps they were nothing more than urban legends.  The new, modern-day pressure cookers are safe to use and turn the dinner hour in to the dinner minutes. 

Recently, after speaking with pressure cooker guru, Jill Nussinow, we decided to give this handy kitchen tool a  try.  We’ve been so impressed with our dinner results that we decidedto give away a fabulous Fagor Duo Pressure Cooker to one  randomly selected winner.  That’s a $100 value!  To enter, all you have to do is post a comment below sharing your favorite pressure cooker recipe or why you want one.  The giveaway ends at 5:00 PM on Friday, February 20th. 

Now, for more tips on using your pressure cooker, please enjoy the following guest post from Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, The Veggie Queen^TM

I began using a pressure cooker when my son was three. I say that it changed my cooking life, and probably the rest of it, too. I felt like the best mom in the world because my then-vegetarian son loved lentil soup.  (My omnivore husband will eat just about anything.) I could make the soup in 20 minutes, from start to finish. Thus began my love affair with the pressure cooker.

Shane's Fabulous Lentil Soup

My son had a biweekly play date when he was almost four. His friend would ask me every week, “Do you have any risotto?” I would always answer slyly, “I don’t but I can make  you some.” About 12 minutes later, he’d have his “plain” risotto which included only onions or leeks and vegetable broth. It became his favorite risotto. His mom wanted to know my secret so I told her about my pressure cooker. She bought a pressure cooker, and then her risotto became the best in the world. I could go on about why you might want to pressure cook but I will just share five of the many reasons.

Cook Healthier Foods More Easily and Quickly:  Legumes, whole grains and vegetables are a snap to cook. Beans become soup or chili, seasoned to your liking, in less than an hour. Barley, brown or wild rice cook in less than 25 minutes. Instead of microwaving, pressure cook fresh vegetables and get flavorful one-minute broccoli or carrots in two. No added fat needed in these triple-ply bottom stainless steel pots.

Boost Nutrition and Cook Big:  A Journal of Food Science study revealed more nutrition in pressure-cooked broccoli compared to other cooking methods. Colors stay bright and food stays firm. Batch cooking is easy; freezing leftovers such as 3-minute steel cut oats or lentil soup is a breeze.

Save Money:  One hundred dollars or less buys a pot that lasts a lifetime.  Home cooking pressure-perfect soup, stew, chili and pot roast is fast and inexpensive. Pressure cooked beans beat the canned version for cost and taste.

Save Energy and Time:  Cooking temperature rises to 240 degrees+ versus 212° F, reducing cooking time by 50% to 70% over stovetop cooking. Cook on gas, electric, glass top or induction. Energy saving for you and the planet.

Clean-Up is a Breeze with One Pot Cooking:  Start by sautéing or browning, then add the remaining ingredients at once, or in stages, with the modern pressure cooker quick-release feature. Clean the pot, rinse the gasket, and you’re done.

Cooking meat is easy. A whole chicken takes about 25 minutes at pressure and a 3-pound pork roast comes out fork tender in just 45 minutes at pressure (plus release time). I’ve also successfully made meat loaf, beef stew, Asian beef tips with vegetables and fajita chicken and rice. The modern pressure cooker is safe, quiet and efficient, relieving you of the nighttime pressure involved with making dinner.

You may be wondering, though, why you’d want to use this instead of the crockpot.  For the answers take a look at my November 24th  blog post. For more information about pressure cooking you can check out my website where you can see me in action with the modern pressure cooker.

When our cookbook was released in 2004, we wanted to share our recipes and tips with fellow moms and dads, so we started a series of cooking demonstrations called Meal Makeover Mom Cooking Parties.  We traveled the country and met amazing people along the way.  Since we couldn’t keep up with the travel, we created a do-it-yourself guide – complete with a sample invitation, suggested recipes, and an FAQ — on our website.  The parties are perfect for mother’s groups, PTAs, or a bunch of friends who want to get together to learn and laugh!  Some of the recipes we suggest are Corny Salmon Cakes and B.L.T. in a Bowl.  In this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast we share stories from some of our most memorable cooking parties and encourage listeners to gather up some friends and host their own event.  We’ll even call in during your party to answer any questions you may have!

If recipes like “Mom, the House Smells Great” Roasted Chicken and Lazy-Day Beef & Vegetable Soup sound like they would hit the spot on a cold winter’s day, then be sure to tune into this week’s Cooking with the Moms radio podcast show on Hearty Winter Dinners.

The roasted chicken was featured in our cookbook, The Moms’ Guide to Meal Makeovers, and is surprisingly easy. Your house will definitely smell great when you make this dish, and your kids will definitely ask for seconds. Our simple beef and veggie soup is chock-full of great nutrition and is brimming with rich flavors. The stew meat — which cooks for hours in the slow cooker — melts in your mouth, and as Liz likes to say, “it’s like butt-ah.”  She’s from New York, so she can get away with that!

We hope you enjoy listing to the show as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Sometimes the craziest recipes make the biggest impression on kids. A few weeks back, Simon joined me on my weekly trip to the supermarket. I’m sure he would have preferred staying home with his soccer ball, but he tagged along anyway without complaint (probably because he knew he could play his favorite sneak-as-many-boxes-of-cookies-into-Mom’s-shopping-cart-without-being-noticed game).

On this particular trip, Simon had his sights set on soup (and cookies, of course). It seemed bizarre but he insisted on a Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup – one of the all-natural soups from Imagine. I kid you not.

So that night, I took the soup, added a few nutritious ingredients to jazz it up, and presented “mud” with dinner to the delight of everyone.

Muddy Mushroom Soup

Makes About 5 Servings

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• One pound mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 32-ounce carton Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup
• 1 cup oyster crackers

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add the soup and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally. Serve in individual bowls and top with oyster crackers (look for trans-fat free oyster crackers from companies like Westminster Cracker Company or Trader Joe’s).

Nutrition Information per Serving: 160 calories, 7g fat (0g saturated), 360mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 6g protein, 10% iron

While Simon ate it happily, Josh was a bit skeptical. That’s when I came up with the name, Muddy Mushroom Soup. In the end, Josh also gave it two thumbs up and said he really loved it. The only complaint from the boys and hubby Tim was that the soup needed more mushrooms — can you imagine kids actually asking for MORE vegetables!? (I originally made it with 10 ounces of mushrooms, but have since increased it to a pound — use the 10 ounces if you think your troops would prefer a bit less).

For more soup ideas, tune into this week’s Soups that Satisfy podcast. But before you leave our blog, feel free to share any of your own silly recipe success stories.

~ Liz