Pressure Cooking: Cheesy Salsa Lime Chicken

I love my pressure cooker. I'm not afraid of it, one bit. I've never had an "explosion".  
Dear fearful non-pressure cooker readers, please believe me when I tell you that there is nothing to fear. Today's pressure cookers don't growl or bite. They have been updated with safety features that makes pressure cooking fun. Imagine, a Beef Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) cooked in 40 minutes, instead of 3 hours!  Don't you love it?


I have as slow cooker, and I use it every so often.  The downside of slow cookers is that I don't have time to load it up with ingredients in the morning.  The night before, I'm usually worn out and don't have the energy to chop and measure. With a pressure cooker, that's not a problem!  Pressure Cookers are the Ferrari of Slow Cookers!

What I discovered, when I saw this recipe on one of my most trusted pressure cooker recipe blogs, "Pressure Cooking Today" is that I can use frozen chicken!  (Likewise, I've read that using frozen meats in a slow cooker is not recommended as being "food safety safe".)

Fortunately, I had all the ingredients on hand and I got busy setting up my winter photography lights (I much prefer natural lighting...but there ya go.)  Salsa, chopped onion, fresh garlic, tomato sauce...

 

Juice of two limes...

Using the browning/saute setting, add heat olive oil. NOTE: I took the liberty of adding some of my favorite Mexican spices to kick up the flavor. Cook the onion and one minced garlic clove, cumin and chili powder until softened-- about 3 minutes. On a whim, I decided to add  tomato paste. I cooked it cook for another minute. TIP: I freeze leftover tomato paste for later uses. Works great.

Add salsa, tomato sauce, , salt, pepper and lime juice to pressure cooking pot.

Add the frozen chicken (yes, you can use thawed chicken, just reduce the cooking time by about 5 minutes). Cover and lock lid in place.

Test that the chicken has reached 165F. NOTE: my chicken breasts were quite large, so I had to cook an additional five minutes.

Full disclosure: I made this recipe over a year ago, and I wasn't happy with my photos...then, I completely forgot to post it. (I don't like taking food photos at night.  I'm never happy with the artificial lighting.)  I liked the recipe, so it's time to share it with you.

I didn't photograph the rest of the steps, but it's simple.  I placed the chicken into a casserole dish, and then used the browning/saute cycle to cook the sauce until it thickened. Then I spooned the sauce over the chicken and use a Mexican cheese blend.  NOTE: Barbara used low-fat Mozarella.

TASTING NOTES:  On a chilly night, this is a flavorful and comforting way to serve chicken. I liked the addition of the cumin and chili. It kicked up the flavor, but wasn't dragon breathing hot for my delicate palate.

Yes, you can adapt this to a slow cooker, by all means.  Once you remove the chicken from the slow cooker, pour the sauce into a pot and cook on the stove until thickened.

I've been asked on my thoughts about using a stove top pressure cooker vs. an electric pressure cooker  I don't dislike the stove top models, and there are some great ones available.  I much prefer using an electric pressure cooker because I don't have to worry about having to adjust the temperatures. I can brown meats well, and I just press buttons and wait for the beep to tell me my recipe is finished.  It just doesn't get any easier than that.  One feature that I'm not finding in today's electric pressure cookers is an 8-quart oval shape.  That's a shame, because I can fit roasts without cutting them up.  Today's pressure cookers seem to all be round in shape. Sigh. This is the model Electric Pressure cooker I would buy, if mine ever breaks.

Now, go buy a pressure cooker!  You will love it and wonder what took you so long!







Here's the printable recipe card: