I'm Feeling Sick Chicken Soup

Woke up feeling mediocre, dry cough which i thought it was allergy, turn into cough with some mucous and body pain... i try to scream for my Mom but she's six thousand miles away in Brasil... The husband is taking care of the "full on energy" 4 year old...
I'm in need of soup. I look in my fridge and i have 2 small carrots, lots of celery, a few leftover pieces of broccoli, 1 potato, a onion and a can of corn in the pantry... Oh yeah, a bag in the freezer with 3 chicken breasts in it... I need this soup to heal the pain in my throat from the cough and to help my body heal as quick as possible so i can get back to normal life...
Thats when my pressure cooker comes to good use again (twice in 1 week).

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts cut into chunks

1 large onion cut into large chunks

a few carrots chopped

some celery chopped

broccoli ( i had about 5 florets)

1 large potato cut into large chunks

1 can of yellow corn

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh chopped parsley

Place the pieces of chicken in the pressure cooker and add about 5 cups of water to it. Let it come to a boil without the top on it. Skim off the fat that comes to the surface with a spoon, discard it. Add the onions to it and close the pressure cooker, after the pressure comes on let it cook for 12 minutes.

Let the pot sit aside until all pressure is released or place the pot carefully under cold water for a faster release of the pressure. Add the rest of the veggies to it and salt and pepper to taste. Put the top back on and place it back on the heat. Cook for 15 minutes after the pressure comes on. Add parsley and serve it hot.

Pinto Beans

Just got back from a great camping trip but for some reason the 3 hour drive home all i could think of was beans... pinto beans!
Was very tired by the time we got home so decided on using the pressure cooker for faster beans...
Usually i would soak the beans overnight, changing the water a couple of times and boil them for about an hour.

Ingredients:

1 lb of pinto beans ( or black is another fave of mine)

1 small onion finely chopped

3 cloves of finely garlic

2 tablespoons of olive oil or if you prefer the "unhealthy" way, go ahead and use bacon fat instead(yummm)

2 bay leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

Lay your beans on your countertop or a large plate and pick the bad looking guys, toss them.

Transfer them to a pressure cooker and cover with double the amount of water. Close the pot, set the pressure on and cook over moderate heat. When the liquid comes to a boil and the pot is filled with pressure, set your timer for 24 minutes. If you are on a hurry like i was turn the cold water on in your kitchen sink and being very careful (i know a person with a whole in their kitchen ceiling for not respecting the pressure cooker) pick the pressure cooker with a towel and lay in under the cold water, this relieves the pressure in seconds so you can open the pot. Or you can turn off the heat and let the pot sit for about 15 minutes until all pressure is out naturally. Mix the bay leaves in the beans. Let it sit aside while you get the veggies ready.

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil or bacon fat, add the onions and cook them until golden, add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes until darker in color.

Pour a couple ladleful of beans on top of the hot onions and garlic and then transfer all back to pressure cooker. Add salt and pepper to taste and boil it without the cover for 10 minutes.

It's delicious with white rice, corn bread or just toast....

When using the pinto beans for a mexican dish , i like the beans thicker , i use a immersion blender and blend about half the beans.