My First Meal

Previously on “Dana Tries Pot”

• I tried unsuccessfully to hard-boil some eggs.
• I finally figured out how to make the thing turn on and cook something.
• I am humbled and fully convinced of my need to read instructions (and sometimes to watch Youtube videos).

The Recipe

Since it’s Super Bowl weekend, I wanted to make something for the game tomorrow. Buffalo wings are pretty traditional fare for the Super Bowl, but hubbs doesn’t like wings much. So I found a recipe called Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili and thought that might be both easy and a Super Bowl-ish compromise.

You can see the original recipe in the link, and here’s how I did mine “to taste”:

Ingredients

cooking spray

1 c. carrots, peeled and sliced

1 c. celery, chopped

about 3/4 c. chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1.5 lbs ground chicken

2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/3 c. hot buffalo wing sauce (I used a bottled brand called Wing Time)

1/2 c plain Greek yogurt

1/3 c goat cheese crumbles (because I hate blue cheese)

chopped chives for garnish

Directions

1. Spray the inside of the Instant Pot with cooking spray.
2. Put in the ground chicken and turn the Pot to Saute. Saute with the lid off, stirring, until the chicken is lightly browned.
3. Add the onion and stir with the chicken for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic and stir. Switch the pot to “keep warm.”
5. Put the diced tomatoes into a blender. Pulse briefly so that the tomatoes are the consistency of chunky tomato juice. Two cans yields a little over 3 c. of liquid.
6. Add the tomatoes, chili powder, hot sauce, and garlic to the chicken and vegetable mixture and stir in.
7. Lock the lid in place and turn the venting valve into sealing position.
8. Using the Manual button, set the timer for 25 minutes. It will take an extra ten minutes or so for the pot to come to pressure. You will hear steam happening once the pressure cooking begins.
9. When the timer goes off, release the pressure using quick release. (Turn the venting valve to “venting,” but be careful because hot steam will escape from the lid. I used silicone oven mitts and kept my arms, face, etc. at a safe distance.)  It took maybe 10 minutes for the pressure to release.  Then I turned the pot off (it will default to “keep warm”) because we’re not eating the stuff until tomorrow.
10. Top with the cheese crumbles mixed into the Greek yogurt, plus chopped chives for garnish.

After 25 minutes, the veggies are tender and the meat appears properly cooked. I tasted it briefly, and it’s HOT. I think we’ll like that Greek yogurt mix-in when the time comes.

So…it’s done. The thing is out of the box, it’s assembled, and it cooked me something!  Hurray!

EDIT: Reheated the chili today using the slow cooker function on the Instant Pot. We ate it during the Super Bowl. It was really good!  My tweaks gave it the right amount of heat, especially with the yogurt/cheese crumbles sauce stirred into individual servings. I thought the amount of liquid was about right, but I could see going with even a bit less, say 2-2 1/2 cups, for a thicker sauce.

I’d eat this again. I like making chili and have a few recipes in my rotation, but I think this one is worthy.