Important Pressure Cooking Safety Information

A few simple rules to remember whenever you are using your pressure cooker.

• Never overfill your pressure cooker.
• Always add cooking liquid .
• Be sure the vent pipe is clear before closing your pressure cooker.
• Make sure that the pressure cooker is fully closed.
• It is important to never open your pressure cooker when it contains pressure. The air vent/cover lock in the up position means that it contains pressure.
  
• If the overpressure plug becomes, deformed, cracked, worn, soft, sticky or hard you need to replace it.
• Things you should never pressure cook are applesauce, cereals, cranberries, dried soup mixes, certain dry beans, pastas, peas and rhubarb.
• When cooking dry beans, grains, peas, rice and soups, your cooker should never be filled more than half full.
• If the handle should become loose, tighten it with a screwdriver.
• Always remove and clean the sealing ring around the inside of the lid of the pressure cooker.
  
• When pressure cooking at higher altitudes, you will need to increase the cooking time by 5% for every 1000 feet above the first 2000 feet. Add an additional 1 cup of appropriate cooking liquid to your recipe.
  
• 3000 feet ~5%
• 4000 feet ~10%
• 5000 feet ~15%
• 6000 feet ~20%
• 7000 feet ~25%
• 8000 feet ~30%
• Never use your pressure cooker on an outdoor LP gas burner or a gas range that is over 12,000 BTU's.
• Always remove the pressure regulator before you open the cover.
  

A Busy Month

It's been a very busy month for me. Lots of cooking, every day, but no time to take all the pictures. Many days I spent with my daughter and grand-daughter, cooking up meals for both our families. I do have a few pictures, but haven't taken the time to sit down and type up my recipes. For now, I think I'll post a few pictures to remind me that I need to post the recipes for chicken pot pie, apple pie, enchiladas, stuffed green peppers, homemade bread and more.

Smoky Barbecue Country Style Ribs

Ingredients
Country Style Ribs
Salt
Pepper
Badia Seasoning
Safeway Select Honey Smoke Barbecue Sauce
1/2 small chopped Onion

Wash ribs. Put salt, pepper, Badia Seasoning on both sides of ribs. Smoke in a smoker for 2 hours with Hickory Wood. Spread barbecue sauce on ribs. Smoke 1 more hour.



Remove from smoker. Put ribs into pressure cooker, add some more barbecue sauce. Add chopped onions to top of ribs.


Cover with lid and cook on stovetop for 30 minutes. When steam has escaped, remove lid and put ribs on a serving platter.



Ribs will be smoky flavored and very tender. Serve with Creamy Cheesy Potatoes and Velvetty Carrots.

Creamy Cheesy Potatoes

Ingredients

8 medium potatoes, peeled, sliced, boiled
2 cups Pioneer Gravy Mix
1 & 1/2 cups milk
1 small Onion (diced)
1 small clove Garlic (diced)
Salt
Pepper
2 inch thick slice of Velvetta cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese (colby, cheddar)

Peel potatoes, slice them about 1/4 inch or larger and boil in a large pan. Drain.



While the potatoes are cooking on the stove you can start preparing your gravy mix. Add the Pioneer Gravy Mix, milk, onion, garlic , salt and pepper.



Whisk mixture and microwave one minute. Remove from microwave and whisk again breaking up any lumps and thicker gravy that have formed along the sides. Keep microwaving one minute and then whisking, until your gravy thickens. Add a 2 inch thick slice of Velvetta cheese and whisk until cheese melts.


Mix the gravy mixture and the potatoes together and put in oven proof dishes. You may use a 13 x 9 inch pan if you like. Top the potatoes with the shredded cheese.




Bake the potatoes in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes or until top browns.




Remove from oven and serve.

Velvetty Carrots

Ingredients

Canned Carrots
1 inch slice Velvetta Cheese
1 tspn Butter
Salt
Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and microwave.

Mom's Hamburgers and Fries

I just made this plate of hamburger and french fries for my son. It was yummy enough to make this recipe collection.

I made the french fries from Russet potatoes. I always soak the fries in a bowl of ice cold water for about 1/2 hour or longer before frying them.

The hamburger is very simple to make. I make patties, then salt and pepper them (using sea salt), and a special seasoning from Badia that is called "Complete Seasoning", then grill them. Very simple. Top it with Velvetta Cheese, Fried Onions and Fried Bacon.

The fries are fried in the grease from the bacon and onions. I fry the bacon first, then add the fresh onion rings. Once done, I add some vegetable oil to my skillet and fry the french fries. They have a wonderful taste, but as you can tell, this dish is full of calories, so my family does not get this dish too often.

I usually make up all the patties (lots of them), then partially cook on the grill what we will be eating the next day. Popping the partially grilled hamburger patty in the microwave finishes the cooking process and then just add the onions and bacon and cheese. Lunch today was ready in 20 minutes.

Devilled Eggs

Ingredients

12 Hard Boiled Eggs
1/4 cup Salad Dressing (use Mayo if you absolutely have to)
1 tbspn Fine Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Paprika

Boil your eggs completely covered with water and add some salt to the eggs and water. Boil approximately 15 minutes. Put pan of eggs in sink and drain the hot water, adding back cold water to cover the eggs. Let this cool, then peel the eggs. Normally I can get each egg to peel correctly, if I tap the bottom and top of each egg and immerse it back into the water. I tap each egg this way. Then take an egg and roll it between your hands. This loosens the shell from the egg. Peel. Rinse eggs and put them in another container.

Cut each egg in half with a sharp knife and put the yolks into a separate smaller bowl. After you have removed the yolks from all the eggs, use a fork and mash the yolks until they are really fine. Add sugar. Mix. Add salad dressing, salt and pepper. Mix well. Use a spoon to fill each of the halved eggs. Sprinkle sparingly with paprika and refrigerate.