recipes – Page 3 – I Want To Cook

Instant Pot Chicken Soup — It’s Just So Easy

The first time I made chicken soup in my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, it felt like cheating. After dumping in the ingredients and going about my business for an hour and a half, I lifted the lid to delicious, sumptuous chicken soup.

This soup required so little effort it was laughable. None of the watching of a pot on a stove to make sure it didn’t boil. None of the stirring. None of the skimming of the “scum” on top. It was literally just gathering ingredients, putting them in the Instant Pot, pressing a button, and walking away. That’s what I call easy.

The results were so good — and have I mentioned easy?? — that it is my go-to method for making quick and easy chicken soup. Another reward is the bounty of broth you get from it, which can be used however you like.

My preference is to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I find these provide a rich and unctuous broth. If you want the thicker, more gelatinous result you get from bones, by all means, use bone-in chicken. Want the leanness of chicken breasts? Go for it.

The Quick & Easy Puttanesca Recipe

If you’ve ever eaten an Italian pasta dish (and who hasn’t?), it’s likely been slathered in a sauce such as marinara, Alfredo, or a meaty Bolognese. But one of the most delicious pasta sauces is one you’ve probably never even heard of: Puttanesca.

I first had a puttanesca sauce at a family-run Italian restaurant in an out-of-the-way strip mall in Southern California. On first taste, my mind and taste buds were immediately blown. The tomato base of the sauce was familiar, but the combination of capers, olives, and anchovies were not. Yet it all worked in a culinary marriage that had me devouring bite after bite. That restaurant remains the only place I’ve seen puttanesca on the menu. And it is now closed.

The good news is, puttanesca is ridiculously easy to make at home. It comes together in about half an hour – you can easily make it while getting your pasta water to the boil and cooking the noodles – and it can be tailored to your taste.

Air Fryer Tortilla Chips

Who doesn’t love a crispy, crunchy tortilla chip? Whether you’re dipping them in salsa, loading them up for nachos, or simply eating them on their own, tortilla chips are deliciously addicting.

Homemade tortilla chips, however, can be a bit of a pain. You need to cut up corn tortillas into the requisite chip shapes, then fry each one in sizzling oil.

I’ve found a simpler solution, and it only involves an air fryer. Below, you’ll find my video on how to make tortilla chips quickly and easily in an air fryer.

A couple of notes: I’ve had good results setting the air fryer to 390 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and cooking these for about 20 minutes. That time might be too much or too little depending on your air fryer, so check the chips every few minutes and be sure to give them a toss every few minutes. Keep an especially close eye on them toward the end of cooking. I hope you enjoy!

The Easiest Blender Salsa Recipe

I read recently that salsa is right up there with ketchup as Americans’ favorite condiment. And can you blame them? I say: It’s about time.

Salsa, once only found at Mexican restaurants and in just a few variations on most store shelves, is now everywhere. Even mainstream supermarkets now sell a dizzying variety, whether made with tomatoes, tomatillos, or peppers.

But here’s a secret: Salsa is a breeze to make from scratch. And here’s another: You can whip it up in seconds in a blender or food processor. Here’s my video on how to do it, with the recipe below.