One nice thing about getting older is accepting that you need to adapt to new life situations on every level. I do a lot of our home cooking, as my wife continues to work. When there were five of us living here it was easy for me to make a giant batch of food. When two of my kids left for their own apartments I could still make large quantities, as my son was a bit eater who was glad to take leftovers when he packed a lunch. I too, would eat whatever I made a few more times.

However, my son has also moved on, and now only my wife and I sit at the dinner table. A week ago, I made a large pot of soup, but after the third leftover meal, I had had enough. I was going to freeze the remains, but my freezer was already crowded. Inflation continues to push up the price of groceries, so wasting food is a no go as far as I’m concerned. It was time for a new strategy.

Today’s meal serves two purposes for me. I’m going to try making a half batch of beans and rice, and I also want to test out a few things with another one of my thrift-store pressure cookers. This one was also $9.99 in almost new condition. Let’s get into the recipe!

Here are most of the ingredients, save some pepper, hot sauce, and liquid smoke.

1 cup kidney beans soaked overnight.

Some leftover ham gifted to me from my sister-in-law’s Easter party (and frozen until today).

A couple bay leaves, 1/2 t each of oregano and thyme, salt/pepper

1/2 chopped onion, one chopped small sweet pepper (any color), 1 chopped stalk of celery.

I T (or more) garlic, jarlic, or 1 rounded t of garlic powder.

Hot sauce to taste.

A few small squirts of liquid smoke (optional)

I chopped the vegetables; feel free to adjust the amounts.

I also measured out the spices plus around 1/2t salt and 1/2t pepper so I could dump and go.

I placed the electric pressure cooker (AKA Instant Pot) on sauté and added some EVOO. When the oil was hot, I added the ham bits. Yes, I could have chopped them into even chunks, but I’m a guy, and this worked just fine. The goal was to get a little browning on the ham.

I then added the chopped vegetables and cooked them until they softened slightly. I think they look rather pretty.

In went a heaping tablespoon of jarlic. I’m a big garlic fan; feel free to use less if you wish.

Now, a couple of squirts of liquid smoke. This is completely optional. If you go for it, use it sparingly. Too much, and your dish will taste like a chemical campfire.

In goes the seasoning. I’m going to stir them around, and when I can smell them, I’ll move on to the next step.

Oops, I forgot the pepper. I’ll add around 1/2 t now.

In goes in 3C of chicken broth. As usual, I’m using Better Than Bouillon. If you like a thicker mixture go with 2.5C chicken broth.

Lastly, my 1C of soaked kidney beans. I didn’t call this red beans and rice because you can use any bean that you happen to have. I soaked mine because I think that makes them more digestible. However, you can use dry beans too. If using dry beans stay with 3 cups of chicken broth. The dry beans will absorb more liquid. Give it a big stir.

Close the lid and place your regulator on sealing. This shot was taken after the pot was under pressure because I wanted to illustrate that the little red indicator is raised. It is called the float valve and when it is up the pot is under pressure. Never attempt to open the pot if that indicator is up, as it will spew hot liquid everywhere, including on you.

I set the cook time to 15 minutes, as I had soaked the beans overnight. If I were using dry beans, I would have cooked the mixture for around 40-60 minutes.

Editors note: If you read one of my recent posts you know that I have been picking up electric pressure cookers (Instant Pots) at thrift stores. This one was almost new and was only $9.99. This model (The Power Pressure XL) was widely advertise on late-night TV infomercials in the mid-2000s. It operates at a slightly lower pressure than most electric pressure cookers, but reviewers advised to use the same time as you would for any Instant Pot recipe. That is exactly what I did, and the beans turned out perfect.

After the cook time, I waited an additional 10 minutes without disturbing the pot. If you quickly vent a pressure cooker with a lot of liquid, it can spray liquid instead of steam. By waiting, you minimize this. Remember, always use caution when opening the pot. Vent the pot by turning the regulator to vent and allow all of the steam to leave. It may take a few minutes. You will know that it is safe to open the pot when the float valve drops. Make sure that the pressure has completely evacuated, and open the pot using the lid as a shield. I have been using pressure cookers for over 50 years and have never had an adverse event, but I’m never careless or in a hurry when opening one.

I added some hot sauce to my taste. I can’t tolerate super spicy foods, but a little hot sauce adds interest. I tasted for salt, and there was plenty from the Better Than Bouillon.

Here it is plated up, and it was delicious. There were still leftovers, but in a manageable amount. I served it with rice, and cornbread would have been nice too, but it was a weekday dinner, so I kept it simple.

Today’s recipe was an adaptation of red beans and rice. Many different versions of that dish exist. I used classic spices and the holy trinity of vegetables (onion, celery, sweet peppers). You can vary the recipe as you wish. Try smoked sausage, or some other smoked meat like ham hocks. Add more spice, or consider Cajun seasoning, or cayenne pepper, or parsley flakes, or whatever suits your fancy. Make it as spicy or as mild as you like. Use whatever dried beans you have on hand (you may need to adjust your pressure cook time for different beans). You can also make this dish into a vegetarian one. Once I made it for my brother-in-law who is a pescatarian. I used fake chicken bouillon cubes, and omitted all meat, and it was still pretty good.

Simple, full of protein and fiber, delicious, inexpensive. What more can you ask for?

Peace

Mike