Pressure Cooker Lentil Mushroom Soup

I made this soup in my Instant Pot last night and it came out delicious, so I naturally wanted to share it with all of you. My family has decided to try (and stick to) a one night a week Meatless night, so this was our first week. The soup is not vegan, but I suppose if you use Vegetable Stock instead of Chicken Stock, it would be! It always amazes me how quick dried beans cook up in the pressure cooker! It’s fast, simple, very economical to make, and I fed 4 of us and still have plenty of leftovers for lunches.

Equipment Necessary

• 6 Qt or Larger Electronic Pressure Cooker
• Handheld Immersion Blender (Optional)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. bag of dried Lentils (I used green, but there are yellow if you prefer those!)
• 1 Pkg fresh whole Mushrooms, washed well and quartered
• 1 lb. bag of frozen Carrots (or fresh, washed and sliced)
• 1 large Onion, diced
• 2 stalks Celery, washed and cut into chunks
• 28 Oz can of crushed Tomatoes (or fresh chunked)
• 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or 1/2 Teaspoon each of Dried Basil and Oregano)
• 3 Tablespoons minced Garlic
• 4 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• Black Pepper

1. Fill Pressure Cooker with Lentils, Mushrooms, Carrots, Onion, Celery, Garlic, and Seasonings.
2. Add Stock and Tomatoes, and stir gently. Just make sure everything in the pot is mixed into the liquids. (Essential for pressure cooking!!)
3. Cook on High Pressure for 18 minutes with Quick Release.
4. (OPTIONAL) Use an immersion blender to Puree finished soup. (My son doesn’t like the texture of Lentils, so I do this to make it more palatable for him.)
5. If desired, serve with Parmesan (or your favorite cheese) and bread (French, Sourdough, etc) YUM!

NOTE: This recipe is very similar to my Pressure Cooker Pea Soup

As I mentioned, this makes a whole pot (6 quarts) of soup, which is great for leftovers or freezing. If you don’t need so much, you can easily half it for a more manageable size. Please leave your comments below if you have any questions. Enjoy!!

Suzy

 

Supermarket Shortcuts!

Over the years I’ve been able to discover lots of different ways to change everyday grocery products into big ‘helpers’ in my kitchen. They save me time (and money!) and have made it possible for me to serve delicious meals to my family night after night. I’m sure this is a topic I will return to because I have so many items I use, I just take it for granted at this point. So for now I will start with a few, and update later. Some of them may seem obvious, or even things that you are already doing, but I want to list them here anyway, in case you haven’t thought of them!

JARRED SPAGHETTI SAUCE

OK. So you say, how can jarred sauces be economical? Yes, there are many sauces that are expensive, but if you buy the inexpensive ones (on sale), you can add your own twist to them and make them taste just as good (or better!) than the more expensive versions. I never use more than ONE jar of premade spaghetti sauce, and I always have large cans of diced and crushed tomatoes on hand to stretch it. A bottle of Wegman’s spaghetti sauce is under $1, and they come in lots of flavors. To that, you can add the canned tomatoes, then spices (garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, etc), leftover vegetables, onions and tomatoes, mushrooms (whatever you have on hand!), and have a delicious version of the (more expensive) “Chunky Garden” sauce. Add enough for a thick, delicious sauce and you have a hearty meatless spaghetti meal! Super economical and good for you too!!

POWDERED GRAVY PACKS

Gravy packs are a great way to add flavor to soups, sauces and stews. When I make beef stew,  (see recipe here), I use brown gravy mix. Just one envelope adds a really nice flavor to the meal. These gravy packs come in lots of flavors, too! I usually keep Beef, Brown, Chicken and Pork on hand so I have them for nights when I run out of flavor/sauce ideas.  I use the chicken packet when I make homemade soups, and instead of water, I add prepared bouillon (vegetable or poultry flavored) as well for lots of flavor! Grab them at the supermarket when they go on sale, and you can save even more! (I never pay more than 79 cents for them). The flavor packet aisle has lots of ideas for quick prep, so make sure you check it everytime you shop. Every now and then you’ll find an instore sale and pick them up 3 (or 4!) for just $1. AMAZING!!

PASTA or RICE PREFLAVORED BOXES (or ENVELOPES)

Preflavored rice or pasta mixes like Rice-a-Roni or Knorr can be a really nice side dish with your protein for dinner, but they can add up fast if you’re feeding a hungry crowd. As with the Sauces, I never use more than ONE of these. For the rice, I prepare an extra cup of white (or brown, if you prefer) rice along with it, add some extra spices, and we always have enough! For example, just a few nights ago I prepared a Rice Sides envelope of Butter and Herb Rice. I make it in my microwave rice cooker, so I followed the instructions for the microwave. The recipe called for 3 cups of water, but I added 1 cup of dry rice, so I added 5 cups instead (1 cup of dry rice cooks in 2 cups water). Then I added some spices I keep in my pantry all the time (see my post here). Parsley, Rosemary (just a little!) and black pepper. It did take longer to cook (instead of 15 Mins I did it for 20 and let it sit to finish) YUM! I easily doubled what I would’ve yielded from the original envelope, and it tasted just as good. You can do this with pasta as well. No matter what flavor it is, just add a little more, and be certain if you are microwaving to add extra liquid for cooking. (If you are not using the microwave, you can cook the extra pasta/rice on the stove and add it in when you finish preparing the enveloped or boxed mix). I even mix up pastas and just use whatever I have on hand!

There are so many shortcuts we can take in the kitchen, this is just the beginning! Feel free to comment below and give MORE ideas! It would be great to hear from all of you.

Happy Cooking!!

Suzy

Pressure Cooker Pea Soup

I’ve been making Pea Soup for my family for many years, but when I received my Pressure Cooker it opened up a whole new world for me! I used to have to slow cook (on the stove) most of the day to get those split peas to cook, but no more of that. This is a one-pot fool-proof way to make a yummy thick pea soup in less than 20 minutes! YUM! You can make it with store-bought chicken broth, or boil up that leftover ham bone and use the broth from that! If you don’t have a ham bone, no biggie. Just use some leftover chicken!

Equipment Needed

• 6 to 8 Quart Pressure Cooker
• Hand Held Blender (this is necessary to get the right consistency!)

Ingredients

• 4 Cups Chicken or Ham broth
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Large Onion, Diced
• 2 Cups (or as little as you have) Cooked Chicken OR Ham, cut into chunks (Optional)
• 1 Pkg (1lb) Green or Yellow Split Peas, rinsed well and soaked for about an hour
• 1 Pkg (1lb) Frozen Carrots OR 1lb baby carrots OR 2cans sliced carrots
• Salt and Pepper to taste (I just sprinkle it over the top!)
• 2 TBSP Adobe Seasoning OR 2 TBSP Garlic Powder

1. Put all your ingredients in your cooker and stir. When your soup is done, you can add more seasonings if you prefer. The amounts in the Ingredients List are just suggestions!
2. Pressure Cook on HIGH for 12 minutes, then do a Natural Release (NR) for 10mins to help reduce all that liquid spitting out the top! LOL
3. Blend with hand blender until smooth and creamy. Serve with Sourdough Bread for a delicious, hearty meal YUM!!

You’ll get ALOT of servings out of this. Yields about 5 quarts of soup. Freezes well!