#dump-and-go

Soup is one of the easiest and fastest dishes to cook in an Instant Pot and is usually just dump-and-go. For most soups, it’s as simple as adding all ingredients into the pot, setting the time, and walking away. This Ham, Vegetable and Wild Rice Soup is an improvised recipe that uses dried vegetables, which is perfect for pressure cooking, and is a wonderful pantry item to have around for quick, dump-and-go soups and stews. The recipe uses a vegetable stock as its base, but any stock can be used. 

For frequent Instant Pot cooking, saving and freezing scraps of meat, chicken carcasses, ham bones and broth is very useful. Here, I put to use some ham scraps that had been lingering in the freezer but any leftover scraps of meat can be used, cooked or uncooked. 

For a vegetarian/vegan option simply omit the ham. This makes a very easy and healthy meal.

The recipe serves 4 was prepared in a 6 qt Instant Pot. 

Ham, Vegetable and Wild Rice Soup: Dump-and-Go

Ingredients

1 tbsp dried onion (or 2 fresh onions, chopped and sautéed)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp powdered vegetable bouillon

1 tbsp Italian herbs

1 cup wild rice

Ham scraps

1 cup dried vegetables

6 cups water

Preparation Pour water into the Instant Pot. Add onion salt, pepper, vegetable bouillon, Italian herbs, wild rice, Ham scraps, dried vegetables. Stir to ensure all of the rice is covered. Function : Pressure Cook 

Time: 4 minutes

Sometimes people refer to the Instant Pot as the Magic Pot and it truly is. There is nothing ‘instant’ about it. But it is such a time saver in many ways. For one thing, you can set it and forget it and go on to do other things. And, it is a great tool for trying traditional recipes intended for long cook periods in a dutch oven. Many, many recipes can be adapted for pressure cooking. This is another traditional recipe that is perfect for the Instant Pot, and has been altered to make a quick dump-and-go meal. The use of dried onion and garlic is a great time-saving technique, and though the recipe uses a vegetable stock as its base, any beef stock can be used, as well. Any cheap cut of beef, such as bottom round, is perfect for this recipe as long as it is well-marbled with fat. It is not necessary to brown the meat. Beef Stroganoff is wonderful served over noodles and pared with green vegetables. The recipe serves 4 was prepared in a 6 qt Instant Pot.

Beef Stroganoff: Dump-and-Go

Ingredients

1 tbsp dried onion (or 2 fresh onions, chopped and sautéed)

1/2 tsp garlic powder1 tbsp powdered vegetable bouillon

1 tbsp Italian herbs

3 tsp French mustard 

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

8 oz button mushrooms thickly sliced 

2 tbsp of tomato paste

2 lb beef stew meat

1/2 pt sour cream 

1-2 tbsp flour (optional)

Preparation

Pour water into the Instant Pot. Add mushrooms, dried onion, garlic powder, dried bouillon, Italian herbs, French mustard, salt, pepper, tomato paste. Lastly, add the beef stew meat to the pot and do not stir.

Function : Pressure Cook 

Time: 25 minutes

After the 25 minute cook time, allow a full natural release, which will be about 20 minutes, then put the pot in Saute Mode. The liquid will be thin and to thicken it into a nice sauce, combine some of the hot liquid with 1-2 tbsp of flour in a small cup. Stir until the paste is smooth and the flour completely absorbs the liquid. Add the slurry to the pot and stir the sauce in saute mode until the desired thickness is reached. 

I love traditional recipes and cooking and rarely use instant ingredients or any ingredients laden with chemicals and artificial flavoring. But, like many, I don’t have time to labor over a meal, so many of my Instant Pot recipes are dump-and-go. Altering a traditional recipe to forego all of the tender loving care put into slow simmering and sautéing is a reasonable choice that yields a healthy home-cooked meal.

Reviving classic recipes for the Instant Pot and incorporating a few time-saving substitutions and techniques is a fun challenge. Most of my Instant Pot cooking uses dried onion and garlic, which adds a real depth and flavor to the dish. Many people complain that Instant Pot cooking is bland and they have to double amount of the spices used. This is not at all necessary if you begin with stock instead of water so I usually add 1 tbsp of powdered organic vegetable bouillon to every savory dish. I also love to use inexpensive cuts of meat. The cuts that usually require longer cook times, like beef stew meat, are perfect for the Instant Pot and particularly for dump-and-go recipes. This recipe is a variation of a traditional Hungarian Goulash. I used orange and yellow peppers instead of green peppers and, though sour cream is essential in traditional Hungarian Goulash, this recipe is delicious without it and perfect for people who are lactose sensitive. The recipe serves 4-6 and was prepared in a 6 qt Instant Pot. 

Hungarian Goulash: Dump-and-Go Ingredients

1/4 cup dried onion

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp powdered vegetable bouillon

1 tbsp Italian herbs

2 tbsp paprika 

1 cup water

Salt and Pepper to taste

2lb beef stew meat

2 peppers cut in slivers 

1 8oz can diced tomatoes

1 6oz can of tomato puree

Optional: 1/4 pt sour cream 

Preparation Pour water into the Instant Pot. Add dried onion, garlic powder, dried bouillon, Italian herbs, paprika. 

Add the beef stew meat to the pot. Do not stir.

Set the function to Pressure Cook and timer to 20 minutes.

Remove seeds and slice the bell peppers as the mixture is cooking. After the 20 minute cook time, allow a full natural release then put the pot in Saute Mode. 

Add the peppers, canned tomato and tomato puree and stir to mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste and let the mixture simmer until the peppers are cooked to your liking.

Optional: Stir in the sour cream and serve. Hungarian Goulash: Original Version