Need to cook a chicken in a hurry? Try the pressure cooker!

© Leslie Sausage

I purchased a stainless steel pressure cooker several years ago, but haven't used it very often.

I made some beef stew last week and here's my experiment with cooking chicken.

This simple recipe was found on the net:

Pressure Cooker Chicken  

1 (3 lb.) chicken, cut up
1 (1.2 oz.) pkg. onion soup mix
2 c. water

Place the chicken in the pressure cooker, add the water, sprinkle the dried onion soup mix over the chicken. Heat until steam starts to come out the top. Add the pressure top. Bring to 15 pounds pressure. Cook for 15 minutes at 15 pounds. Turn off heat. Allow the pressure to reduce to normal.

My Changes: I changed the recipe a bit by using chicken seasoning mix (similar to bouillon) and about a teaspoon of dried Italian herbs

This does not make "pretty" chicken, but the pressure cooker will cook the chicken fast and it will be very tender. You'll have several cups of chicken broth.

May be used for your favorite recipe!

We made the following:

Chicken, Veggie and Rice Soup

After cooling the chicken a little while; debone it and chop coarsely.

Defat the chicken broth. I usually do defat broth by putting the cooled broth in the fridge; the fat congeals at the top and can be tossed out. Since I needed the broth right away, I let it cool a bit and most of the fat rose to the top; I removed the fat and discarded it.

Combine the chicken and broth with some frozen mixed veggies. Season to taste. Simmer until veggies are tender.

Serve with rice or add some Vermicelli noodles to make Chicken Noodle Soup.

Enjoy!

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This recipe may be freely distributed with the following information:

Leslie Sausage lives with her husband in rural Texas. She is the mom of four grown children, a freelance writer, and has a degree in business administration. You are invited to visit her online for more creative, practical and fun ideas -- http://heart4home.net.