Being lazy is my best advice. Using leftovers in my fridge is a game. And finding out how to use the same cooking fats, spices, and pans to make multiple things brings me great satisfaction! Also, it obviously means less dishes. If you can find a good flow of food prep maybe twice a week for 1-2 hours, it will greatly impact your success in grabbing nourishing foods throughout the week.
My top lazy techniques are
- Use the same 5-ish spices in different combinations for all your food prep in one go.
- Choose just one cooking fat for your prep session
- Use the same pan (or in this case, instant pot) for every step of the process.
- Use what’s in your fridge, substituting for items instead of following a recipe to a “t”.
- Sear before cooking. It adds massive amounts of flavor and reduces cooking time.
This is quite possibly my favorite combo for a meal. Here’s how you make the chicken:
I rubbed my chicken breasts in cumin, curry, salt (garlic this time, because who has time to get out a salt shaker AND the garlic spice?), and pepper (liberally, of course).
Gather the following: 4-5 chicken breasts 2T cumin, 1T curry, 1T garlic 2t salt, 1t pepper 2T bacon fat (This is definitely an estimate! Don’t let the chicken sear in nothin!) 1C chicken broth, 1/2C apple sauce 1/4C maple syrup 1T stone ground mustard
#protip: Always sear your chicken.
I used the “sear” function on the instant pot and got a nice golden color using some bacon fat before adding my liquids, some extra crushed garlic for kicks and giggles, and pressure cooking it for 23 minutes.
Now, before you go sniffing your nose in odd, questioning ways when looking at my ingredients, think about this: In Indian-style food, is it not typical to combine curry and raisins? It is, but i didn’t want to include raisins in my pressure cooking shenanigans, because that sounds mushy and gross.
BUT! I had apple sauce that needed to be used, so with my curry-spiced chicken, I decided to utilize the apple sauce in my fridge in combination with maple syrup and a touch of chicken broth for my cooking liquid, and viola! Perfect combo!
- Spice and sear your chicken breasts in batches. After searing the chicken breasts, without crowding them.
- Deglaze the bottom of your pan with a splash of chicken broth.
- Add your cooking liquids and pop the top on
- Cook for 23 minutes on the manual setting on your instant pot
- If you want to get crazy, add a splash of full-fat coconut milk!
Pair it with some green beans you’ve sautéed up in bacon fat with garlic, salt, & pepper and sweet potato cubes you’ve overcooked on accident. Your friends will rate it 10/10 🙂 But seriously, she loved it way better than going out!
Get to preppin friend! You’ll only have to cook twice a week and you’ll love your life.
