Pressure Cooker Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs is a vintage recipe that combines beef and rice into meatballs, which is then cooked in a tomato-based sauce.  Served over mashed potatoes, they are so good!  Porcupine Meatballs are called that because rice inside the meatballs emerges during cooking making each meatball look like it has quills.  And because this recipe is made in the pressure cooker, it cooks perfectly without heating up your kitchen.

Red wine vinegar shown below.

 

 

I accidentally left the red wine vinegar out of my ingredient photo, but I had to include a photo of it for obvious reasons. ;)

Pressure Cooker Porcupine Meatballs

Yield:  6 servings (4 meatballs per serving)

Approximate Total Time:  1 hour, 35 minutes 

Electric Pressure Cooker Size:  6 quarts

Meatballs

2 pounds 85/15 ground beef*

1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup long grain white rice (uncooked, rinsed)

2 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Combine meatball ingredients and form into 24 meatballs.  Set aside.

Sauce**

2 (10.5 oz.) cans condensed tomato soup

2 cans water

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Mix the sauce ingredients in the inner pot of the pressure cooker stirring well.  Select SAUTE, and stir occasionally while sauce is heating.    When the sauce starts to simmer, add the meatballs one at a time to the sauce using a slotted spoon.  

Lock the pressure cooker lid in place and set steam vent to Sealing.  Select CANCEL and then select PRESSURE COOK (Manual) and cook for 25 minutes on High pressure.

When the 25-minute cook time ends, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, and then open the steam vent to release any remaining pressure (Quick Release).  

Open lid, and serve meatballs and sauce over mashed potatoes.  Enjoy!

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*85/15 ground beef is best for this recipe, because there's enough fat to hold the meatball together without making the sauce overly greasy.

 

**We prefer more sauce, so I increase the sauce ingredients to:

3 (10.5 oz.) can condensed tomato soup

3 cans water

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Crab Rangoon Dip with Wonton Chips

Warm, cheesy, creamy goodness served on crispy wonton chips...Crab Rangoon Dip is so much easier to make than crab rangoon, plus you can load each chip with as much deliciousness as you desire!  

Crab Rangoon Dip with Wonton Chips

1 (16 oz.) package wonton wraps (found in the produce section)
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 (6 oz.) can of crabmeat, drained
1 heaping tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/16 tsp. black pepper
1 green onion, sliced (plus additional green onion for garnish)
Sweet and sour sauce (link below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.  Cut half of the wonton wraps diagonally so that they form 2 triangles.  A pizza cutter works well for this.  (You only need half of the 16 oz. package of wonton wraps.  The other half of the wraps can be baked as chips and stored in the freezer for future use if desired.)  Arrange wonton wraps on the baking sheets.  (See photo.)  Place one tray at a time on the middle oven rack and bake until golden brown.  This will take from 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the baking sheet.  Cool before serving.

Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.  In a 2-qt. bowl, stir the cream cheese thoroughly to make sure there are no lumps.  Add the drained crab, mayonnaise, soy sauce, sugar, garlic powder, pepper, and green onion.  Place in an ungreased small baking dish.  (The baker I use holds 2 cups and is 4x6.)  Bake for 15-30 minutes or until bubbling and starting to turn a light golden color.  Garnish with additional green onion if desired.  Serve with wonton chips and sweet and sour sauce.

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My Perfect Sweet and Sour Sauce is a wonderful accompaniment to Crab Rangoon Dip, and the recipe can be found here:  http://www.easyaspiecanbe.com/2020/03/perfect-sweet-and-sour-sauce.html

Note:  This is how I arrange the wonton wraps on a baking sheet:

Pressure Cooker Green Beans, Potatoes, and Bacon

Pressure Cooker Green Beans, Potatoes, and Bacon is a classic, old-fashioned meal that tastes like it's simmered for hours.  Great with cornbread, fresh tomato slices, or corn-on-the-cob, it's comfort food at its finest.

Low sodium chicken broth is pictured, but regular chicken broth is recommended.

Pressure Cooker Green Beans, Potatoes, and Bacon

Yield:  6 servings

Approximate Total Time:  1 hour, 30 minutes 

Electric Pressure Cooker Size:  6 quarts

1-2 pounds fresh green beans

1.5 pounds new potatoes (red or white) or 1 (1.5 lb) bag Little Potatoes (Terrific Trio or Baby Boomer) or 1 (1.5 lb.) bag Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes*

7 slices thick-cut bacon

1 sweet onion

2 cloves garlic minced or 1 tsp. jarred minced garlic

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth

Snap the ends off of the green beans, and then snap them in half.  Set aside.  If the potatoes are small, leave them whole, but if larger, cut them into halves or quarters.  Set aside.  Cut the bacon into 1.5-inch pieces, and then slice the onion.

Select SAUTE on your pressure cooker.  Add the chopped bacon and sliced onion.  Saute, stirring from time to time, until the onion softens.  Add the garlic and stir.  Add the pepper, salt, and chicken broth.  Stir well, and deglaze (scrape) the bottom of the pot so nothing's stuck to it.  Add the green beans and potatoes; stir. 

Lock pressure cooker lid in place and set steam vent to Sealing.  Select CANCEL, and then select PRESSURE COOK (Manual) and cook for 8 minutes on High pressure.  Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Then open the steam vent to release the remaining pressure (Quick Release).  Carefully remove lid. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

*Any small potato brand or variety will work.  Most will be sold in a 1.5 lb. bag.

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