Spanish Rice in the Instant Pot

I’m not going to lie, I am not good at making rice. I burn it all the time, and it’s become comical over the years. I’m not a huge fan of rice so it’s not really been a big deal, but my husband likes rice a lot and my daughter does too. I decided it was time to up my game.

 

 

I got my instant pot a few years ago and some of the first things I did with it was rice. It helped me build my confidence branch out and try some more complex stuff. After a few stove top fails (again), I decided to try some different things in the instant pot.

 

 

Success! I could add some flavors to the instant pot and get some great results. After playing with that a bit, my sister introduced me to a stove top Spanish rice that was awesome. My family loved it, but it was stove top and I wasn’t sure. So I decided to adapt it to the instant pot.

 

 

Works amazing! The rice is nice and fluffy and flavorful. I can set it up and let it go and not worry about it. Yummy Spanish rice ready for our Mexican meal. The leftovers are dreamy too. They heat up well and stay fluffy and flavorful.

 

Spanish Rice in the Instant Pot

 

 

2 Tbs EVOO

2 c long-grain rice (I use a mix of jasmine and long grain white rice)

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp chicken bouillon

¼ tsp cumin and cayenne pepper

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce (my fave is la Mexicana)

1 ¼ c water

1 tsp salt

 

 

 

 

In the instant pot, turn on the sauté function. Once it’s warmed, add the oil and once heated add the rice. Allow the rice to cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally so none of it burns. Once it is a nice light brown, add the garlic and give it one more minute. Then add the spices and the tomato sauce. Mix that together and add the water and the salt. Turn off the sauté function and put the lid on the pot. Make sure the steam valve is closed and turn on the pressure cook, setting it to 4 minutes. When the cook is complete, let the instant pot natural release for at least 15 minutes, after that you can quick release the steam that’s left, being careful not to burn yourself. Remove the lid when it’s done and give the rice a fluffing with a fork, and it’s ready to serve.

 

*You can make this on the stove top as well. Prepare the rice the same way with oil in a sauté pan. Add the garlic, and then add the spices and the tomato sauce. Finally add 4 cups water, 2 tsp bouillon, and salt and give it all one more stir. Place a lid on your sauté pan and allow the rice to simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed. Use a fork to fluff the rice and you’re ready to serve.

 

A New Quilt for my Son

 

While I was in the deep lockdown of covid, I was able to complete a ton of projects! It was an amazing feeling to be able to get so much done, and a little shocking how many projects I had backed up. One of the projects I had was a sailors quilt kit. I decided to use the fabric from the quilt to create a completely different project and my son loved it! He immediately claimed it as his own and it disappeared to his room.

 

 

Fast forward a few years and several inches of growth and that quilt is no longer long enough. He asked for a new one and had no special requests. I was stumped on what to make.

 

 

And then, I got a package from a dear quilter friend that included a set of fabric with cactus on it. It has tones of greens and browns; perfect for my son. It’s like she knew just what to send. I found a perfect pattern that is reminiscent of a Navajo blanket pattern, and got to work. 

 

 

 The only thing I needed to add was a background fabric. I found a nice mossy green that matched most of the fabrics and added enough contrast to see the blocks without being to light or dark.

 

 

After completing the blocks, I decided to add sashing with rust-colored cornerstones that add a nice pop of color and continue to pull the different colors together. My sons fave green in this quilt is the dark teal so I used that in the borders along with a striped fabric that was in the collection. I wanted to make sure the quilt was big enough so I added more in the length than the width.

 

 

For the backing, I decided to use up the rest of the fabrics I had in the set and did a patchwork. It’s kind of a nice, random backing that complements the front well.

 

 

I was a little stumped on the quilting. I decided to do a long, stretched out meander in the block patterns, and then a regular meander everywhere else except the rust-colored cornerstones. Those I left without any quilting, adding to the texture of the quilt.

 

 

Finally, the binding was the last of the pebble fabric, and of course my tag reminding me what year I made this. 

 

 

Hopefully this one will last a little longer. He was so happy to have a new quilt, he immediately snagged it out of the dryer before I could take pictures of it. I had to go back to get it to be able to post about. Being the first official finish of 2025, I didn’t want to miss out on sharing this one. 

 

Civil War Stars Quilt

 

After finishing my flags quilt, I had some scraps left and I really wanted to use them in one more lap quilt. I wasn’t sure what to do though, and decided to just sew the pieces together so that I wouldn’t have anymore leftover scraps. Mission accomplished.

 

 

I really only had blue and red left, which worked perfect for compiling a patriotic look. Once all the stars blocks were ready, I had to think about layout. I still had a little fabric left and decided they’d make great accents in the sashing. I was all out of print whites so I kept it simple with regular white. I kind of like how it makes the stars pop even a little bit better.

 

 

Layout for the quilt wasn’t too challenging when there’s only two colors to work with. Fortunately, I had enough of each to make it work. I was able to trim the blocks along the side and in the corners to make it work. 

 

 

I added a white border to isolate the stars and then added a red border to really frame the whole thing. 

 

 

The backing was a collection of civil war reproduction fabrics that I wanted to use up.

 

 

For the quilting, I decided to practice some of my pattern quilting. I was able to practice making my feathers free-hand, which was a lot of fun and I really felt came out well. I finished the quilting with a nice meander in the sashing and borders.

 

 

The binding was the last of the civil war fabrics I had and it worked perfect. I added the label and hand stitched my binding.

 

 

 

 

 

This was a fun finish that allowed me to finish up some fabrics I’ve had kicking around and practice some techniques that I want to improve. This was my last finish for 2024 too. Now it’s time to move on to 2025!

Chicken Frickassee

 

I always joke in our house that we’re going to have fricassee for dinner. I think it’s just a fun word to say, and it gets a lot of quizzical looks.

 

One night I said it and my daughter asked what that was. Hmm… let’s look it up and see. It was an interesting little lesson in the wording of foods we eat.

 

 

We found that Fricassee is very similar to Couq a vin, or chicken in a white wine sauce. Of course, that takes much longer to cook as it needs to braise the wine off, leaving the flavors behind.

 

 

It’s also very similar to Chicken Marsala, which is a recipe we make often in our house. When I described that, we realized it’s probably something we would enjoy trying out.

 

 

This was a lot of fun to explore with my kids. Recipes like this allow you to use veggies you’d like to use, and omit ones you’re not as much a fan of. We serve it with rice, but it would also go great with noodles or a potato mash. It keeps everyone happy with a sauce and a starch to soak up all the yumminess.

 

 

Chicken Fricassee

 

8 pieces chicken; boneless, skinless (thighs are best, but breast works too)

2 Tbs EVOO

1 tsp salt

 ½ tsp pepper

1 Tbs butter

½ medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

2 Tbs flour

½ c white wine

1 ½ c chicken stock

½ c heavy cream

 

 

Heat a deep cast iron skillet (I use my le creuset for this) to high heat. Pat the chicken pieces dry and add salt and pepper for seasoning. Add some oil to the skillet and sear the pieces of chicken in batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. Between each batch allow the pan to heat back up and add a bit more oil. Once all of the chicken has been seared, set aside and heat the pan to a medium heat. Add the butter and the onion and brown it without over cooking, maybe a couple minutes. Add the mushrooms and carrots and allow them to soften a bit. Next add the garlic and thyme and cook for just another minute. Finally add the flour and cook it into the mix, making sure it’s all incorporated and becomes a bit of a brown with the butter.

 

Now it’s time to add the wine. Add it slowly and use it to clean the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the wine to cook off, it should be half the amount of liquid, about 3-5 minutes. Now add the pieces of chicken and the chicken stock and bring it to a boil with the lid on. Reduce the temperature and allow it to simmer for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced a bit. To finish it off, add the heavy cream and turn the heat up a bit to allow it to simmer for a few minutes. Serve with rice, noodles, or potatoes.