Canned sweet rolls in a waffle maker, experiment. SUCCESS! You CAN heat up an oven and wait 20 minutes, or you can pop a can, load, flip, ice and eat in 2. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

I didn't make this up.  Every once in a while I feel the overwhelming need to say that.  I am a solid believer there are no new ideas in cooking, only reworking of existing once.  I am inspired by loads of things, recipes, pictures, ideas I hear about or just stuff that pops into my head. 

This isn't even a re-work.  I saw a picture of these and looked to my right...I have a straight line of sight into my kitchen...through the bead curtain of course, and saw my new Waring Pro Waffle maker.  *I* can do that.  I stood up, walked into the kitchen and this is exactly what I did. 

There's no recipe here, just the pictures.......  I also can't type much, my fingers are covered, thickly, with rich, gooey, totally chemical laden, canned icing and sometimes, there's nothing on earth that will beat it. 

Get a coffee, send someone to the store and behold:

I got this with some meal deal at my grocery store.  Pop it open, turn on the Waffle maker, I set it to 3.5, pretending I was involved in the preparation.  I wanted to feel this procedure actually needed me.  I fear it didn't.
  
Spray your beloved waffle maker and pop one little round in each quad. Close the lid.
   

flip and time for 2 minutes.  Open!  *SQUEAL WITH DELIGHT* pop those little delicious nugget weird shaped delights onto a board.

  
Ice 'em.  OH, it fills the nooks and crannies and waffle divots of joy!!  Connor (horror!) decided he wanted his plain.  WHO wants a canned roll plain?  *sigh*
  
oh WAIT A MINUTE, leaving 4 plain means more MORE icing for ME!  You may want to avert your eyes at the shock and horror of exactly how heavily I iced the next one I ate.  I only confess because we've built such a relationship, I wouldn't show just anyone.  Behold, the big kahuna waffle ironed canned sweet roll with orange icing, OR it could also be referred to as.....  Behold, my orange canned icing with some waffle ironed sweet roll to carry it to my mouth.  You choice?

I suspect there will be a run on waffle makers and canned sweet rolls.  I'm heading to the store now just to see what else I can waffle in my newly beloved Waring Pro. 

/enjoy

ADDENDUM (or, here's a sweet added bonus of this idea!) : 

The teenage boy got up on a Saturday morning, offered me coffee and to make breakfast and proceeded to pop a can of cinnamon rolls (regular, not orange), cooked them in the waffle maker, iced them and presented me with warm sweet rolls with icing for breakfast with my cup of coffee.  

THAT ALONE IS WORTH THIS MACHINE! HAHAHAHA  *and no, he doesn't even want anything! 

/enjoy even MORE!

Bamboo steamer experiments over the Pressure Cooker, frozen ravioli? oh you BET that works too!

Don't blink!  This is an addendum to the experiments I did yesterday with the bamboo steamer and the freaky coincidence that it fits perfectly over the insert on my  Pressure Cooker.  Here is the original link to the steamer meets pressure cooker post:

http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2013/11/bamboo-steamer-on-digital-pressure.html

I'm searching through my fridge and freezer now for all things steam-able.  I am ALL about quick and easy for lunchtime around here.  Adding a little bit of water to the cooker, turning it onto BROWN and leaving it for the few minutes it takes to boil then adding the bamboo steamer on top with whatever I fancy is the EPITOME of quick and easy in my book!

There's no draining, no boiling water, no stove on, no fuss, no muss!

Today's experiment, frozen ravioli.

Don't blink!

Here's the play by play:

This is Costco cheese ravioli.  I bought it on a deal and it's been in the freezer for a year, you can tell by the ice crystals all over them.  I don't care, we're cooking them and trying them.

Hello my lovely.  OH quick note, you can remove the lid of the new Digital pressure cooker, you just lift it slightly up and slide it off the shaft thingy (technical term) at the hinge.  It's easy.  I like the option of using it with or without the hinged lid.

Throw a little water, about an inch or so, in the cooker and set it to saute.  Line your steamer basket with some leaves, I used cabbage, and then some frozen ravioli.  Set the steamer on the cooker when the water is boiling and time it for 12 minutes.
  

Make sauce to keep you busy in the interim.  Melt some butter and olive oil and pepper and salt in a small pan.  Ok, that used up a minute. Chop some beautiful parsley from your garden.
  

12 minutes later.  LOOK at these beauties!  There's none exploded, water logged, squashed, broken or anything, they're GORGEOUS.   Pick them up, tenderly, and put them in the sauce.  Shush them around a time or two to coat them.  Add cheese or any herb you like.
   
Add some parsley to pretty them up and slide them onto a plate
   

THIS is my idea of quick and easy!  Steam some ravioli! 

I'm going to try homemade, fresh, pasta, perogies, other frozen items (I'll have to go to the store and look to see what they have, I'm not a fan and don't keep stuff like that here... with this method though, I may just become a convert!)

Ok, go get your pressure cooker and dig out your steamer, we have more playing to do! 

/enjoy

Bamboo steamer on a Digital Pressure Cooker... old meets new in the most glorious, tasty, perfect way! Rice, Dumplings then fish, 2 ways.

I was walking through my kitchen with a new bamboo steamer basket a friend gave me.  I stopped beside the pressure cooker.  I opened the lid and plunked the steamer onto the cooker: SHOCK, the steamer basket fit PERFECTLY onto the pressure cooker insert.  A tight fit on the side which, in my mind, meant all the steam would go through the basket.  Oh, I need to play with this.....

SO, no housework, crafting, sewing or knitting got done.  I dropped Connor at ODA and dashed to the store to get the supplies for the experiment.

Bok choi ($1), cabbage ($.88), fish ($1.83), frozen pot stickers($2.99).  Ok, sounds like a culinary experiment even I can afford!!

I'll summarize for you now:  perfect.  Absolutely bloody perfect.  The pot stickers, from frozen:  perfect.  The bok choi:  perfect.  The fish: perfect both ways.

I put 1 1/2 inches of water in the insert of the pressure cooker and turn it onto saute  I closed the lid, no locking or loading, and waited for the water to boil.  It was fast.  I put the steamer, lined with cabbage leaves, onto the cooker and timed each according to the times below:

These times are in the bamboo steamer, over hard boiling water and obvious steam.

Frozen pot stickers/dumplings:  15 minutes
Bok choi:  5 minutes
Fish:  on cabbage leaves; 5 minutes
Fish: in a bowl with sauce on the steamer:  10 minutes.

Here are a bunch of play by play pics for you:

The bamboo steamer a friend gave me...line it with cabbage, or lettuce, or spinach, or any greens that aren't bitter or just some parchment paper
   
All lined, throw the frozen pot sticker dumplings on the leaves (I added some bok choi that I had), put the lid on
   
Now, wait for about 1 1/2 inches of water and a pinch of salt to boil hard in the pressure cooker, I set it to saute.  Put the steamer basket on top.  LOOK HOW PERFECTLY IT FITS!!
   
Like it was MADE for it!  NO gaps at the sides AT ALL so all the steam goes straight up and through the streamer.  This has to be good
  
While I waited, I made this sauce:  A bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce and brown sugar, stir and taste till you like it.

Timer set, 15 minutes.  Oh NO WAY, they are glistening, soft, moist, tender, perfectly cooked.  Wow, how did I NOT know about this?
  
I transferred the dumplings to a plate.  We ate them.  Really REALLY fast.  Perfect.
   

While we eat the dumplings, I put a plain piece of Pangasius, my new favorite white fish, on the cabbage leaves.  No sauce, no nothing.  No salt, no pepper, nothing at all.  I want to see what it TASTES like. 

Timer:  5 minutes.  Tender, flaky, juicy, flavorful, healthy, absolutely bloody delicious

 

NEXT experiment: 

The other half of the fillet, in a dish with some of the dipping sauce drizzled on it and a sliced green onion. 

Timer:  10 minutes.  Tender, perfect, the best of the bunch experiment.  Connor begged me to go to the store to buy more fish.  I am tempted.  

   

Cooked absolutely perfectly!  This is EASY!

  

It's flaky and tender and easy and healthy and healthful and quick and there aren't enough adjectives to describe how delighted I am with this experiment, these experiments.
 
Another round of dumplings?  YOU BET!

VERDICT: 

The standard large bamboo steamer basket fits perfectly on top of the insert in the Nesco Digital pressure cooker.  Go get both of these, the easy of cooking, set up, cleanup and the ridiculous flavor makes any weeknight meal the easiest thing you've ever put together. 

I did make a batch of the 'sticky' rice before we started which added a whole 12 minutes to the game. 

I cannot recommend this method highly enough.  Truly.  I'm astounded at how well it came out.  I'm already thinking salmon, custard, vegetables and all manner of things I can steam in my bamboo basket on my pressure cooker.  I didn't even have to turn on the stove.  It's all good, very very good. 

/Enjoy