By August 2020. I am 61 years old, retired from the Postal Service, my days now belong to me and the smoker and Rosetta and the slow unfolding of a life without a mailbag. The week arrived the way weeks arrive in Orange Mound — carried by the rhythm of morning coffee and evening porch-sitting and the steady, patient work of being present in a life that doesn\'t require grand gestures to feel meaningful. New year's 2021.
I cooked this week the way I cook every week: with the ingredients at hand, the fire in the steel drum, and the understanding that food made with love in a home kitchen for people you care about is the most important food in the world. The recipe matters less than the hands that make it and the table that receives it. I stood at my smoker or my stove and I made something, and the making was the purpose.
The week ended on the porch, as most weeks do — Rosetta and me, the evening settling over Orange Mound like a hymn that doesn\'t need words. The smoker cooling in the backyard. The house quiet but full. The life continuing, low and slow, the way Uncle Clyde taught me, the way I am teaching whoever comes next. The fire doesn\'t stop. It never has. It never will.
New Year’s has always meant peas at our table — that’s not negotiable in Orange Mound, and it wasn’t negotiable for Uncle Clyde before me. With 2021 coming in carrying all that vaccine hope, I wanted something that honored the tradition but still moved with the rhythm of how I cook now: low effort where I can afford it, so the love goes into the parts that matter. This pressure-cooker mushroom chicken and peas gave me that — peas on the table, the house smelling right, Rosetta satisfied, and the year beginning the way a year ought to begin.
Pressure-Cooker Mushroom Chicken and Peas
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté aromatics. Set the pressure cooker to sauté mode and heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Brown the chicken. Add the chicken pieces to the pot and sear for 2–3 minutes per side until lightly golden. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and smoked paprika.
- Add mushrooms and broth. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and pour in the chicken broth. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Pressure cook. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow a natural release for 5 minutes, then perform a quick release for any remaining pressure.
- Thicken the sauce. Switch back to sauté mode. Whisk together the sour cream and flour in a small bowl, then stir the mixture into the pot. Cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add peas. Stir in the frozen peas and cook 2 minutes more until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve. Ladle over egg noodles or rice. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 520mg