Quick Scalloped Potatoes - Pressure Cooker Style

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30 minutes from “chicken in the freezer” and potatoes in the bag, to chicken, scalloped potatoes, and Brussels sprouts on the table!

I got a hankering for scalloped potatoes. Well, I was hoping to cook them sliced, in sauce, in the IP – pot in pot — but I didn’t have a lot of wiggle room to experiment (we needed to eat) so I sliced the potatoes very thin using my Saladmaster, cooked those in the IP in a steamer basket over a cup of water for 1 minute (yes, 1 minute), then let it NPR for 3 minutes. NOTE: Those 3 minutes are important. Don’t skimp. Ask me how I know.

While it came up to pressure, I preheated the oven to 375 and made a white sauce, then added a bit of cheese for my gang. I layered the potatoes and sauce, then topped with some crushed leftover cheese crackers. Popped that casserole into the oven for 10 minutes, then turned the broiler on for about 2 minutes to golden-up the top.

So it still used the oven, but it sure beat the traditional oven-baked method that takes almost 90 minutes to bake. And in 30 minutes I went from chicken-in-the-freezer to chicken, scalloped potatoes, and Brussels sprouts on the table! (See recipe down the page)

The Chicken

Meanwhile….You will ideally have thawed your chicken. Slice your chicken into about 6 pieces per boneless breast — think of small, thicker cutlets.

(I didn’t thaw mine — story of my life lately — last minute…. so I took one boneless chicken breast half from the freezer and popped the baggie into warm water in a bowl while I sliced the potatoes. Once it was thawed enough to easily get a knife through, I sliced the chicken into six pieces, each about 1/2 inch thick, then put them back into the baggie into tepid water to finish thawing.)

Once the potatoes go into the oven, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat (I use cast iron). Spread about 1/4 cup mayonnaise onto a plate and squirt about 1 Tbsp mustard into the mayo. In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs, 1/2 cup flour, a shake each of garlic powder, thyme, parsley, and onion powder and a bit of salt and pepper. (You may need to double for your quantity of chicken.)

Heat enough oil to cover your skillet (I like a bit extra, so mine is a bit of a puddle); when oil begins to slightly shimmer, smear each cutlet through the mayo/mustard mixture, then dredge in crumbs mixture and fry in skillet till golden, turning to brown both sides, till internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 — just a few minutes. (I find it helps to cover the skillet before I turn them, to cook the inside from the contained heat/steam.)

The Veggies

When the potatoes come out of the steamer basket, do not discard the very hot water in the pressure cooker. Simply add your broccoli or Brussels sprouts to the now-empty steamer basket and put the veggies in the IP liner with the hot water. When you start cooking the chicken, turn the Instant Pot on for about 1 minute, then quick-release when it beeps. Turn veggies out into a bowl with a bit of butter and a sprinkle of kosher or sea salt.

About now, the potatoes should be done. If they happen to finish before the chicken, it’s okay. Just turn off the oven and leave them in there until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

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Scalloped Potatoes - Instant Pot

Recipe type: side dish

Cuisine: American

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

5-6 medium potatoes, scrubbed (or peeled) and sliced about ⅛ inch thick - I use Russets
¼ cup butter (half a stick)
¼ cup flour
1 - 1.5 cups milk (start with 1 cup; add more as needed)
1 tsp chicken broth powder
dash pepper

Instructions

Cook sliced potatoes in steamer basket in pressure cooker over 1 cup water for 1 minute, then allow pot to NPR for 3 minutes. (This is important--they won't be fully cooked at 1 minute, so the extra 3 minutes NPR allows them to finish tenderizing.)
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.
Make sauce: In small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then stir in the flour. Whisk or stir for about 1 minute to cook the flour, until slightly golden. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk and stir about 2 minutes until it creates a sauce (you don't want pudding -- so if it's too thick for a sauce, add a bit of milk, till it's the consistency you would want in your potatoes -- a thick gravy). Stir in 1 tsp chicken broth powder (if you don't have any, use about ½ tsp salt) and a dash of pepper.
At the end of your 3 min NPR, release the rest of the pressure from the potatoes. Remove steamer basket from pot.
Put a thin layer of white sauce into a greased 2 qt casserole. Carefully layer some of the potatoes, some of the sauce, and repeat, finishing with sauce. Top with crumbs or crushed crackers if desired.
Put uncovered casserole in preheated oven about 10 minutes. If desired, finish with about 2 minutes under the broiler to brown the top.

Notes

You can stir in shredded cheese, cubed ham or chicken, or other additions to the sauce before layering.

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