Shredded Chipotle Chicken w/rice and beans....using "bone in" cuts of meat

Have I mentioned that I love my freakin' pressure cooker? I swear, if you don't use one, get in the habit, because it has changed my cooking life. No other tool helps me cook more balanced nutritious meals, inexpensively and quickly like the pressure cooker. In fact, I'm so convinced of it's value that I'm willing to put together some sort of pressure cooker classes/lessons, in my own kitchen for anyone interested in hands on learning! So there it is....if you live within driving distance of me and want to learn more about this type of cooking then shoot me a comment or e-mail and let's get these PC parties started!

One of the great things about the pressure cooker is that if you use meat with the bone you create your own stock at the same time as you cook. In other words, like this chicken, rice and bean meal, everything is cooked in the stock made by the bones in the chicken leg/thighs. Talk about adding in precious nutrition....and meat with the bone is less expensive!

Shredded Chipotle Chicken w/rice and beans

Pre soak 1 c. black beans overnight, or bring water to a boil, turn off heat, soak beans covered for 1 hour prior. Drain soaking liquid.

olive oil, 1-2 tbl
onion, large (always, lol)
garlic, 2-4 cloves chopped or minced
canned chipotle peppers, 2-4


Saute onion in oil for 5-10 min.(on high), add garlic for one minute. Add chipotles with some of the adobo sauce, but leave the chipotles whole, so you can remove them easier after cooking.. Add,

2-6 large chicken leg and thigh pieces, skin removed
1 c. pre-soaked black beans (or any bean, I think I used pintos also)
1 c. rice (I use brown rice)
4-6 cups water to cover

You can add about 1/2 t. salt at this point, or wait to season aferwards.

Place lid on PC, bring pressure to high, cook for 25 min., let pressure come down naturally....remove large chipotle (their job is done, lol!), adjust final seasoning and that's it. You don't have to shred the chicken, it will, literally, fall of the bones.

I kept the dish soupy, and added some shredded spinach leaves, but if I ate tortillas, this would make a killer burrito filling!

You can use any kind of meat with, or without the bone, beef shanks, or cross cut short ribs, pork shoulder or butt, just remember that the bones add flavor.

Bones add flavor, but just as important nutrient value to foods, and the pressure cooker takes advantage of this. One more important note about using cuts of meat with the bone in.....I am not or never have been a vegetarian (obviously), but a few years ago I decided that the least I could do is, if I'm going to buy and eat meat I would never let it go to waste. I can't tell you how many times I had bought some meat and was too lazy to cook it before it went bad, having to throw it out. Out of some sort of respect for the animals that give me their life I now feel I will not waste it, so if I buy meat I cook it and eat it! Fawn Friday brought up anither important point, which was....buying meat with the bone uses more of the animal, so again preventing waste, using as much of the animal as possible.