Potatoes again! Rice Cooker to the Rescue

Tuesday night was steak and potato night at our house. But what kind of potatoes to cook? Baked with all the fixings, or smashed with garlic, or roasted with a couple of different cheeses? Or should I try something new? Then I remember I had a rice cooker. Wait, isn’t a rice cooker just for rice? Well, if it was it would be a waste of counter space. I decided to make smothered potatoes in the rice cooker.

I would prefer to do them in cast iron skillet (update: I did get one and while sometimes I like to do it that way, I often still use the rice cooker), but that would require me to actually have a cast iron skillet. One day, I’ll have one, just not this past Tuesday. I cut the potatoes into small pieces and diced half an onion. I put the potatoes and about half the onions in the rice cooker pot. Then, seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a little cayenne. Next, I put enough water in the pot to almost cover the potatoes. I then set the rice cooker to cook. Our model, below, is a less expensive one but it has be nothing but reliable.

Set and Forget

I then went watch TV for a little while. Well, I watched TV for about forty minutes. The SyFy version of Being Human is starting to get interesting. I then got up and started to fry some bacon in my grill pan. Once the bacon was done, I dried them off and crumbled them placing most, but not all, in the rice cooker. I poured out most of the bacon grease and then cooked my steaks in the same pan.

As soon as the steaks were done, I put them on the plates to let them rest. I then took the onions and sauteed them in the pan. When they were done, I threw them into the rice cooker. I then grated some fresh Parmesan (none of that pre-packaged stuff) on top of them and gave them a final stir. By this point, they were ready to serve. I put the reserve bacon on top to finish the dish off. For more cooking articles, click here.

The Verdict

The great thing about the rice cooker is that it does the work for you. It’s really hard to overcook since it will shut off itself when it’s out of water. I’ve not only done smothered potatoes in the rice cooker, but I have made sweet potatoes with cinnamon and pecans in there as well.It also can do more than rice and potatoes. If you get a rice cooker that you program, you can wake up to cooked oatmeal or other breakfast cereals. With one of the combo cookers below, you have endless possibilities.

If you search google for “cooking with a rice cooker” you will find tons of articles on different things you can make in the rice cooker including banana bread, mac and cheese, and lava cake. In today’s busy world, anything that can provide convenience and something nutritious (OK, the lava cake might not be nutritious) is a great addition to the kitchen.

And the rice cooker, deserves to be on your counter, and used often.

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