Susan Irby - The $7 a meal pressure cooker cookbook: 301 delicious meals you can prepare quickly for the whole family

Ever hear the phrase, I feel like I'm in a pressure cooker and am about to explode!? I have heard some of my fans say that out of frustration from life's pressures careers, family, finances, and so on. You just want to say, Enough pressure; I'm about to explode. Well, harness all that pressure into your safe, convenient pressure cooker and relieve at least the stress of cooking dinner every night. Simply put, a pressure cooker is an aluminum or steel pot that is sealed with a lid. You add a relatively small amount of water to the pot along with the ingredients, then seal with the lid.

The lid does not allow moisture to escape below a preset pressure. When placed on the stove top (or if using an electric cooker, when the electric cooker is turned on), the water heats and forms steam, thereby cooking foods faster. This steam process is all held in tightly by the secured pot, which creates pressure. It is this steam-and-pressure combination that holds in the high temperature during the cooking process and beautifully cooks the food in a minimal amount of time. Cooking with steam is not a new concept and neither is a pressure cooker. Hot steam helps keep food moist and retains nutrients (as opposed to boiling foods) and is thereby a very healthy, flavorful way to cook.

With a pressure cooker, the process of steam cooking is made simple while still providing flavorful meals. The secret to the flavor? Adding in your favorite spices! In this book, you will find plenty of flavorful recipes. To help control the steam and pressure, pressure cookers have a gasket, or regulator, that is built into the lid. This gasket helps to retain and release pressure, or steam, as needed to hold the desired amount of pressure during the cooking time and preventing your pressure cooker from exploding.

There are so many great reasons to cook in a pressure cooker. Here are just a few: The most obvious reason to own a pressure cooker is that it saves time.

Foods can cook in a pressure cooker in less than half the time sometimes in just a few minutes making it the perfect solution at the end of a busy day when you are too tired to cook an entire meal or just don't feel like cooking at all. They are especially useful when unexpected guests arrive (hungry, of course) and you want to get a healthy meal made quickly.

Pressure cookers can save you and your family money in a variety of ways:

• Pressure cookers will help you save on energy costs by using less gas and electricity because of their energy efficiency and quick cooking time.
• They are very durable and can last a lifetime, making your $40 or $50 investment cost virtually nothing over a several-year span.
• Pressure cookers can make both small or large meals in virtually minutes with even heat distribution. So, when cooking for your family, why not make twice the meal at one time? You can enjoy one portion for dinner, then freeze the remaining meal to be enjoyed two weeks later.