{Instant Pot} Razorback Soup

{Instant Pot} Razorback Soup

2 pounds Italian sausage (or wild hog, like we used)

2 14.5 oz cans cannellini beans, drained

1 14.5 oz can carrots, drained

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 14.5 oz can collard greens, drained

1 large onion, chopped 

1 clove minced garlic 

4-6 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon each of: salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground thyme 

1. Push the Saute button on the Instant Pot, and cook the sausage and chopped onion together. Cook until sausage is browned. 

2. Add all other ingredients, and stir to combine. 

3. After putting the lid on the Instant Pot, and making sure the valve is on sealing, push the Manual button on the Instant Pot. Set for 5 minutes. 

4. After the Instant Pot has finished cooking, release the pressure, and taste test to make sure you don't want to add any more of the above seasonings. You can also make this ahead of a meal, and leave it sitting on the 'Keep Warm' feature that the Instant Pot automatically goes to after it finishes cooking. 

{Instant Pot} Southwest Chicken Stew

Jana here with a new Instant Pot recipe that is really easy to prepare, and delicious!  I got inspiration for this here.

{Instant Pot} Southwest Chicken Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 can black beans (15 ounce), drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
1/2 cup quinoa
2 cups cubed chicken, uncooked (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs...you can also use chicken breast)

1. Choose the Saute function on your Instant Pot, and add the oil to the stainless steel pot. Once this has warmed, add the diced sweet potato and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring some, and then add the garlic. Cook for an additional minute.

2. Stir in the chicken broth, seasonings (chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, paprika), black beans, tomatoes, quinoa, and chicken. Stir to combine, then lock lid in place. Choose the Manual function, and set for 4 minutes. Once this has finished, let the steam release using Natural Release. (10 minutes)  If you want the stew to be less runny, either let it sit on the keep warm feature until you are ready to serve it (the quinoa will absorb the liquid as it sits), or turn on the saute feature for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

Enjoy!

{Instant Pot} Coconut Curry Chicken and Rice

Jana here with a new Instant Pot recipe that will definitely be on repeat at our house!  I got the inspiration from this Instant Pot cookbook that I own, and enjoy! The flavors are mild (not spicy), and the end result is a creamy, delicious meal that my whole family really liked.

{Instant Pot} Coconut Curry Chicken and Rice

1 tablespoon olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds bone-in chicken (thighs or drumsticks - skin on is fine)
1 can coconut milk (14 ounce)
1/2 cup water
1 1/3 cups rice (basmati, jasmine, or whatever you have on hand)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons cilantro
salt and pepper to season

1. Add the oil to the Instant Pot (IP) , and select Saute on the Instant Pot. Add the onion, and let it saute for 2-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Continuing to stir, add the garlic, curry powder, turmeric, and ginger. Cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Add the coconut milk and water. Close and lock the lid. Select Manual, and cook for 13 minutes. (high pressure)

3. When cooking is done, use a quick release and open the IP. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, and allow to cool slightly.

4. Add the rice, cilantro, and sugar to the IP, and close the lid again. Choose Manual, and cook for 4 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chicken, and take the chicken off of the bone.

6. When the rice is finished cooking, select Cancel and let it NR (naturally release) for 10 minutes. Release any remaining steam, and open the lid.

7. Add the chicken back to the pot, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to your preference.

Enjoy!

{Instant Pot} Black-Eyed Peas

Jana here with another Instant Pot recipe!  I have been trying to buy more dried beans, rather than canned. Like many other things, they are a better value, and can be healthier.  Once I have cooked the dry beans, I like to portion them into glass jars, and freeze them for future meals. I use mason jars for this, or other glass jars that I save from foods like salsa or pickles. Using a funnel will make pouring the beans into the jars a much easier process. Also, make sure to leave plenty of empty space at the top of your jar to allow for expansion once the beans are frozen.  I also like to put a label on the lid of the jar so I remember what exactly is in the jar. While soaking beans ahead of time is optimal, I typically forget to do that. So my recipe below will be for unsoaked beans. This is a base recipe, but you could easily add in some chopped ham, or chopped onion!

{Instant Pot} Black-Eyed Peas

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
6.5 cups water  (or chicken broth)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Rinse the dried beans, and place in the Instant Pot. Add enough water to cover, plus 1-2 inches.
Season with salt and pepper.

2. Put the lid in place, and make sure the top knob is turned to "sealing". Set on Manual mode for 20 minutes.* Once they have cooked, use Natural Release before opening.

3. At this point, I like to taste the beans, and add seasonings from there. Sometimes, I add in a packet of real bacon pieces, or 1/2 cup cooked/crumbled bacon. I also like to add spices such as paprika, thyme, garlic and onion powder. If you are unsure about amounts of each seasoning, start with 1/2 teaspoon, and go from there.

*I find that people's preferred softness for beans can vary quite a bit. The suggested 20 minutes cook time is a middle of the road approach. If you know you prefer a very soft bean, I would suggest going to 25 minutes. Likewise, if you prefer a firmer bean, I would decrease to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Printable Version

{Instant Pot} Whole Chicken

Jana here with another Instant Pot recipe!  I recently cooked a whole chicken in my Instant Pot, and the results were delicious. Moist chicken that was falling off the bone!  In my opinion, cooking a whole chicken in the Instant Pot is good for then using the meat in other ways. Because you aren't marinating or injecting the chicken with flavor throughout, I prefer to season the chicken in different ways for various meals throughout the week. If you want some ideas for recipes using chicken, scroll to our right sidebar on the blog, and look for the food categories. When you click on 'chicken', it will show you all recipes we have posted that involve chicken!  Another reason I like cooking a whole chicken sometimes, is you can then use the bones to make homemade bone broth! 

{Instant Pot} Whole Chicken

1 whole chicken (4-5 lbs)
1 cup water
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1. Pour 1 cup of water or broth in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the trivet, and set the chicken on that.

2.  In a small bowl, pour 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir to combine. Using a silicone kitchen brush, brush the oil all over the top of the chicken. (or drizzle it if you don't have a brush)

3. Close the lid, and cook on Manual mode for 25 minutes. Use NR (Natural Release...let it stay on the Keep Warm feature for 10 minutes before releasing pressure and opening the lid), and check the temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer. It should be 165 degrees F. (or just above)  If it is below this temperature, close the lid, and do another 5 minutes on Manual mode.

Enjoy!!

{Instant Pot} Spaghetti Squash

Jana here with another easy, healthy Instant Pot recipe!  If you aren't familiar with what an Instant Pot is, we have a basic tutorial here. I was SO happy with how the spaghetti squash turned out. The one I cooked was about 4 pounds, and the cook time may vary a few minutes if the squash you are cooking is larger or smaller. The squash easily came out in these 'noodles' with a fork once it was done. We prefer to eat spaghetti squash slightly al dente (with a small amount of crunch), so if you want yours to be completely soft, you might increase the cook time by a few minutes. There are many options for what to eat with this. You can do spaghetti sauce, or pesto. I made a homemade pesto (recipe coming soon!), and we added mushrooms and smoked brisket. A healthy, delicious dinner that we all enjoyed!


{Instant Pot} Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash (3.5 to 4 pounds*)
1 cup water or broth

1. Pour 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot, then place the trivet in.

2. If the spaghetti squash you have will fit whole, you can poke a few holes in one side of the squash, and place the whole squash on the trivet to cook. If it is too big (or just as another option), you can cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds/inside, and place both halves on the trivet.

3. Close the lid, and cook on Manual mode for 15 minutes. Use QR (quick release - release the steam and open) once it has finished cooking. Check the squash to make sure it easily flakes out with a fork. If you aren't satisfied with this, you can let it cook for another 2-3 minutes on Manual mode.
Enjoy!

*If your squash is smaller than 3.5-4 pounds, I would suggest decreasing the cook time to 10 minutes. Squash can become watery and mushy if it is overcooked.

{Instant Pot} Super Tender, Chuck Roast

Becca here with an easy and pretty foolproof way to make a roast that is incredibly tender.  It literally is falling apart, and can be cut with a spoon!  One of the best parts is that I started with a completely frozen solid chuck roast mid-afternoon, and it was ready and waiting for us at dinner time.  I also like to add my own seasonings, because it is a lot less expensive than the seasoning packets I see a lot of recipes calling for, and also avoids a lot of the yucky additives we try to avoid.  My roast here was from Aldi, I try to go once a month or so to stock-up on some items that I can buy for significantly less there, chuck roast being one of them, at $2.99 a pound.  I use (and love) Walmart Grocery Pickup, and Sam's Club Pickup for most of my main shopping.  We do try to eat organic as much as possible, but grass fed, organic beef is not a good, feasible option for our family.  Let me know how your family liked this recipe!  My husband said that it was "better than candy", and all of my kids ate it well, even the one with some texture/sensory issues that can make meats tricky!

{Instant Pot} Super Tender, Chuck Roast - From Frozen!!!

1 Frozen Chuck Roast, about 3 pounds
1 Tablespoon coconut or olive oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
3 teaspoons Pink Himalayan or "Real Salt" Salt

Turn Instant Pot to the Saute setting, and add the Tablespoon of oil.

Add the frozen chuck roast.  Try to get it to rest flat on the bottom.  If it won't, do the best you can.  Mine was at an angle at first, as you can see.  Rotate the roast a few times, until you have as much of it browned as you can get, about 10-15 minutes total saute time.

Pour in the 1 cup of water.

Add the seasonings (black pepper, onion powder, granulated garlic powder, and salt), sprinkling each one evenly onto the top of the roast.

Add the Instant Pot lid (make sure saute is turned off!), and push the meat button, then the + button I'm pointing to in the bottom right photo, until the pressure time reaches 90 minutes. The Instant Pot will automatically switch to the warm setting and keep the roast nice and warm and tender, so it's ready when you are ready to eat!

I have also made gravy using the liquid remaining in the Instant Pot, and it was really flavorful and delicious!

{Instant Pot} Baby Food

Hello!  Jana here with a tutorial for how to easily make baby food in the Instant Pot!  My fourth child is 6 months old, so we are in the early stages of eating table food. Making your own baby food is beneficial for so many reasons!  First of all, it is the most inexpensive way to feed your baby. An entire bag of organic baby carrots (32 ounces) costs $3.48 in my area. From my research, non organic jarred carrots would cost about $1 for two 2.5 ounce containers. As you can see, you can get a higher quality food for much cheaper when you make it yourself!  Some of you might be thinking that the time it takes to make the food isn't worth the cost savings. I can assure you, that it only takes minutes to prepare the food.  Below, I am going to show you an example of making carrots using the Instant Pot. There are many other foods that could be prepared in a similar way, including the following:

Green Beans (using a steamer basket instead of a trivet)
Peas (using a steamer basket instead of the trivet)
Apples
Pears
Squash (peeled first)

From my experience, homemade baby food is much more flavorful, which makes it more fun for baby to learn to eat!  I like that you can add more or less water, depending on what stage of eating your baby is in. You can also begin to mash instead of blend once your baby gets older. I also like to start adding spices (cinnamon, garlic, etc) to foods once my baby gets older. (typically closer to 8 or 9 months) 

I will also discuss below how to store the baby food that you make.

To make the carrot baby food, I placed about 20 carrots on the trivet in the IP. I could have stacked them and done more, but I wasn't making a huge amount of baby food this time. Pour 1 cup of water or broth in the bottom of the IP. Close the lid, push Manual, and choose 4 minutes. You can do quick release or natural release once it is finished.

 

Add some of the water back in if needed (depending on how thick or thin you want the consistency for your baby), and puree. I used an immersion blender for this step, but you could also use a normal blender. I have found that if I make more baby food than what I will need for a few days (and can refrigerate), then freezing in some sort of ice cube tray works great!  I prefer silicone trays, because the food comes out much easier when frozen.  The trays I used above are a little bigger than the size I wanted, so I filled about halfway.

Once they are frozen, you can remove from the tray, and store in a Ziploc bag or other container in the freezer. Then, just remove the amount you are needing for the day, microwave, and you're ready to go!

{Instant Pot} "Baked" Sweet Potatoes

Becca here, with a quick "Instant Pot" pressure cooker recipe/tutorial.  I have been an avid Instant Pot user for seven years now, and am actually on my second Instant Pot, after an unfortunate incident with the lid being left too close to our gas stove, and melting.  When we had a major water leak at our home, requiring my family of myself, my husband, and our five kids, to live in a hotel for exactly sixty nights, my Instant Pot is the one kitchen thing I brought with me, and enabled us to eat somewhat normally some of the time, while living in a hotel!  I'm super excited that they have become really popular lately, and recipes are showing up all over, so I thought I would add some of my favorites to the mix now that it's something many more people have in their kitchens!

One thing that I commonly use mine for is to make perfect "baked" sweet potatoes.  To get great results, with non-mushy sweet potatoes, you'll want to get out the steam rack that came with your instant pot.  It looks like this, once placed into the bottom of the stainless steel pot insert (which I have two of, and often use each of them every day!).  You want to make sure that it is feet side down.  Pour in 1 cup of water.  The water will not be touching the bottom of the steam rack.

Insert sweet potatoes.  It is okay to stack them up, as long as the lid will fit on without touching them.  I can generally fit about five pounds of sweet potatoes in mine at one time.   I have a larger than typical family, so this is two meals worth for us.  We usually eat them 'baked' the first meal, and then I put the leftover ones into a square casserole dish with a bit of maple syrup, cinnamon, and sprinkled with pecans and coconut oil on top, for an oven-ready side dish for another meal.

You want to cook the potatoes for 30 minutes at high pressure.  You may do that by pushing either one of two buttons.  Either the Bean/Chili button I'm pointing to here, OR

the "Soup" button I'm pointing to here.  You could also manually set the pot to high pressure for 30 minutes, but I'm not sure when you would go to the extra trouble when either of these buttons work perfectly with preset settings!

The Instant Pot will pause for a moment, and then switch to the screen reading "On".  This means that it is heating up, and building up pressure.  This will take several minutes.

When the Instant Pot has reached the correct temperature and pressure settings, it will start counting down the remaining time "at pressure".  I think this is confusing to people sometimes, because a 30 minute setting actually takes quite a bit longer, allowing for the Instant Pot to heat up and reach pressure, and then naturally release pressure, unless you're in a hurry, and to a quick pressure release.  These are often abbreviated in Instant Pot Recipes/Groups as NRP (natural release pressure) and QPR (quick pressure release).  Natural pressure release simply means that you don't do anything at the end of the cooking time, and let the Instant Pot automatically switch to the "warm" setting, and open the pot to eat when you're ready.  Quick pressure release means that you move the valve on the top of the pot, to "open" to let the big burst of heat and pressure out, so that you can then safely remove the lid and eat, before the pot has naturally and slowly let the steam and pressure out itself.

At the end of the cooking time, the Instant Pot automatically switches to a "warm" setting, where the screen looks like this, and it counts up the warming minutes, or hours, if applicable, and slowly starts lowering the pressure.  Because it is an airtight and sealed environment, I have found that even something like rice can stay on the warm function for several hours without any loss of quality at all.

What are your Instant Pot questions or recipe requests?  Or favorite tips?  Let us know in the comments here, or on our Facebook Page!!

{Instant Pot} Cauliflower Rice

 *This is a great recipe to have children help you make!

Jana here with another really simple, and very versatile recipe you can make in your Instant Pot!  Many people are trying to cut carbs in their diet, and this recipe is an easy way to do just that. Using a head of cauliflower, you can make a rice substitute!  My family ate it this time as a type of 'rice bowl', along with mexican seasoned (DIY taco seasoning here) shredded pork, beans, lettuce, salsa, Greek yogurt (we substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream), etc.  Instead of shredded pork, you could also use shredded chicken, or ground beef. When the cauliflower rice is mixed in with all of these other ingredients, it truly was just as good (or better!) as rice would have been!  My children all enjoyed it a lot!

There are many other uses for cauliflower rice, as well. Most recipes where you would typically reach for rice, give the cauliflower rice a try!  Some ideas include: chicken curry, red beans and rice, or creamy chicken over rice.

{Instant Pot} Cauliflower Rice

1 head cauliflower
1 cup broth or water
salt and pepper

1. Place the trivet in the bottom of the IP, and pour the 1 cup of liquid into the bottom.

2. Cut the head of cauliflower into small florets, and set those on top of the trivet.

3. Secure the lid of the IP (making sure the valve is pointed towards the back- Sealing), and push Manual, Set the timer for 4 minutes.

4. Once it has reached pressure, and cooked the 4 minutes, most the pressure valve to Venting, to do a quick pressure release.

5. When the pressure is released, carefully open the lid, and remove the florets. Put them in a bowl, and use a fork to cut them into rice like pellets. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy! If you make this recipe, leave a comment and let us know!

{Instant Pot} Spaghetti

Jana here, with one of my new favorite small kitchen appliances!  How many of you have heard of the Instant Pot? It's an electric pressure cooker, and it has almost completely replaced my use of a slow cooker!  There are also other brands of electric pressure cookers available. Everything I have cooked in it so far has been wonderful; moist, flavorful, and fast!  I am planning to start sharing the recipes I make using the Instant Pot (IP). To easily access all of the Instant Pot recipes, you can click on the category on the right side bar. This will pull up all available Instant Pot recipes!

There are several reasons it is nice to make really basic recipes,such as spaghetti, in the IP. First, you are only using one pot. (as opposed to 2 or 3 when you make spaghetti on the stove!) Second, once you add all of the ingredients, you are able to walk away and do other things. You don't have to stand at the stove and stir,make sure things aren't boiling over, etc. Third, once the spaghetti is finished, it will automatically stay on the Keep Warm feature until you are ready to eat!


{Instant Pot} Spaghetti

1 lb ground beef (or turkey or venison)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
3/4 jar water
1/2 box spaghetti noodles

1. Turn the Instant Pot on saute mode, and brown the ground meat (lid off).

2. Drain, if there is excess grease.

3. Add the noodles,breaking in half first.

4. Pour in the spaghetti sauce, followed by the water.

5. Close the IP, and press Manual. You will need to set the time for half of what your noodle box suggests for normal boiling.

6. Once the time is up, let it stay in the keep warm feature for 10 min before releasing the pressure, and opening the lid. If the spaghetti is too runny, you can turn the saute feature on for a couple of minutes. Stir constantly so it doesn't stick to the bottom.

Enjoy! Let me know in the comments if you would enjoy a How To post about the Instant Pot.

Printable Version

German Lentils with Sausage

Becca here with a recipe (no photo, sorry, we ate it before I got a picture!) that my family really enjoyed.  I recently did a big freezer cooking session, and adapted this recipe to be both freezer and Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) ready.  I have used an Instant Pot for many years; I'm actually on my second one, after the first had had an unfortunate incident with the plastic part of the lid coming in contact with the hot stove-top and melting.  When we had to leave our home last year and stay in a hotel for 60 nights, because of a water leak, my Instant Pot was the one thing from our kitchen I took with me to the hotel.  I love the popularity they have gained in the past few years; my newer model Instant Pot has several great features that my original one did not, one of them being the "saute" button.  This was my first time using saute, and I'm wondering why I haven't before.  I was able to brown the sausage, and then cook the meal all quickly, and in the same stainless steel (no toxic chemical non-stick finishes!) pot.  My family all really enjoyed this recipe, and our youngest son that is a new eater even had seconds, as did most of the kids!  The seasonings were delicious, and had just enough of a distinctly different taste, to make the recipe unique.

The recipe makes a generous portion; my family of seven, with several large appetites in the bunch, ate it for a meal once, and had enough to accompany lunch the next day, with the five kids and I each having a small portion.  I will include the directions for making up a double batch to keep in the freezer, as I did, below the recipe.


German Lentils with Sausage

1 pound dried brown lentils
Orrington Farms Chicken Base or 'Better Than Bouillon' (use package instructions, see amount needed for 10 cups of water)
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

10 cups water

4 cups grated carrots
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
21 ounces Kielbasa Sausage or Ham, diced

Place diced Kielbasa Sausage (or Ham) into the instant pot.  Stir on 'saute' setting until browned.

Add remaining ingredients, stir, and cook on meat/stew setting.

Enjoy! -Becca


To make ahead and freeze:
Multiply all ingredients times the number of meals you want to freeze.
Put top ingredient section (lentils, chicken base, and spices) into a quart bag, and label with recipe name.
In order, place the grated carrots, worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and then diced sausage into a gallon bag, and label with recipe name.
To prepare the dish, follow the recipe above (the sausage needs to be on top of the freezer bag, so it can be browned first, before adding the other ingredients!)