Instant Pot - Spiced Apples

 I love going to Cracker Barrel and getting their cinnamon apples.  I thought, I wonder if I could make these at home!  Sure enough, and it's so easy!  You may even have all of the ingredients right now!  

All you need to make this is the following!

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 Apples
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup cool water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

You can use any type of apples you want, you can even use various types of apples, I used Granny Smith.  I decided not to peel mine, simply because I like the peels, but you can if you want.  

1. Prep the apples, I cut them using an apple slicer, then dropped them into the bowl of the IP
2. Pour 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over the top and stir them around.  
3. Add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 2 tablespoons honey. Toss to combine.
4. Whisk the the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into the 1 cup water with until lump-free. 
5. Add the mixture to the Instant Pot and stir to combine well.
6. Place the lid on, lock and make sure the valve is in the sealing position.
7. Press the manual button and set the time to Pressure Cook for 2 minutes.
8. Do a natural release for 10 minutes
9. Release any other pressure after 10 minutes, stir and enjoy!

Instant Pot - FROZEN cooked shrimp

So if you're anything like me, you don't plan ahead for dinner. One night I decided to make Cheesy Spaghetti because it was requested by my youngest. But just spaghetti is never enough for the rest of us. I thought to myself..."I have frozen shrimp". Now, I ALWAYS overcook frozen shrimp because I'm always taking it out last minute and don't have time to thaw it properly. BUT, putting it in the Instant Pot, it's ready in about 5 minutes!! I know, you can thaw frozen shrimp under cold running water, but this will get them piping hot in less time! I'm all about simple. I have only used this recipe for frozen cooked shrimp, but I've been told you can use it for frozen raw shrimp as well by increasing the time to 1 minute.

Shrimp cooks really quickly, which is why I almost always overcook it, but with the IP, I use the “zero minutes” technique, which I also use for cooking vegetables.  Set the cooking time to zero (0) minutes on High pressure, followed by a quick release (QR), and while the Instant Pot comes to pressure the shrimp will be already thawed and heated! I also use 1/2 cup of hot tap water (instead of cold) so the Instant Pot comes to pressure as quickly as possible!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb frozen shrimp
• ½ cup hot water

Instructions

1. Put ½ cup hot water in the Instant Pot and add frozen shrimp. Close the lid and turn the valve to a Sealing position. Press the "Pressure Cook" or "Manual" button and set the time to ZERO (0) minutes for frozen cooked shrimp (or 1 minute for frozen raw shrimp) on High pressure.
2. When Instant Pot is done cooking, quick release (QR) the steam.
3. Drain the shrimp with a colander spoon, cut off the tails, and serve.

I'll get photos of the cooked shrimp next time, the natives were restless.  

IP - Super Easy Ziti

 If your house is anything like my house, we LOVE pasta dishes.  I think I could survive on pasta alone!  We also love cheese, I mean, who doesn't love cheese!!  SO Ziti is a wonderful option. but I hate baking pasta.  We live in AZ, so the thought of turning on the oven, especially when it's warm out sounds torturous.  

Ingredients

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 box (16 oz) pasta (I used Rigatoni)
• 1 can (14.5 oz or 28 oz) crushed tomatoes (I used 28 oz)
• 2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Pur 1 tablespoon of oil into the Instant Pot & sauté the garlic for less than 1 minute.
• Pour in the chicken broth first and then the heavy whipping cream. It's important to pour them in separately.
• Add the salt and pepper into the liquid.
• Add the pasta but DO NOT STIR. If there is a mound of pasta or pasta that is sticking way out of the liquid, then gently press it down with a spoon or spatula but do not stir it into the liquid!
• Evenly pour the crushed tomatoes over the pasta, DO NOT STIR!
• Secure the lid of the Instant Pot and set the valve to the 'sealing' position. Select 'manual' (or 'pressure cooker' if that's what your IP has) and change the time to 5 minutes cook time. It will take about 8 minutes to come to pressure and then the 5 minute cook time will start.
• Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (meaning do not unseal the valve just let the IP sit there for 10 minutes after the cook time), and then quick release the remaining pressure.
• Add the parmesan cheese and stir everything together until it's well combined.
• Serve with additional parmesan cheese and/or chopped fresh basil if wanted.

IP Rice - I need to post it, so I remember it!! SOOO EASY!!

Rice. I LOVE RICE. I hate cooking rice. It almost always boils over on the stove, and for sure it does in the microwave. Sure, it's fast to cook, but I've found that cooking it in the Instant Pot is so easy! You can use this Instant Pot white rice recipe to cook any long grain white rice. 

The key to prefect fluffy rice is the water to rice ratio, which is 1 to 1. This means that for every cup of rice you need 1 cup of water. Measure carefully... I use the same measuring cup for both the water and the rice so that my measurement is precise. This way, my rice will turn out perfect every time.

Ingredients

• 3 cups long grain white rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (I never change the amount of oil even if I make less rice)

1. First thing you need to do is rinse your rice, it removes the extra starches that can clog up the steam valve. I just use a wire colander and rinse under cold water. Then place it into my IP. 
2. Then I add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, so my rice doesn't get sticky! (Don't worry, you won't taste it when it's done). 
3. Next measure out the same amount of water as rice. Make sure that all of the rice is in the water and not stuck to the sides of the pot. Then close the Instant Pot lid. Be sure to turn the steam release valve to the sealing position. If you forget to do this, your rice won’t cook properly.  
4. White rice needs 4 minutes of cook time at high pressure. Depending on your Instant Pot model, you will use either the Pressure Cook or Manual button. 
5. After the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes. I then transfer my rice to a tupperware and finish making whatever else I need (I really need two IPs!)

Easy, Cheesy, Crockpot ham & potatoes.

 So yea, it's been 5 years, I've been busy..  Who hasn't!  Now that we are in the time of virtual school and everyone has been home, easy dinner is a must!!  I found this recipe on pinterest from Tornadoughalli for these bomb Easy, Cheesy Crockpot Potatoes.  I made them for the 40th birthday party and they were a huge hit!  So I decided to play on them a bit.  We love ham and cheesy Potatoes in our house!  So I used her potato recipe, which is SO EASY!!  But made changes to it to make it more what we would like.  

1 32 oz bag frozen diced potatoes
1 medium onion diced (we don't do onions here, so I used 1 TBSP of onion powder)
1 cup sour cream
1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup (We used Broccoli Cheese Soup, but any cream of whatever you have it good)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 TBSP butter melted
3-3.5 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup water
Cubed ham (I used about half of what I had & it was plenty). 

Instructions

• In crockpot add your potatoes, onions, sour cream, soup, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, butter and 2 cups shredded cheese.
• Place lid on and cook on low for 4 hours.
• Remove lid and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese and cover again for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

We always love a little Veggies with our meals, so I was going to add Peas, but I didn't have any, so we used Green beans.  I steamed them in the micro for 4 minutes and then added them to the crockpot for the remaining 30 minutes.  They were perfectly crunchy and delicious.  

Photos coming soon!  We ate it all and didn't get photos!! LoL

Dr. Pepper Pot Roast

I've always made pot roast with onion soup mix and mushroom soup.  Gets boring to eating the same things over and over...

Ingredients:

• 1 pot roast (we've used different types of roast, most recently a sirloin tip roast)
• 1 packet of Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix
• 1 can of Dr. Pepper (or any soda you prefer to try)

Directions:

1. Place roast in crock pot
2. Pour packet of onion soup mix and soda over roast
3. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or High for 2 hrs/Low for 6 hrs

Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

Ingredients
Makes 4-6 Servings

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 14 ounce can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 14 ounce can Broccoli Cheese Soup
• 14 ounces Chicken Broth
• a pinch - Black Pepper, Celery Salt, White Pepper, Cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 6 cups steamed broccoli florets (Boiled in hot water for 3 minutes then drained)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (if desired - we use it to top)

Directions

1. Place soups, chicken broth, seasonings and garlic salt into a crockpot over low heat.  Whisk until smooth.  Add chicken, pressing to the bottom. Cover lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
2. When chicken is cooked, use forks to shred into pieces.  Stir in broccoli
3. Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cheese if desired.

[pictures coming soon]