This recipe was super easy and delicious. Instead of the pepperoncini used, I swapped for mushrooms (and loved it). Great recipe for electric camping (or rv), or college dorm when you’re craving a home-cooked meal. Perfect for fall comfort food. Only 5 ingredients!
RECIPE 2 lb. beef roast 1 packet ranch seasoning mix 1 packet au jus gravy mix 2 T. butter Crockpot on HIGH 3 hours, or LOW 6.
I’m working on eating down the pantry, and this was today’s meal. Here’s what I did.
SALMON PATTIES – Serves 8
1 can salmon, flaked
2 eggs, scrambled
1/4 cup bread crumbs*
1/2 cup diced onion
Old Bay Seasoning
Salt or pepper to taste
Mix everything in bowl and fry in skillet until browned on both sides. Place in 350 oven for 10 minutes to keep warm and finish cooking.
I served with lemon mayo.
SCRUMPTIOUS SAUCE FOR RAMEN
1 T Sesame Sauce
1/2 T Red Pepper (or more to taste)
1 T Minced Garlic (or more to taste)
(Heat in pan until fragrant)
ADD 1/4 Soy Sauce
1 T Brown Sugar
1 T Sriracha (more or less to taste)
Cook & drain ramen – add to sauce.
Mangia!
**You can add lime, sesame seeds, cheese, etc. This is a yummy base to start
Here is Part II of my pizza-making videos. Part I was THE SAUCE.
Below is a nice, easy spice blend chart from Woman’s Day.
The nine spice blends:
I love corn on the cob. Done right it is a delight. Grilling out in summer time is accentuated by a bowl of steaming hot, golden yellow corn. I find it a bit of a pain to make, however. In the past, I’ve either soaked it while in the husk and put it on the grill (tasty) or boiled it in a bowl of water. The latter is my least favorite way to prepare it, adding humidity and heat to a house that’s already struggling to keep cool.
Enter the Instant Pot. I ordered mine during some internet sale event (Black Friday/Cyber Monday-ish?), after hearing that it was the next best thing since bread was sliced. I love my crockpots, and wasn’t thinking I’d be getting rid of them, or replacing them. Instead I thought this might be another helpful appliance to add to my arsenal.
Without writing an essay on it, I’ll just say it’s like a crockpot microwave. At least that’s what I use it for — its ability to speed things up when time is of the essence. But this isn’t about the Instant Pot, it’s about making some delicious corn quickly.
Here’s how it goes:
Ingredients:
12 Cobs of corn (this will depend on what size pot you have, I have 8 qt.)
1 Can of beer
2 tsp. Seasoning (you can use seasoning salt, Old Bay, Tony Chachere’s, seasoning salt…)
1 Stick of butter
Method:
Shuck corn and break cobs in half; stack on top of the trivet in your IP. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of seasoning and pour 1 can of beer over (you can sub with stock or water if you don’t want beer). Set your IP on high pressure for 5 minutes. Use quick release at the end.
When it starts to cook (you have 5 minutes, if you’re paying attention), melt the stick of butter in a pot and add the other teaspoon of seasoning. Once the lid is ready for removal on the IP, pour the butter over top of the cobs.
Play around with the seasonings to your liking.
Happy eating!
IF YOU WANT TO ADD SHRIMP… Do everything the same, but set the IP for 4 minutes, QR, open and add uncooked frozen shrimp, set IP for 1 minute, QR.
PS: Again… did anyone else think Instant Pots were called Insta-Pots?
I got an 8 qt Instant Pot right after Thanksgiving on a cyber Monday sale. I chose the largest one because I’m generally cooking for a crowd, or at least trying to have some leftovers. I realized they were an exciting new kitchen appliance, but I did not know they were like the new breadmaker. The closer it got the Christmas, the more I heard people talk about how there was a shortage, and where could they find one? Meanwhile, mine was sitting happily in its box.
Without dragging you through paragraphs of pictures and text you don’t want to read, I’ll just say that it’s a decent appliance, but I’m not getting rid of my crockpots. If you go into the purchase with the idea in mind that you will be able to make things a bit faster, but not perform miracles, you’ll be OK. But if you think this thing turns water into wine, you’re overestimating the power of an Instant Pot. Also, did anyone else think it was Instapot?
So I’ve used this bad boy a few times now. My first victim was chili, and I will say that was ho hum. Nothing spectacular. Pork butt. OK, faster than usual. Nice. Chicken wings… again, faster, but had to broil them after so I wouldn’t gag on slippery wings. I made macaroni and cheese, and that was a success. Instead of boiling, draining, adding, throwing in a crockpot, I could do it all (and faster) in the Instant Pot.
After a couple tries, I settled on a recipe that I like pretty well. I shared it in a Facebook group, and will share it here. It’s your basic pressure cooker M&C recipe, just tailored to how I like it. I’m not too big on measuring, but I think this is pretty close. Try it and tweak it. I think you’ll be happy with it. If you’re making a smaller batch, you’ll have to do the math.
Creamy Dreamy Pressure Cooker Macaroni And Cheese For A Crowd
Mix in pot:
3# macaroni
1 stick butter (cut into chunks/tablespoons – doesn’t need to be melted or anything – frozen is even fine)
15 shakes Tabasco (or whatever hot sauce, depending on your desired flavor, I went heavy)
1 T. ground mustard
2-3 T salt (depending on your desire for saltiness, I added more at the end)
1 T. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
pepper
12 c. H20
Pressure cook on HIGH for 4 minutes, use quick release. No need to drain, the pasta absorbs it all. At this point I gave it a little stir. Then…
ADD:
2 cups heavy cream & 2 cups milk (or 4 cups half and half… possibly more, depending on consistency)
2 pounds freshly shredded sharp cheddar
1 pound freshly shredded Muenster (or other soft cheese)
~ 1 pound freshly shredded parmesan
(Mix cheeses in slooooowly. I kept mine on sauté and dug deep to make sure that cheese was getting melted in real nice.)
Mangia! It’s delicious!
All this fuss over a fruity-looking drink with way too many calories. If you’re going to Starbucks and ordering anything that comes with a straw inserted and whipped cream on top, you’ve already blown your “eat healthy” goal for the day. But kudos to SB for raising that hype bar. People won’t shut up about it. Hilarious and sad.
Here’s my review: Didn’t try it. No appeal.
Everybody sees them – the Facebook posts, the food. Scrolling down through your feed, the eye catches on one recipe or another. The MUST SHARE or IT IS SOOOO GOOD recipe. Most of them have junk in them that I just don’t buy – “Take one pre-packaged this, add it to the other chemical-laden that, add some more chemicals…”
I did decide to try two recipes yesterday, though, because our menu has gotten a little boring. I have no idea of the original source, but found the exact recipe below. It’s all over the ‘net. That’s the problem with the Facebook recipes. Unless you do share them, they’re lost in your feed. I copy/pasted the recipe, but don’t know where it came from. The recipe below is the exact one.
ONE POT WONDER TOMATO BASIL PASTA
Serves 4 to 6 as an entree12 ounces linguine pasta (I used 16 – why use 3/4 of a box?)
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth – it’s all I had)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnishPlace pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired . Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with parmesan cheese.
This didn’t get the raves I was hoping for. It was eaten, but there was no call for me to throw it into regular rotation. We eat a lot of spaghetti around these parts, and they are fickle.
I do love sitting around the table with my family, though. It’s a little slice of heaven on earth. I completely relish every day we are able to. With one moved out, one home for the summer for college – our family dinners are few and far between, and not a daily event like the were years ago. Meal planning helps me get the family around the dinner table. I’m glad I took the time to do it this week.
For dessert: Honey Bun Cake
I didn’t get to try any of this, but it seemed to be a hit. My family seems to really like Honey Buns (they taste like cardboard and chemical sugar to me), so I thought it would be fun to try this. They said it didn’t quite taste like a Honey Bun, more like a coffee cake, but it was good. I made it using a make-your-own boxed cake recipe, since I didn’t have a boxed one on hand.
Honey Bun Cake
{mommyskitchen.net}Ingredients:
1 – package white cake mix, (reserve ½ cup dry cake mix)
2 – sticks butter, softened
1 – cup plain Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
4 – eggs
½ – teaspoon vanilla extractFilling:
½ – cup reserved dry cake mix
½ – cup packed brown sugar
1/3 – cup chopped nuts, optional
2 – teaspoons cinnamonGlaze:
3 – cups powdered sugar
1 – teaspoon vanilla extract
6 – 8 tablespoons milkDirections:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees grease bottom only of 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Remove ½ cup dry cake mix and set aside. Add remaining cake mix to a large bowl: add butter, yogurt, eggs and vanilla; beat at medium speed. Spread half of the batter in the pan. Stir together reserved dry cake mix, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts if using. Sprinkle over batter. Spread remaining cake batter on top. To make spreading easier drop batter by dollops over cinnamon mixture then spread using an offset spatula.Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes or until golden brown and cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cake cool.
Prepare the glaze by stirring together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. If the glaze is too thick keep adding a bit of milk until it’s to the consistency you want. Poke the top of warm cake with a fork. Drizzle and spread the glaze completely over the cake.
Cook’s Note: I pour half of the glaze over the cake and let it seep into the cake and then wait about 15 – 20 minutes and add the remaining glaze mixture. (This was a good tip – worked well.) Cool for one hour before slicing.
