Recipe FAIL: Instant Pot Spaghetti & Meatballs

Just keeping it real friends...

Let me tell you, I had this blog post all drafted in my mind before I even put any ingredients in the pot.  I was going to tell you how I was a mom-hero and arrived home from gymnastics practice to perfectly cooked spaghetti and meatballs.  How I dumped everything in, set the time delay, and basically won the internet. 

Except I didn't.  There was no #winning

I dumped everything in, set the time delay, we didn't go to gymnastics since the athlete wasn't feeling well so I checked the pot the instant it beeped and I was dismayed to find that nothing had cooked.  The meatballs were even still a bit frosty and the pot had not come to pressure.

Luckily, since we didn't go to gymnastics, I had accelerated the timer by half an hour so I had some wiggle room on the expected serving time and the three hungry bellies that were sure to start growling.  So, what did I do -- add more water (not coming to pressure is usually a product of not enough water).

I went through the motions again.  [Manual] 5 minutes.  And when it showed the timer starting I checked the pressure valve...not at pressure AGAIN.  Seriously?!  This was to be my weeknight success.  Spaghetti and meatballs!  How can you screw up spaghetti and meatballs?  If anything I am stubborn persistent so I added another cup of water and repeated the process.  Again no pressure. FAIL.

The Culprit of My Failure

The Final Product

At this point, I had corndogs about to pull out of the freezer and heat up for dinner but decided to taste test the final product.  The sauce was bubbly and hot, the meatballs heated through and the pasta tender.  All in all, it resembled school cafeteria spaghetti in terms of sauce and consistency.  Given that I was feeding little people who think buying lunch at the school cafeteria is awesome, I served it for dinner and the night was saved.

After serving dinner, I discovered the culprit of my failure -- the burnt mass of spaghetti and sauce at the bottom of the pot.  A thick crust of burnt goo will prevent heat from transferring well from the bottom heating element which would prevent the contents from being able to reach pressure.

In retrospect, here is what I think led to this partial failure (we still ate spaghetti and meatballs for dinner so not a total loss):

• not starting with enough liquid
• I originally started with 1 28oz can of pasta sauce, 1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes and 1 14.5oz can of water.  The second go round I added another 14.5oz can of water and for round 3, I added another 8oz of water.
• I should have started with 28oz of water.  I think by round 3, the bottom was so burnt over that additional water didn't matter.

• using the time delay
• having the time delay meant that the pasta had time to sink to the bottom of the pot and absorb some of the much needed water which was minimal to begin with

•  not giving up sooner
• let's face it, running the cook cycle 3 times just added to the burnt goo at the bottom

Will I try this again?  Maybe, if pasta and sauce are on a screaming good sale and I've got time to spare and a back-up plan for dinner, maybe.

Happy Cooking!

Recipe: Instant Pot Chicken Barley Chili

​White meat, whole grain, a little bit of spice -- yes, please!

Chicken Barley Chili is a recipe that I cut off the back of the Quaker barley box many years ago. As I was getting out my ingredients in the morning and pushing my Instant Pot aside to make room the thought occurred to me, instead of simmering on the stovetop for 40 - 60 minutes why not just throw everything in the Instant Pot and give it a go! And that's just what I did with delicious results.

Instant Pot Chicken Barley Chili

     Serves: 6-8

     Total time: ~45mins 

Ingredients

- 1 cup of pearled barley

- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

- 1 jar (16oz) salsa

- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into serving size chunks

- 1 Tbs chili powder

- 1.5 tsp cumin

- 3-4 cups of water or chicken broth (see Notes)

- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

- 1 cup frozen corn or 1 can of whole kernel corn, drained 

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to the inner pot except for the black beans and corn. Stir to combine

2. Lock cover into place and seal the steam nozzle.

3. Press [Manual] and set timer for 10 minutes.

4. Allow for natural pressure release of 15 minutes. Manually release any remaining pressure and open pot.

5. Stir in the black beans and corn and allow to heat through for about 5 minutes.

6. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro and diced green chilies as desired.

Notes

• I like my Chili pretty thick, more like a stew. This recipe is in between a soup and a stew as far as liquidness.  If you want a thick stew, use just 3 cups of added liquid.  If you are looking for a soupier consistency, use 4 cups. 

The Pressure Cooker Cookbook That Should Be On Your Christmas List

You got yourself an Instant Pot.  You've read through the rather skimpy recipe/owner's manual and now you find most of your recipe searches on google start with "Instant Pot..." Now's the time to get a legit pressure cooker cookbook.  A quick Amazon search will reveal over 3,000 results.  Admittedly, I haven't gone through and looked at nor do I own more than one pressure cooker cookbook but the one I do own is pretty darn fantastic.

Pressure Cooker Perfection by America's Test Kitchen

If you've ever watched America's Test Kitchen on PBS you'll know that they pride themselves on being "America's foremost tasters and testers" and with providing the public with foolproof recipes for successful and flavorful dishes.  I own 5 different cookbooks published by America's Test Kitchen :-)

What I Love about Pressure Cooker Perfection
- it explains the science behind how and why the pressure cooker works and why you need certain ingredients in some recipes but not others
- published in 2013, pre Instant Pot craze, the recipes are written for a stovetop pressure cooker with adaptions for electric pressure cookers.  This means that anyone with any type of pressure cooker can use this book
- the flavors in the recipes are phenomenal.  I never would have thought to use a can of condensed French Onion soup to flavor my pot roast but now I won't use anything but that
- the beginning has a series of reference charts for cooking just about anything: grains, beans, vegetables and meats.  You can use the chart as a starting point and build your own recipe from there

My Favorite Recipes
- Weeknight Pot Roast and Potatoes
- Chickpea Tagine with Cauliflower
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Whole Chicken
- A Pound of Beans (for lots of other recipes)

What I Don't Love about Pressure Cooker Perfection
- I'm a "let's throw some of this in and see how it turns out" type of cook.  This book is written with very precise instructions, ingredients and directions.  Once you get past the sometimes superior tone of the recipes you'll be just fine.  That being said, pressure cooking doesn't allow much room for error as it's a closed system and operates at such high temperatures.  I've learned alot about building flavors by reading this cookbook
- the adaptions for an electric pressure cooker (hello Instant Pot) generally involve setting a separate timer so as to not rely on the built-in pot timer (reason being it doesn't start immediately when the pot comes to pressure).  I skip this step and just reduce my cook time by about 2 minutes
- some of the ingredients can be hard to find.  Examples include: cremini mushrooms, swiss chard, fennel, mustard seeds, and frozen artichoke hearts.


With all that being said, I have my copy of Pressure Cooker Perfection flagged and within easy reach in my kitchen so that I can reference it as I cook and create.

Let me know if you own a copy already, buy a copy or if you have another favorite pressure cooker cookbook!

Recipe: Instant Pot Porcupine Meatballs

Was Black Friday/Cyber Monday good to you?  Did you finally buy the Instant Pot you've had on your Amazon wishlist for months?  If so, congratulations! 

You may find once you've unboxed your new prize and quickly skimmed the owner's manual/recipe book that comes with it that it is sorely lacking in recipes that you'd actually include in your meal rotation.  Never fear, I've got another classic to share with you today.

This recipe falls under the nostalgia category for me (much like Sausage and Rice Casserole).  Porcupine Meatballs is the only reason that I had a pressure cooker on my wedding registry.  I fondly remember my mom making it when I was growing up and knew that she cooked it in her original stovetop pressure cooker.  The recipe came from the Presto Pressure Cooker cookbook included with the pressure cooker.  The original recipe has a tomato based sauce; my mom made it with a cream based sauce and so do I.

Instant Pot Porcupine Meatballs
    serves: 4-6
    time: ~35 minutes

Ingredients
- 1lb of ground beef
- 0.5 cups of white rice, uncooked
- 1 cup of Pictsweet Seasoning Blend (frozen) or fresh diced onion and celery
- 1 packet dried onion soup mix
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup of water

Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and uncooked white rice.  Season as desired with salt and pepper.  Form into small meatballs, 1-1.5" diameter.
2. In the inner pot, mix together the remaining ingredients.
3. Place meatballs on top of soup/vegetable mixture.
4. Lock cover into place and seal the steam nozzle.
5. Press [Manual] and set timer for 8 minutes.
6. Allow to [Keep Warm] for 10 minutes then turn off the release any remaining pressure.
7. Serve over cooked white rice.

Notes

• the name "porcupine" is derived from the fact that the uncooked rice with poke out of the meatballs once cooked
• plan ahead and cook your rice for serving in the Instant Pot prior to cooking your porcupine meatballs.
• The Pictsweet Seasoning Blend is a great time saver -- it's a pre-chopped, frozen blend of onions, celery, green and red peppers and parsley flakes.  Look for it with frozen vegetables.
• This recipe is a great way to use of any leftover vegetables you might have in the refrigerator.  You'll notice my picture of the finished plate has quite a few carrots.  At the time, I had about 1/2 a bag of baby carrots which had passed their lunchbox prime so I diced them up and added them to the mix!

Recipe: Instant Pot Pork Loin and Potatoes

As promised in my Favorite Quick Serve Dinners post, below is my recipe for cooking a whole Pork Loin Roast and Potatoes in the Instant Pot.  The ease of the recipe is unsurpassed and it is so tasty -- I've made it twice in the past month!

Instant Pot Pork Loin and Potatoes
   serves: 4-6
   total time: ~1hr

Ingredients
- one 2.5-3lbs pork loin roast
- 5-6 baking potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
- 1 cup of water or chicken broth
- seasonings of your choice

Directions
1. Pat dry and generously season your pork loin on all sides.  I like to use salt, pepper and herbs de Provence. 
1.1 (Optional) Using the Instant Pot [Saute] function, brown the pork loin on all sides making sure to crisp up the fat cap as much as desired.  Remove pork loin to a separate plate while you assemble the rest of the dish.  If you skip this step, no biggie, your exterior just won't be crispy.
2. Scrub each potato and cut in half.  Layer potatoes in the bottom of the inner pot, stacking and overlapping as necessary.
3. Pour in one cup of water or chicken broth.
4. Place seasoned pork loin on top of the potatoes.  The potatoes will act as a rack to keep the meat elevated.
5. Lock cover into place and seal steam nozzle.
6. Press [Meat] and set the timer for 25-30minutes depending on the size of your pork loin.
7. When cooking time has finished, allow to [Keep Warm] for 10 minutes and then turn off and release the pressure.
8. Remove the pork loin to your carving board and use tongs to remove the potatoes.
9. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

• because of the extended cooking time needed for the meat, the potatoes are only halved and the skin is kept on.  This helps prevent them from falling apart into mush at the bottom of the pot.  When it is time to serve, the skins will slip right off and they can be mashed with a fork, cut into chunks or served as it.
• Using a 3lb roast and 30minute cooking time, my roast's internal temperature was 158*F prior to carving.  If you like your pork loin roast a little more pink in the middle, feel free to experiment with slightly less cooking time.
• For a true one dish meal, have a half-head of cabbage chopped and ready to go when the meat and potatoes are done.  Once you've removed the meat and potatoes, toss in the cabbage, reseal your Instant Pot and let it come to pressure for 1 minute on [Manual].  Quick release the pressure and you'll have an additional vegetable ready to go!

Favorite Recipes for a Quick Serve Dinner

The past couple days have been about how to plan and how to shop, today I'm sharing some of my all-time family favorite recipes for a quick serve dinner.  There are lots of recipes that we enjoy but the ones listed below are meant to help you get dinner on the table during a busy weeknight.

Keep Calm and Cook On

Crockpot: everyone's favorite fix it and forget it appliance
-- applesauce BBQ chicken
If you've tried applesauce chicken before in the crockpot and were underwhelmed like me, the addition of BBQ sauce makes this a winner
--  honey sesame chicken
This recipe calls for 1cup of honey, feel free to use 1/2 - 3/4 and you'll still enjoy it
-- honey bourbon chicken
Contrary to it's name, there is no actual bourbon in this recipe but the taste is on point.  Like other recipes with honey this recipe calls for 1cup of honey, feel free to use 1/2 - 3/4 and you'll still enjoy it
--  crockpot falafel
This recipe cooks in about 3-4 hours so put it together during naptime and enjoy for dinner. 
--  ground beef
Brown up a couple of pounds (or 5-7lbs depending on the size of your crock) of ground beef without having to stand over the stove for an hour.  This is a great time saver for making chili, tacos, shepherds' pie or any other recipe that calls for cooked ground beef
--  20 to 40 clove garlic chicken
The amount of garlic is up to you.  I make this with drumsticks and serve with mashed potatoes drizzled with the onion/garlic juice from the bottom of the crock!
-- crockpot cranberry chicken
This is a fall favorite and quite frankly good year round so when cranberry sauce goes on sale after Thanksgiving buy a few extra cans and make some freezer kits of this meal.

Instant Pot: the new kid on the kitchen appliance block that everyone loves to rave about
-- whole porkloin with potatoes
Everyone loves a one-pot meal and this delivers in under an hour.
-- whole chicken
I skip the browning step depending on my timeline and just place the whole chicken in the pot with whatever seasoning I desire.  Definitely make sure to use the rack or else you might have a hard time getting the chicken out of the InstantPot without it falling apart!  Use the carcass to make bone broth later!
--  sausage and rice casserole 
This is my childhood favorite updated for the Instant Pot.
-- porcupine meatballs
I've adapted this recipe from my stovetop pressure cooker cookbook as well as my childhood; I can't wait to share it with you.

Make Ahead, Double and/or Freeze: a little extra work today could mean dinner for another night
-- black bean taquitos
-- meatloaf
-- shepherds' pie
-- taco meat
-- lentil empanadas

Favorite Recipe Resources
Stephanie O'Dea's A Year of Slowcooking Blog and Recipe Index
Once a Month Meals Recipe Index

In case you missed them, make sure to read my posts on Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping Strategies!

Recipe: Instant Pot Sausage & Rice Casserole

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard of the Instant Pot.  And by heard of it, you may have heard people speaking mystically about its magical powers to have dinner on the table in 4 minutes with you not having to lift a finger.  Yes, there are many recipes that involve a 4 minute timer (this included) but there is still some work involved and the entire recipe isn't done and on the table in those four minutes.  Nonethless, I'm a big fan of the Instant Pot.  I've had a traditional stove-top pressure cooker for years and loved the many recipes and flavors I could build in it; the Instant Pot is no exception.

Today I present to you one of my all-time favorite meals.  This is the meal that my mom would always include on the menu whenever I came home from college and still manages to include when I visit.  I've been making Sausage and Rice Casserole for myself and my family for years and after I scored an 6Qt Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 this summer on Amazon's #PrimeDay I decided it was a recipe worth converting from the oven to the Instant Pot.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Instant Pot Sausage & Rice Casserole
  serves: 4-6
  total time: ~30 minutes

Ingredients
- 1lb ground sausage
- 1.5 cups of uncooked white rice
- 1.5 cups of water
- 1 cup of Pictsweet Seasoning Blend (frozen) or fresh diced onion and celery

Directions
1. Using the Instant Pot [Saute] function, brown and crumble 1lb of ground sausage.
2. Once brown, remove sausage to a holding plate and drain any excess grease from the inner pot.  Add 1.5 cups of uncooked jasmine rice to the inner pot along with the 1.5 cups of water.
3. Carefully return the browned sausage to the inner pot.  Add the vegetables on top.
4. Lock cover into place and seal steam nozzle.
5. Press [Manual] and set the timer for 4 minutes.
6. Allow to [Keep Warm] for 10 minutes and then turn off and release the pressure.
7. Stir and enjoy!


Notes

• Save time by having a 1lb bag of sausage already cooked in the freezer.
• The Pictsweet Seasoning Blend is also a great time saver -- it's a pre-chopped, frozen blend of onions, celery, green and red peppers and parsley flakes.  Look for it with frozen vegetables.
• This recipe is very flexible, add more or less of any particular ingredient and it can flex to feed as many mouths as are at your table.  Just make sure to keep a 1:1 rice:water ratio
• This recipe can also be assembled in a traditional casserole dish and cooked in the oven, covered at 400* for about 40-45 minutes.  Increase your water to about 2 cups to account for evaporation.