Spaghetti Squash - InstantPot Style!

*Hey hey, it's a repost but squash season is in full swing here so I figured I'd share this again!*

For Christmas this year, I bought myself an InstantPot Duo Pressure Cooker from Amazon during a big sale they were having. I think it was priced at $78 or so and I had a credit and a bunch of gift cards so I applied all and paid $16 and change.

Yeah. That was a deal.

Of course, Hubby was NOT thrilled with another bulky gadget coming in the kitchen and even though it was very inexpensive, he felt I could have done something different, besides buy another "gadget" ... ho hum .... blah, blah, blah.

So the box sat under the tree, unwrapped until AFTER New Years.  Then the tree was relocated outside and the box was moved to the other side of the room. 

That Saturday evening, Hubby brought the box over to the kitchen, opened it up, grabbed the instruction manual and started reading.

We made pork chops and cauliflower that evening in the InstantPot. It was good and pretty neat, although, we will both admit, a little scary ;-)  Hubby freaked when he released the pressure as he wasn't expecting THAT much pressure to be released. It actually made us both laugh out loud!

Since that night the PC has been hanging out in the main kitchen on the counter, all shiny and waiting for another adventure.  Sunday was the day!

You know that we have this Whole30 thing going on, right? Well, not WE but ME, I, MYSELF, am following Whole30 for the month ... and as a side note, it's freaking hard as hell to stay on course and not be distracted by all that yummy, non-compliant stuff out there ... so I had to get focused and make more arrangements to make sure I was able to eat with the family in a somewhat similar fashion ... and Aldi had the spaghetti squash for $2.19 so I said YES and pulled Nom Nom Paleo's recipe for guidance.

Here's what you need:

2 pounder spaghetti squash

1 cup of water

Cut the spaghetti squash in half through the center, NOT long ways. Be careful as this is the WORSE thing to cut. I used a non skid mat I have and a small paring knife.  I didn't push the knife all the way to the hilt and as you go around, you will hear the squash cracking open ... 

Once open, scoop out as much of the seeds and gunk that you can.  Add a cup of water to pressure cooker and set your trivet or steamer in the insert.  Place squash on the trivet, cut side up. 

Lock lid in place, make sure vent is closed and set pressure cooker on 9 minutes.  Remember, just because you say NINE MINUTES does not mean that this will be ready to eat in 9 minutes ;-) My pet peeve ;-)

After the pressure cooker comes to pressure (Hubby timed, it took 7 minutes) THEN the 9 minute countdown starts.

After timer goes off, release the pressure (quick release), using caution when you flip the vent open.

Using tongs and a large spoon, ladle, pour out any excess liquid from the squash and place on plate to cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, grab a fork and start scraping.

Beautiful!  And look, no need to turn the oven on and bake for 40 minutes! Always a bonus in steamy Paradise!  I ended up serving mine with the red sauce and meatballs for dinner while the rest of the gang had regular ole' spaghetti ... 

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post contains affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Shredded Salsa Chicken

We've kind of left the Instant Pot alone for a few weeks and I just felt like I needed to bring it out again ... so what the heck, let's make a super simple meal, shall we?

Just a little inside scoop: Hubby has used the thing MORE than me ... he's become the designated cook lately and well, he doesn't always follow the directions and we've had a few flops ...

Back to an EASY meal that only uses a few ingredients.  All you need is the following:

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
black pepper
generous dash of oregano
1 jar chunky salsa (about 2 cups worth)

Ready??

Mix the salt, cumin pepper and oregano in a small bowl and season the chicken on both sides. *YES that jarred salsa was compliant if I remember correctly. Just check your labels!*

Toss them bad boys in the pot and dump the salsa over the chicken.

Secure the lid, making sure your vent is CLOSED and press the poultry button, adding another 5 minutes so you have a total of 20 minutes cook time.

  

Rule #1 - always make sure the seal is tight  Rule #2 - always make sure your vent is closed!

Let the Instant Pot do it's thing and wait for the pressure to release when done cooking (seriously, this will take a total of  about 30 to 35 minutes. TOTAL time to come to pressure, cook and de-pressurize).

  

Start time                                    Dishing up

Pull chicken out of pot and either chop chop or shred with 2 forks (I like mine chunkier so I chopped) and add salsa from pot to the shredded chicken.

Serve up any which way you'd like:  over zucchini noodles, as a taco lettuce cup filling, over shredded lettuce, over riced cauliflower, or, eat it as is, like Hubby did!

Another side note: did you know that there is actually jarred salsa out there that's Whole30 compliant? This jar of Chi-Chi's is ... as is Tostitos.  Who would have thought! Read your labels, you'll be surprised just what you CAN eat!

Enjoy!

**Yes, this can be cooked in a crockpot instead ... cook on low for about 4 hours**

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Mexican Beef in the Instant Pot

We've been using the InstantPot a little more lately because it's QUICK and doesn't heat up the kitchen!

I mean, seriously, what other reason do you need?

Yup, lunch at my desk was pretty exciting! I had this with riced 

cauliflower and green beans ... yummm

So ... this recipe comes from Nom Nom Paleo ... same place That Damn Fine Chicken came from ... and a few other recipes to be shared very very soon as well!

Anyway.

I'm waiting for the beef to go on sale, or for when I can finally make a quick trip to Costco to pick it up cheaper as beef is just expensive lately! The protein alone on this one cost me $17 or so ... and no, it was not grass fed, groomed, petted or anything else special like that. It was just Publix. Luckily, I used a $5 off $40 coupon, but still ...

Ok, lets get to the recipe, shall we?

TIP: 

Make this a DAY BEFORE you want to eat it, honestly! It's so much better the next day! I was in heaven at lunch for 2 days with this at the office ... yummmm

2 1/2 pounds of beef - I used a chuck roast but you can use brisket, boneless short ribs, flank, etc.
1 tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs ghee
2 onions, cut in half and sliced thin (I used a red and a yellow)
1 tbs tomato paste (freeze the rest in a small ziploc!)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 tsp fish sauce
dash of black pepper
cilantro

Cut yo' beef in to cubes, like 1 1/2 inch cubes. Seriously. Does ANYONE measure their cubes? I just cut mine in to a little bigger than a generous bite size ;-)  Toss the beef in a large bowl and season with the chili powder and salt.

Turn the InstantPot on Saute and add the ghee and onions and saute til just soft. Add the tomato paste and garlic, give a quick stir and cook til just fragrant. Uhm, I LOVE the smell of garlic and onions cooking!

Add in the beef, tomatoes, broth and fish sauce. Cover and lock the lid in place, making sure the vent is CLOSED.

Press the keep warm button (to turn saute off) and then press the "meat" button which sets the time at 35 minutes.

Go find something to do for 35 minutes. Wash dishes. Watch the news. Blog. Browse Pinterest. Stalk the kids on Facebook.

After 35 minutes are up and you hear the InstantPot beep, you can either press the warm button to turn off the pot and let it release naturally, OR you can leave it as is and let it stay on warm and release naturally. Whichever way you go, just don't do a quick pressure release (where you hit the vent open!).

Pull the beef out and add a little bit of the juice to the dish with the beef.

Serve this up with some riced cauliflower or over some zucchini noodles and garnish with cilantro if that's your thing!

Enjoy!

TIP: If you have leftovers, you can certainly freeze this either in a dinner size portion OR individual portions for later in the month of your Whole 30!  I'm looking forward to making this in September, 2016!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Pressure Cooked Spaghetti Squash

For Christmas this year, I bought myself an InstantPot Duo Pressure Cooker from Amazon during a big sale they were having. I think it was priced at $78 or so and I had a credit and a bunch of gift cards so I applied all and paid $16 and change.

Yeah. That was a deal.

Of course, Hubby was NOT thrilled with another bulky gadget coming in the kitchen and even though it was very inexpensive, he felt I could have done something different, besides buy another "gadget" ... ho hum .... blah, blah, blah.

So the box sat under the tree, unwrapped until AFTER New Years.  Then the tree was relocated outside and the box was moved to the other side of the room.  That Saturday evening, Hubby brought the box over to the kitchen, opened it up, grabbed the instruction manual and started reading.

We made pork chops and cauliflower that evening in the InstantPot. It was good and pretty neat, although, we will both admit, a little scary ;-)  Hubby freaked when he released the pressure as he wasn't expecting THAT much pressure to be released. It actually made us both laugh out loud!

Since that night the PC has been hanging out in the main kitchen on the counter, all shiny and waiting for another adventure.  Sunday was the day!

You know that we have this Whole30 thing going on, right? Well, not WE but ME, I, MYSELF, am following Whole30 for the month ... and as a side note, it's freaking hard as hell to stay on course and not be distracted by all that yummy, non-compliant stuff out there ... so I had to get focused and make more arrangements to make sure I was able to eat with the family in a somewhat similar fashion ... and Aldi had the spaghetti squash for $2.19 so I said YES and pulled Nom Nom Paleo's recipe for guidance.

Here's what you need:

2 pounder spaghetti squash

1 cup of water

Cut the spaghetti squash in half through the center, NOT long ways. Be careful as this is the WORSE thing to cut. I used a non skid mat I have and a small paring knife.  I didn't push the knife all the way to the hilt and as you go around, you will hear the squash cracking open ... 

Once open, scoop out as much of the seeds and gunk that you can.  Add a cup of water to pressure cooker and set your trivet or steamer in the insert.  Place squash on the trivet, cut side up. 

Lock lid in place, make sure vent is closed and set pressure cooker on 9 minutes.  Remember, just because you say NINE MINUTES does not mean that this will be ready to eat in 9 minutes ;-) My pet peeve ;-)

After the pressure cooker comes to pressure (Hubby timed, it took 7 minutes) THEN the 9 minute countdown starts.

After timer goes off, release the pressure (quick release), using caution when you flip the vent open.

Using tongs and a large spoon, ladle, pour out any excess liquid from the squash and place on plate to cool for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, grab a fork and start scraping.

Beautiful!  And look, no need to turn the oven on and bake for 40 minutes! Always a bonus in steamy Paradise!  I ended up serving mine with the red sauce and meatballs for dinner while the rest of the gang had regular ole' spaghetti ... 

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post contains affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)