Instant Pot: Sous Vide Egg Bites

I'm always curious about recipes that are trending in the InstantPot Community Facebook group.  When we had company in town, I decided to make the sous vide egg bites that are a Starbucks copycat recipe.

I chose this recipe since it's a little healthier than the original.

These little individual souffles are so pretty when they rise!  (I forgot to cover them in foil but they turned out fine...despite my worrying about them until I could take the lid off.)

Everyone agreed that they were delicious!

Instant Pot: Hibachi Fried Rice

This fried rice was delish!  I've already made it twice.  Good news -- it doesn't require an Instant Pot, so anyone can make it.

I used this recipe from PressureLuck.  As you can see from the photo, I made both sauces -- they really add a lot of flavor.

This recipe will continue to be in my rotation.

Instant Pot: Plain Pasta

There are lots of recipes for one-dish pasta meals that you can make in the IP.  But my son's favorite food is plain pasta.

After reviewing a couple of recipes online along with some trial and error I've been successful.

Here's my method:

add 1 box pasta
add water to cover the pasta plus about 1/2"
add about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (to prevent the pasta from foaming)

put on the lid and close the valve

set IP to manual, high pressure, 3 minutes

(it takes my IP about 15 minutes to come to pressure)

when IP beeps, do a quick release and drain the pasta

Easiest pasta ever!

Vegan Chocolate Smoothie

My favorite chocolate smoothie:

1 cup rice milk
1 scoop vegan protein powder (I use Sprouts brand)
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 frozen banana

Blend until smooth.  Add ice if the consistency is too thin.

Vegan Fruit Smoothie

My favorite fruit smoothie:

1 cup pineapple juice

1 scoop vegan protein powder (I use Sprouts brand)
1 frozen banana

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

fresh spinach (optional)

fresh carrots (optional)

Blend until smooth.  Add water if consistency is too thick.  Add ice if consistency is too thin.

I love my RTIC tumbler for keeping my smoothies cold.

Instant Pot: Lactose-free Yogurt

My Instant Pot is the 7-in-1 model and one of the features is a yogurt maker.

I got excited when I realized I could make lactose-free yogurt!

I purchased the two ingredients -- milk (Fairlife) and yogurt (Fage 2%).

I was prepared to use the boil method, but I learned that since Fairlife is filtered, you don't have to boil it!  (the filtering also means it's lactose free and higher in protein; you can find a list of grocery stores that carry it on Fairlife's website)

I put 52 oz of Fairlife milk in my Instant Pot, added a heaping tablespoon of "starter" (Fage yogurt), and stirred with a plastic whisk.  I put the lid on, hit the yogurt button on the IP and went to bed.  (the yogurt feature does not pressure cook)

Six hours later, I put the IP liner pot in the fridge to cool.  After cooling for a few hours, the yogurt was thinner than I wanted, so I lined a colander with cheesecloth and set it inside a bowl.  I put it in my refrigerator for several hours.  Straining the whey creates Greek yogurt.  (if the whey isn't clear, add more layers of cheesecloth; when it's done you can save the whey to make bread or other things)

Incubating for six hours created a very mild yogurt with no tartness.  The longer you incubate, the more tart the yogurt becomes.  Eight hours is average; some people like to incubate longer.

A few tips I've read:  You can use any kind of Fairlife milk -- I used whole.  You can use any yogurt that doesn't have added flavors or sweeteners (I've read that Fage gives a more mild taste than other brands).  Save a heaping tablespoon of your homemade yogurt to use as your starter next time.

You can sweeten your yogurt naturally with honey, stevia, or pure maple syrup.  There are lots of ideas online for how to top it -- such as fruit compote and lemon curd (both can be made in the IP).

I sweetened mine with stevia, added a few drops of vanilla, and topped it with fresh strawberries.  It tasted like ice cream!

I found this recipe on a post in the Instant Pot Community on Facebook, but you can find similar recipes online, like here.

Update:  I made this recipe a second time.  I used paper towels instead of cheese cloth to strain the yogurt -- much cheaper and easier.  Just be sure to use good quality paper towels.

Green Frog Pops

I really prefer homemade food to processed food, so I love finding easy recipes that replace things I'd usually buy at the store.

This is a popsicle version of a green smoothie -- it packs lots of vitamins.

I started with this recipe from one of my favorite blogs -- super healthy kids.

I adjusted it a bit:

2 ripe bananas
4 cups baby spinach
2 cups frozen peaches (or other frozen fruit)
1-1/2 cups pineapple juice

Just blend it together and pour it into popsicle molds.  This fills 6 large molds (you can drink any leftovers as a smoothie).

My kiddo and I love them!  And they're under 100 calories each.

Meal Kit Review: Home Chef

When I wasn't happy with Blue Apron, a friend suggested that I try Home Chef.  I've ordered three meal kits with two meals each.

I like that most Home Chef meals come together in about 30 minutes.  And they have lots of flavor.  The price point is very similar to Blue Apron (still high for our family).

Unlike Blue Apron, Home Chef has a limited number of healthy options.  Even some of the low calorie meals are high in fat.  So if you eat healthy, choose your meals carefully (fortunately it's very easy to access nutritional info).

Tip: if you order a $40 meal kit, you'll pay shipping.  But if you add the fruit basket or smoothie kit, you will qualify for free shipping -- and get more food for the same price.

I found a few recipes that I'll make again.  I loved the blue cheese quinoa salad.  And the Parmesan spoon bread (that came with BBQ chicken) was delish.  I liked the egg roll in a bowl but next time I'll make it with chicken.

Want to try Home Chef?  I'll send you a coupon for $30 off your first order!

White Cake with Lemon Cream Filling

I wanted to bake on my day off for July 4th, and decided on this recipe that I'd seen in my Facebook feed from King Arthur flour.

This recipe is a bit of work -- make the cake, make the lemon curd (I used my Instant Pot), make the pastry cream (I made it from scratch), make the whipped cream.  Fortunately I had plenty of time to enjoy the process.

I adjusted the recipe slightly -- I used all of the lemon cream in the middle of the cake, and topped the cake with plain whipped cream.  Since it was July 4th, I added raspberries and blueberries.  The cake layers didn't rise as much as I'd expected, but it was still a delicious cake that garnered lots of compliments!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I recently discovered king ranch chicken casserole.  I love to make it for our family, and it's my go-to recipe when I take a meal to someone.

I started with this recipe from allrecipes and made a few adjustments:

butter instead of vegetable oil
omit the peppers
increase Rotel to two cans, drained
omit chicken broth
omit ancho chile powder
increase chipotle powder to 1-1/2 teaspoons (I use this blend)
cook 1 lb. chicken thighs using this recipe for the instant pot
reduce cheddar cheese to 4 oz
substitute tortilla chips for the corn tortillas

I use a 9x9 pan.  I save all the cheese for the top.  I bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

This makes a much thicker casserole that is almost like a lasagna.

Instant Pot: Indian Butter Chicken

I decided to make the butter chicken that is so popular on Facebook.  I used this recipe from two sleevers.

I did not have all of the spices on hand, but I found them at my local Super Target (I bought them online for in-store pick up to save my husband from hunting for them).  I bought the KitchenAid two-speed immersion blender, since that seems like a good tool to accompany the IP.

The recipe was quite easy.  I used six cloves of garlic, one teaspoon of ginger, and only 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.  I used a half cup of cilantro.

The recipe makes 3 cups of sauce and I put half of it in the freezer for the future.  (I'm planning to cook the chicken in the IP in a can of diced tomatoes, and then remove the chicken and use it with the leftover sauce.)

I will definitely make this recipe again!

Instant Pot: Steamed Red Potatoes

I love red potatoes and they turn out PERFECT in my IP.

I adjusted this recipe from recipethis.

I put the water in the bottom of the liner pot, add the trivet (the wire rack thing that came with the IP), and place the potatoes on top of the trivet.  4 minutes on manual, 5 minutes natural release

I add butter and fresh herbs (dill) after the potatoes are cooked and before I serve them.

Instant Pot: Mexican Chicken

The IP recipe that I've made over and over is for chicken that I put into quesadillas and king ranch chicken casserole.

I modified this recipe from dad cooks dinner that a friend recommended.

I reduce the vegetable oil to 1 teaspoon or use cooking spray
I use 1 cup frozen chopped onion instead of fresh
I omit the salt
I use water in lieu of the beer
I use this chipotle chile powder mix in lieu of the ancho chile powder -- it's AMAZING
I use Rotel original for the tomatoes
Sometimes I add a packet of taco seasoning

This chicken is so delicious that I can eat it right out of the IP!

My king ranch chicken casserole recipe will be in a future post.

Instant Pot: Chicken Soup

I decided to jump on the Instant Pot band wagon.  I don't use it for every meal, but there are things I like to use it for.

The biggest benefits of the IP are not just that it cooks quickly, but that you can start it and walk away (like a crock pot on steroids).

My first meal was homemade chicken soup.  It took a couple of hours from start to finish, but still saved a couple of hours (and a lot of babysitting) compared to making it on the stove.

I used this five-star rated recipe from mommypotamus.  I can't even tell you how delicious those carrots tasted!

To turn it into chicken noodle soup, I cooked pasta on the stove and added it to the finished chicken soup.

Update:  I made this recipe a second time.  To save time, I used a bag of baby carrots and 3 pounds of chicken drumsticks.  Prep took about 20 minutes and deboning the chicken at the end took about 10 minutes.  This soup tastes even better the second day!

Puppy Cookies

Making homemade dog biscuits is something that I've always wanted to try.

I found this recipe on the Will Cook For Friends blog.  These pumpkin & peanut butter dog biscuits are safe for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

The ingredients are a little pricey for dog treats -- specifically the rice flour (I ordered it from Target.com) and the natural peanut butter (some natural peanut butter has sugar so you have to check the ingredients).

These were pretty easy to make.  I found that I needed to add a little extra pumpkin puree in order for the dough to hold together.

I found a Wilton 3" dog bone cookie cutter at Joann's in the baking section.  This recipe made 18 biscuits with that cutter.  (good size for medium to large dogs)

30 minutes was plenty of baking time.

I wrapped up a few biscuits for our dog friends!  (puppy paws ribbon from Joann's)

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

I save a lot of recipes that I see while scrolling through Facebook.  Some are from companies and bloggers that I follow (like King Arthur Flour and Smitten Kitchen) and others are posted by friends.

I saved this recipe for Raspberry Buttermilk Cake last summer.  A few days later, I found out that we were celebrating National Raspberry Cake day at work.

This cake was both beautiful and delicious.  And it was incredibly easy to make.

Fortunately I had the perfect sized piece of parchment paper, that I'd saved from some disposable foil cake pans.  That made it even easier!

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

My son loves red velvet cake, and he especially loves red velvet from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Last year I bought his birthday cake from there, but this year I decided to try a copycat recipe.

I make this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff and substituted semi-sweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate chips.  It turned out delicious!  I still prefer the chocolate chocolate chip Bundt cake, but I enjoyed this one too.

Blue Apron: Chicken Skewers

This meal was harissa chicken skewers with khorasan wheat & persimmon salad.

I really liked the cooking method for the chicken -- you coat it with labneh cheese (similar to Greek yogurt) before cooking it.

The extra labneh cheese was awesome for dipping the cooked chicken.  It was really the highlight of the meal.

I wasn't a fan of the wheat salad, but the persimmons were delicious.  I will definitely consider cooking with them again.

I'm going to to try Home Chef next.  The biggest difference I noticed is that Home Chef meals tend to be higher in calories and fat (several meals had around 1,000 calories and 60 grams of fat per serving).  I ordered two of their low fat meals.  I'm interested to see how they compare to Blue Apron.