Those weeks leading up to Christmas and then New Year’s Eve is always so crazy, isn’t it? Lot’s of food, tons of running around, people unexpectedly stopping by, all the last minute things that seem to pop totally unexpectedly. And, well, this year was no different.
If I had to choose one type of food to eat for the rest of my life, I think it would be party platters. Because really, how could you go wrong with a little salami, cheese, fruit, veggies and a few nuts? And some tzatziki dip. Let’s not forget that.
Up until about 2 years ago I made chicken and beef pot pies all the time. But these days, shepherd’s pie {with a mashed potato topping instead of a crust} just seem so much easier. A little meat, some gravy and vegetables tossed into a casserole dish… what more do you need?
That Mrs. HB. She took the early retirement package at work and now she is a woman of leisure. So to celebrate we popped into Java Clay Cafe for some hot drinks while we were out on a walk the other day. She wanted to stay and paint but I was like… I am not paying 500 million dollars to poorly paint a ceramic figurine. TRUST ME… Ours will look NOTHING like the examples on the wall.
So we went back to her place for lunch. And I was forced to eat full size spinach leaves again.
Other things we’ve been doing since she’s been foot loose and fancy free….
We made a boatload of meatloaf thanks to some Zaycon ground beef I was able to get for free with my credits. She likes to vacuum seal her meatloaf right in the cooking tins and pop them in the freezer. I don’t know, I think it’s kind of clever. Do YOU do this?
Mrs. HB got an Instant Pot for Christmas. We found a recipe off the internet that said the pot would cook 2 pounds of FROZEN hamburger in 15 minutes so we tried it out. Only we used just one pound of ground beef and guess what?
It totally didn’t work. It was more like 35 minutes and we were both like… what’s up with that? I’m pretty sure we could have cooked it from frozen on the stove top in less time than that. So I don’t know if we did something wrong, or if we just need more practice with the contraption. I know so many of you have an Instant Pot and LOVE it so if you have a recipe you think we should try, speak up. We want to figure this thing out.
Fred Meyer $22.07
Shopping at 7 am when the doors open, is the only way to go.
Christmas dinner thanks to my in-laws. Food. It makes the best gift! 😉
So what have you been up to lately? Did you eat anything new over the holidays or just stick to your tried and true favorites? Do tell.
~Mavis
Total Spent on Groceries over the past 2 weeks: $36.99
Total Spent in January on Groceries $202.99
Total Spent in February on Groceries $143.94
Total Spent in March on Groceries $183.35
Total Spent in April on Groceries $205.67
Total Spent on Groceries in May $248.60
Total Spent on Groceries in June $147.47
Total Spent on Groceries in July $293.63
Total Spent on Groceries in August $117.29
Total Spent on Groceries in September $172.91
Total Spent on Groceries in October $186.69
Total Spent on Groceries in November $289.96
Total Spent on Groceries in December $83.26
Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $42.19
Total Spent in February on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $118.45
Total Spent in March on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $25.29
Total Spent in April on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $62.50
Total Spent in May on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $54.52
Total Spent in June on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $119.15
Total Spent in July on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $12.45
Total Spent in July on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $0
Total Spent in August on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $212.67
Total Spent in September on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $132.50
Total Spent in October on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $87
Total Spent in November on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $60.42
Total Spent in December on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $199.12
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Linda says
Most instant pot recipes forget to mention how long it takes the pot come to pressure. Usually about 15-20 minutes. I love my instant pot because I can take frozen meat and have dinner ready in a hour. And I can put food in and walk away. I come home from work, I can put food in, clean the kitchen, relax with the family and then dinner’s ready. No stirring or tending to the stove. Also less clean up.
Marcia says
We had chili for Christmas even, at the request of my duff year old! Made in the instant pot! Or the other pressure cooker. I haven’t ever tried the instant pot with meat.t
Christmas we went easy after being Evacuated. Chicken legs, mashed potatoes, roasted veg.
Marcia says
Five year old. Autocorrect
Stephanie says
I’m with Linda! The fancy time-saving headlines usually only refer to the active cook time. I am new to the Instant Pot and am still figuring out if it is the huge time saver I was hoping it would be. Two wins I’ve found so far: Hard boiled eggs, which probably take just as long as the stovetop, but they peel like magic. And cooking chicken carcasses for broth. After an hour in the Instant Pot, I have broth that tastes like it has been simmering all day. I have had several fails!!
VickiBee says
I have an Instant Pot on my Amazon wish list. A friend told me I could cook a spaghetti squash in ten minutes and that sold it for me.
Mel says
I usually cook spaghetti squash in the microwave. It only takes 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the squash. That might be an option until your Wish List comes through. 🙂
Sandy says
I tried the pot roast recipe (the ranch, Aus jus, jalapeno one you posted), with a 2 lb thawed roast in an instant pot on manual for 40 minutes. Counting seal time & vent time took about 1 hr total. Tasted identical to the 6 hour crockpot version. Generally I prefer the crockpot and will do 3 at once with different stuff to prep out stuff in advance but if I wanted pot roast in an hour, that worked great. Steak fried go nicely with that pot roast by the way.
Mable says
Rice, eggs, yogurt and cheesecake come out perfect. The biggest thing is that there are 10 redundant safety devices on the pot so no pressure cooker blow-ups. It is big and ugly, though. Ignore the Instant Pot FB sites, s they have a lot of incorrect info, such as saying you can use it as a canner when you absolutely cannot. A pressure canner and a pressure cooker are not the same appliance. Our local paper had a short article on pros and cons:
http://www.newsminer.com/features/food/instant-pot-adventures-how-the-hot-gadget-this-christmas-holds/article_dc9bc9ec-e061-11e7-9e3d-932cbb45e864.html
Kim says
I’ve had the Fagor multi-function version for a few years and love it. Dried beans cook in under 10 minutes without soaking. I make lentil soups, bean chili, etc without soaking and it’s a fast flavorful meal. Season chicken breast before freezing, then pop in the pressure cooker frozen with 1c of water for 16 minutes — add potatoes too depending on what you seasoned the meat with.
When I find a recipe we like, I’ll make a couple up raw (Hawaiian chicken is a favorite) in freezer bags. Add a couple minutes to the cook time since you’re starting with frozen, and I’m free to get the pineapple and rice ready while it cooks.
D'Anna says
I dunno, we got a regular pressure cooker on clearance at Target for under $20 a few years ago and it does the job that thing claims to do. We use ours to brown and cook stew meat, remove meat add in the carrots and potatoes, cook, cool and then combine it all….from browning the meat to serving in under an hour-ish is pretty quick for me.
Anne T says
Hi Mavis! long time reader, first time commenter 😉 Tell Mrs HB I love her Portmeirion china, I have the same set. My DH recently took early retirement, I’m a bit jealous, haha.
Love the blog, and looking forward to seeing what the next chapter in your story will be.
Nancy D says
Congratulations to Mrs HB on her early retirement!!
Karin Carson says
I love my Insta Pot , my brother gave it too me for my bday and it is a time saver .
I also can and the first thing I made was deer stew in 30 mins after pressures up it was so tender and good .
I popped 3 frozen chicken greats in and covered with a pint of my ” Rotel Toms I had canned in the summer set ty to manual fir 19 min , then I set the table , grated cheese , thawed a whole avacado in a glass of water for about 5 min then made guacamole ( I had bought to many avacado style week before we were going to Vegas and the day if I popped them in the freezer whole they work great for guacamole or spread in sandwiches. Got out the sour cream and jar of my also , timer went off I vented and then shredded the chicken OMG It was a home run recipe and all loved it and left ive s for lunches .
Makes great fluffy lump less mashed pots , small batch of chicken broth , it works great , check out Pinterest it’s is limitless.
Pam Kaufman says
I love my Power Cooker XL electric pressure cooker! It doesn’t necessarily save time as it does take awhile to come up to pressure, it’s the flavor that is truly amazing. It really brings the flavor out of anything. As to my favorite thing I made this year, it would be mini churro cheesecakes. So good and no bake too!
Carrie says
I love my Instant Pot. I make the basics in it… rice, beans, greens, corn on the cob, chili, “baked” sweet potatoes and spaghetti squash.
My favorite recipe is Nom Nom Paleo’s kalua pork (I am not paleo at all but I love her recipes). http://nomnompaleo.com/post/111934821818/pressure-cooker-kalua-pig I use the pulled pork for bbq sandwiches, quesadillas or tacos, and Brunswick stew (also in the IP).
I made ham and bean soup yesterday (from dried beans). It was 40 minutes of cooking time and my 8 quart took 10-15 minutes to get to pressure then I waited for it to naturally release pressure so maybe just over an hour but I used dried beans!!!! https://www.apinchofhealthy.com/ham-15-bean-soup-slow-cooker-instant-pot/
Zuppa Toscana is quick and yummy. https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-italian-soup/
Why would you cook a block of frozen beef by itself? Most recipes have you brown the beef first. I love that I can brown meat or veggies using the saute function first and then choose to pressure cook or slow cook in the same pot! Less dishes is more time to relax IMO.