Kitchen McGyver's Crustless Chicken Pot Pie in the Instant Pot

Well, this was a fun experiment that turned out well!


Needed to cook something fast, filling, and friendly for sore mouths.

Ingredients:
7 chicken thighs
1 can of squash (or pumpkin~ I was using up an accidental squash purchase)
10-12 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into 1-ish inch chunks
6-8 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-ish inch chunks
East Bay Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
2 c chicken broth
1-2 c frozen green peas
1/4 cup butter, cubed

Put chicken thighs in instant pot upside down, sprinkle with seasonings, then turn over and sprinkle with more seasoning.
Pour in chicken broth
Spoon contents of squash can on top, spreading it evenly over the chicken
Add potatoes and then the carrots
Sprinkle with more seasonings (to taste)

Close the lid and set on high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow to natural release.

When you open the lid, add the frozen green peas and the butter and use a serving fork to dig down to the bottom and shred the chicken on its way up. This will also serve to mix in the peas and butter, hopefully without totally mashing up the potatoes and carrots.

Serve with ground pepper to taste.

Had no idea what it would turn out like, but it is totally a chicken pot pie minus the crust. Highly recommended, 5 out of 5 thumbs up!
*Side note~ I used the 8qt instant pot for this meal, but I think it could also fit in a 6 qt.

Blessings~

Pork Loin Dinner in the Instant Pot

When Pork Loin is on sale at Aldi, you just have to purchase it! But then you have to cook it, and because it is a leaner cut, it often ends up dry and tough. So I searched a couple of my favorite facebook Instant Pot pages, and ended up doing this:

Pork Loin with Veggies and Gravy in the Instant Pot

Ingredients:
1 pork loin (I had a 4.75 lb cut)
2-3 TBS grapeseed oil (Higher burning point, so that's what I cook with instead of olive oil)
Old Bay seasoning
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1 bag of radishes
6 large Carrots peeled and cut into 1-2 inch chunks (depending on diameter :) )
As many potatoes peeled and chunked into 1-2 inch pieces that will fit in the pot (I used maybe 8 smaller potatoes?)
1 1/2 -2 cups chicken broth
6 TBS flour

1. Turn IP onto saute' function normal temp.
2. Cut the Pork Loin into three somewhat equal chunks and season with Old Bay Seasoning and Pepper while you are waiting for the IP to heat up.
3. When the readout says HOT add the oil and then brown the pork loin chunks  about 2 minutes on each side. As each chunk is finished, remove from the pot to a plate.
4. When they are all browned add the chicken broth to the pot and deglaze.
5. Return the meat to the pot, and dump in the veggies. Sprinkle in onion and garlic powder.
6. Close the lid, turn the pot off saute', turn the vent to closed, and then push the manual button (making sure it is adjusted to high pressure) and set for 20 minutes.

I knew this wouldn't be enough food for my hungry men, so I peeled a couple of pounds of potatoes and chopped them, and then boiled for 20 minutes to make mashed potatoes.

7. Let the pot NP for 14 minutes and then release the rest of the steam.
8. Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon to a covered dish for serving, and take the meat out to rest for a few minutes.

Making the gravy
9. Use the slotted spoon to remove any fatty chunks that might have come loose (not many in my pot)
10. Put the flour in a small heat resistant bowl (metal?) and add a few ladles of the hot broth from the instant pot and whisk (carefully) to combine, and then perhaps a couple more ladles of broth to thin the slurry down a little more before adding it back to the pot, whisking constantly. Whisk until it thickens, and then turn the pot off and then to warm if it will be a little while before eating.
11. Now is the perfect time to slice the meat and serve! (Note: the fat melted entirely off one piece of meat, the other two had a small amount still across the top, so I removed that from the meat before slicing~ but that is up to you. :) )

Sorry this isn't a post with "pretty" pictures of my food, but I was hungry! Maybe next time, because there definitely WILL be a next time! :D

Blessings~

Instant Pot, Ancient Grains and Pork Chop (experiment)

Pretty happy with my Instant Pot still! 

Experimented tonight with center cut pork chops and grains (bulgar, quinoa, and couscous).

Not a real recipe at this point, but here's what I did...

Seasoned chops with original Mrs Dash, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning, then seared on both sides of each chop using the sauté function. 

Dumped in about a quart of (homemade-in-the-instant-pot-for-the-first-time using bones from a MB roasted chicken and some veggies) chicken broth, and an appropriate amount of "ancient grains" and pearl couscous.

Closed the lid and cooked on manual pressure on high for 10 minutes, natural pressure release (15 minutes before I finished it off).

Not bad! 

DH declared it flavorful

Youngest LOVES the grains

Middlest loves the pork (not a huge fan of couscous)

Eldest agrees with all the superlatives :) 

I think diced, sautéed Baby Bella's would be a very welcome addition, and maybe a little less time, as the pork is a little tiny bit dry. Tastes yummy, though!

Tomatoes are yummy Sweet Medley snacking tomatoes from Aldis to add a little Veggie color. :) 

Blessings~