Instant Pot Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• TJs cabernet chuck pot roast (about 2.5 lbs)
• 1.5 cups chicken broth
• 1/4-1/2 cup red wine
• apple cider vinegar
• olive oil
• 2 lbs baby carrots
• 3 lbs baby red potatoes, quartered 
• flour 
• water
• butter or butter substitute 

Directions:

1. heat IP on high saute, add olive oil to coat bottom of pan, brown roast on all sides
2. deglaze pan with a splash of chicken broth, add remaining chicken broth, red wine (or more chicken broth) and a splash of apple cider vinegar 
3. set IP to manual high pressure for 70 minutes, NPR for 10 minutes, QR
4. add veggies on top of roast, set IP to manual high pressure for 2 minutes, QR
5. remove veggies and roast from IP
6. make a slurry of water and flour, set IP to high saute and whisk in slurry to thicken gravy, finish with a pat of butter or butter sub

Instant Pot: Beef & Barley Soup

Ingredients:

• Beef bone broth ***
• Beef from bones from bone broth (about 2-3 cups shredded/chopped up)
• 1 small celery heart, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, chopped 
• 1 cup pearl barley
• olive oil
• dried thyme
• salt & pepper
• chicken broth paste as needed

Directions:

1. IP on saute high - coat bottom with olive oil, cook onion, celery, carrot, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a shake of dried thyme - cook, stirring occasionally until onion begins to go translucent
2. remove veggies, deglaze pot with a spoonful of broth, add barley and broth (about 10 cups) to pot, set IP to soup for 15 minutes, QR
3. add veggies and beef to pot, set IP to soup for 10 minutes, QR
4. taste and add chicken (or beef) broth paste to taste (we added about 3-4 tablespoons) 
5. Enjoy yum!

***Made beef bone broth with leftover Christmas roast - two ribs of prime rib with some meat still on the bone. 10 cups of water, bones and IP set to manual high pressure for 120 minutes with QR

Instant Pot One Pot Pasta & Meatballs

1 1/2 packages TJ's fusilli
water
2 jars TJ's marinara
1 bag TJ's party size mini meatballs

1. put pasta at bottom of the Instant Pot, cover with hot water (just to cover)
2. add frozen meatballs
3. top with sauce
4. DO NOT STIR
5. high pressure, 5 minutes (did 6 minutes and was just a smidge over cooked), natural pressure release for 5 minutes, finish with quick pressure release, open pot, stir, serve  

SO EASY

Instant Pot Potato & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/2 a very large red onion, diced
• 2/3 pkg of TJ's bacon ends & pieces, rough chopped
• 4 long thin carrots, chopped
• garlic powder
• red potatoes - about 3 pounds, quartered
• bag of fresh broccoli
• 2 medium-large zucchini
• salt & pepper
• chicken broth paste
• water

Directions:

1. Turn IP on to saute, add a couple of swirls of olive oil
2. add onion and cook until it is fragrent
3. add bacon and cook together with onion until bacon begins to brown
4. add all other ingredients
5. seal lid, turn to high pressure for 15 minutes with QR 
6. mash with potato masher
7. top with chopped tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, or more bacon - or eat as it.  It isn't pretty but it is good stuff.

Pina Colada Pineapple Upside Down Cake

• can of pineapple rings in juice (save juice)
• small jar of maraschino cherries
• butter or butter substitute 
• brown sugar
• coconut oil
• white cake mix
• egg 

in a large cast iron skillet:
coat with coconut oil
pour butter (or sub) in to pan
sprinkle with a hefty amount of brown sugar
stir together
arrange pineapple rings and cherries on top of brown sugar slurry

prepare cake mix replacing the water with the reserved pineapple juice and the oil with melted coconut oil and eggs as noted in cake mix directions

cook at 325 for about 35 minutes

Hot Crab & Artichoke Dip

4 cans TJ's crab meat, drained
small jar marinated artichoke hearts, chopped fine
can artichoke hearts, chopped
~1/4 cup mayo
~1/4 cup sour cream (tofutti)
1.5 containers TJ's not-cream-cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup very finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon each very finely chopped red, orange, yellow peppers
dash of Tabasco

mix all together in a oven-safe dish
bake at 375 until hot & bubbly (or eat at room temp)

serve with club crackers, veggie strips, bread, etc.

Ham & Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• ham bone with lots of ham left on it
• 2-3 chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped carrot
• 2 bags of Hamm's bean soup bean mix (seasoning packet removed and trashed)
• chicken broth paste 
• water

 Directions:

1. soak beans overnight. drain and rinse.
2. throw first 4 ingredients in to crockpot(s) - I used a 6 quart and a 3 quart (just not enough space in the 1 crockpot!)
3. add a big glob of chicken broth paste and water to cover
4. cook on low for 10+ hours
   

Avocado Hummus

4 avocados
2 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds
2 big garlic cloves (add more to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2+ tablespoons lemon juice (more to taste)
1 can white beans, drained
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Blend all together in the food processor until smooth and creamy.

Pantry Peanut Sauce

natural peanut butter (about 1 cup)
1-2 large garlic cloves
about 1 inch of fresh ginger
big splash of fish sauce
big splash of GF soy sauce
splash of rice vinegar
rooster sauce to taste
pinch of brown sugar
splash of EVOO
chicken broth to thin

Put all in Vitamix. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Clean Out the Fridge Fiesta Soup

William is just amazed that I made soup without a recipe and insists that I share my "recipe" on the internet. So here it goes...  CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE FIESTA SOUP!

In to a large soup pot add:

• frozen uncooked back bone and wings from a chicken that was previously butchered
• 2 boxes of TJ's organic chicken broth
• water to cover

Simmer for 2+ hours

Drain broth in to a large bowl and set chicken/bones aside to cool.

Put pot back on medium heat and add:

• a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large chopped red onion
• almost a whole package of wilty TJ's green onions, chopped in to rather large pieces by an eager 8 year old helper
• 4 large kind of bendy sad carrots, chopped
• 1 wilty celery heart, chopped, including the leaves
• 2 containers of salsa that need to be used

Cook until onions are starting to soften and add:

• the strained broth
• chicken picked from the bones
• a couple of slices of cooked chicken breast, chopped up small
• 3 different partially full bags of frozen corn that were unearthed from the freezer
• about 1 cup of frozen spinach
• a can of tomatoes
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• a can of black beans
• leftover roasted broccoli from lunch
• 4 chopped zucchini
• the bottom of a bag of stale tortilla chips

Simmer for at least an hour. Eat.

Raspberry Dump Cake

Raspberry Dump Cake

1 box of Trader Joe's vanilla cake & baking mix
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance Margarine
2 6oz boxes of fresh red raspberries
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup raw turbandino sugar

Preheat oven to 350F
Grease or spray 8x8 baking pan - bottom and sides
wash, shake dry and dump raspberries in bottom of 8x8
top with 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
top with cake mix
top with melted EB
top with turbandino sugar

Bake for ???  until golden and gooey goodness.

Pumpkin Coconut Flax Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons TJ's pumpkin pie spice
1 scant cup brown sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup melted organic coconut oil
3 eggs
big glug of natural vanilla extract

turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375

Grease muffin tins with coconut oil

Mix dry ingredients together

Mix wet ingredients together

Add wet to dry and stir to combine

Divide batter into 12 muffin tins

Sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar

Bake at 375 degrees for 16-20 minutes

Creamy Italian Dressing

Modified from - http://www.antihousewife.com/2012/01/the-og-ish-italian-salad-dressing/

• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp garlic powder use less next time - maybe 1/2-2/3 tablespoon
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder use a little less next time - maybe 1 teaspoon
• 1/2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp celery salt didn't have celery salt - used just a smidgen of celery seed instead
• 2 eggs, beaten
• The juice of one small lemon (between 1 to 2 tbsp) omitted
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar subbed with about 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 and 3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil oops, I just noticed this was 1 AND 3/4 cups - I used 1 cup
• 1/2 cup water omitted

Put all ingredients except oil and vinegar in Vitamix - mix until well combined. VERY slowly drizzle in olive oil. Once emulsified drizzle in vinegar. Next time use the correct amount of oil!

Bean, Barley & Beef Soup

BBB Soup

Good thing it tastes better than it looks!

2 packages of Trader Joe's bean & barley soup mix (just beans and, uh, barley - no spices or ickies)
1 lb of ground beef
1 large red onion
6 carrots
2 celery hearts
Better Than Bullion Low Sodium Organic beef broth paste
TJ's 21 Season Salute
sea salt, fresh ground black pepper

Put beans in big pot. Cover with 3x as much water. Bring to a low boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off and let sit while you go pick up your car from the shop, make dinner, and get the kid ready for bed.
Before going to bed drain the beans, put in the crockpot on low. Cook on low about 12 hours or overnight.
In a big pot cook the beef and vegetables until beef is browned, salt & pepper the beef.
Add beans (not the cooking liquid) to the pot. Cover with fresh water.
Add a lump of beef broth paste. Add 21 season salute to taste.
Simmer until vegetables are cooked through.

Bean and Sausage Soup

olive oil
1/4 red onion, chopped fne
4 green onions, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped fine
inside of celery - about 1/2 cup chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 beef kielbasa (even better if you get it on super sale for 99 cents!)
large can tomatoes, chopped with juice
60~ oz beef broth (more or less as needed)
2 cans low sodium black beans
1 can white kidney beans
3/4 a bag of frozen white corn
big handful of baby spinach, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped

Z - ate some
W - ate a full bowl, and some seconds
C - loved it, ate two giant bowls
K - loved it, ate two giant bowls

Kale-Bean Salad

I started with this recipe: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/06/17/weekend-glow-kale-salad/

My salad had:
sprouted bean trio cooked
kale chopped small
roasted red peppers
sunflower seeds
chopped carrot
cucumber
tahini-lemon dressing

And started with this dressing:

Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Adapted from Tahini-Lemon Dressing.
Yield: Just under 1 cup of dressing
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons) (I ran out of lemon juice so used part apple cider vinegar)
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast 
• 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp water, or as needed 
• mayo to taste to mellow out the flavor a bit

Lahmahjoon (Armenian-style Pizza)

brown:
1 pkg lean ground turkey (we tried to find ground lamb but our local ethnic butcher was out of it)

chop and add to turkey and cook a bit:
2 small red onions, finely chopped

Add to food processor:
2 cloves garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
To taste: cumin, oregano, thyme, paprika, cayenne, tumeric, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper

add turkey & onions to food processor and process (in batches if necessary) until it is a goopy paste

Spread turkey paste on to:
Flatbread (we bought lavash from the ethnic market but might try thicker round flat bread or Naan from TJ's next time)

Bake in 350+ oven until edges are crisp. Serve with salad on top or on the side.

Salad:

chop in uniform pieces:
green leaf lettuce
tomato
cucumber
fresh mint, basil and parsley

dressing:
1 part lemon juice
2 parts olive oil
smashed garlic clove
salt & pepper
sugar to taste

Mojo Chicken

• 10 cloves garlic
• 6 green onions
• 1.5 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup  lime juice
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 cup grapeseed (or your favorite high smoke point) oil

Whiz all ingredients together in a blender. Pour over chicken (fabulous on super cheap chicken leg/thigh quarters) and marinate for 4+ hours. On a hot grill sear over direct heat for 3 minutes per side and then grill at a lower temp/indirect heat until 170 degrees (about 1 hour). Let rest for 10+ minutes. Super fabulously juicy and delicious. Great on corn tortillas with Bobby Flay's Jicima Slaw. Yum!

This marinade made enough to cover big 10 chicken quarters divided into 3 gallon size bags.

Cowboy Beans

1 package ground turkey

whites of green onions chopped - about 1/3 cup
1.5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
4 cans of beans - different colors and types, drained & rinsed
1/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup brown sugar (could use less - maybe 1/3 cup)
1 cup bbq sauce (could use less - maybe 3/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 375
Brown turkey
Add green onions and cook for a couple of minutes
Add everything else and stir well.

Taste.

If it is good put it in a baking dish.

If it needs more of something - add it.
Plop in to baking dish.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Kids loved it. Super yummy but a little on the sweet side.

Creamy Greeny

"Creamy Greeny" -
1 frozen banana
1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 serving (4 tablespoons) TJ's chocolate hemp protein powder
2 tablespoons TJ's unsweetened cocoa powder
1 huge handful baby spinach, rinsed (approx 2 cups)
1 handful ice cubs (approx 5-6)

Put it all in the VitaMix or other blend. Blend until smooth.

This is good stuff! Reminiscent of Jamba Juice's Peanut Butter Moo'd but at just 507 calories vs. 1200 for the same size. Plus cheaper and healthier!