Pressure Cooker Pork Loin Roast

I recently got an Instant Pot for my birthday, and I'm having a lot of fun cooking with it. Here's one of my most successful dinners with it so far.

2 lb pork loin roast
Olive oil for searing
Cavender's
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce (Kikkoman)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (more if you like it spicier)
1/4 tsp oregano

Pat some Cavender's all over the pork. Add a couple tablespoons of oil to the Instant Pot and press the Sauté button. Sear the pork on all sides. Mix all remaining ingredients and pour over the pork. Close lid. Press the Meat/Stew button and add time to 90 minutes. When the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. You can use the quick release after 15 minutes. Remove the pork and shred it up. Use a little cornstarch to thicken the juices (using the Sauté button) into a nice sauce, mixing as much into the shredded meat as you desire. Enjoy!

CBR Stuffed Muffins

Recipe adapted from these Mini Pot Pies.

Ingredients

Filling

Olive oil, 1-2 Tbsp
1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
2 packets (or ~6 Tbsp, divided) dry Ranch dressing mix
1/4 dried minced onions
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn
2 Tbsp bacon bits
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Batter

1/2 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs, beaten

Directions

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Pat chicken dry and coat with 1 packet (3 Tbsp) of dry Ranch mix. Place in skillet and cook for 1 minute at medium heat. After 1 minute, flip chicken pieces over, reduce heat to low, and cover skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Cook on low for 10 minutes. DO NOT REMOVE LID. After 10 minutes on low, turn heat off completely and let sit WITHOUT REMOVING THE LID for another 10 minutes.

During this time, preheat your oven to 375F. Spray a muffin tray with 12 muffins cups. I used PAM Baking Spray, the kind with flour mixed in.

Has it been 10 minutes for the chicken without heat yet? Good. Now you may remove the lid.

Remove chicken from pan and chop into small pieces. Put back into pan and add chicken broth, remaining Ranch mix, onion, and corn. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and let simmer until most of the liquid is gone, stirring occasionally. When most of the liquid is gone, remove pan from heat. Let cool for 5 minutes, then stir in the bacon bits and cheese.

Combine batter ingredients in small bowl with a whisk. Pour a scant tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each muffin cup. Scoop 1/4 cup of chicken mixture into each muffin cup, then top each one with 1 more tablespoon of batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in tray for 5 minutes, then use a knife to remove from tray. Cool on wire rack for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Glazed Lemon Cookies

This recipe is adapted from the Perfect Toffee Cookies recipe to make a lemon cookie that my son and mother-in-law agree is "yumtastic!"

Cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons, approximately 1 Tbsp
1/4 cup lemon curd
1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp lemon instant pudding mix

Preheat convection oven to 325. Cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice until smooth, then add the zest and curd. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until thoroughly incorporated. Use a medium cookie scoop to drop onto parchment paper on cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool thoroughly on wire racks while you prepare the glaze.

Glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Wisk together the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Add a little more juice and sugar as needed to get your preferred texture and taste. Brush onto cooled cookies. Let harden before eating.

Italian Beef Sliders

2 lb rump roast
Salt and pepper, mixed, enough to cover roast
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown gravy mix
1 packet Italian dressing mix
2 Tbsp golden balsamic vinegar
1 can beef consomme
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup dried chopped onions

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the roast and pat it on. Place roast in crockpot. Smear the softened butter over top of roast. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over beef. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove beef from crockpot. Scrape off any fatty sides. Shred beef, then stir in just enough of the cooking sauce to moisten thoroughly without being drippy. Serve in buttered, toasted slider rolls.

Viking approved!

Ranch Style Chicken Stew

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts
2 potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup brown gravy mix
1 Tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 can Ranch style beans

Directions

Layer potatoes on bottom of crockpot. Place chicken on top. Add brown gravy mix to chicken broth, then microwave for 3-4 minutes, stirring with whisk every minute. When thickened, pour over chicken. Sprinkle in the parsley and black pepper. Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in beans and brown sugar and cook for another 2 hours. Shred chicken, stir, and serve with crackers.

Moroccan Beef

This recipe is adapted from this Moroccan chicken recipe. I never use celery because celery was created by the devil, but I do like to add the carrots and zucchini as described in the original recipe when I'm not cooking for my husband. In order for this to be Viking Approved, however, I usually leave those delightful veggies out and use the following recipe.

Moroccan Beef

Ingredients

1-2 lbs ground beef
2 Tbsp dried, chopped onions
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp frozen ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (1/8 tsp if desired for less heat)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Put beef, onions, and garlic in skillet and brown beef over medium heat. Drain grease. Stir in ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and turmeric; stir fry for about 1 minute, then mix in broth and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add chickpeas to pan and bring to simmering once again; cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until chickpeas are heated through. Stir in lemon juice and serve over rice.

This meal (specifically this recipe, with only chickpeas for vegetables) freezes very well. Defrost in the fridge, then heat in a skillet on the stove while cooking some rice. I cannot say for sure how well the zucchini or carrots would survive freezing and reheating.

Perfect Toffee Cookies

Perfect Toffee Cookies

Sometime last year, a friend shared a link to the perfect M&M cookies recipe from the Picky Palate blog. It is indeed the perfect cookie recipe! It's the only recipe I've found that makes cookies my husband and I can agree on. I usually use Heath Milk Chocolate and Toffee Bits instead of M&Ms, though, but you can use any type of chip you want.

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp Instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 bag of Heath Milk Chocolate and Toffee Bits

Directions

Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, or conventional oven to 350. Spray two cookie sheets with nonstick baking spray (the kind with flour) or line with parchment paper. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugars until well combined. Add your egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add your flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt. If mixing by hand, you may need to use clean or gloved hands to thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients at this stage. If using a stand mixer, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get everything combined. Mix in the Heath bits.

With a medium cookie scoop, place dough 1 inch apart from each other. If your cookie sheets are sized like mine, you'll probably need both sheets. If using a convection oven, place both sheets in oven. If using conventional, bake sheets one at a time. 

Bake for 12 minutes until cooked through and edges are starting to lightly brown. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Ever so slightly adapted from picky palate