Instant Pot Pumpkin Pasta

I’ve been making Pumpkin Pasta for a long time. And tonight I finally adapted it to be a one pot instant pot meal. 

One pot, Instant Pot Pumpkin Penne 

1lb sage breakfast sausage (or 1lb ground pork*)

1lb penne

1 12oz can evaporated milk

1 15oz can pure pumpkin

1 1/2 t sage

1/2 t garlic

Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste*

Parmesan cheese to taste

In 6qt instant pot, cook sausage/pork on medium sauté until cooked thru. Remove to a plate, and drain and drippings. 

Add 4.5 cups water and 1lb penne to pot. Seal lid and pressure cook on high for 0 minutes (yes, zero. That is how long I’ve come up with thru trial and error, starting with 4 minutes, which was waaayyyy to soft). Let NPR for 10 min, then QPR. Remove lid when pin drops and steam is done. 

Quickly stir in the evaporated milk and let rest a few minutes to absorb. Add pumpkin, sage, salt, pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. If still too runny, turn pot on low sauté for a few minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and burning. Stir in Parmesan and serve. 

*You will need more seasoning if you use pork instead of sausage. 

This recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray’s Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pasta-with-pumpkin-and-sausage-recipe-1939614.amp

Farro Stroganoff

I bought some farro at Trader Joe’s, and thought about what I wanted to do with it. It has a meaty texture, so I wanted something meaty. This stroganoff mash up seemed just right.

The ground pork I buy is leaner than ground beef that is twice the price, so I did not need to drain fat. If you use beef, you may need to drain fat when you remove the meat from the pot. 

Farro stroganoff

2 T oil

1/2 bag chopped onions

1 pkg sliced mushrooms 

1/2 t thyme

Salt and pepper

1/2 c dry sherry

1 lb ground pork (or lean beef)

2 T butter

1 pkg (8.8oz) Trader Joe’s 10min Farro

2 c water

8 oz sour cream

Worcestershire sauce

Heat oil in 6qt instant pot. Add onions and cook onions until soft. And mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until liquid evaporates and veggies brown. Add thyme and sherry, cook until wine evaporates, scraping brown bits up. Remove from pot. 

Add pork to pot and cook with salt and pepper. Remove. 

Melt butter and cook farro for a few minutes to toast. Add water and stir up any brown bits. Add pork and veggies on top, don’t stir. Place lid on pot, seal, and cook on high pressure 5 min, then npr 5 min. Release remaining pressure and open pot.

Stir up pork, veggies, and farro. Stir in sour cream and Worcestershire sauce to taste (7-10 shakes). Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve. 

chicken coconut curry

I made a yummy yellow coconut curry with chicken and potatoes last night. After browsing Pinterest for recipes, I made up my own. 

*****

Yellow Coconut Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1 onion, diced (unused a bag of frozen diced onions)

3 Yukon gold potatoes, skin on, cut in large bite size pieces

2 cans regular coconut milk

2 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces 

2 cups instant rice

Melt oil in large skillet with a lid and add curry powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for a minute, then add onion. Cook until soft. 

Add potatoes and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, or until potatoes are almost tender. Add chicken and simmer another 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thru and potatoes are completely tender. 

Add rice, bring to a simmer, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit 5-10 minutes, or until rice is cooked thru. 

*****

The only changes we would make would be to only use 2 potatoes and to add 8oz baby carrots, cut in half on a bias, with the potatoes. Also add a cup of hot water with the rice so there is a looser sauce. 

I served this with a chenin blanc/viognier blend, Mbali, from Trader Joe’s. Bon appetit!

Oktoberfest stew

This was dinner tonight. I know it isn't October anymore, but I just found it this week on pinterest. I am still figuring this bloggy thing out, so I don't know how to track back, but here's the link to the original site where the recipe is http://thecozyapron.com/oktoberfest-stew-and-shiny-happy-people/

The only changes I made were I only used a quarter of a small cabbage, and I used while caraway seeds, as I missed that part of the recipe, I doubt I could've found ground caraway at the local store anyway, and my grinder doesn't grind well :P

Also, because it is after thanksgiving, the only seasonal beer I could find were winter ales. So I found a local amber lager to use...Red Hook No Equal lager, made for Seattle Sounders fans. In general, I prefer ale, but it isn't bad, so I am able to finish the bottle after using some in the stew ;)

With the minor changes that I made, it is very yummy. I will probably put the full amount of cabbage next time, but wasn't sure how it would go over with M. But it got a thumbs up from her :) Can't ask for more than that!

First crock pot of the season

I bought a new crock pot. Not because there was anything wrong with the one I already had. It was just too big. For a family of two (me and my girl M), 5.5qts was more food than we needed, or didn't cook properly when not full enough. So when I saw a 2.5qt on sale, it was a go. It is a cute, seasonal one with owls on it :)

So today I cooked my beef and Guinness stew. Since we were home all day, and I didn't get my mojo moving early enough, I cooked it on high for about 3 hours. The recipe is my mental amalgamation of several different recipes I've gotten out of books and online. Here is what it was tonight:

1 3lb boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-2 in cubes
1/2 bottle Guinness (dispose of the other half as you see fit ;) )
Salt, pepper, dry thyme
Chopped onion, celery and carrot (I used half of a carton of pre-prepped mirepoix)
A big handful prunes, cut in half

Put everything in the pot, put on the lid, turn it on, and walk away. As I said, on high it was about 3 hours. Low maybe 6-8.

When it was done, I then added 1/2 to 3/4 cup instant potato flakes to thicken all the yummy stuff up. I was going to put in chopped red potatoes, but one was bad, and there wasn't room in my new little pot. Maybe I should get a smaller roast next time :)

Spaghetti carbonara

Being the end of the month, the food budget is running low. So, when looking to see what I had on hand, I decided to make spaghetti carbonara. All I needed to go to the store for was Parmesan cheese and cream (not used in this particular recipe, but I have used it in others and like the addition of several tablespoons to the egg mixture). I used a recipe from Tyler Florence on Food Network (link below). It was nice and creamy and bacony. And all I needed was spaghetti, bacon (I used double the amount called for, partly because we like bacon, and partly because that was what I had left), eggs and Parmesan cheese. Yum :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-recipe/index.html

I cheated :D

Tonight we had biscuits and gravy. I am not a skim milk user. It just seems like a waste of a glass...it doesn't look or feel like milk. But tonight in my gravy, I used fat free evaporated milk. Being evaporated, it was richer in texture than regular fat free milk, but fat free. So that helped with the (very slight) guilt of the sausage in the gravy :D And to top it off, I couldn't tell the difference! Yum! So now I am going to stock up on fat free evaporated milk for other cooking projects...so stay tuned for the results!

And dinner was...

Steak. Baked potato. Steamed broccoli with cheese sauce. A friend came over, so I got a little fancy-ish. I had bought cheese for something else, and cheese sauce for the broccoli sounded yummy. I even put some on my potato. It was all quite delish. I then went on to kick bootie on wii basketball...the only. time. ever. I will beat some one at basketball is on wii. In real life I have 4 feet. I also almost won at golf. Now if it was archery, I would have kicked some serious boogie. Oh well.

Solo meals

The meals when my daughter is at her dads tend to be one two styles...something new and fancy (or expensive, since I am only feeding one), or they are extremely easy. That was last night.

I had left over rotisserie chicken that I tore into bite size pieces, and cooked it with "souper rice"...made with minute rice and a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. I added some Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning for flair. It was tasty, warm and filling. Tonight I am thinking of something a little fancier...stay tuned!