This week I tried two new dishes. One a success one a sort of failure.
I have heard of people making pasta dishes in the Instant Pot. I have only tried one in the past and you basically made the chicken soup then put the noodles in at the end and let sit. Not really pressure cooked. I worried it would be mushy. A week ago my daughter-in-law and I attended a talk at the public library on using the instant pot. A couple there went on about their favorite dish…chicken alfredo so we decided to try it. I found this recipe online https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a57905/instant-pot-chicken-alfredo-recipe/ but I still was uncomfortable with the linguine. This one was similar so I chose it. https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a57905/instant-pot-chicken-alfredo-recipe/. But I was cooking for 8 three very healthy eaters. no way 3 breasts would be enough. So I used that as a guideline and here is my recipe.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
I used 6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed — next time I will use only 4 see note at the end
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 16-ounce box penne pasta — uncooked
4 tablespoons butter
4 cups water (I used 1 can of chicken broth then added skim milk to make 4 cups)
1 cup of powdered parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream ( I used 1 percent milk next time I will use the cream and be sure to add at the end I accidentally put it all in at one time
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
To make
Press SAUTE button, and when it reads Hot, add the olive oil, then the chicken. and cook in batches until no longer pink, stirring frequently
Add salt, garlic powder and pepper, and stir, making sure no chicken bits are stuck to the bottom. then hit Cancel
Add chicken back then penne pasta over chicken, then pour water or broth over and around the sides of the pasta. Top with 4 tablespoons of butter
Cover, using your particular pots directions ,seal. Press 4 minutes on manual.
When pot beeps, do a gradual quick release to minimize liquid spurting out of the valve. Open and stir carefully.
Stir heavy cream or milk.
Gradually stir in grated Parm, and add more, if desired. Taste, and add more salt, if desired. Serve with more Parm and fresh parsley, if desired. It does need to stand for about ten minutes.
While letting it stand, make some salad and cook some garlic bread. This recipe was perfectly al dente. The family loved it. The 16 oz box may have been a little too much I had a huge bowl of leftovers big enough for another meal.
I wasn’t feeling well this week so we didn’t do a lot of family dinners. my husband and I ate off this and canned chili. Though Thursday I decided to make a cowboy pie. I didn’t have enough mashed potatoes or any leftovers so I made up this simple recipe.
Ingredients
1 pound of ground meat (I used venison but don’t tell the hubby)(2 pounds if feeding a crowd)
1 can of mixed veggie or any veggie you like such as peas corn or green beans. (if making a larger dish you can use two or more Tonight I used the mixed veggies drain. You can use frozen but I would thaw and drain first.
1 can of red kidney beans drained and rinsed (you can use black beans, pinto beans or red beans be sure to drain and rinse.
1 can of french onion soup (or any liquidy soup such as consommé, not the creamy thick stuff. You are adding a little liquid. Tomatoes or Rotel works well too.
Cheesy Mashed potatoes ( I made a small batch of mashed potatoes with garlic milk and butter then added 4 oz of shredded cheddar. if making a bigger casserole add a full 8 oz block shredded)
To make Brown the beef ( you can add onion) season it with salt pepper and a touch of garlic powder) cook until no longer pink. pour in a 8×8 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray (bigger if doubling the recipe).
Layer drained vegetables
Layer drained beans
Now pour over the soup (I used french onion and got a nice layer of caramelized onions) Now bake this in a preheated oven at 350 for 10 minutes or so to make sure it hot throughout.
Top with the yummy, cheesy, mashed potato mixture
Bake 10-15 minutes until hot throughout. (if using cold leftovers you will need to increase baking time by about 10 minutes) Prep time is about 10 minutes baking 20 so you have a nice 30 minute meal and a one dish meal as well (if you don’t count the skillet browning the meat). This is easy, versatile and also good for company or potlucks as you can make ahead.
One word of advice. Use a potholder to take it out of the oven so you can eat it and not feed it to the cats and dog. Luckily I did not burn myself, the dish did not break and close to half stayed in the dish so we did get enough for dinner. (The animals don’t like beans). I didn’t get an after picture since it was mostly on the oven door and
Have you ever had a kitchen disaster?
5 responses to “One Success, One Failure #instapot #floorcasserole #mealplanningmonday”
Oooh, so sorry about the floor casserole. I did that with an apple pie once when the rack was in backward. I remember the first time I made lasagna with raw pasta. I was so surprised when it turned out perfectly. I’m glad yours did too.
I suppose the silver lining is I did not burn myself. There was potential for so much danger like boiling my barefoot or it hitting my legs or my hand getting third-degree burns but nothing not even a little burn
Thank goodness!
Insta Pot is a mystery to me, but I ever get one, you’ll be the first person I check with to see what’s what.
Mine is not a name brand but they are so awesome. Its like bringing the past back but techy lol I remember my grandma cooking in a pressure cooker a lot.