Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

When my wife was pregnant, all she craved was carbs (she felt it was unfair later that she got gestational diabetes and had to limit them). Popcorn, sugary drinks – her biggest craving, though, was for mashed potatoes. She prepared and ate instant potato flakes by the bagful, and I had to buy her some pounds and pounds of red potatoes – her favorite!

I wish back when she was having these cravings we had an electric pressure cooker! We got our Instant Pot from her parents for Christmas a couple of years ago, and we’ve used it enough that we’ve thought about getting a second one! From beans to meat to easy side dishes, we use our Instant Pot once a week at least!

These potatoes are super easy, and so much faster than the traditionally boiled method. And they are so creamy they can be eaten on their own. Our favorite thing to pair them with is our chicken fried steaks and white gravy!

Obviously you’ll need a 6QT pressure cooker. We absolutely love our Instant Pot!

Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Comfort, Comfort Foods, Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Potatoes, Pressure Cooker, Sides

Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

5lbs russet potatoes
1 cup water
1 1/2 – 2 cups of milk
1/2 – 1 stick of butter
2TBS garlic powder
2TBS salt
2TBS pepper

Instructions

Wash potatoes and chop into 1” pieces (we leave the peels on, but you can peel the potatoes if you prefer).
Put water into pressure cooker, followed by the potatoes.
Seal pressure cooker, making sure vent is sealed as well. Set to Manual-High for 6 minutes. Quick release the pressure when cook time ends.
Using a hand mixer or a potato masher, lightly break up the potatoes. Then blend in milk and butter gradually until desired consistency. Blend in spices to taste. Serve hot.

March 8, 2019March 10, 2019

Slow Cooker Three Bean Chilli

Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

When I think of big meals with big savings, my mind usually thinks of the humble bean. So filling, and so cheap when you buy them dry. And is anything better at the end of a cold day than a warm and hearty bowl of chilli?

Personally, I love mixing up the texture by combining three different beans. Big on flavor, and small on price, this chilli is well worth the effort!

This recipe uses a slow cooker. We have two – we really love those leftovers, and double this recipe to give us meals for the whole week! You’ll need a 6QT or bigger. Check out these if you are in the market!

Slow Cooker Three Bean Chilli

Dinner, Meals for a Crowd

Slow Cooker Three Bean Chilli

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup dry kidney beans
1 1/4 cup dry black beans
1 1/4 cup pinto beans
12 cups of water
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
2lbs pork shoulder meat, removed from bone and chopped
1 onion, chopped
6TBS chili powder
2TBS garlic powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper (to taste)

Instructions

THE NIGHT BEFORE Rinse beans and place in large bowl or pot. Mix together. Add 12 cups of water, making sure beans are completely covered by water. Cover and soak for up to 12 hours or overnight (the longer you soak the beans, the quicker they will cook and the less tootie fruity they will make you.)
Put chicken broth into the bottom of the crock pot. Add bean mixture and pork. Fill crockpot with water until all beans and meat are covered. Mix together.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Add onion and spices. Cook for an additional 6.5 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and burning.

Tempted to try the corn bread by this bowl? Click here for the recipe!

March 6, 2019March 8, 2019

Smothered Stuffed Shells

Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Though this recipe is not exactly traditional, I am nothing if a little extra.

The first meal I shared with my future-in-laws and family after mine and Lexi’s engagement, I made some homemade stuffed shells. So whenever I make stuffed shells I feel especially nostalgic and romantic.

When we were taking the pictures for this recipe, Alexis called these “the sloppy joe’s of Italian food”. Even though they aren’t the prettiest, they are so cheesy and delicious you can’t help but dig in!

We love using our non-stick lasagna pan. Its wider and longer than the 9×13 glass pan we used to do, meaning more food. We got ours at Ross for a killer deal, but this one on Amazon is a great buy!

Smothered Stuffed Shells

Cheese, Dinner, Italian, Non-Traditional, Pasta

Smothered Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lbs + 1/2 lbs mozzarella cheese
1 – 12oz box of jumbo shell pasta
64oz tomato sauce
2/3 cups of Italian seasoning
1/8 cup of garlic powder
1/8 cup of onion powder
1lb ground Italian sausage

Instructions

Fry ground Italian sausage. Drain and set aside.
Boil pasta for half of cook time mentioned on box. Drain, and carefully separate out 21 pieces without tears or holes. (Cook the entire box so you have enough pieces even if some break. You can freeze any extras to use later.)
In a medium bowl, mix tomato sauce and spices. In another bowl mix the ricotta cheese and 1 ½ lbs of mozzarella cheese.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a 1” layer of sauce on the bottom of your 10×14” lasagna pan.
How to stuff the shells: Using a spoon, fill each shell with cheese mixture. Then pinch noodle partially closed until edges of shells are about half an inch apart, but not touching. Scrape off excess cheese.
Place stuffed shells in three even rows of seven shells each. Sprinkle cooked ground meat over shells and sauce. Spoon remaining sauce over shells, and then sprinkle remaining 1/2lb of mozzarella cheese.
Loosely cover pan with tin foil. Place in the oven and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake again for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly brown around edges.

Don’t forget your green side salad and garlic bread!

March 5, 2019March 8, 2019

New England Clam Chowder

Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Soup is our go to when the weather gets cold. Its usually pretty budget friendly, filling, and its nice to wrap your hands around a big mug of soup while you sit on the couch and watch the snow fall outside your window.

This soup is more of a splurge. We love it, but only have it on rare occasion. Why?

Its spendy.
Its labor intensive.
We don’t want to spoil ourselves because its soooooooooooo delicious!

I cut the cost a bit by harnessing the inner Hunter-Gatherer in myself whenever I make a trip out to Oregon to visit my family. My dad and I hit the coast and go clamming every morning. A little effort, some time, and I come home with pounds and pounds of frozen clams that my family and I eat throughout the years.

We doubled this recipe recently and brought it to my wife’s sides monthly Family Home Evening dinner. It was a huge hit! Not to mention we had plenty for everyone plus leftovers – that’s 9 adults, 1 tween, 2 toddlers AND leftovers. You’ll need a pretty big pot to fit all that delicious flavor in – might I suggest this one?

I would also suggest reading the WHOLE RECIPE before preparing. Like everything good in this world, this soup does not come easy. It can be messed up pretty easily, and we wouldn’t want that!

New England Clam Chowder

Dinner, Meals for a Crowd, Old Fashioned, Soup, Splurge

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

1/2 lb of bacon, chopped
2 lbs of raw clams, chopped* OR 8 6.5oz cans of chopped cans, liquid reserved**
48oz clam juice OR chicken stock***
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
6 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2/3 cup of flour
3lbs of red potatoes, diced into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 bay leaves
16oz heavy cream
2 TBS fresh parsley, well minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large stock pot, cook the bacon until crisp over medium heat. *If using raw clams, cook them during this step along with the bacon.
Add the diced celery and onions, cooking until they are very soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, only about 30 seconds.
Stir in the flour to coat all the veggies and meat. Cook until the flour is turning brown.
Very, very gradually begin adding the clam juice/chicken stock/reserved can juice. Add a small amount – about 2 TBS at a time – of liquid and stir it in until there is no more visible liquid. Then add a little more, completely combining each batch with the veggie flour mixture. Continue this way until you use up all the liquid.
Add the potatoes, thyme, and bay leaves. Raise the temperature to high and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
Stir in the cream. **If you are using canned clams, add them during this step. Heat through. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Notes

***You can use half clam juice and half chicken stock. If you are using fresh clams use the clam juice because you will not have any liquid to reserve from the cans.

March 3, 2019September 16, 2019

Extreme Cheese Lasagna

Disclosure: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Now, I don’t throw the word “extreme” around lightly. So when I tell you this lasagna is extremely cheesy, you can take that to the bank! You may need to go to the bank, actually, and get a loan to afford all this cheese!

We don’t indulge in this lasagna very often. We look all year long for major deals and then we buy in major bulk. A local restaurant supply liquidation store we frequent recently had huge 6lb blocks of mozzarella on sale for $8 a piece! So we grabbed a couple. The next week we came back and they still had a ton, and because the sell by dates were getting close they had them for…

…wait for it…

2 for $8! We grabbed as many as we could, cut them into 1 lb blocks, and bagged them up for the freezer. We’ve been slowly working through the cheese. This lasagna made a dent in our stash, but it was sooooo worth it!

Its got 4 pounds of cheese. Four pounds! It was almost hard to take out of the pan.

This traditional Italian dish is perfect for your next family get together. Big enough to feed a crowd and please them all!

Extreme Cheese Lasagna

Cheese, Dinner, Italian, Meals for a Crowd, Splurge

Extreme Cheese Lasagna

Ingredients

For the Pasta

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of flour
If you are not making your own pasta 1 box of lasagna noodles

For the Sauce

64 oz tomato sauce
2/3 cups of Italian seasoning
1/8 cup of garlic powder
1/8 cup of onion powder

Layering ingredients

2 lbs of ricotta cheese
2 lbs of mozzarella cheese
1 lb Italian sausage links
1 lb ground Italian sausage

Instructions

Homemade Noodles –

Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour.
Crack eggs into the flour, pop yolks and mix flour into the eggs in the well using a fork. Then thoroughly combine mixture until you have formed a dough. If it sticky, add small amounts of flour until the desired consistency. If dry and cracking, add small amounts of water until the desired consistency.
Use an adjustable pasta roller to finish the dough. Place the dough through the roller at the largest size setting. Adjust the roller down a size and roll pasta sheet through again. If holes form in the sheet fold in half and place back into roller at the same thickness you just used. Continue rolling pasta, adjusting to next lowest setting until desired thickness. Cut noodles to desired width and about 1” longer than the pan you are going to use to make the lasagna.
Dry flat – pasta will shrink slightly as it dries. Store in an air tight container until ready to use. Do not pre-cook noodles before adding to the lasagna.

Make the Lasagna

In two separate pans, fry ground sausage and sliced link sausage. Once fully cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
If cooking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s time to layer! Begin with a light layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place first layer of noodles, covering bottom. Do not worry if there is space between noodles as long as it is less than half an inch between each one. Add half of the remaining sauce. Layer on 1lb of ricotta cheese in 1TBS sized dollops, then spread evenly. Layer on 1lb of mozzarella cheese. Layer on half of the ground sausage and half of the sausage links, spread out evenly.
Repeat layers with remaining ingredients except for mozzarella. Place remaining mozzarella on top, making sure to cover completely.
Place loose layer of aluminum foil over pan.
If freezing – tightly wrap entire pan in plastic wrap. Freeze flat. Before cooking, thaw in refrigerator overnight. Once thawed bake as normal.
When ready to bake, place lasagna pan on cookie sheet to prevent dripping messes in the bottom of your oven.
Bake covered for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes.