Creme Brûlée

2 c whipping cream

4 large egg yolks

½ c sugar

2 t vanilla extract

or even better ½ fresh vanilla bean pod (seeds scraped out)

Dash of salt 

This is a double batch using glass 6 oz bowls, and I ran my Quick Cooker on the Dessert setting for 16 minutes and let it go for 15 minutes natural release. They came out perfectly! Using ceramic ramekins cooks quicker.

Let the cream warm. I microwaved the cream for 45 seconds, stirred it, and microwaved it another 45 seconds. Mix the salt, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Don’t forget to temper the eggs adding a spoonful of the warm cream while whisking the egg mix briskly. Then quickly whisk the egg mix into the cream. Divide evenly into bowls, cover, and place on racks in cooker with a cup of water in the base of the cooker.

I had to adjust the original time, but here’s the recipe I used:

https://amindfullmom.com/instant-pot-creme-brulee/

Crimini Spinach Pesto Lasagna

For the pesto, I used:

1/3 c walnuts

4 c spinach

2 c basil (or whatever you have left, just not more that 2 c)

4 cloves of garlic

½ c olive oil

¼ c grated Parmesan Cheese

1 t salt

½ t fresh ground pepper

For the lasagna, I used:

12 oz firm tofu

8 oz lasagna noodles, cooked (following boiling instructions on box)

8 oz crimini mushrooms

2 c mozzerella cheese

¾ c Parmesan Cheese (or more!)

In a food processor or mill, grind the walnuts to a paste. Add garlic and Parmesan.

Also add spinach and basil, salt and pepper.

Add olive oil while blending. I forgot the pepper, so I added it here.

Saute mushrooms in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. If the pan dries out, add a tablespoon of water. Cook on medium-high heat stirring regularly until the mushrooms start to look transparent.

Basically, when the white color is gone, they’re cooked, but this is just getting some flavor on them. They’ll cook more in the slow-cooker; so really, you could just roll them around in the olive oil, salt and pepper until they’re coated and then go ahead and put them in the slow-cooker in layers.

Slice the tofu into quarters or so that pieces fit into your palm. I used my hand to crush and crumble it into the pot.

Spray the inside of the slow-cooker with cooking spray, coat the bottom and sides halfway to the top. Spread half of the pesto mix into the bottom of the pot along with half of the mushrooms.

Cover the pesto and mushroom mix with half of the cooked noodles, tearing off or folding over pieces to cover the pesto as best as possible. Crumble half of the tofu on top.

Cover the noodles with half of the mozzarella spreading it to the edges, so there is no pasta showing (it will dry out otherwise). Sprinkle with half of the Parmesan.

Repeat by adding another layer in the same order.

I forgot the rest of the mushrooms, so I just put them on top.

The result. I did not use ricotta since the tofu had the same texture and since this is vegetarian, the usual amount of cheese may have been overwhelming.

It was gone! SO good! If you’d like to try it vegan, just be sure to use vegan cheese and noodles. Enjoy!

Quick Cooker Turkey Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

This was delicious but almost a disaster! I had to run the cycle twice. When the meatloaf first came out, I let it set for a couple of minutes, then started slicing it. The middle was a little mushy! I got mike to probe it with a meat thermometer, and sure enough, it has not reached temperature! Possible Salmonella. I put everything back into the pressure cooker, reset it, and washed all my utensils.

Put the potatoes in the Quick Cooker first.

1 ½ – 3 lbs. golden potatoes, washed, peeled, and quartered

1 cup Better Than Bouillon, Chicken Flavor

1 cup half and half (I used Whipping Cream since that’s what I had)

4 tbsp butter

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

For the meatloaf;

2 lb. lean ground turkey

1 sleeve of crackers

2 eggs

4 oz chopped mushrooms

1 medium shallot, diced

½ cup ketchup 

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt and pepper

Brussel sprouts to fit around meatloaf

I used the Ceramic Pot for the Quick Cooker and stuffed Brussel sprouts into the remaining space after shaping the meatloaf into a loaf as best as I could. Adding mushrooms to meatloaf was new to me.

Cover the Ceramic Pot with the Silicone Lid, place into wire cradle and lowered it into the Quick Cooker to rest on the rack above the potatoes.

 

The Brussel sprouts were overcooked but still yummy.

Salt and peppered golden potatoes which are our favorite for this recipe! Rack for pot…

Potatoes done.

Creamier than their supposed to be since we used less potatoes than the recipe listed but kept the rest of the ingredients the same.

Set the Quick Cooker on CUSTOM for at least 40 minutes. I will update when I redo for actual time. You want the internal temperature to be 165F.

Mike put Chipotle Cholula hot sauce as a topping instead of ketchup. It was very, very good!

Here’s the recipe I used (as a guide): https://iwashyoudry.com/instant-pot-meatloaf-mashed-potatoes/

Black-Bottom Banana Bars

This is from a Taste of Home dessert cookbook which I lost to a divorce and a move. I bought the cookbook at work from a vendor who travels with his van full of books and learning tools and toys for teachers. He sets up a display in our lounge every few months with new items, leaves them for a week with order forms and an envelope for the payment, and sometimes unseen, when the display is gone, your order is bagged up with the order form attached as a receipt. It was very convenient, and there was always something useful and fun! I took advantage of it most of the time.

This recipe is one of many I made and absolutely loved. I’ve been fantasizing about it since I moved. I was able to find it through the miracle of technology since it was posted online.

There result is very much like a cake, less like a banana bread, but irresistible! Here’s what I used:

½ c butter, softened

1 c sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

1 ½ c mashed overripe bananas (usually 3 works)

1 ½ c flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

¼ c baking cocoa

Cream wet ingredients together. Combine dry ingredients, except cocoa, in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients, except cocoa, to wet ingredients. Mix well without overmixing. Divide batter in half and add cocoa to one half. Pour cocoa mix into greased 9×12″ baking dish and spread to edges. Pour remaining mix on top and spread to edges. Bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into bars. You’ll never be the same once you try these!

Black-Bottom Banana Bars

Butter and granulated sugar

Forgot to smash the bananas, so chunks in the final product.

The butter was not softened enough.

Add egg and vanilla.

Add dry to wet…

Mix until just incorporated.

Split batter and add cocoa to one half.

Spread cocoa mix to edges of 9×12″ bake pan.

Add remaining batter on top of cocoa mix and spread to edges.

Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 35 minutes.

Slice into “bars”!

So good!

Um…very dangerous! I may have already eaten this much…

Mrs. Fields Cookies

These are Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies with butterscotch chips added.

I usually do half of this batch and get 3 ½ to 4 dozen. Mrs. Fields cookie recipe can be found anywhere online if you search for it, and you can choose based on the format you prefer. Here are the ingredients/recipe I use:

2 c butter

2 c sugar

2 c packed brown sugar

4 eggs

2 T vanilla extract

4 c flour

5 c oatmeal, ground to make flour

1 t salt 

4 t baking powder

4 t baking soda

2 (12 oz hopefully) bags of chocolate chips

Bake at 375F for 11 minutes. Adjust according to your oven which means watch, smell, and listen. Don’t leave these alone.

The Mrs. Fields recipe also includes 8 oz Hershey Bar, grated, and 3 cups nuts, any kind (optional), but I don’t like nuts in my desserts. I also usually use a bag of mini chocolate chips and about 2 oz of whatever chocolate bar I have in the house to make 12 oz when added to the 10 oz bag of chips. So making a half-batch, that’s 12 oz total of chips. The mini chips distribute nicely and to where you get chocolate in every bite. I think that’s what makes a perfect chocolate chip cookie, besides it being soft when cooked through.

Dry ingredients

Wet ingredients

Combining dry ingredients to wet ingredients

Looking good already!

Add chips. Just let the mixer make one or two rotations. You don’t want to over mix.

You can fold it by hand to get the chips throughout, if you like.

Perfect!

I don’t have a scoop, so they are different sizes but not by much, so they cook through in about 11 minutes in my gas oven.

One to two minutes cooling on the hand before moving them to a cooling rack.hand before moving them to a cooling rack. You can see the more golden brown were left on the pan longer. Those are the crunchy batch!

Evenly distributed chips for a nice varying flavor in every bite!

Peanut Butter Cookies

These ARE the best peanut butter cookies ever! They taste great and stay soft. Unfortunately, shortening is so bad for your body; especially, if you’re diabetic, which I am not, but reading about shortening made me cringe. I wanted to see if they changed the process for making it yet again. Sadly, it has not changed. It still raises your triglycerides and lowers your good cholesterol; so I’ll just use butter and warm them up in the microwave for ten seconds to soften them up.

I used:

1 ¾ c flour

¾ t baking soda

¾ c peanut butter

½ c vegetable shortening

1¼ c packed light brown sugar

3 T soy milk

1 T vanilla extract

1 egg at room temperature

Granulated sugar (for rolling cookies), optional

 

Love this scraper tool to get all the PB out of the jar!

Traditional pattern for peanut butter cookies…

Roll in granulated sugar. Or not. I could prefer to skip this step.

Yup. I stuck my thumb in that one grabbing the pan out of the oven!

https://www.browneyedbaker.com/peanut-butter-cookies/

Homemade Baked Beans

We had dinner at family’s for the holidays and someone made home-made baked beans. Of course, this gave me the idea that I needed to try to make my own.

Saute one shallot in one tablespoon of olive oil until softened.

Add six pieces of crispy bacon, crumbled.

Two cans of Navy or Great Northern beans with liquid.

Add spices; one teaspoon of ground pepper, one tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/3 c molasses.

Add three cups of chicken stock (I use a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon Chicken flavor and three cups of water) and a tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce.

Bring to a boil on Medium-High heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer in cast-iron Dutch oven on Low for 40 minutes.

Pretty good! No chunks of pork fat, and I know exactly what’s in it.

Chunky Chili

Chunks of veggies? Yes! I literally threw this together. Chili is supposed to be mainly meat and chili powder, but it has evolved to include beans and veggies of all sorts. The weather has been cool here than usual with some much needed rain, so we opted for dinner to suit.

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

1 (14.5 oz) can Organic chopped tomatoes

T chili powder

t cinnamon

salt and pepper

Brown the meat with salt and pepper, add the garlic and veggies, stir and allow to soften, then add the spices and liquids, simmer on medium to medium-low for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with Brown Butter https://cookingupuneecrivaine.wordpress.com/2019/01/17/cast-iron-cornbread/ corn bread.

Beef Bourguignon

This recipe exceeded my expectations! I was expecting something very similar to beef stew as I have experienced in the past attempting this recipe in the slow cooker, but this was incredibly dynamic. Could I have just been so hungry? Possibly, but I’ll know with better certainty the next time I make it.

It was actually a pressure cooker recipe I had found after ordering a cooker and in anticipation of it. The shipping being delayed and already having bought the ingredients for the recipe, I decided to go ahead and try the recipe in my cast-iron Dutch oven.

Meat cubed, on to chopping the veggies…

Ingredients I used:

1 ¼ lb top sirloin, cubed

¾ t salt

½ t ground pepper

3 T olive oil

2 T sweet red wine

1 medium shallot, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

¾ t dried thyme

1 large carrot, chopped

1 (14.5 oz) chopped Organic tomatoes

1 (14.5 oz) Organic tomato sauce

1 c water 

1 t Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor

1 bay leaf

8 oz white mushrooms, chopped

Brown meat with seasoning, deglaze the pan with the wine, saute shallots and mushrooms, everything in the pot, simmer on Medium to Medium-Low for at least 40 minutes. Serve with fresh mashed potatoes with butter.

Brown the meat in olive oil coated in salt and pepper.

I dumped all of the meat in the pan which was too much. The liquid cooked out of the meat which ended up boiling the meat instead of searing it, so I removed half, set it aside, and let the liquid cook down. When the meat started to brown, I turned it and added the rest of the meat.

It went quickly after this. The cast iron stays hot once it reaches temperature. Make sure the veggies are ready! Add the carrots and stir occasionally until softened. Stir in the thyme and garlic and be ready with the liquid since garlic burns easily.

Add liquids; tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and bouillon, bay leaf.

Return the meat to the pot.

Stir it all together.

Saute the shallots and mushrooms in olive oil. If all of the olive oil disappears before they’re cooked and the mushrooms are still dry, add a tablespoon or so of water.

Add the mushroom and shallot mix to the pot. Allow to simmer on Medium for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. I may have only stirred it twice (I did yoga while I waited)!

Freshly mashed potatoes is the tastiest accompaniment. You could also add pasta after 30 minutes. Mashed cauliflower for less carbs.

Have you tried this? What do you think?

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/276958/instant-pot-beef-bourguignon/

This recipe was a little confusing, but I only skimmed over the Steps and still came out with an amazing dish.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

This recipe was so quick and easy, I didn’t even get a chance to take more than one photo! 

Per serving, you need:

½ c oats

½ c soy milk

2 T pumpkin puree

2 T honey

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1 t cinnamon

½ c chopped pecans

T chia (optional) I leave it out

Mix it all together in a sealable container and refrigerate overnight or for 8 hours or more.

I, personally, don’t like cold oatmeal but I love pumpkin, so what I used has more pumpkin and soy milk. In the morning, I microwave the oatmeal for about one minute and add about a quarter cup of soy milk. I think whipped cream or vanilla yogurt on top would make it even better!

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats with Chia