Frozen Meatballs in the Instant Pot

These are so crazy easy!  This is a perfect meal for a busy weeknight.  No waiting for the oven to heat up and no dirtying extra dishes.  These frozen meatballs are from Costco (shocker!)  They were the sample one day and one of the bags came home with us. 

Let's Get Crafty!

2 lbs frozen meatballs

1 cup spaghetti sauce

15 oz can italian tomatoes, pureed

6 large mushrooms, sliced

Lock the lid.  Set to manual for 8 minutes.  This was the perfect amount of time to get the water going for the pasta and have them both ready at the same time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheesy Biscuits

This recipe idea comes from the Cincy Shopper blog.  Her recipe is called Easy Garlic and Herb Pull-Apart Loaf.  My take on it below changed it to cheesy and garlicy without the extra herbs.

We had some canned biscuits on hand and needed a side for the soup we were having for dinner.  These biscuits were a big hit with everyone.  There weren't any leftovers!

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat oven to 350

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter

Add in 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

Open a can of flaky biscuits and split each on in half to make 16 pieces.

Using a brush - add the butter and garlic to each slice. 

Lay them in a bread sized baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam

Stuff a little bit of cheddar cheese in between each of the slices

Bake for 30 minutes 

Thanks for stopping by!

Beef Burritos Filling from the Instant Pot!

We had some thawed beef with onions and assorted colors of peppers on hand.  I had frozen some green chile last time we made it and it felt like a fabulous dinner was going to be in the making with very little hands on time.

We followed the same idea using pork on another day and it was very good too.  We use the leftovers to make extra burritos that my husband can grab and take to work or the meat here would be perfect inside a baked egg roll.

Let's Get Crafty!

Toss everything in the Instant Pot:
2 lbs beef, in chunks
1 onion, sliced
2 peppers, sliced (I used yellow and red because I love the added color)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
1/2 can low sodium beef broth

Once everything is in the Instant Pot liner - mix it up to distribute the taco seasoning.

Lock the lid.  Select meat/stew setting and adjust the time up or down until it gets to 30 minutes.  Make sure knob at the top is set to sealing.  I have a tendency to hear the timer go off and switching the Instant Pot knob to venting to release the pressure faster.  On this day I was also nervous the peppers would be overcooked.  They were a little bit for my liking  Another option to putting them in the Instant Pot could be sauteing them on the oven and just doing the meat in the IP.  The one pot wonder and less dishes seems to win for me each time.  :D

Thanks for stopping by!  

14 Crock-Pot or Instant Pot Meals (Choose your adventure!)

Here's another round of freezer meals!  I'm super excited to share these with you.  It's a mix of new recipes with some oldie but goodie favorites from our house.  The picture below shows the 5 meals I made from a 4 pack of pork roasts from Costco.

If you're interested in tips and tricks with freezer meals - take a look back at a previous post of mine.  Tips and Tricks for Freezer Meals.  My previous freezer meal set was focused on using the slow cooker.  This time around I tried to find recipes that would work for either the slow cooker or the Instant Pot.

**Special Note on Cook Time Using the Slow Cooker** I cook each of my meals from frozen for 8 hours when I use the slow cooker.  The reason is because it will cook on low for those 8 hours and then have at least another 2 hours of cook time on warm.  This has helped us to get the best results.  If we started the freezer meal thawed on the cook day then we always seem disappointed because it is exceptionally overcooked.

Here's the lineup of recipes with either a link to a previous recipe or the new details:
2 Pork BBQ Ribs (NEW to us)
1 Broccoli Beef (NEW to us)
1 Mongolian Beef (The kid's favorite!)
1 Beef Roast
1 Stew Meat
2 Ranch Pork Chops (NEW to us)
1 Pork Tacos
2 Pulled Pork Chili (New to us)
2 Zesty Chicken (Because I love it!)
1 White Chili (New to us as a frozen meal)

Here are two bag holders that I purchased from my son's fall school fundraiser.  I've always used a bowl or two and put the bags inside it.  I have to admit these were pretty handy to have.  I don't know if it made it any faster but it seems like they took up less room than bowls.

Let's Get Crafty!
2 Pork BBQ Country-Style Ribs (NEW to us)
This recipe is from the Happy Money Saver blog.  Their recipe calls for boneless country style ribs.  The ones we used weren't boneless.  The recipe below is for one meal - I doubled it to make two.

Mix together in one gallon size freezer bag:
2 1/2 pounds country-style pork ribs
1 onion, thinly sliced (I diced ours because that increases the chance of the kids eating them)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup barbecue sauce

Day of the meal:  Cook on low 8 hours
Top with additional BBQ sauce when serving.

1 Broccoli Beef (NEW to us)
This recipe is inspired by the Creme De La Crumb blog.  I followed the ingredient list pretty close but I used the amounts I thought made sense. I also used beef shoulder roast (their recipe call for flank steak) and left out the red chili flakes.  I'm excited to see how my take on it turned out!

Mix together in one gallon size freezer bag:
1.5 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Put 4 cups broccoli florets in another freezer bag and freeze separately.  I had some fresh broccoli on hand.  Otherwise, I would have made a note on the bag and did it the day of.

This is one of the recipes that I plan to defrost in advance so I can throw it in the instant pot.  I plan to cook the meat by itself and then steam the broccoli.  Depending on the amount of liquid in the Instant Pot - I'll use a combination of cornstarch and cold water to thicken it.

1 Mongolian Beef (The kids favorite!)
Mongolian Beef Recipe

1 Beef Roast and 1 Stew starter
Beef and Stew Starters

2 Ranch Pork Chops (NEW to us)
Many blogs have the same general idea as this post.  I'm excited to give it a try because I think cooking it over the potatoes will be delicious.  This is a recipe that we'll do in the slow cooker and not in the instant pot.  The recipe below is for one meal - I doubled it to make two.

Mix together in a one gallon freezer bag:
2 lbs pork chops (I used a two pound pork roast and cut it up)
2 cans healthy choice cream of chicken soup
3 tablespoons ranch dressing mix (or one envelope)

I'm going to put the contents of the bag over sliced potatoes in the crock pot on cook day.  It's going to end up being creamy deliciousness!  Here's to hoping I've found a new hit with the kids.

Day of the meal: 
Cook on low 8 hours

1 Pork Tacos
(pictured in the front bottom left)

Mix together in one gallon size freezer bag:
1 1/2 lbs pork roast, cut into large chunks
1 onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Day of the meal:
Cook on low 8 hours

2 Pulled Pork Chili (New to us)
This recipe came from the Slow Cooker Gourmet blog.  I doubled it to make two meals.

Mix together in one gallon size freezer bag:
1 1/2 pork roast, diced
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced (I left this out so it wouldn't be spicy for the kids)
2 - 15 oz cans diced tomatoes (I pureed one of the cans)
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (we didn't have this... so I did extra of regular chili powder)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 - 15 oz can low sodium chicken stock

Each meal will need to have 2 cans of chili beans added the day of the meal.  (The recipe calls for one but my kids love beans!)  I'm planning on making this one in the Instant Pot too.  I'll defrost it by putting the freezer bag in the fridge the night before.  How long I'll coke it the next day on the stew setting will depend on how much it's thawed out.  I'm thinking it'll be around 45 minutes.  I'm going to wait and add the beans once it's done cooking so they still hold their texture and don't turn into mush with the long cooking time.

2 Zesty Chicken (Because I love it!)
Zesty Chicken Recipe

1 White Chicken Chili (New to us as a frozen meal)
White Chicken Chili Recipe.

On the cook day we'll need to add 2 cans white beans and 2 cans mild green chile.  I also will need to add 3 cans of low sodium chicken stock.  The recipe calls for 4 and I added one to the bag for some moisture to help with evening mixing the spices.

Here's another bad boy that I'm excited to throw into the Instant Pot.  I'm going to tackle it similar to my idea for the Pulled Pork Chili.  I'll defrost it by putting the freezer bag in the fridge the night before.  How long I'll coke it the next day on the stew setting will depend on how much it's thawed out.  I'm thinking it'll be around 45 minutes.  I'm going to wait and add the beans once it's done cooking so they still hold their texture and don't turn into mush with the long cooking time.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoy the recipes.  What are your favorite freezer meals?  I love trying new recipes and would love trying what you've found that works well for your family too.

14 Frozen Meals for the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker!

There are two times each year where I love to have frozen meals on hand.  The first is when school is getting up and running in the fall and the second is heading into January.  I'm a little late on my January meals - but I decided better a little late than not to have any on hand over the next couple months.

In the past my frozen meals have focused a lot on using the slow cooker and now I'm making them in hopes that I will use them for the slow cooker or the instant pot.  The trick for the instant pot will be making sure I get them in the fridge the night before so they can start thawing.  It seems to me that cooking them from frozen will make it hard to just the cook time and if they can be mostly thawed when they go in - it will help with that and get dinner on the table faster.

Let's Get Crafty!

This was my lineup:
2 Pork BBQ Ribs (NEW to us)
1 Broccoli Beef (NEW to us)
1 Mongolian Beef (The kids favorite!)
1 Beef Roast
1 Stew Meat
2 Ranch Pork Chops (NEW to us)
1 Pork Tacos
2 Pulled Pork Chili (New to us)
2 Zesty Chicken (Because I love it!)
1 White Chili (New to us as a frozen meal)

Stay tuned for this weekend to see the recipes for the new meals included here.  I 'll also include links to my last freezer meal set for our family favorite repeat meals.

Happy Friday's Eve!  I hope everyone is having a great day.

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Chicken Pot Pie

Oh pot pie.  How I love thee in all your comfort food goodness.  Today's a big day - we are double crusting this bad boy.  Generally, I'm a top crust only gal and decided this particular day needed some extra comfort as we are gearing up for the craziness at work.

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat oven to 350

Take out 2 premade pie crusts to start coming to room temperature

Our package indicated they needed 15 minutes and that seemed just about right.

I have SOOO much respect for those that make their own pie crust!  It just isn't this girl.

Saute together for 5 minutes or so until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery are tender but not fully cooked (I like for them to hold their texture - if you don't then extend your cook time here):

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup carrots, diced

3/4 cup celery, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

Add 2 tablespoons flour and stir for one minute or so

Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and 1/2 cup milk and continue to stir on medium heat until thickened.  You can use whatever combo of stock and milk you want to here as long as it ends up around 2 cups.

Add some salt and pepper to taste

Once thickened - add in 2 cooked chicken breasts that have been cut into bit size chunks.

Bake for 50-55 minutes (I started checking mine around 40 minutes to make sure it didn't overcook)

The refrigerated dough is for circle pie pans and I cut it some to adjust it to this baking dish.

Covered up and going in the preheated oven.

Coming out hot!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you are having a great day.

Overnight Ham Sammies

These are truly amazing.  My family gets excited when they see me making these the night before and putting them in the fridge.  It's a great thing to come home from work - preheat an oven - and throw them in the oven.  Bada-bing Bada-boom.

I've seen so many variations of this recipe with the same general ideas.  We've made them and threw them in the oven and didn't leave them in the fridge overnight.  They were good - but not as super tasty because that extra time really pulls the sauce into the rolls and just makes them bake so deliciously.

Let's Get Crafty!

Get the sauce ready by whisking together:

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons mustard

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Get the rolls ready:

1 package of 12 rolls, on this day I used Sara Lee dinner rolls

I like to take the rolls apart and cut each in half individually.  This helps the sauce to get in all the little crooks and crannies.

Layer up the sammies:

Spray the pan with pam

Put bottom halves on the bottom

Add 2 thinly sliced pieces of honey ham to each roll bottom

Add some shredded mozzarella cheese to each (use whatever cheese you want or have on hand)

Put the tops back on each roll

I use a large spoon to put some sauce on top of each of the rolls.  I poured it without using a spoon one time and it felt like there were several that didn't get as much of the saucy goodness.

Then cover with foil and put in the fridge for the next night.

Coming out of the fridge and ready to be baked:

Preheat the oven to 350 and bake uncovered for 12-15 minutes.

Have a great day!  Thank you for stopping by!

Speedy Scalloped Ham and Potatoes

This is a twist on the recipe my Mom used to make as we were growing up.  I remember her saying this was my Dad's favorite.  I think about him every time I make it.  I should make it for him someday and see what he thinks.

What are the twists? To cut down on baking time - I boiled the sliced potatoes before layering the casserole.  I also added some mustard to the cream sauce for some added flavor.

Let's Get Crafty!
Start some water on high to bring to a boil

Preheat oven to 375

While waiting on the water to rise to a boil: 
3 lbs russet potatoes, sliced (I sliced them thicker than I generally would so they wouldn't turn into mush and all fall apart when I drained them after boiling)

Put potatoes in the boiling water for 5 minutes and drain

Dice the ham steak:
1.5 lb fully cooked ham steak

Get the cream sauce going:
3 tablespoons butter, melt in a large skillet on medium
3 tablespoons flour, whisk into the butter for 1 minute
3 cups milk, add to the butter/flour mixture and whisk until thickened (usually just a couple minutes)
add some salt and pepper to taste
add 1 teaspoon mustard, optional (I think it adds an unexpected element that has you thinking "Hmmm... what is that?")

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, set aside to include in the layer

Layer it up (this was 3 layers for me)
Spray bottom of the casserole dish with pam
Layer as follows: Potatoes, 1/3 diced ham, 1 cup cream sauce, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you're having a great day!

Breakfast Bubble Bake

I'm always looking to try a new breakfast casserole to get something hot on the table versus the cereal/oatmeal standbys.  Those are just fine... I just like to mix it up when there is some extra time.  That time generally only comes on the weekend.  

The general idea of this recipe is like other "bubble bakes".  We've tried the chicken one (tasty!) and a sloppy joe one (big compliments from Connor on this one!) so the natural progression seemed to be to try a breakfast one?  Ok- in all honesty- there was a big sale on canned biscuits (99 cents!) at our local  grocery store and I wanted to try one of them on something new.

(Thank you to my Sister-in-Law and her family for the new picture backdrops!)

Let's Get Crafty!
Preheat oven to 350

Get the eggs ready by whisking together:
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Get the biscuits ready:
1 can refrigerated biscuits
Cut each biscuit into eight parts

You'll also need:
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can of diced green chiles (we didn't add these today)
1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon (I'm getting spoiled by the Kirkland crumbled bacon already ready to be used)

Layer it up:
Spray pam in a 9x13 casserole dish
Distribute the biscuits evenly in the dish
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon (sausage or ham would also be good here)
Pour whisked together eggs and milk over the top
Bake for 30-35 minutes

Ready to hit the oven

Hot from the oven in all it's goodness.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day.

Ham and Beans - Slow Cooker or Instant Pot

I LOVE ham and beans.  The recipe is so easy that I wasn't going to post it.  I took pictures to send to my Grandma Jean because pairing it with cornbread will always make me think of her making it for us while growing up.  So many of my best memories growing up were at my Grandma's house watching my Mom and Grandma cook in my Grandma's kitchen.  She always has something delicious planned!

Let's Get Crafty! (in the slow cooker first)
Soak 2 cups pinto beans in water overnight (I like to carefully go through my beans to make sure there aren't any rocks that accidentally came in the bag... this has only happened a couple time over the years but I always feels like I've saved the day when I find one.)

Throw everything in the crock pot the next morning:
1 ham bone - mine came from the freezer from the last time we had a ham.  I like to keep some extra ham on it to make sure the ham and beans are extra meaty.
1 large onion, diced
2 cups overnight soaked pinto beans
3 cans low sodium chicken stock
Extra water as needed to make sure the beans and ham bone are covered

Slow cook for 8-10 hours.  Done and Done!

Emily asked me to take a picture of hers too.  :D

My Mom was here last week and we made ham and beans in the Instant Pot.  It was good and just a fraction of the time!  We followed the same recipe with the following changes (my IP is a 6 qt) - about 1 1/2 cup beans and only a little bit of extra water was needed to cover the ham bone.  It's important not to overfill or it makes a mess and affects the cooking process.  We soaked the beans all day rather than overnight (there were a couple beans in my meal that were't all the way done - I think I'll give them extra soaking time next time.)  We used the IP setting for stew for 40 minutes and then did the quick release.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're having a great day.

Cranberry Cake

This cranberry cake is melt in your mouth good.  There's enough sugar to balance out the tartness of the fresh cranberries without being too sweet.  It's truly so good that you don't even need or want frosting.  Once baked - there is a glaze that forms on the top.  Ah-Maz-Ing!

This year was the first time where I made it close to Christmas time.  I like to freeze cranberries when they are in season and pull them out of the freezer a couple times during the year.  I was hopeful my Little Lady would love this cake because we both LOVE to put dried cranberries in our oatmeal in the morning.

The credit for this recipe goes to barefeetinthekitchen.com under the recipe name Cranberry Christmas Cake.

This recipe doesn't call for any baking powder or baking soda.  The extended mixing process of the eggs provide what's needed.  I know - I'm not a regular baker and that surprised me!  The batter will be thicker than "regular" cake batter.

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat oven to 350

Beat with a mixer (5-7 minutes) - don't skimp on the minutes... this is important:

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

The eggs and sugar should double in size from beginning to end and when you lift the beaters out there should be a ribbon that easily forms.

Add to the eggs and sugar - mix 2 more minutes:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add in the flour mixing until just combined:

2 cups flour

Very Gently!  Stir in the fresh cranberries:

12 oz fresh cranberries

Stir these in very gently until they are evenly distributed throughout.

Pour batter into a 9x13 casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam

Barefeetinthekitchen.com includes the bake time between 40-50 minutes.  Ours took just under 45 minutes.  You should be able to insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and it should come out clean.

Fresh out of the oven!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're having a great day.