April, 2020 - Homemaker Geek

Braised Short ribs IP

I use the 8 q Duo Crisp. You can use the IP to Sear the meat in prior to cooking, but I use a frying pan for better sear and control.

6 Large Short ribs.
1 Onion Sliced thin.
2 ribs Celery chopped.
2 large Carrots chopped into 2” pieces.
1 Roma Tomato quartered.
4-5 cloves Garlic only smashed or crushed.
2 c Chicken Broth.
Montreal steak seasoning. Sprinkle all sides.
1/2-1 tsp Thyme.
1/2-1 tsp Rosemary.
1/4 tsp Fish Sauce.
1/2 of a Single serve sized bottle of Cab Sauv Red Wine.
2 Tbsp Evoo

Flour and Water or Milk for a slurry for the Gravy if you want Gravy

Take the Ribs out of their package and bring to room temperature, about an hour.

Season the Ribs on all sides with the Montreal or just course Salt and Pepper.
Using a large Frying Pan set to Med Hi, pour the EVOO in and add the Garlic to heat with the oil. Let it sizzle but don’t let it burn, then remove it from the Pan before it browns, and add it to the Veggies when you put them in the Pot.
Set 4 of the Ribs in the Pan carefully and sear all sides well. Remove them as they finish up. Add the last two as the others finish up searing.

While the Meat is searing, add the Chicken Broth to the Inner pot.
Chop and add the Veggies and all other Ingredients to the Inner Pot. When the Ribs are done searing nestle them down into the Veggies and Broth the best you can.
At this point, I add potatoes to the top if I want them.

Put the lid on and set to Sealing. Set the time for 30 min, and then let it NPR for 30 min. Turn the Pot off and back to Sauté Hi for the Gravy.
Remove the Ribs to a Plate and set aside to keep warm. Remove Veggies to a Bowl.
Make the Gravy by making a slurry of 1 Tbsp flour per each Cup of Broth For the amount of Gravy that you want.
If you don’t want a bucket of Gravy, then just pour off all of the Broth that you Dont want into a container to save for the next Pot Roast Broth or Soup and freeze that.. Say you want to Keep 3 c for Gravy.. leave 3 c in the Pot.
Use a small bowl to mix 3 Tbsp Flour and 1/2 c water or milk if you prefer, stir well and then drizzle that into the Broth while stirring the gravy with a Whisk. Let it come to a boil for a couple min to get the gravy cooked well. ..

Notice the rich color of the Seared Side. Do this to all sides. It takes about 15 min but welllll worth it.

As some of the Ribs finish up Searing, they shrink up, giving for more room for the others.

Nestle the ribs down into the veggies and broth. The broth won’t cover them at this time but broth will be created as they cook.

Strawberry Shortcake

Normally, I just rinse, drain, de-stem and cut up my Berries, sprinkle them with Sugar, add a dash of salt that brings the flavor out, then taste them and add more sugar if needed…and let them set for a couple of hours. Then I make homemade Biscuits. When they are done and still Hot, I split a one open and lay them, Open faced, butter both sides, and then spoon a couple spoonfuls of the macerated Berries with the juice over the Biscuits. Serve with Homemade Whipped Cream.
It is always Best to start with Good Berries but not all of us are Blessed with the sweet luscious Pacific Nortwest Strawberry’s that are that beautiful red all the way through. This recipe is good for all year around.
I love homemade Biscuits and fresh Whipped Cream. Not always available… use the spray canned “Real Whipped Cream.”

*How to make Nasty Strawberries into Really Good Shortcake!
Serves 2.
Homemade Biscuits of course…good foundation.
Recipe in the Files…these were Sourdough Biscuits but I have recipes for Both in the files. Or click here.
Biscuits

Take your Horrid, hard, dry, tasteless , white inside Strawberries…slice them up to make about 1 1/2- 2 cups of Berries in a Bowl. Add a couple of rounded Tablespoons of Good organic Strawberry Jam, and a few shakes of Salt, (Don’t skip this! The Salt wilts the Berries and draws the juice from them to macerate in their juices) stir it up, and let the Berry’s set out covered for about 3 hours.
Either Make fresh or use Leftover ones.
Break 2 Leftover Biscuits in half and heat them up in the toaster oven, (Breville) Heat the Buscuits at 350° for about 10 min.
Butter both half’s and Spoon the Berry’s with Juice over the two Half’s, and top with Whip Cream. Repeat for 2.. buuuuuaahhhhaahhha! ?

Pasta with Pesto, Tomatoes, Mozzerella and Hemp Hearts

Serves 2-4. Double it for a full package (16 oz ) Pasta

I have a Costco bag of Hemp hearts and recently figured out that they taste and have the texture of Pine nuts, So they go great in pasta dishes and Pestos etc…

I’m only using 6oz Pasta. But you can do more. (4 oz Pasta to 1 c Water or liquid) If you use a full 16 oz package of Pasta then use 4 c Water)

6 oz Bucatini Pasta (it has a hole down the middle)

1 1/2 c water

1 tsp oil.

For the noodles, you can cook last if you want them really hot, because adding the raw Tomatoes and Mozzerella, and pesto, this dish won’t be hot.
For the Instant Pot, break the noodles in half and add the water. Put the lid on and seal. Set the time for 4 min QR. Set cooked Pasta aside. Keep warm

1 1/2 c Cherry Tomatoes Quartered

1/2 c Parmasean

1/4 c Hemp Hearts

1/4 c Pine nuts

4 oz Mozzerella or Oaxaca Cheese chopped into 1/2”-3/4” chunks.

2 Tbsp EVOO

2 Tbsp minced fresh Basil (1/4 c Or a bit more)

3 -4 cloves Garlic

In a food Processor, put the Garlic, Parmesean Cheese and Pine Nuts, and process until it’s fine crumbs.
Pour out into small mixing bowl. Add the Evoo and Basil and stir just to mix.
Only assemble just before serving.

When dinner is ready, quickly add the Tomato chunks, Mozzerella Cheese and the Pine Nut, Parmesan mixture and just toss lightly to mix. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Add more Evoo if desired.

I food process and freeze fresh Basil and Evoo so that I always have some and I don’t have to worry about losing Basil, so the green stuff is it. See below for the melted melted. Hint* It is hard to scoop out when frozen in the jar so ice cube trays will give you single portions. After their frozen take them out and Freeze them in a baggie.

Ready for cooked Pasta. Mix just before serving.

Tortillas Flour/Masa Blend

These work best using a Silicone pad to roll out pie dough on see pics below.

2 c Flour

1 c Masa Harina

1 1/3 c HOT water

2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/3 c Lard.

In the Kitchen Aid add the dry ingredients to the bowl, and stir them together for a few seconds. Add the Lard and blend for about seconds to a minute. Add all the HOT hot water at once, then turn on the machine to speed 4 for a minute. Switch to the dough hook and gradually turn the speed up to just below full speed and mix for 3 min. Stop and divide the dough up and roll into balls. I do 6 small and 6 bigger, for burrito size too.

Cover with plastic wrap for 15-30 min to rest.

Press and roll out to nice and thin try not to over handle, dough should be soft but not sticky.

Preheat your Comal or Griddle to Medium heat.

Using a silicone pad, roll out as thin and as evenly as you can, rolling all the way over the edge. Notice in pic that you can see through them.

Lift Tortilla off with the rolling pan, and carefully lay onto the griddle. They will break loose after a few seconds which makes them easy to move around. Cook about a minute, and flip, then repeat, until they just start to brown and dry enough to stack. Cook just enough so they won’t stick together as you stack them. As they are done, stack, but cover with plastic until the next one is done. Cool the stack enough to put into a plastic bag while they are still a bit warm. Too hot and they will be soggy. Store in the produce sized plastic baggie.

Pulled Pork Enchiladas

this pic is half of one Enchilada..I went back for the other half! Yum.

I made my Tortillas, (recipe in General Recipes) file), but we don’t like the carbs so I only made 6 large ones from the filling but you can make 12 using Smaller tortillas and less filling in each. Pulled Pork Recipe in Files. Serve with Plain or Refried Beans, and Spanish Rice, (Recipes in the General Recipe and Instant Pot Files). You can also use cooked hamburger or shredded chicken for these.

1 1/2 lbs Pulled Pork chopped ( 3-4 cups)

1 lg 28 oz can Enchilada Sauce divided

6 large Tortillas (Corn and Flour Blend) Lightly fried in oil they need to stay soft. Not crispy. Do this ahead, and stack on a plate. Set aside.

1 c shredded cheese or chopped Mexican cheese (Oaxaca )

2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese

1/2 onion (1 c) chopped

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Aneheim pepper finely diced

1 c chopped CIlantro

1 Tbsp Cumin

1- 1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 c oil for sautéing and more for frying the tortillas.

Garnish ideas: Sour Cream, Guacamole, Salsa, Lime wedges, Cilantro.

In the same frying pan that you fried the tortillas in, add 2 Tbsp oil, and the Onion, Garlic, and Anaheim and sauté until onions and Aneheim are softer. Remove from heat. Add the spices, Meat and Cheese and 3/4 – 1 c Enchilada Sauce. Just to flavor It.

Preheat Oven to 350°

In a Casserole pan pour about 1 c Enchilada Sauce. Take all the tortillas off the plate and put them on a paper towel on the counter next to the pan, then one by one dip them quickly in the Sauce, lightly coating both sides, then transfer them to the plate so they are ready to fill. Make sure to reserve at least 1 c Sauce for the Pouring over the Enchiladas before baking.

Fill each Tortilla with 1/6 of the filling and roll up . Lay them in the Casserole pan, repeat filling them all, laying them side by side in the Casserole pan. Pour the rest of the Sauce over the tops of the Enchiladas
Sprinkle with 1 c shredded Cheese down the center of them.

Cover with Foil and Bake for 15 Min. Remove from Oven and Remove Foil and sprinkle 1 more c Cheese along the tops of Enchiladas. Return to the Oven for 10-15 min until Cheese is Golden Brown, and Enchiladas are bubbling and heated through.

Suggested sides: Beans, (Plain or refried) Spanish Rice (recipe in files), Lettuce..etc.

Serve and Garnish with preferred toppings.

Cream of Mushroom, Asparagus and Spinach Soup with Chicken IP

Yum!

This recipe uses Frozen Chicken thighs, if you want to use Fresh Then you will only Set the time for 6 min and allow for 20 min NPR.

3 c Asparagus broken into 1” pieces

1 small Onion rough Chopped

3 cups ish Fresh spinach

4 oz sliced Crimini Mushrooms

4 frozen Chicken Thighs, bone in skin on.

1 Tbsp Costco’s Better than Bullion Chicken

1/2 Tbsp Johnnies Seasoning Salt or equivelent

2 c water

2 Tbsp Butter

1 c Cream

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Optional* dash of Nutmeg,

Garnish if desired, with Parmesean, scallions or even an oven roasted spear of Asparagus.

Your choice here, you can add the cream to the pot or do it after. I chose to do it after because I wanted less liquid in the bot when I blended it up.
Put the Veggies in the bottom of the Pot. Add the Water and Butter, then add the frozen Thighs, spread them out evenly on top of the Veggies. Sprinkle with the Johnnies. Add the the Bullion on top .
Put the lid on and set the time for 20 Min. Allow 30 min NPR. (Again, if you are using fresh chicken set the time for 6 min and allow a 20 min NPR).

Remove the thighs. Cool slightly and take the Meat off the bones. Don’t worry if the chicken isn’t quit done all the way, it will finish up when you return it to the pot. Either discard the Skin or chop it fine. Chop up the chicken. Set aside.

Using an Immersion stick Blender, blend up the Veggies until smooth or some smaller chunks remain. You can also pour the soup into a Vitamix for really smooth blending. Add the Cream, and Chicken, heat until hot. Don’t boil at this point. Season with Salt and Pepper.

Seasonings on top adds flavor to the Chicken.

Meatloaf… Air Fryer/Toaster Oven

1 lb Mild Italian Sausage (Use hot if you like spicy).
1 Lb Hamburger.
3/4 c to 1 c finely chopped Onion ( finely chopped and sautéed works great).
2-3 Cloves Garlic minced. (sauté with onion if desired)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper.
1/2 c Oatmeal or Bread Crumbs
1/4 c Milk.
2 Beaten Eggs.
1 heaping Tbsp Mustard.
2 Tbsp Catsup.
2 tsp Italian Seasoning.
OPTIONAL * 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, or 1 Serrano pepper for kick. diced

TOPPING:

1/2-3/4 c Catsup
1 Tbsp Schriracha Sauce.
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder. (or 3/4 tsp minced)
1/2 Tsp Oregano.
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste (powdered TP will work too)

Mix Sauce for the top and set aside.

Pre heat Oven or Air fryer to 350°

Note* when cooking the Meatloaf in an Air Fryer, since they are Smaller Ovens, they have a hard time cooking evenly, soo, make sure to form a hole in the center like you would have when you use a Bundt Pan. This will ensure that the Middle gets done at the same time as the rest of the Loaf. see Last Pics.

Mix Meat and all other ingredients for the Loaf together In a bowl, mix by hand (Hands) well, making sure to not over mix because it changes the texture of the meat and makes it a bit tough. Score the top into about 1” apart and rows, cress crossing. This will help the topping to stay on when it’s ready.

Form into a rounded Loaf and set into a Shallow Metal Pan…. a Broiler pan and a lotus steamer work well for this under the loaf…Pyrex or ceramic pans don’t heat well. They actually suck the heat from the small interiors of the Ovens and lengthen the cook time. Put into the center of the Oven on the Pizza rack position.

Set the timer for 1 hr. Remove Meatloaf and add the Sauce to the top evenly. Return to the Oven for another 15-20 min. Check for doneness (145° or more). Drain the drippings, use a baster or spoon. Let rest for about 5 min

This one I used all Burger and didn’t chop the Onions fine enough and chopped too many but you can see the Ingredients here.

This is a little more than half of the Meat loaf. It turns out firm and holds together well. Picture is recreated, because I forgot to take a fresh pic. Sorry? notice the pan to catch the grease. It has holes and is a stainless steel Steamer.

This was finished off in the Microwave because I didnt make that Hole in the center of the Loaf. simple fix.

Steak Fajitas

Switch it up with Pork, Chicken or even Fish. Of course the cook time will be longer for the Chicken and Pork..you will have to add them in first and cook longer before throwing in the veggies. With fish, cook the fish separately and toss in at the end.

1 lb Good steak. Fresh is best, but frozen and thawed will make some juice in the bottom of the pan. (You can thicken it or easily mix it with some of the refried beans)

2 Aneheim Peppers cut in half and then Sliced Lengthwise into 1/4”strips.

1/2 Seranno Pepper for heat and flavor deseeded and minced. ( use 1 unseeded, sliced up for more heat)

4 mini Sweet Peppers Sliced the same as above.

1 c Onion Sliced

1 Scallion sliced up

1 Roma Tomato Sliced

4 cloves Garlic minced

Mushrooms if desired (2-4 oz sliced Crimini)

1/2- 3/4 tsp Cumin

1/2-3/4 tsp Chili Powder

1/2- 3/4 tsp Oregano

s n p

1 Limes… juice only about 2 Tbsp

2 Tbsp Evoo Plus more for Sautéing

Cilantro For Garnish

Tortillas

Condiments can be your choice of Sour Cream, Guacamole, Salsa, etc.

Slice the Steak nice and thin, add the spices, Lime Juice and Evoo, mix and set aside to marinate.

Slice up the Vegetables.

Cook this like you would stir fry except your going to only cook the meat for a few seconds before adding the veggies.

Using a Medium sized Frying Pan, set to medium high heat, heat up the pan until hot, and add a couple of Tbsp Evoo, then quickly throw in all the steak at one time, stir quickly for about 30 seconds, and add onions first and then all veggies on top. Using a pair of tongs, Immediately start turning the veggies under and meat on top. Do this only until the meat is not pink, it’s ok to leave some a little pink. Pull from heat when veggies are heated through. They should be crisp because they will continue to cook.

Serve with Warmed tortillas or even lightly fried tortillas, Dirty Rice and Refried Beans.

Dirty Rice: 1 1/2 c well rinsed and well drained rice
1 1/2c Liquid from the Beans (see recipe in Ip recipes.) set time for 4 min and then do NPR for 20 min

Dirty Rice IP

I make Beans all the Time. Never throw out your Liquor. Use it for this.

1 1/2 c Plain White Rice, well rinsed and Well drained.
1 1/2 c Liquor from a batch of Beans or Refried Beans. ReFried Beans IP
2-3 Tbsp lard

Put the Beans, Juice and Lard into the Pot.

Option… add andouille sausage, brats, or sausage if you like it.

Put the lid on the Pot. Press Manual or Pressure Cook. Set the time to 4 min, and then allow 20 min NPR before opening. Fluff with a spoon.

See video for a way to make the beans and rice at the same time. Just make the beans like you want them. Here is a link to another beans recipe.

Beans Pintos and others cooked In the IP

See the Juice? Use this liquor to make your Dirty Rice. Get down to the bottom for some of the thicker stuff and make sure to add a few beans in it too

ReFried Beans IP

Spanish Rice, Refried Beans and Tamales..Recipes in the files.
Tamales IP. ..Spanish Rice for a Crowd IP and Stove top combo

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 c Pinto Beans sorted and rinsed.
1/2 c Onion.
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1-1 1/2 tsp Johnnies Seasoning.
1 tsp Cumin.
1 tsp Chili Powder.
1/4 c pork Lard (I buy it at the local Mexican market but bacon fat, and butter will do)

DIRECTIONS:
Add everything to the Pot and then add enough water to cover beans by about 2”. About 5 cups . It should taste a little less salty than sea water.
Put the Lid on. Press Beans and Set the time for 45 min . Allow 15 min NPR before opening.
Pour or ladle most of the liquid out and into a bowl and set aside. Reserve this liquid for Dirty rice. (Recipe Below).
Using an Immersion Blender, Blend the Beans to a smooth consistency but leaving some beans whole if desired. Add a spoonful of liquid back in and blend until you have the consistency that you want, a tad thinner will be best because they thicken more as they set.

FOR DIRTY RICE.
1 1/2 c regular White Rice well rinsed and well drained.
1 1/2 c Bean Liquid from Refried Beans recipe from above.

Add everything to the Pot, and set the lid on. Set the time to 4 min. Allow 20 min NPR before opening.