Author: unitedhands777

Marinara/Spaghetti Sauce with fresh Roma Tomatoes Mushrooms and Basil IP

For Spaghetti Sauce, simply add your favorite Meat/s (ground Beef Ground Sausage, ground Chicken or Turkey…. or even Shredded Chicken.) You may also be interested in My Homemade Meatballs. Meatballs…includes IP shortcut with Marinara Sauce
It’s important to start with good Red Tomatoes.

*This sauce also makes a great dipping sauce for bread sticks, Just add 1 Tbsp of Parmesean Cheese Per cup of Sauce. Serve with your favorite bread.

Marinara Sauce usually takes hours to refine and for the flavors to meld together, but since this is made in the IP, it only takes about an hour total. You don’t add liquid to the pot to make this recipe… the Veggies make it for you. You will simply reduce the Sauce after. Also, use this sauce to Make My Manicotti.Manicotti/Stuffed Shells.. Oven and IP Version.

I added a picture of what this looks like with no added liquid and done on stovetop for hours. (See the bottom.) so it can be done stove top method if that is your preference.

Makes about 6 cups

If you want Meat in this you can either add 1 lb of cooked Meat after the Sauce is cooked, just like using any pre jarred sauce ( I like to add it after), or if using Hamburger or Sausage, you can brown it and season well with Garlic Powder, Onion Powder Italian Seasoning, Salt and Pepper and then cook it in with the sauce. If using cooked Chicken, season it well and shred it to add later.

6-8 Roma Tomatoes chopped
2 c Onion, chopped.
1 lg Green Pepper chopped (About 2 c).
6 Cloves Garlic Minced. (For really super Garlicky flavor use 10)
8 oz. chopped Crimini Mushrooms
1/3- 1/2 c chopped fresh Basil.
2 Tbsp Fresh Oregano Or 1 Tbsp dried.
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1/4 tsp Dried Rosemary.
2 Bay leafs.
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper.
1 Tbsp Sugar * optional.
1/4 c EVOO.
1/4 c Tomato Paste

Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté Hi, and start chopping the Onion, Garlic and Green Pepper… Add the Evoo to the Pot and when it shimmers add the Onion and Garlic, let set for a second and then stir quickly, for a bout 30 Seconds, turn the Pot off. Add the Herbs and Bay leaf. Add the chopped Peppers, and chop and add the Mushrooms ..stir around for a couple seconds and let set until you get the Tomatoes chopped. Add the Chopped Tomatoes to the top and don’t stir. Add the Salt, Pepper and Sugar to the top of the Tomatoes without stirring. It will all blend together.
Put the Lid on the Pot and turn the time to 4 min, and allow for 10 min NPR after the Beep before opening. The Sauce will be really soupy, so give it a stir and turn pot off and then on to Sauté Hi. Taste the liquid and now is the time to add more Herbs and or seasonings…Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Salt pepper ..etc, season it more for your taste. Then you will need to reduce the Sauce, be careful not to burn it. Sauté, Sauce to reduce the liquid for 15-20 min. At the end, add the Tomato Paste. At this point, Serve as is or remove the Bay Leaves and use an immersion Blender to blend until you reach your desired consistency. It’s important to note that if you have used meat in the beginning that you may want to scoop as much as you can to the side leaving Mostly Tomato to blend up. This is why I add the meat after.

These Roma’s are nice and large, red and Plump, important for good sauce. Each tomato is almost 1 c when chopped.
Don’t stir after adding the Tomatoes on top.
this is what it looks like when you take the Lid off. Stir and it will be really watery
Stir and reduce for 20 min on Sauté Hi.

When it has been reduced, add the 1/4 c Tomato Paste.

this is after using the immersion Blender with about 10 quick pulses.
In this Picture, I added 1 Lb of cooked and seasoned hamburger To Only 2 cups of Sauce. The rest went into the jar below.

This next picture is a stove top batch, no liquid added and no need to reduce, because it happens over time cooking on the stovetop, but it cooks for hours to get like this.

Great served over Homemade Meatballs

Low Country Boil IP

This can be crammed into a 3 Q Mini, but easier and faster in the 6. You can also flavor the water with more Old Bay and Chicken Broth if you like and want to keep it for Soup broth.

Serves 2

2 Ears Corn Broken into half

1 14 Oz Smoked Sausage, Brats, or Andoulle Sausage Cut into 2” sections. Use what ya have.

9 large Frozen Shrimp (or use fresh) just add last so they dont overcook)

6 small new Potatoes cut into half

1 cup Onion chopped Into large Pieces

1 large Lemon sliced into about 4-5 slices

6 cloves Garlic rough chopped

3 Tbsp EVOO

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Tbsp Old Bay (More if you know you want the kick.) Zataran or Tony Chachere’s or a combo of all, works well too, so start with a Tbsp or to taste.

1 Bay Leaf

Add Everything except the Shrimp to a large Bowl. Drizzle the EVOO over it all and Sprinkle with the Old Bay and shake around to mix the seasoning in. Pour 1 c water or Chicken Broth Into the Pot and add a lotus steamer, (trivet will work but be careful with the garlic, it will want to fall through..you can fish it out if it does.
dump the mixture into the Pot and put the Lid on. Set the time for 4 min. QR. While it cooks, drizzle EVOO over the Shrimp and season with Johnnies, or Slap Ya Mama, Tony Chacheres Creole season, or Old Bay.

When the timer Beeps , do your QR and quickly remove the lid and quickly lay all shrimp on top and put the lid on again and let the shrimp cook for about 2-3 min. It cooks fast so be ready to serve immediately.

you can mix the Shrimp with the other stuff but Pick them out before cooking. They will over cook. I did a couple frozen on purpose and As I Suspected, still over cooked.
Take any Shrimp out before cooking and put them on top after cooking to let the steam cook them. Also omit the Bratwurst .i didn’t add it to the recipe.
These shrimp were Partially frozen and raw. This pic is after I set them on top and closed the lid for less than 30 seconds. I took it off to catch the pic and they were already pink! They cook very fast with steam alone.
done!
See the shrimp top Right? The tight C…they were over cooked (really chewy) and not as flavorful. Soooo trust me. The ones on the top left are perfect. I did this on purpose to show you the difference.
lay them on top AFTER Everything is done. ?

Sausage, Shrimp, Creamy Tomato Sauce with Pasta, Broccoli and Mushrooms

3 Bratwurst, de-skinned and Broken into Little balls about 1”.

1 1/2 c chopped large frozen shrimp (Thawed)

1 Tbsp Evoo

1 Tsp Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning

1 c Onion Chopped fine

4 cloves Garlic minced

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 c Broccoli Floweretts

2 c Chopped Roma Tomatoes

1 c Chicken broth

1/2 c Tomato Paste

1/2 c Cream

2 Tbsp finely chopped Cilantro

2 Tbsp finely chopped Basil

4 Spaghetti Noodles broken into 4 sections

1 c Water. To cook the noodles.

2 c Sliced and chopped Crimini Mushrooms.

1/4 c dried Peppers soaked 15 minutes in 1/2 c hot water (or 1 c chopped Mixed colored Peppers.)

1/2 c Parmesean Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Stir the Shrimp, Evoo, and Tony Chacheres, set aside.
Add the Pasta, Dried Peppers ( if using dried) and Mushrooms to the Instant Pot and make the pasta. Cook 3 min with QR. Remove the lid. Allow to set for a few min, then stir just before adding to the rest.
While Noodles, Peppers and Mushrooms cook in the IP, using a frying pan. Fry the bratwurst and add onions and Garlic, and sauté for a minute. Add the Italian Seasoning, then the Tomatoes and Broccoli, and simmer for a minute, add the Chicken Broth, tomato Paste Cilantro and Basil. Add the Cream. Mix the Pasta, Mushrooms and Peppers. Lastly add the Shrimp and heat through. Do not overcook the Shrimp.
Serve in a Bowl.

This Pasta is called Bucatini. It has a hole in the center.
This is Dried Tomato Powder. I mixed with chicken broth and butter. I used in place of Tomato Paste. Same thing.

Cauliflower Mash IP

This Recipe is for plain Cauliflower, but often times I add a carrot, and others I add Broccoli. See the last photo.
Use this Recipe for My Shepherds Pie..Link here. Shepherds Pie with Cauliflower Mash ..Breville.

1 head Cauliflower
1-2 cloves Garlic.
1/4 tsp Seasoning Salt.
1 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Better than Bullion Chicken
1/2 c Parmesean Cheese.
2 -4 Tbsp Butter.

OPTIONAL:
Add a Carrot, or Grated Cheese for a Cheesy Mash
TRUFFLE Parmesan Black Garlic Seasoning from Costco
Or Truffle oil.

Rinse Cauliflower off. Take the Stem pieces off unless you want more Cauliflower flavor, however the Stems will give the Mash a Green tint.
Put it on the trivet whole. Add the Garlic and Seasoning Salt. Set the Time for 3 min. QR.
Use a Dish Towel or better yet, an old linen Napkin. Lay flat and lay a Paper Towel to the center of it. Spoon the Cauliflower onto the Napkin and pick up the four corners of the napkin together. Twist the top tight and then squeeze out the excess Liquid.
Unwind the Towel/Napkin and carefully add the squeezed Cauliflower to a Food Processor. Add the Butter, Parmesean Cheese and Better than Bullion Chicken. Process for a couple of minutes. Scrape sides down, taste it add more Butter, Parmesan or Better than Bullion.

This is 1/2 of Head cooked before squeezing the liquid out.very soft. I even use the core.
This version is 1/4 Broccoli and 3/4 Cauliflower mash with parmesean and Garlic. Just add the Broccoli to the Cauliflower before cooking. Mash together.

Italian Sausage KitchenAid Grinder or other

Follow the directions on how to attach your meat grinder to the kitchen Aid and put the large holed plate in front of the blades on it. Tighten well.

5-6 lbs Pork Shoulder/Butt strips, sliced 1” thick x 1” wide.

4-5 Tbsp Sausage blend (See pic below).

Slice your Pork Shoulder into 1”x 2”pieces.

I use a casserole pan to catch the Meat as it is ground.

This recipe is how I make Sausage in my KitchenAid Meat Grinder attachment, but you can use this recipe for any Meat Grinder…just follow the directions that go with it.

Over processing or over grinding your meat will end up with tough Sausage, so your goal is to handle it as little as possible, and always start with cold meat.

Once you have set up your KitchenAid according to its instructions for making Sausage, and making sure that the Bowl is off and nothing is in the way of the shaft, and that you have the large holed plate in the front of the blade that goes on the Auger, turn the Kitchen Aid to #2 and using the plunger tool (NOT fingers), run your pieces through the machine until all has been run through 1 time. Turn the machine off. Take the large holed plate off according to KA directions, and replace it with the smaller, medium holed Plate. Some grinders have two plates and some have 3. Attach it according to KA directions.

You now have Ground Pork. Now is the time to take some out if you want for other things. [ I often grind a whole Roast of 10 lbs and make sausage from half.]

Without disturbing the meat much, evenly disburse the meat. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the meat. Don’t forget to add the vinegar at this time. Sprinkle it over the meat evenly as well. Gently and evenly mix the seasoning into the meat. Don’t worry if it’s not mixed really well. It will be when it goes through again. I like too take that his time to pinch off a little and microwave it for a few seconds…like 30..cool it and taste it to see if I want to add more or not.

Turn the KitchenAid back on, this time to #4. Now take your Ground and seasoned Meat and without overpacking or pressing hard, using the plunger as needed, (again NOT Fingers) run it through again/ I only like it run twice. Otherwise your Meat can end up tough. You now have Sausage/

I divide it into 2 and put it into Gallon sized Freezer bags and pat out flat. Then I tip my cutting board on end or use chopsticks or something that can make a dent to make rows that I will be able to break pieces off after frozen. See the pic of the baggies below. Lay baggies on a cookie sheet or even a cutting board and freeze flat.


I find it easier to slice off 1”x 1” long pieces like thes.
This is how I freeze it so that I can break pieces off to cook/
Lay flat to freeze after making the depressions in it for easy breaking.

Mac Salad sweet IP

Makes 4 …1/2 c servings.

1 c Med Sized Macaroni. small works just as well

1 1/4 c water

1/4 tsp Salt to be cooked with the Macaroni

1/2 c Celery chopped fine

1/2-3/4 c grated Carrots

2 Tbsp Scallion chopped

1/2 c Best Foods Mayonnaise

1-2 Tbsp sweet Chili Sauce

Make the Macaroni. Add the Mac to an instant Pot and add 1 1/4 c water. I used my Mini 3 for this. Add the 1/4 tsp salt. (1 tsp butter added at this time keeps the foam down). Put the Lid on and set the time for 3 min using the Controlled Release when it beeps. Tap tap tap until you are sure that it won’t spew pasta juice.

While the Pasta cooks, chop the Onion and celery and grate the Carrots, mix the Mayo and Chili Sauce together

Cool the Pasta, Pour into a mixing bowl. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Add more Chili sauce if you want it sweeter. Chill. The sauce will Soak in and flavors will blend into the Macaroni.
Serve with Pulled Pork or Mock Lau Lau.

Lau Lau IP my way

Everything was made in Instant Pots. The Mac For the Mac Salad, (3 min, CR), the Lau Lau (45 min, 30min NPR), and the Rice (Rice setting, QR.) Recipe ideas below.

I did this from a 3 lb Frozen Block of Pork shoulder/Butt.

[ If you are doing it from fresh meat, 2 chunks, = 25 min cook time with 30 min NPR.]

This is not really Hawaiian, but an interesting twist. Traditional Lau Lau is often served Plate Lunch Style. It is cut up chunks of Pork/Chicken, salted and added with a small piece of Butterfish, wrapped up into Tarro leaves or Ti Leaves. Some people put a dab of miso inside as well. It’s also usually steamed for hours. Without access to the traditional things that go into the Lau Lau, using Kale leaves for that strong flavor brings this deconstructed, mock dish back into our memories of living in Hawaii. I recommend serving it over Rice with a side of Slaw, Sweet Mac Salad, and or Potato Salad. Or mix Mac Salad and Potato Salad together. I have included the links to those Recipes below. Most Hawaiians like their Mac Salad Sweet.

3 lb Frozen Pork Butt .. I used the fatty side of my 10 lb roast 
1 Onion sliced 1/4” slices.
3 cloves of sliced Garlic.
2 tsp Rub, see my recipes or use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.
1 tsp Italian seasoning.
3 Campari Tomatoes sliced 1/4” thick.
1 bunch of Kale leaves. I have Curly so I’m using those.
EVOO spritzer.
1 c chicken Broth.
1 Tbsp Costco’s Better than Bullion Chicken
1 tsp liquid smoke.
1 tsp Fish Sauce


From a 3 lb frozen block of Pork Butt plus fat. Spritz both sides of the roast so that the spices will stick both sides
Pour the chicken Broth and Liquid smoke and Fish Sauce in the pot, add the trivet. Lay a layer Kale on the trivet, save the rest for the top,  then a thin layer of onion, then the seasoned Roast, Fat Side up…sprinkle the liquid smoke on the roast, then layer the rest of the Onion and Garlic slices on top of the Roast, next, layer the tomatoes on top of the onions and finally, lay the rest of the Kale on top of the Roast.

Put the lid on and set the time for 45 min, with a full NPR. 30 min Even if the pin drops. You will have a lot of liquid. Remove the meat and cool for a minute and chop up. Trim any unwanted fat off…remembering that Lau Lau has Butterfish resembling the fat. Skim the fat off the top of the liquid in the pot and then return the meat to the pot. Serve over Rice.
Side suggestions: for recipes, click on the links.

Rice. Rice Tips IP
Mac Salad. Mac Salad sweet IP
Potato Salad. Potato Salad and Mac Salad at the same time IP
Cole Slaw…Coleslaw.
Pinto Beans…Beans Pintos and others cooked In the IP.
Bake Beans…Baked Beans IP….Baked Beans Simple Oven or IP

Shepherds Pie with Cauliflower Mash ..Breville

You can use Mashed Potatoes to top this if you like, but this Recipe is using Cauliflower in the place of Mashed Potatoes. Bake in Preheated Oven 375°.

FOR THE FILLING:
1 lb Burger,
1 c chopped Onion
1 c chopped Celery
1 clove minced Garlic,
1 1/2 c frozen mixed veggies,
1 c Green beans Chopped in small pieces
1-2 Tbsp Worcestershire (2 makes it a lil spicy)
1 c water
1 Tbsp Soy sauce.
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1/4 tsp Fish sauce Optional (adds flavor not fish)
1/2 tsp Salt and 1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Johnnies Or equivelent seasoning salt
1/2 tsp italian season
1/4 c Flour.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
See below for the Cauliflower Mash and get that cooking while you make this filling.
While the Cauliflower is cooking, use a Medium sized Frying Pan with a heat proof handle. Turn your Stovetop burner on to Medium Hi heat and lightly brown the Hamburger, add Onion and Garlic, Celery, Green Beans. Sauté for a minute, and then the Other Veggies and Seasonings.
Add the Flour to the Meat and Veggies mixture, stir it in.
Add the Worcestershire Sauce to the Water and pour it in with all the rest. Let it thicken for a minute. Remove from the heat.
At this point it is your choice…. Finish it in the frying pan and put in the oven, or transfer the filling to separate Serving Dishes like I did.
Pipe the Cauliflower over the Filling and Bake in the Oven for about 15 min untill filling is bubbly and starts to brown.
Serve with Bread, Ciabatta in our case.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE MASH
1/2 head Cauliflower.
1 clove garlic.
1 tsp Johnnies Seasoning salt or Lowery’s.
1/2 c Parmesean Cheese.
3 Tbsp of Butter.
1 Tbsp Costco’s Better than Bullion Chicken

DIRECTIONS FOR MASH:
Link here. Cauliflower Mash IP made with Garlic, Parmasean Cheese, Salt and Pepper, Better than Bullion Chicken and Butter.

To Make the Cauliflower Mash…use the IP.
Add 1 c Water in the bottom of the Pot and use a Lotus Steamer to put the Cauliflower in. Sprinkle the top with Seasoning salt add garlic clove.
Set the Pot to 3 min Pressure cook Hi, with 10 min NPR.
Cool and wring moisture out of it. See pic.
I use a couple Paper Towels to lay inside of a Towel and then set the Cauliflower And Garlic in it, fold it up inside and then wring it out.
Put the wrung out Garlic and Cauliflower into a Food Processor with Parmesean, Butter, Garlic. Process it until creamy. Set aside. When it’s time to top the filling, put the Cauliflower down into the corner of a gallon sized Baggie. Cut a 1/4” of the corner off, and pipe it over the Filling.



Clam Chowder IP

For this Chowder you can use fresh or Canned Clams. It can be made on the Stovetop as well as In the IP. To cook stove top use the old school method.
*Scroll to the Bottom for yet another delicious variation. Also for another method for IP Seafood Chowder. See this recipe.
Clam and Seafood Medley Chowder IP

1 Onion chopped and sautéed
1 c Carrot chopped
1 c Celery chopped
2 cloves minced Garlic.
2 c Potatoes chopped in small pieces.
5 pieces Precooked Bacon chopped (or fresh).
1-2 cups Clams chopped Save out til done. You can substitute Canned.
2-3 c Clam Juice.
1 Tbsp Costco’s Better than Bullion Chicken.
1 cup Cream. (save out)
1/4-1/3 c Corn Starch or Flour (save out and make slurry. You may not need it all)

Optional: 1 small Leek, thinly sliced

If using raw bacon, In a frying pan, sauté the Bacon and add Onions and Garlic for a minute, then pour them into the pot. Add everything else except the Cream, Cornstarch and Clams. Put the lid on and set the time to 3 min and allow 10 min NPR. Turn Pot off and then on to Sauté. Add 1/4 c Cornstarch or flour to the Cream, mix well and pour it into the chowder. Heat it up to until it starts to boil, it should be thick by then. If not thick enough for you add more cornstarch or flour and cream and thicken more. Turn the pot OFF. Add the clams and let set for a minute.

See the bottom for another version, cooked start to finish in the IP. I use canned Clams and Scallops in this one. But you can use 2 c canned Clams.

The juice in the container is leftover from steamer Clams. I use the butter from the top to sauté the onions in.
the Clams were leftover steamed Clams..I saved the juice too.

*************************************************************

Clam and Scallops Chowder:

For this Version, I used canned Clams, frozen Scallops and dried Minced Onion, chopped the Potatoes and Veggies small, added the Heavy whipping Cream in the pot to cook along with everything. (You can only do this with Heavy Cream)… and only cooked for 1 minute in the IP, with immediately QR before thickening by adding the Cornstarch to the wet clams before adding to the Pot.

2 small Cans of Clams (Hold out til the end)
1 1/2 c rough chopped frozen Scallops. Cut them while frozen and hold both these out with the canned Clams. (Hold out til the end).
1 large Red Potato chopped in small 1/2” pieces
4 smaller ribs Celery cut small, down center and then 1/4” slices
1 1/2 c Carrot. 1/4”x 1/2” chopped (small).
3 c Chicken Broth.
1 c Heavy Whipping Cream.
1/3 c dry minced Onion. (Or 1 c finely chopped Onion)
4 slices Bacon Chopped.
3 hot Thai Peppers (Optional…or A few shakes of Red Chili Flakes )
2 cloves Garlic
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning.
1/4 c Corn Starch. (Hold out til the end)
1 Tbsp Low Sodium Better than Bullion Chicken
1/2 tsp Pepper.
1/2 Tsp Salt.
1 Tbsp Butter

Optional: 1 small leek, sliced thin

Saute the Bacon in the IP, add the minced Dried Onion, turn the IP off. If using raw Onion then cook it until Translucent in with the Bacon.
Deglaze the IP with the Chicken Broth and the Clam Juice.
Add all other Veggies.
Add the Cream.
Don’t add the Seafood until after the cooking is done.
Put the Lid on and turn the Pot on for 1 min on Hi pressure.
Cut the frozen Scallops into some large and some smaller chunks, set aside.
In a small bowl, add the Corn starch to the wet clams, set aside with the Scallops.
When the pot beeps do a QR, for an 8 q or above (CR ..controlled release for a 6q or smaller) turn the pot off and back onto Sauté. Quickly add the clams and Cornstarch Clam mixture to the pot and stir . Keep stirring gently until the chowder thickens, and comes back to a bubble, let cook for about 1 minute. Add the Scallops and let them cook for about 2 minutes, just until they start to turn white from translucent. Careful to not over cook them.
serve immediately.