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Instant Pot Minestrone…Instastrone?

January 23, 2018 by //  by Holly 3 Comments

Last updated on January 23rd, 2019 at 08:20 am

If Instastrone isn’t a real word, it will be after you try this amazing dish! Minestrone is a wonderful Italian vegetable soup, thick and hearty. In restaurants it’s often served with pasta, but it’s not a necessity. We prefer ours with only yummy veggies!

This recipe requires a bit of chopping, but then you just throw the ingredients in and wait for some delicious soup! But you’ll only have to wait for 4 minutes of cook time! That’s why it’s Instastrone!

And it really is very delicious!

Ingredients

…

Instant Pot Minestrone…Instastrone?Read More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Recipes, Soup Tagged With: 5 Minutes, beans, Cooking, Dinner, family dinner, Food And Drink, Instant Pot, Kids, Meal, pressure cooker, real food, Soup, tabasco, vegetables, Vegetarian, veggies

Instant Pot Texas Chili

January 17, 2018 by //  by Holly 12 Comments

Last updated on January 1st, 2019 at 11:18 pm

This is the second best chili recipe I’ve ever made.

The best pot of chili I’ve ever made was 20 years ago. Read to the end if you want to see a really sweet story about that special pot of chili.

Note: There’s lots of debate about different types of chili. The conventional wisdom is that Texas Chili has no beans. But we really like the beans in ours. And we’re from Texas. So it’s still Texas Chili. 🤠

On a more practical note, adding beans makes it about $3 cheaper per batch (depending on ground beef prices in your area.) That amount adds up over a few meals. …

Instant Pot Texas ChiliRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Keto, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Kitchen Tools, Recipes, Soup Tagged With: Cooking, Dinner, family, family dinner, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids, Kitchen Tools, Meal, pressure cooker, recipe, Soup, Super Easy

The Cooking Family Kids Gift Guide 2019

December 20, 2017 by //  by Holly Leave a Comment

Last updated on December 19th, 2019 at 08:26 am

The holidays are a perfect time to spend time with your kids in the kitchen. And Christmas is the perfect time to use gifts to equip them to join you there all year long!

Use this guide to help you pick some great (non-electronic) gifts for your kids. I don’t know about you, but we definitely don’t need any more things in our house that bleep, blurb, or glow!

I’ve included some of my own favorites for mom, so you may want to forward it to your significant other if you want to hint at some gifts for yourself. 😉

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The Cooking Family Kids Gift Guide 2019Read More

Filed Under: Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Kitchen Tools Tagged With: Cooking, Dinner, family dinner, Kids, Kitchen Tools

Instant Pot Italian Sausage Lentil Soup

October 3, 2017 by //  by Holly 4 Comments

Last updated on November 4th, 2022 at 04:49 pm

Several years ago, we were at Carrabba’s and I had their Sausage Lentil Soup. It was so good! I’ve spent the last few years trying to re-create it, and I think we’ve finally got it really close! I love working up recipes because I get to eat the results. 😉

This is a hearty and nutritious dinner for the whole family. Lentils provide lots of protein, fiber, iron, and B vitamins!  And it’s delicious! Everyone in our family gobbles up the first bowl and wants seconds, including the toddler! In the Old Testament of the Bible, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of Lentil stew—so you know it must be good!

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Instant Pot Italian Sausage Lentil SoupRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Kitchen Tools, Recipes, Soup Tagged With: 30 Minutes, carrabbas, Cooking, Dinner, family dinner, Food And Drink, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids, Meal, Soup, Super Easy

Instant Pot Jambalaya

July 6, 2017 by //  by Holly 2 Comments

Last updated on May 7th, 2020 at 09:11 am

My husband’s family has a long and rich heritage in south Louisiana, so cajun dishes are frequently enjoyed at family gatherings. Now, authentic cajun fare is usually a bit too spicy for my younger kids, so I adapted this recipe to give us all the yummy ingredients without the kick.

Traditional Jambalaya is typically cooked with rice combined with all the ingredients. I like to cook my rice separately for a couple of reasons:

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Instant Pot JambalayaRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Survival, Recipes Tagged With: cajun, Cooking, Dinner, family, family dinner, Food And Drink, hot sauce, Instant Pot, Kids, Meal, south louisiana, tabasco

One-Pot Pasta in the Instant Pot

May 2, 2017 by //  by Holly 9 Comments

Last updated on January 23rd, 2019 at 09:32 am

This is a family favorite that has lots of options for different dietary needs. It’s fast, delicious, and it’s so easy, the kids can make it!

One Pot Pasta in the Instant Pot

You have two options with this dish:

  1. Easy
  2. Extra-super-duper-come-on-this-is-way-too-simple-give-me-a-break easy

Which version you make depends on what ingredients and time you have on hand. If you choose the super easy version, you only need three things (well, four if you count water.) If you have a little extra time (like, literally 3 minutes) you can make your own sauce, and I’ve included my go-to recipe. It’s super-quick and tasty. And if you want to really jazz it up, there are all sorts of things you could add-in to take this up another notch!

We cooked this live on our Facebook page, so you can watch this video to see us prepare it from start to finish in about 20 minutes, and see which jobs kids of all ages can help with.

Kitchen Tools used:

6 quart Instant Pot
OXO Wooden Spatula
Cut Glove
Knife
Chopper

3 Easy Ingredients:

  1. Italian sausage or any other ground meat
  2. Spaghetti Sauce (jarred or follow recipe below)
  3. Pasta (16 oz.), any type

Spaghetti Sauce:

Let’s talk about this. That jar of spaghetti sauce in your pantry is really convenient. Just dump it in and move on. There are definitely times when I need that simplicity. And personally, even if I have a jar of sauce I want to use, I’ll add …

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Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Recipes Tagged With: 3 Minutes, Cooking, Cooking Pasta, Dinner, Food And Drink, Instant Pot, Kids, One Pot Pasta, Pasta, Spaghetti, Super Easy, Tomato Sauce

Instant Pot 6-Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup

March 20, 2017 by //  by Holly 6 Comments

Last updated on July 31st, 2019 at 11:07 am

This is a family favorite that turns out delicious every time!  We use our favorite kitchen tool, the Instant Pot, to make a tasty Chicken Tortilla Soup.  The Instant Pot really does give second-day soup flavor in only a few minutes! One of the things I love about this recipe is that there is something for each of my children to do to help prepare it. Watch the video to see how everyone pitches in. The recipe and instructions we used are down below.

Tools we used:

6 Qt Instant Pot

Cut Glove I make sure the kids are always wearing one of these when using the knife. …

Instant Pot 6-Minute Chicken Tortilla SoupRead More

Filed Under: Dinner Accomplished, Freezer Meal, Gluten Free, Instant Pot, Kids in the Kitchen, Kitchen Tools, Recipes, Soup Tagged With: Chicken, Cooking, Dinner, Instant Pot, Kids, Meal, Soup

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