Tag Archives: Easy

Cooking, Recipes

Ribs in the Instant Pot

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Delicious Ribs in the Instant Pot

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Quick and Easy Ribs in the Instant Pot! This was my first time ever cooking ribs and I was pretty excited at how simple it was in my trusty Instant Pot. I loosely followed a recipe from Great Food Fast, which I highly recommend. I used two racks of country style ribs, seasoned them up really well with garlic, salt & pepper, and onion powder.

Great Food Fast Ribs Instant Pot

Great Food Fast

I added a cup or two of chicken broth plus a squirt of ketchup to the inner pot, closed it and set it for manual 15 minutes. I preheated the oven to 375, I waited 15 minutes for the pressure to come down, released the excess and then put them in the oven for about 20 minutes, then under the broiler for maybe 5 until they browned up beautifully. (These gloves are awesome for lifting out hot stuff with your hands!) I am sure they didn’t need the 20 but I was trying to time dinner a little later (sometimes the Instant Pot is seriously TOO fast!!).

With outside temps being close to 100 this week, I was not going to make my poor husband stand over the grill but these ribs turned out so good I will probably make them this way every time from now on! Total rib success!

Perfect Corn on the Cob

What else can you serve with ribs but Real Mac & Cheese and crisp/tender corn on the cob?  I think I have finally nailed corn on the cob after realizing I had been seriously overcooking it for many years! The trick is to add a couple tablespoons of sugar to the pot along with a generous sprinkling of salt with your ears of corn. Then once it comes to a boil, only let it go for about 1-2 minutes before pulling it off the stove and scooping out to serve! Perfect every time and the spoonful of sugar is the key to sweet corn.

Cooking, Recipes

So-Easy-the-Kids-Can-Make-it Chili

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Even my nine year olds can handle this super easy, quick & delicious chili recipe. Pin it for an easy meal in only 20 minutes!v-8 chili

2 lbs. ground beef (or 1 lb ground beef plus 1 lb spicy sausage)

3 medium onions, chopped

3 tbls. chili powder

3 cups Spicy Vegetable Juice (V-8)

1/3 cup ketchup

2 cans beans (any combo of kidney, chili, garbanzo, white chili, etc.)

1 can corn (optional)

Bacon (ok, this is definitely optional, but if you don’t add it, you’ll wish you did)

Cook beef and onion at medium heat in the bottom of a dutch oven on the stove. Drain fat, then add chili powder (sometimes I throw in some extra seasoning like garlic, etc). Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and cook for 15 minutes. This is another one of the most flexible recipes of all time (kind of like my Magic Oatmeal Cake). You can pretty much throw in any beans & meat and this is always a hit!

Cooking, DIY, Recipes

Magic Oatmeal Cake

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I probably won’t be sharing a ton of recipes here, because cooking is really not my forte (I’m not sure what my forte is, but I’m sure I will one day discover it). This recipe however, is one that I’ve made many dozens of times and tweaked enough that it barely resembles the original I came across years ago. It also has a wonderful flexibility in quantity and ingredient that has made it a go-to breakfast at our house for years. You just can’t fail with this “Magic Oatmeal Cake”.  It’s easy, versatile and healthy. It’s great to reheat on cold mornings, or sometimes I will make it the day before and have my husband throw it in the oven before he goes to work so it is ready when the kids get up.

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Magic Oatmeal Cake

Combine:
4-5 cups of oatmeal
 1-2 cups of yogurt
2 cups warm water

Let this sit on the counter for a few hours or until you get around to baking it. Sometimes it sits on my counter all day long.

Preheat oven to 350*

Combine in a separate bowl:
1 cup sweetener: sugar, honey, molasses, turbinado, or whatever you want
3/4 cup oil (applesauce may be substituted)
4 eggs
1 Tbls cinnamon
1 Tbls baking powder
2 Tsp. vanilla

Add the above to oatmeal/yogurt mixture, then add:
1-2 cups of milk to desired texture: more milk makes it custardy, less makes it cake-like.
 1-2 cups fruit of choice (fresh, dried, frozen)

Dump it in a 9″ x 13″ greased pan, bake for 1 hour. Let cool, then keep in fridge, you can reheat or eat cold.

Ideas for add-ins: frozen blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, applesauce, chopped apples, pears, peaches, raisins, golden raisins, canned pineapple, walnuts, almonds, wheat germ, bran, flax seed. Dessert version: cherries and mini chocolate chips (we love Enjoy Life chocolate chips because they are allergen-friendly!)

Enjoy!