Tag: #InstantPot

Adjusting soup on the fly

March 5, 2024 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

What do I mean by adjusting soup on the fly? Good question.

I made a pot of vegetarian chili in the Instant Pot the other day and had it for dinner. It was not my best attempt at soup or chili. I think I put too much broth in. It was not as thick as I expect chili to be. Maybe it was because I didn’t add any meat but I’m pretty sure I’ve made vegetarian chili before and it was fine.

I ate a bowl of the chili and stuck the remainders in the refrigerator.

Then the next day I made a pot roast for a family dinner. I made it in the Instant Pot as well. Basically the pot roast consisted of chuck roast (beef), potatoes and carrots. After we ate, I divvied up the leftovers for different family members. I was left with a small chunk of meat, cooked carrots, a couple of pieces of potatoes in a lot of beef broth.

(In case you can’t tell, I really like my Instant Pot. Here’s my recipe for Lentil Soup that I posted a year ago.)

At my next lunch, I scanned the refrigerator. There was the chili that I didn’t really like and the left over pot roast but not enough for a meal. I decided to experiment. I poured the chili into a large pot and then dumped the pot roast leftovers in the with chili. This was now more of a bean and beef soup and it needed a bit more potato. I chopped up a couple of potatoes, cooked them in the Instant Pot for about three minutes and then added them to the pot of soup.

Now my vegetarian chili was no longer vegetarian because it had beef and beef stock in it. My pot roast got eked out because I added it to the chili.

Once I heated the soup and stirred it thoroughly, I tried it. Not bad. The chili was certainly tastier for having the beef broth in there and the beef chunks and extra potatoes really bulked up the soup. There were still all of the spices that I had used in the original chili.

I had put diced carrot into the chili but the pot roast had large piece of carrots. I think the larger carrots really added to the soup. That’s a lesson for another time.

My only point with this is that I knew I wasn’t really going to eat the chili because it just didn’t wow me. I didn’t have enough of the leftover pot roast for a full meal. By experimenting and adding them together, I ended up with a much more delicious soup. I don’t really think that it was just adding the beef to the chili. I think a meatless chili can be fine but what I made was lackluster. By adding the complexity of the beef broth with the larger carrots and the meat chunks, the soup was improved.

Improvising in the kitchen can sometimes result in much better meals. We don’t need to discuss the times that this doesn’t work because this time it was a success!

Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Spinach

February 9, 2023 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I thought I’d share my recipe for lentil soup with potatoes and spinach made in the instant pot.

Chris shared with you a picture of her soup that she had when we went out for lunch. She always gets the v9 soup. I always get their lentil soup. I rarely make lentil soup but I really enjoy it.

So since it’s a cold wintry day today and I had the lentils in my pantry, I thought I need to make some soup.

This recipe is fast to make and is easy.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
One onion diced
Two cloves garlic minced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk diced
2 White potatoes, diced
1 16-oz package of green lentils
One bay leaf
Four cups of chicken stock
Two cups of water
2 to 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp red pepper ( optional )
1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

Turn on the saute function on the instant Pot.
Add olive oil and heat.
Saute the diced onions for about 5 minutes, until translucent and tender
Add minced garlic and saute for another 30 seconds.
Stir in celery and carrots. Saute for a few more minutes.
Add potatoes lentils, bay leaf, broth and water.
Stir.
Put the lid on the instant pot.
Using the manual option pressure cook on high for 7 minutes
Let the pressure release naturally.
Once the pressure has released, remove the lid, and stir in the spinach. Stir until the spinach has wilted.
Add the salt and pepper to taste. Add the cayenne pepper if you want.
Stir in apple cider vinegar.

Notes

Because there’s a lot of liquid in this, it will take the Instant Pot a while to build up pressure and then to release pressure.

If you want to make this vegan, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. I just used what I had on hand.

This recipe is easy to adjust. Increase or decrease the vegetables as you want.

Potatoes can be whatever you have. I used white because they were in my pantry. Golden potatoes or red potatoes would be great too. Sweet potatoes might be an interesting variation.

I did not add much spice to this but you certainly could. This is a pretty mild soup so some herbs or spices might work well in it. I think some cumin and chili powder would work. Some curry powder would probably be tasty too.

Let me know if you try making this recipe and what you think.

Making Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

December 1, 2022 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

My new favorite thing is making hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot. I like hard boiled eggs because they’re good for a snack and can be added to a salad. I also make deviled eggs once in a while.

Why do I keep posting things about using my Instant Pot? I like using it because I can walk away from it and not have to worry about something boiling over on the stove or basically paying attention to what’s cooking. If you do a search on this website for Instant Pot, you’ll find a number of different recipes. We also discussed this on the Fit Strong Women over 50 Podcast, Episode 112 FAQ – Ask Us Anything with Chris and Jill

It’s not hard to make hard boiled eggs on the stove but once again I think it’s just a bit easier using the Instant Pot. It’s not faster at all but still easier.

This is really easy. Put your eggs on the wire rack in the Instant Pot and then add a cup of water.

Put the lid on, being sure to move the knob to pressure. Using the Pressure Cook setting, set the Instant Pot for five minutes.

It will take about five minutes for the Instant Pot to come to full pressure and then five minutes to cook. You can then release the pressure after about five or ten minutes.

Put the eggs into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

You then have perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs.

If you want soft boiled eggs or medium boiled eggs, just reduce the time. I would think 3 minutes for soft and 4 minutes for medium.

Let me know if you make hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot or if you have any good ideas on things to do with the eggs no matter how you cook them. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Creamy Vegetable Soup in the Instant Pot

January 7, 2021 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I came up with my version of creamy vegetable soup in the Instant Pot.

I was out of town unexpectedly recently and left with a refrigerator full of vegetables. When I got back, I realized that I needed to use some of the produce quickly or I was going to have to throw it out. It was more than I could eat in one sitting so I tried to come up with a creative solution.

We’ve shared a variety of vegetable recipes on this site. Chris shared a recipe for vegetable soup. I didn’t have enough variety of veggies to make her recipe so had to come up with something different.

Creamy Vegetable Soup in the Instant Pot

Here’s the recipe I created. I used the Instant Pot for this though I suspect you could make this on your stove top. This ended up being a quick and easy recipe that was came out well.

I took the head of broccoli and chopped it roughly into large pieces, including the stalks. There was a bag of Brussels sprouts that needed to be used so I cleaned them. I ended up with about a pound of broccoli and a half pound of Brussels sprouts.

I think you could switch out the vegetables to something different. Perhaps a squash and carrots would be good. Cauliflower added with either the broccoli or the Brussels sprouts would be good.

Experiment with different combinations of vegetables for a variety of quick and easy soups.

I put all the ingredients in the Instant Pot and set it for 10 minutes.

I think you could make this soup with any number of vegetable combinations.

Ingredients

1 pound chopped broccoli

1/2 pound Brussels sprouts

½ yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp ground ginger (fresh ginger would be great)

Salt \

Pepper

1 can coconut milk

1.5 cups of chicken broth

Juice of half a lemon

Directions

Put everything in the Instant Pot. Set the Instant Pot to 10 minutes. Let it release naturally.

Use an immersion blender to cream the soup. Or put the soup in a heavy duty blender (I use a Vitamix) and blend. Take the center piece out of the lid and cover the lid with a towel.

Toppings

If you have toppings, go ahead and add them to the bowl of soup. I used raw pumpkin seeds. They worked well. You could probably use croutons or a bit of coconut cream or pine nuts. Toppings aren’t necessary but they do add a bit of crunch to the soup.

Making Coconut Yogurt in the Instant Pot

December 1, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I figured out how to make coconut yogurt in the Instant Pot. It’s easy though it does take some time.

I’ve been trying to eat more fermented foods and when we talked with Christine Bailey on a recent podcast, she said yogurt was a great option. She also recommended coconut yogurt if you are not eating dairy.

I’ve been avoiding dairy for a few months because a doctor suggested that some of my skin problems might be related to dairy. Like most of us, I love certain dairy products. Cheese, sour cream, cream in my coffee. I love all of that. But eliminating all of that has helped me feel better.

I do like yogurt. For a long time my go-to breakfast was plain Greek yogurt with berries and some granola on top. It was a tasty breakfast.

Buying coconut yogurt in the grocery store is extremely expensive. And it all has some kind of sugar added to it period at least that seems to be what’s true at my local grocery store. No one seems to make plain coconut yogurt.

I suddenly remembered that my instant pot has a yogurt making option on it so I decided to try making my own coconut yogurt.

Making Coconut Yogurt in the Instant Pot

My first batch turned out pretty well but was rather runny. Coconut milk apparently is lacking some protein or something that causes milk yogurt to thicken. I ended up mixing it in my Vitamix with a little bit of vanilla extract and raspberries. It was a lot like the drinkable yogurts that you can buy in the grocery store. It tasted really good.

Second Batch

My second batch is a bit thicker because I added a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin to it.

As the starter for the yogurt I used plain Greek yogurt. I know it’s dairy but I figured the small amount that I added to the coconut milk is not going to hurt me. I’m not allergic to dairy. I’m just trying to avoid it to help my skin heal.

You can buy yogurt starter but buying a small container of yogurt at the store is a lot cheaper and easier. Now that I’ve made some yogurt, I can save a bit of it to use as a starter for the next batch. It’s like having a sour dough starter. Once you have some, just save it and keep using it as a starter.

Coconut Milk

I used a can of organic full fat coconut milk. I don’t know how light coconut milk would work. Definitely avoid the coconut milk that comes in a cardboard container. You want to use the canned milk.

I added the yogurt starter and a teaspoon of the unflavored gelatin and whisked it well. I then poured it into a mason jar, which I put in the Instant Pot. Then, I added some water to the bottom of the pot, put the lid on, and then set the yogurt time to 24 hours. I figured that would let it really ferment.

After the fermentation ended and I removed the jar from the Instant Pot, I put the yogurt in the refrigerator to let it set for several hours.

When the yogurt was set, I stirred the yogurt thoroughly.

The coconut yogurt does not have a strong taste of coconut. As a treat or for my breakfast, I add some berries and a little vanilla extract but I am not big on adding sweetener. You certainly could if you wanted. You could also sprinkle some granola or chopped nuts on top for crunch.

Recipe for Coconut Yogurt in the Instant Pot

This is so easy, you’ll love it.

Ingredients

1 can of full fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon of Greek Yogurt with active cultures

2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin (just use 1 teaspoon if you don’t want it too thick.)

Directions

Empty the coconut milk into a small mixing bow.

Add the Greek yogurt and the unflavored gelatin. Whisk well.

Pour the mixture into a mason jar or small bowl.

Place the jar in the Instant Pot.

Add one cup of water to the Instant Pot.

Select yogurt on the Instant Pot and then select time. I went with 24 hours to get a tangy flavor.

When it finishes, shake or whisk the yogurt well, cover, and put in the refrigerator. Wait several hours or even a day and then mix well again. Enjoy!

Notes

Make sure your mason jar or glass bowl are clean. I washed the jar in the dishwasher immediately before using.

Many yogurt instructions say to boil the milk first but because I was using canned coconut milk, I determined that was an unnecessary step. If you decide to do this, be sure to boil the coconut milk first and then let it cool before adding the Greek yogurt and gelatin.

If you make coconut yogurt or any kind of yogurt in your Instant Pot, let me know how it turns out.

Cabbage, Potato, and Sausage Soup in the Instant Pot

October 8, 2020 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

It’s fall once again and my heart turns to soups, including my recipe for a Cabbage, Potato, and Sausage Soup and I’m using the Instant Pot for this.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make this just as easily on the stove. I wanted to see how the cabbage and potato would work in the Instant Pot and it turned out great.

In all of the recipes in Becoming Elli, you can count on there being a lot of recipes that include cabbage. I’m not sure why that is. I posted my basic cabbage soup recipe a while ago.

Ingredients

1/2 Tbsp. avocado oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
About 1 lb of baby red potatoes, cut in half or quarters depending on the size
1/2 of large onion, diced
1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic
About 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped into small pieces
1 package of turkey kielbasa (13 Oz), sliced
2 cups of baby spinach
4 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional

Instructions

Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté. Add the oil and let it heat.

Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the pot and stir frequently for about 5 or 6 minutes.

Stir in the sliced kielbasa and sauté for a few more minutes.

Add the minced garlic and sauté for a minute or two longer.

Turn sauté off.

Add broth, cabbage, and potatoes to the Instant Pot.

Stir in salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.

Set your Instant Pot to Soup, make sure the steam vent is set to pressurized and cook for about 30 minutes.

I usually let the steam release naturally but that’s not necessary if you’re in a hurry. When you’re ready, remove the lid.

Add the spinach and stir until it’s wilted.

Notes:

I used turkey kielbasa because that’s what I had on hand. I think chicken sausage would be great in this, as would traditional pork kielbasa. Really, any sausage will do. Use a vegan sausage if you are avoiding meat. I think you’ll want something in the sausage family for this soup. Otherwise, it’s just not cabbage, potato, and sausage soup.

You can add other vegetables to this. I think green beans would be a good addition.

I added the spinach at the end because it adds a lovely bright green color to the soup but you wouldn’t need to. If you want to add kale or a different green, remember that most cook longer than spinach so you would probably want to add the greens into the pot to cook with the other vegetables.

I used baby red potatoes but you can use any potato you want. Also, I always leave the skin on when I add potatoes to soup but that’s optional. I think even sweet potatoes would be good though it would change the flavor a bit.