AMAZING INSTANT POT CREAMY "BAKED" ZITI

We LOVE this recipe.  It is so easy, so fast, and so delicious.  Plus, with the Instant Pot, it doesn't heat up the kitchen!  The recipe comes from here.

A single recipe feeds my family of 7 (mostly younger kids), but when I'm cooking for my parents, too, I make a double recipe (in my 8 qt. Instant Pot).

PREP TIME 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME 5 MINUTES

ADDITIONAL TIME 20 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME 35 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

•  2 cups broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth)
•  2 cups cream (see note for lightened up substitutions - I often make this substitution)
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon black pepper
•  2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
•  16 ounces uncooked ziti pasta or other tube-shaped pasta 
•               (I often use penne or rigatoni. Whole grain pasta works great in this recipe.)
•  15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
•  1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
•  1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
•  1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (My family prefers it without cheese.)
•  Fresh basil, for serving (optional)
• Italian Sausage (See the notes below - if you like meat, Italian sausage adds a yummy dimension.  We regularly make it without meat, though.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 6-quart Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the broth and cream and add the salt, pepper and garlic.
2. Add the pasta; don't stir, but if it's mounded in the center, arrange into an even layer. Pour the crushed tomatoes evenly over the pasta and sprinkle the oregano and basil over the top. Don't stir.
3. Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select "manual" or "pressure cook" and dial up or down to the minutes needed --> take the cooking time on the pasta package directions, cut it in half and subtract two more minutes. So for pasta that cooks to al dente in 12 minutes, the IP cooking time would be 4 minutes (add an extra minute if you like your pasta super soft).
4. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly (it's ok if there are some darker, cooked spots on the bottom of the pot/bottom layer of pasta). Serve the ziti immediately with chopped, fresh basil, and additional Parmesan, if desired.

NOTES

Optional: adding a pound of ground beef or Italian sausage is fantastic with this recipe! Cook the meat on the saute function with a little salt and pepper, drain the grease, and proceed with the recipe (just make sure when you add the broth to scrape the bottom of the pot really well before adding the other ingredients).

Lighten it Up: If you want to lighten up the cream a bit, I've had great success making this with 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch (whisked together) + 1 cup cream. I haven't tried subbing all the cream for a milk + cornstarch mixture, but you could experiment!

For an Extra Saucy Pasta: add 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra broth, cream or crushed tomatoes. Any variety of tube pasta will work great here! When I can't find ziti, I've used penne or rigatoni. Also, I've subbed in a 15-ounce can diced tomatoes blended with 2 tablespoons tomato paste for the crushed tomatoes with great results.

Black Bean Burgers

Copycat Mother Nature Burger from Universal Studios, found here.

Makes 4 burgers.

Ingredients

(burgers)

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Black Beans
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon onion, thinly sliced and chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Pinch of Cumin

(cooking the burgers)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

(condiments)

• 4 Hamburger buns
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 4 tablespoons guacamole
• 4 lettuce slices
• 4 sweet gerkins pickles

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse the two cans of beans.
2. 
   
3. In a bowl, mash the beans slightly but not until smooth; you still want it a little chunky.
4. 
   
5. Add the Italian bread crumbs, egg, onion slices, salt and pepper, and cumin until well combined.
6. 
   
7. Split the bean mixture into four equal parts and shape them into circular patties.
8. 
   
9. Heat stove to medium high heat and pour olive oil into a saucepan.
10. 
    
11. Place the bean patty's in the pan and cook until the center is warm, and the edges begin to harden.
12. 
    
13. Decorate your burger with tomato, mayo, ketchup, guacamole, and lettuce.
14. Pierce a pickle with a toothpick and stick it on top of the burger.
15. 
    
16. Serve warm

Sheet Pan Brownies (Sarah Wixom)

6 oz. bakers unsweetened chocolate

3 sticks of butter

Melt in saucepan (2 1.5 Qt)

Remove from heat, add:

3 cups white sugar

3 tsp. vanilla (less to taste)

Cool down

Whip in 6 eggs (with wooden spoon)

Add

2 cups of flour (add ¼ more if want cakier)

Whip super fast for 30 seconds – incorporate everything

Add chocolate chips (Ghiradelli 60% bittersweet is delicious in these)

Butter the sheet pan (large cookie sheet)

Bake 18-20-22 minutes at 350

Janae's Twin Mountain Muffins

This is a really versatile biscuit-like muffin recipe.  Janae brought them to me with jam swirled in.  We've added garlic.  They've been great every way we've tried them.

Makes 1 dozen
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
2 cups four, stirred and measured

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg; blend.  Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk.  Bake in buttered muffin pans 25 minutes.

Janae's Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2 boxes wild rice (Rice-a-Roni style, or plain wild rice with ramen seasoning packet)
3 lb. diced carrots
3 stalks celery - sliced
2-3 Cups chicken - chopped
1/2 C. butter
3/4 C. flour
8 C. chicken broth
1 C. half and half
1 tsp. pepper

In a separate saucepan, cook rice according to directions.

In a stockpot, saute veggies in butter.  When tender, add flour and stir for 1-2 minutes.  Add broth slowly and cook until thickened.  Add chicken and rice.  Turn heat to low and stir in half and half.  Heat through and serve with seasoning.

One Pan Mexican Quinoa

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
3. Serve immediately.

From:  https://damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/

Whole Wheat Waffles

From:  https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/whole-wheat-waffles-recipe

For my family (including Grandma and Grandpa), I typically have to 4x this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (170g) White Whole Wheat Flour (6 cups)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (2 Tbsp + 2 tsp)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (2 tsp)
• 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
• 1 large egg (4)
• 1 1/2 cups (340g) lukewarm milk (6 cups)
• 5 tablespoons (71g) melted butter or 1/3 cup (67g) vegetable oil (1 1/3 cup)

Instructions

1. Preheat your iron while you make the waffle batter.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil.
4. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter will be a bit lumpy; that's OK.