Instant Pot Skillet Lasagna

Instant Pot Skillet Lasagna

I love this meal! I do a lot of different versions of this depending on how much time I have and what I have in my pantry. A lot of times I just do it meatless. I like to make my own pasta sauce using tomato paste and seasoning it myself but a jar of pasta sauce works great too. You can use broken up lasagna noodles but I just use whatever pasta I have on hand and it still tastes great. 

.5 lb ground beef (optional) 

1 package pasta OR lasagna noodles(I like to use the organic pasta from Costco, Garofalo brand, because it is thicker and doesn't turn to mush in the instant pot)

1 Large jar of pasta sauce OR 2 cans of tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, and a dash of red pepper flakes... add 3 cans of extra water if you use the tomato paste

4 cups water

ADD AFTER PRESSURE COOKING:

A handful of mozzarella cheese

Stir in some Parmesan Cheese 

1 cup ricotta cheese

Saute the ground beef until it is browned then deglaze the bottom of the pot with some of the water.  Add the pasta then the 4 cups water and pour the tomato sauce on top.  Cook on MANUAL for 4 minutes high pressure. Quick release the pressure, carefully sometimes it'll sputter some of the liquid.  When pressure is fully release remove the lid and if it is a little to soupy then saute until the liquid is cooked down. Stir in the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Add dollops of the ricotta all over the top and sprinkle a little more mozzarella on top. 

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

We LOVE orange chicken, so when I got my Instant Pot I knew I had to convert my normal recipe to make it a meal that we could enjoy more often!  So this is a non-fried version but still really tasty.

You will need:
2-3 chiken breasts, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
1 TBS finely grated ginger
1 TBS finely grated garlic
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 TBS soy sauce
6 TBS vinegar
6 TBS sugar
couple dashes of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper

TO ADD AFTER pressure cooking
1 TBS corn starch
1 TBS cold water
1 tsp sesame oil

Dump first list of ingredients into the pot, mix it up and press Manual button, make sure it is set to high pressure and set for 4 minutes.  When it is done quick release the pressure and press the Saute button.  Mix the cold water and corn starch.  Add in the corn starch mixture and stir until it is thickened up. Mix in the sesame oil.

I saute broccoli, zucchini, shredded carrots, and sugar snap peas in lard or avocado oil with some salt, pepper and soy sauce.  Also serve with fried rice!

P.S.sorry my blog is full of bad pictures

"Instant Pot" Pot Pie Casserole

This one is for you Jake... my loyal reader 😉

Pot Pie Casserole for the instant pot

16oz box/bag of noodles
1 or 2 chicken breasts cubed into 1" pieces
1 small bag of mixed veggies (with carrots, corn and peas)
4 cups water
2 TBS chicken better than bouillon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
dash of onion powder

Added AFTER pressure cooking
1 cup heavy cream (when I don't have any I sub for 3/4 cup whole milk, just saute a little longer)

I've been sauteing the chicken in a little avocado oil for a minute or two before cooking but I think it'll be fine just dumping it in so I'm going to try that next time.

So pretty much all you do is dump all of the ingredients into the pot. Set it on pressure cook or manual (high pressure) depending on what model you have for 4 minutes.  Make sure the valve is set to seal and let it do it's thing.  Once it is done Quick release the pressure.  Press the Saute button and add the cream and stir until thickened up!  This is probably the easiest instant pot meal I make!

Stay tuned for non-fried orange chicken, tamales, coconut chicken curry and other instant pot meals!!