Instant Pot VS 12 Nights Of Christmas Wine

OK, the Instant Pot never really stood a chance.

But, I gotta say, I was SHOCKED by the number

of my friends who voted Instant Pot when I put it up for a vote.

Have you MET me???

And then the question  begs,

Have you met my mother and aunt?

My husband was the wise man 

who came bearing gifts of wine, 

Mom and Big? The pot :)

So now I am on a journey to determine if I will

drink of the Instant Pot Kool Aid that is 

taking Facebook and Pinterest by storm.

At first I was surprised to learn 

that I had mistaken the word 

"instant"

for

"magic".

It's not magic. 

You still have to prep.

(chop, peel, measure)

It's nice that you can saute right in the pot.

Sweat those onions, brown that meat.

See? Not magic.

I have cooked a whopping three meals in it thus far

and all three were delicious.

I'm still on the fence as to whether it's 

that much better than a slow cooker.

I think you have to decide, do I want to do 

the grunt labor 

at the start of the day or the end.

Most days it's 6 to one, half dozen to the other.

Yesterday may have tipped the scales in its favor.

I walked in the door at 4:30 

and had dinner on the table at 5:30.

This Honey Bourbon Chicken was fantastic.

And don't be mislead, there is NO bourbon in it.

The internet is in a bit of a fight as to why 

it's called this, but bottom line, don't worry when you don't see

bourbon in the ingredients.

It's not there.

Ava loved it, Mike was not as enthused but 

it was a bit sweet, so I will try cutting back on the honey

the next time I make it.

I'm kind of thinking of trying meatloaf in it tonight.

Maybe.

I dunno.

https://onceamonthmeals.com/recipes/instant-pot-honey-bourbon-chicken-traditional-version/

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I've taken a little time off.

For no reason.

Just lazy.

Or very busy.

But mostly a little of both.

I did make a really good casserole

last week. 

I forgot to take a picture, but I do have this:

Once you get past the cute, look at Mike's plate.

That's what is left of the casserole

that was supposed to feed 6-8. 

There were four of us.

So just, heads up.

I used one rotisserie chicken, 

I think two would have been a better choice

(and maybe have extend it by a couple of servings.)

Also, in her notes, the author mentions that the deli ham

 and cheese seem to release salt as

 they cook down so you

may want to reduce the salt in the sauce. 

No, you WANT to reduce the salt.

Mine was a bit salty.

I also felt there was a lot of sauce so I didn't 

use it all. I just got a good covering over the cheese

and called it done. 

I roasted some asparagus to go with it.

Good choice, but a green salad would be good too.

Sometimes what to "serve with" is a bigger

challenge than the meal itself.

:)

http://tsgcookin.com/2012/03/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/

Salsa Chicken and Pasta Salad

I didn't get a pretty picture, but hey, 

at least I got one.

It was delicious. 

The only problem I had was the chef

who *tweeked* the recipe said to switch

chipotle chili powder for the regular

that the recipe calls for.

The chipotle was a good call, it has a smokey flavor

that plain chili powder just doesn't have. 

He neglected to adjust the amount of 

chili powder to take into account

the excessively hotter heat 

from the chipotle.

 I'll adjust that here.

Salsa Chicken Pasta Salad

2 cups cooked pasta

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

6 ounces sliced black olives

3 tomatoes, diced

2 cups chicken breast, chopped

Feel free to add in or take out any

vegetables.

The dressing:

1/4 cup fresh cilantro 

(I didn't have any and it was still great)

1 lime, juiced

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 cup mayo

(I went light on the mayo)

Mix it all together and enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Sooo good!

And so easy.

I used the breast of a 

rotisserie chicken that I shredded,

a cup of quinoa,

and then added

black beans,

corn,

jicama,

avocado,

green onions, 

and cilantro.

Toss it all with some BBQ sauce, 

top with a little shredded cheese

and there you have a fantastic dinner.

This one will be going to the top of our 

summer dinner rotation.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Remember my last post?

Remember Mike's suggestion? 

Well, turns out,

it turned out!

I tried pounding one chicken breast flat

but it just got really big and not really flat.

So, instead I butterflied them, 

opened them like a book,

stuffed them 

and then

secured the the sides together

with a thin metal kind of 

skewer. 

It's resting there on the back of my plate.

They are supposed to be for trussing up a turkey.

I topped the stuffed breasts with

panko, mixed with some grated parm,

mixed with some olive oil.

375 degrees for 35 minutes.

The man may not be able to cook

but he's got some good ideas.

Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

There is not a thing in that title 

not to like.

Oh, and you make it in a slow cooker.

Aces!

My only problem is I neglected to

take a picture of it.

Sorry.

But, honestly, it's not that great a sight.

Tastes great though!

The thing you kind of forget is that since this 

is made in a slow cooker, those tots

don't get crispy, crunchy, wonderful. 

But they do become something 

different. 

But good.

I'll link to the original recipe site but really all you

do is layer 

 tots, 

bacon,

shredded cheese, 

cut up chicken breasts

(raw)

and repeat then pour 3/4 cup

of milk on top and slow cook away.

Comfort food.

Oh, and PS, 

!!!!BACON!!!!

http://www.thecountrycook.net/2012/07/cheesy-chicken-tater-tot-casserole-slow.html 

Chicken Avocado Salad

For a girl who worked today, I sure did get in some 

tasty cooking :o)

I didn't go in till noon so I left one 

Ahhhmazing sandwich

on the table for my Honey's lunch.

That's a chicken salad made with avocado.

But the thing is, the avocado isn't diced up in it, 

it's smashed up in it so it actually becomes part of the

dressing. 

I did about 1 tablespoon of mayo and 1 tablespoon of sour cream. 

Turns out sour cream has way less sodium than mayo.

Who knew?

That along with 1 avocado makes enough saucy stuff

to create a creamy base for the salad. 

I threw in some celery and red onion for crunch

and then some cilantro and red pepper. 

Oh, and a hit of lime juice just to keep the avocado from

turning funky colors on me. 

I got this brainstorm from an episode of

Diner, Drive ins and Dives.

Cable has earned its keep once again. 

A Little Treat From the Summer

This is Aggie's Black Bean Grilled Burrito. 

Except she calls them Skillet Grilled Burritos. 

Fine. 

Semantics aside, it's a great little dish.

I did not put spinach in mine because Mike is pretty sure that

 he doesn't like it. Kinda like he's pretty sure he doesn't

 like Chinese food, but that's another whole can o'worms. 

I used Aldi's "Fit and Active"Multi Grain Wraps. 

I took Aggie's good advice and used some shredded 

rotisserie chicken just to make life easier. 

There's a yummy Creamy Cilantro-Jalapeno sauce it

all gets mixed with. Aggie notes where she has swapped

out ingredients. Some people may call it "substituted"

but that just implies you fell short and didn't have 

what was deemed necessary. 

I rather to think of swapping out some odd ingredient for something 

else I must prefer because I have it in my kitchen. 

It's all in how you look at things. 

http://aggieskitchen.com/2009/01/20/welcome-home-fiesta-real-margaritas-and-skillet-grilled-burritos/

http://aggieskitchen.com/2010/11/04/adventures-in-napa/

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to look at this and not 

be consumed with envy. 

I'm so happy for Aggie. 

Really I am. 

And actually, the post is going to be very useful when 

Mike plans our trip to Napa.

Someday. 

Really. 

Thai-Style Chicken Salad

I seem to be on an international bend at the moment.

In my never ending quest to find different things to do to a chicken

breast, I have stumbled upon this little gem.

Have I mentioned that I love

America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated?

And does any one get the connection between the two?

And why aren't they just one entity?

And where does Cook's Country figure in?

I digress....

This was really good. I served it over a bed of quinoa.

Sliced heirloom tomato on the side.

I didn't happen to have a cucumber but, go figure, I had a zucchini.

Other than that I stuck pretty close to the recipe as written.

This was one of those times that the frozen ginger

and the lime ice cubes came in handy.

It's the best when I can put together a recipe without

having to run to the grocery store.

The greeter at Meijer kinda looks at me funny sometimes.

One of the greeters is kinda grumpy.

That's a contradiction, don't you think?

It appears I'm having a difficult time staying on task.

I'll post the recipe in the pages and end for now before I take

you to the next weird place my mind is headed.

You're welcome :o)