Perfect Pasta - NOT!

     I know I rave about how my Instant Pot does amazing things!  It really does if you follow the directions, but when you leave pasta cooking 11 minutes past its appropriate time, then you get substantially mushy pasta.  My goal was to cook this pasta:

     This is 16 oz package of Elbow Macaroni, which I added 4 cups of water and about a table spoon of salt. It is best to cook pasta in salt water.  (I have a family of 6 who really love pasta, so I actually doubled it and cooked two packages with 8-8 and a half cups of water with a bit of salt.)  By the time I actually opened the pot the pasta had absorbed all of water.  By the way, when you release the pressure it will splatter a bit as it is really full of liquid.  I recommend you have a really light weight towel or dish rag that you lay carefully over the top to of the went to minimize the mess.  Make sure that it is light enough that steam can still escape, but that it will absorb any of the liquid exiting the vent!

     The Instant Pot cooks perfect pasta, in only 4 minutes, but it does require that you pay attention and remove the pasta immediately after cooking so that it will al dente!  However, if you get distracted, as I did, you will end up with substantially soggy pasta.  (I ran cold water over this pasta to immediately stop the majority of cooking.) At this point I would normally add the fixings for the Macaroni and Cheese from this recipe, which my kids loved, but I had leftover Nacho Cheese with spices and sausage from New Years Eve that I heated up and mixed into this to create my hybrid version of Mac N' Cheese.  The kids said it was tooo cheesy.  Who knew you could actually have too much cheese? Creamy Mac and Cheese! Thanks Corey!

    The end result, mushy pasta and all, looked and tasted like Mac n' Cheese with sausage, taco seasoning, with a touch of heat from Cheyenne pepper.  It was edible, but was very rich and required you to have something to drink to cut the richness.  My ratio of cheese to pasta was a tad bit off.  I used 3-4 cups of the Nacho Cheese mix, which I realized upon tasting it was too much.  I usually add 3/4 of a cup of Parmesan cheese to the mix, sour cream, and half a block of cream cheese.  (This is in addition to the regular stuff of the recipe.  Mostly because I am into the rich creamy taste that it gives the macaroni and cheese.)  If you family likes to have a little protein to the mix, I will add half a cup of bacon crumbles.  (Like these below available at Sam's Club.)  I have also grilled chicken and chopped it into bite sized pieces and added it to the Mac and Cheese. 

So much easier than cooking and chopping your own bacon!

One Year Ago last Christmas

     Last year, for the entire Fall during our lunches (we are teachers at a junior high) my friend Jason Vilos talked about this magic machine that transformed freezer burnt venison into delicious street tacos for his picky eater kids.  He spoke of hard boiled eggs that peeled like a dream and soups, stews, and really just about everything he put into it came out amazing!

     As you might imagine, as a fairly accomplished cook, I was hesitant about a cooker that seemed almost magical.  I also looked at the price tag and being the cheap skate that I am, I wondered if spending so much money (it was between $79-109 depending upon options on Amazon) was worth it and if I would actually use it often.  Being a school teacher, I tend to spend a fair amount of time analyzing the options as to whether they will be usable, efficient, or user friendly.  The reviews on Amazon at the time also had those that complained that it doesn't save time, was scary to use, and was not user friendly!  I am not usually intimidated by cooking ware as the only way to learn is to experiment, but it did install doubt into my mind.  I had just about decided to save the money for it after Christmas (you all know about how tight it can get around Christmas with 5 kids right?), when surprise, surprise Jason shows up one day before Christmas with this wrapped box which was surprisingly heavy!  I wondered what my friend had brought me, but waited till Christmas morning to open it.  I was very surprised to find that he had decided to give me an Instant Pot!  

     I joined the FB group first thing (Thanks YOU Melody Greenlaw!) and like most men I didn't bother reading the instructions!  I NEVER did the pressure test at all.  I figured that it would come to pressure or not and that would answer most of my questions.  Jason recommended the IP Umami Pot Roast by ThisOldGal (https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-classic-pot-roast-dinner/) I diced the onions and made rounds of the carrots and I happened to have some mushrooms, so I just tossed them into the mix with dried rosemary and thyme.  My kids raved about it.  (They are fairly picky, so I counted it as a win.)  My second adventure was Mongolian Beef from AuntBeesRecipes here:  http://www.auntbeesrecipes.com/2016/12/instant-pot-mongolian-beef.html.  I didn't have any Green Onions, so I substituted white onions and added green peppers (just cause I like them.)  I also didn't have flank steak, so I used hamburger. (after all its still beef!) I cooked the meat and onion mixture with the liquid and spices for the set time and then dumped the chopped up green peppers after I QR the pressure and put it back on for 2 minutes.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  It was as good or better than what I get at a good Chinese Restaurant.  My boys picked out the green peppers, but they liked it as well.  

     Next I decided to get really adventurous!  I have always wanted to make Cheesecake, however I was always intimidated by the steps and time it would take (It can literally take hours!)  Being the kind of guy that doesn't like multiple step recipes, I was excited about the possibility of creating a cheesecake in a short amount of time.  I read the many options and decided to do Cheesecake #17, after all they had tested and refined 16 other times to get this one so it would have to be good. (Thank you Amy and Jacky for the amazing recipe!  You can find it here:  https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-cheesecake-new-york/)  I of course didn't have a spring loaded pan, so I just used a Pyrex dish I had that would fit in the Instant Pot.  I folded tinfoil to lower it onto the trivet.  I followed the recipe exactly as that seemed safest.  I tented tinfoil over the top a bit to reduce the drips and after chilling it for a couple of hours we literally devoured it in short order.  It looked exactly like the pictures, except for the creases where the tinfoil had come into contact with it.  It had a slight crease in the top, but tasted amazing.  

     My adventures over the last year have been amazing.  We have had great food, good food and some stuff I added too much spice to and ruined, but it has saved me time and been a fun adventure.  I also cannot also end my first blog of the adventure without a shout out to my family's favorite recipe the Honey BBQ wings of CopyMeThat found here: https://www.copymethat.com/r/W0y6emt/honey-bbq-chicken-wings-instant-pot/   We use Thighs and Legs rather than wings because there is more meat.  This has been a tradition for 4-5 years now that I make BBQ wings rather than purchase them fully prepped.  4 years ago it took me almost three hours to finish cooking the 15 pounds we make.  This last time, from start to finish was less than an hour!  And the flavor was out of this world, because the IP pushed the flavor of the sauce into the meat in only 12 minutes.  (10 if they are thawed.)  I will add a picture later tonight.  

Here is the finished Honey BBQ Thighs: 

I was eating them for lunch at school.

     This blog is to document the amazing fun I am having with my Instant Pot.  Help anyone who would like to see good food cooked in the pot.  Finally, it is just to help those intimidated by this wondrous machine of magic called the Instant Pot.  Yes world, I am a Pothead!

Any ideas for a decal that I can put on my old Instant Pot and the new 8 qt. that I just got for Christmas?