Friends, do you have an Instant Pot in your kitchen? My parents-in-law kindly gifted us one last Christmas… and it took me until this summer to open the box. It just seemed intimidating – like another thing to learn that I didn’t really seem to be missing in my life. Plus, I didn’t know any Instant Pot recipes (and didn’t really need to add anything more to the 100+ “recipes to try” on my Pinterest board).
It might have taken going into lockdown, but I eventually did open the box. Even then, my and the Instant Pot’s relationship was a slow burn. There’s a learning curve to the mechanics, and it was frustrating to me when a recipe with a 5-minute cooking time actually took 20 minutes due to the pressurizing and venting.
A few months in, I’ve mastered the mechanics and have a small collection of Instant Pot recipes that we love. I’ve still got a lot to learn – I’m not really comfortable translating a slow cooker recipe to the IP freehand, preferring to lean on IP-specific recipes – and when I use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker, I miss the way the delicious smell of whatever’s cooking wafts throughout the house.
It seems like it’s here to stay, though, so let’s talk Instant Pot recipes! These are a few I’d recommend – and I’d love to hear yours!
Also, what a treat because 96% of you wanted me to share my guacamole recipe, so here we are! While I certainly believe this to be the most delicious version of guac out there, I honor and respect that you might disagree. Let’s discuss in the comments :)
My recipe is based off of Bobby Flay’s, which we discovered when we started making his nacho dogs a few years ago (thank me later). I did not grow up making guacamole (I also did not grow up eating it – it seemed green and suspicious and it just wasn’t a thing in my family), but as with so many other seemingly-fancy food items, I was introduced to it by John’s family and have been a convert ever since.
Without further ado, the simple recipe…
Peel and pit two ripe avocados and mash in a small bowl. Avocados are notoriously tricky but I find if I buy them green and firm they are ready about 3 days later.
Dice a jalapeno and add it to the bowl. Dice about 1/5 of a red onion and add that, too.
Add approximately 1 teaspoon of canola oil (makes it nice and silky!). I never measure this – just a small glug – but 1 tsp is my best bet.
Sprinkle over a generous shake of sea salt, then squeeze in one lime.
Mix it all together and give it a taste. If something needs tweaking, it’s usually more salt or more lime! We like to serve ours with blue corn tortilla chips.
How about you? If you’re a guacamole fan, do you like yours with cilantro? Tomato? Peas??
Many of you expressed interest in seeing occasional meal plans, so I thought I’d share some of the summer recipes we’re making and loving right now! Some are old favorites, a few are brand new, and almost all take advantage of the abundance of delicious produce this time of year.
Summer Cavatelli | This pasta recipe is SO easy (most of the flavor comes from regular old marinara sauce – we use Rao’s), but it packs a seasonal punch with zucchini, fresh corn, and basil. It is also vegetarian! Note: I usually can’t find cavatelli, so I just use farfalle or penne.
Chicken Fajitas | This is hardly a recipe, but it’s an easy favorite! We grill chicken breasts with salt and pepper and saute green peppers and onions, then pile them both on tortillas with shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and homemade guacamole.
Cowboy Burgers | I’d put a hiatus on turkey burgers for awhile because I’d never found a recipe I liked, but this one is a winner! (You mix shredded cheese into the burger mix, which I’m sure doesn’t hurt.) I make 6 smaller patties and put them on potato rolls with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and either barbecue sauce or a little Sriracha and mayo whisked together. We’ll often have frozen sweet potato fries and cucumber and tomato salad on the side.
Grilled Chicken Shawarma | This has become one of my absolute favorite meals. The marinade is SO good – I try to mix it up the night before, but even if I can only let it sit an hour, it’s so flavorful. To the grilled chicken and garlic sauce, we’ll add sliced cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, toasted mini pitas, hummus, and boxed rice pilaf for personal Mediterranean plates!
Grilled Lemon Chicken Flatbread Wraps | I don’t like grilling kebabs, so I marinate the chicken breasts whole and grill them in the backyard before cutting them into bite-size pieces. The garlic sauce is so yummy, and these wraps are a great way to put our bigger tomatoes to good use, too!
Classic Cookout | Hot dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, cucumber and tomato salad, pasta salad, and salt and pepper chips – doesn’t get much better than that :)
Pulled Pork Tacosand Pulled Pork Sandwiches | This is a one-two punch combo for our family – I’ll make them on back-to-back nights! The recipe could not be simpler: just sprinkle a chopped onion in the pot, add a 3-5 pound boneless pork shoulder, then pour over two cans of Coca Cola and pressure cook for 90 minutes. Drain the liquid, shred the meat, then mix in the barbecue sauce of your choice (we use Sweet Baby Ray’s).
From there, you can put the meat on buns with coleslaw for a Southern twist, or on those little street tortillas with shredded cheese (bake for 5 minutes at 250) and guacamole. So good, so easy!
I’d love to hear: what summer recipes have you been loving lately?
Since you all were so generous with me and my handbag search earlier this week, I wanted to pass one of my best kitchen secrets back to you. File this in the same folder as the best way to reheat pizza or print Instagram photos – just one of those little life hacks that is not going to save the world, but might just rock your world a little bit.
Whenever a recipe calls for chicken stock, I mix up my own using this bouillon concentrate.
It’s right next to the boxed stock in my grocery store, and costs about the same – but this little puppy makes quart upon quart of stock for that price. Plus, it lasts for ages once open, whereas if I just need a half cup of stock for a recipe, the rest of the box will go south quickly in the fridge.
If you’ve never used it before, it’s so easy! I just measure the water I need in a liquid measuring cup, pop it in the microwave (or in a pan on the stove for a larger amount), heat it to boiling, then stir in the correct amount (1 tsp for every 8 ounces, I think). I’m not a particularly fancy cook, but I’ve never noticed any difference in taste between this and the readymade stock I used to buy. Homemade stock? That might be a different story, but I’ve not yet added that to my regular repertoire – hats off to those of you who have :)
Hats off also to Jenny Steffens Hobick, the lady who taught me about this jar of wonder many years ago. Cheers to all the little tricks that help us get dinner on the table with more ease and for less money!!
I’d love to hear: do you already have a jar of this in your fridge? Did you just add it to your shopping list? Do you, like me, remember your mom cooking with chicken bouillon concentrate “cubes” when you were younger? Somehow this seems slightly more legit :)
