Instant Pot Quick and Easy Lentil Meal

 Last night I was watching Brittany Jaroudi present at the American Health Association Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.  She spoke about her health journey.  She also prepared four recipes in less than an hour.  The first one was this lentil meal.

In the Instant Pot place:

1/2 cup green or brown lentils
1/2 cup chopped red onions
3/4 cup grain--she used bulgar wheat; we used long grain brown rice
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cup hummus put on top--NOT STIRRED IN

With the ingredients in the Pot, turn on HIGH for 6 minutes then let reduce pressure naturally.  Because I used long grain brown rice, I cooked for 10 minutes on HIGH.  It cooled down for about 23 minutes.

It may not look appealing, but it is very healthy!  Keep that firmly in mind...!  Dear One was not a fan.  He got out the Tajin and sprinkled some on top.  Brittany says to "tweek it" for your family.  I think it could have used some garlic.  Also a slug of salt, but I have read so many articles lately swearing that salt is bad for our health that I am trying to go without.  At least today!

One of the best things about this recipe, as it was made by me, was that it did not make meals and meals worth.  We can each have one small bowl tomorrow.  Then I will make some other healthy meal. Not sure I am thrilled about cooking anymore but I am certainly thrilled about living so I guess I will continue...

Food Friday: G-BOMBS Plus Meal

When I was reading a Dr. Joel Furhman book, whose title escapes me at the moment, but it might have been The End of Diabetes this time,  I first learned about G-BOMBS.  I thought that idea was a good one.

G-BOMBS is short for:
Greens
Beans
Onions
Mushrooms
Berries
Seeds

All these foods are great for fighting cancer as well as so many other chronic diseases.  I decided to make a meal with G-BOMBS and see if I could get Dear One to eat it.

When I made this I very carefully wrote down the "recipe".  I thought I put it in my Day One journal, but I do not find it there...so this is my memory of what I put in the pan:

1 red onion, finely diced

8 white mushrooms, peeled and VERY FINELY chopped

1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 can red beans in chili sauce

1 cup brown rice cooked in Instant pot with 1 cup water for 28 minutes on HIGH then release pressure naturally (yes, I use the same amount of water as rice when cooking in the Instant Pot and it comes out perfectly.  I just about always cook on HIGH for 28 minutes and release pressure naturally.  Sometimes I add a little miso paste to the water for flavor.)

1 bunch of kale fresh from the garden, washed, de-stemmed, finely chopped then put in the Instant Pot on top of the rice and water.  Yes, it is going to be cooked to heck but that is my aim.  I want it as invisible as possible for obvious reasons!

1 heaping Tablespoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

While the rice and kale were cooking, I water sautéed the onions, peppers, and mushrooms until they were very tender.  At that point I tossed in the garlic and spices for about two minutes.  

Added the can of beans with liquid and stirred well.  Added in the cooked rice and kale and mixed until well conglomerated.  (Be sure the heat is on low.)  Covered the pan and let simmer for 5-10 minutes for flavors to mix.  Passed a little salt at the table for those who love salt.

We had blackberries for dessert.  The only G-BOMB we did not have was seeds but we could have thrown in some pumpkin or sunflower seeds in either the meal or on the berries...but we did not.  Also, I knew Dear One would take the peanut butter jar and a sleeve of crackers up to the "man cave" sometime during the evening.

All in all, it was a successful meal.

Food Friday: Quick and Easy Instant Pot Spanish Rice

Dear One has been asking for Spanish Rice.  I happened onto a recipe that used the Instant Pot.  I am all for Instant Pot, so I gave it a try.  The following is my take on the dish.  Below you will see even more changes than what I noted in the recipe!

Instant Pot Spanish Rice

2 cups long grain brown rice, uncooked
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 finely diced red peppers
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 cup chopped cilantro

Put everything in the Instant Pot.  Stir well.  Cook on HIGH pressure for 25 minutes then let release pressure NATURALLY.

Quick and easy to put together.  No muss, no fuss about timing as long as you set to HIGH pressure.  When it is done releasing pressure it is ready to eat.

Leftover Spanish Rice in a pint widemouth mason jar.  I prefer glass for storing food.  Works great and preserves better than plastic containers.

It was really okay but Dear One felt it was lacking flavor though it was really quite edible as is.  He just thought we could do better.  I probably won't put in the 1 cup of cilantro next time, either, since I did not enjoy that particular flavor as much as I thought I would.

NEXT TIME:  We will put in 1-2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and one onion finely diced (Dear One does NOT like to bite into a cooked onion.  Or a raw one, for that matter.  He does not get all huffy about it, but he does not enjoy them, so why not just chop them finely in that fabulous little Ninja Express chopped my sister gave me?  It works so great.) since onions add a lot of great flavor.  The granulated onion is better than nothing, but does not give a real big pop of flavor.

There will be a next time, maybe even over the weekend.

Food Friday: Rice and Beans with Cheese

We had invited the young missionaries to eat dinner with us.  M had texted me a recipe she made recently called Cheesy Rice and Beans. It looked simple and easy.  Since I was also making Brownie Trifle and Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas, I thought simple and easy would be good.  It was!

In large oven proof pot (I used our five-quart cast iron dutch oven), brown one large sweet onion diced, 2 large cloves garlic, sliced then chopped, and one red and one yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced.  This will take 5-10 minutes.

In the meantime put rice cooking in pot-in-pot in your Instant Pot.  This means put 1 1/2 cups water in the inner pot of your Instant Pot then place the trivet on top.  In a smaller pot that you can remove from the Instant Pot put 1 cup long grain brown rice and 1 cup water.  Yes, 1 cup water.  Put on cover and cook on HIGH pressure for 30 minutes then let release pressure naturally for 15 or so minutes.  Mine was longer since I forgot about it in the heat of the other things I was cooking.

Drain one 15-ounce can of black beans and rinse.

When the rice is cooked, add it and the beans to the pot with the vegetables.  Stir gently then add 1/2 cup or more of your favorite mild salsa and 2 cups grated cheese. I was not going to add the cheese but at the last minute decided to.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I did not add any of either salt or pepper.

This is what is left over.  We were able to send another container home with the missionaries.

The whole wheat tortillas were not ideal since I only put in a little salt. I think in future I will put in the correct amount of salt then only eat part of a tortilla if I am worried about salt intake.

This meal, with the added bonus of individual brownie trifles(not the best idea I ever had due to the individual containers I used being hard to get the trifle out of...silly me.), together the beans, rice, cheese, tortillas, brownie, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream had a TERRIBLE effect on blood sugar.  Never again. It was a tasty meal but not THAT good.  I wonder how many days it will take my body to recover from putting that bad things in it along with the good things.  Well, we shall see.

I will certainly make the rice and beans again, but I will leave out the cheese.  No need for all that artery-clogging fat.  It did not add that much flavor to be worth the risk of heart attack.

Munchie Monday: Nori Burrito!

Sometimes one is just too tired to make anything fancy, but one still needs to eat at least something.  That was today for me.

We had a packet of Nori on the shelf that still has several months until expiration/best-by date.  There was some rice in the refrigerator and I had just steamed some broccoli.  I had also made some chipotle sauce which was really yummy, even though I dropped a second chipotle pepper into the bowl instead of just the one that was recommended.

Here is what I did:

Placed one sheet of nori on the counter.  (It was a square possibly 7-8 inches across)

Sprinkled on a little rice...maybe a tablespoon, but possibly a little more.

Spooned on 2-3 tablespoons of steamed broccoli.

Added a rounded teaspoon of chipotle sauce.

Folded it up more or less like a burrito. 

Ate it for lunch.

Really yummy. I will make another one.  Or two. 

Dear One was not interested. I have recently chosen never to be offended if he does not choose to eat the good food I make for him.   More for me!

Food Friday: Quick and Easy Snack - Seaweed and Rice!

When we first arrived in the mission, that very first day we went to Costco to get a blanket and sheets for our bed.  There I saw some seaweed snacks and thought instantly of the wonderful seaweed snacks that Sasha served. I loved those.  Well, we bought the giant package of seaweed snacks at Costco.  They were not the same.  Disappointing. 

Recently a dad came by the mission office with a huge open box of things for his son who is serving here. He had the same seaweed snacks. I asked if his son liked them. He said that he loved them!  He takes one sheet and picks up a little bit of steamed rice, pops it into his mouth and is in heaven.

So I tried it.  HE WAS RIGHT!!!  So good.  (You can see this is an office snack.  I did share some with others in the office.  NOT Dear One, who objects to this.  It amazes me the things he doesn't like, or doesn't want to try.  I only don't like watermelon, well, melons in general, I think.  If it is food, I can eat it.  Sadly.)

Munchie Monday: Rice Noodle Bowl with Ginger-Peanut Sauce

The other day a few missionaries were in the mission office to pick up supplies.  After they were gone I noticed a few papers left on the table where four of them had been sitting while waiting for the other two.  This is a recipe from them!  I do not know where they found it.

For the sauce in a medium bowl I put 3 Tablespoons each  lime juice, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.  Added 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 Tablespoon ground ginger,  nearly a Tablespoon sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes.  I whipped until well combined and set aside.

What I actually did since I did not have the cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers is that I sautéd a large sweet onion along with one red bell pepper sliced thin.  Cooked the rice noodles according to package...which was that I put them in a bowl and covered with boiling water and let sit for 8 minutes or so.  Drained the noodles and put the sautéed vegetables and noodles in a large bowl and poured the sauce over the top then tossed.  They were ready to eat.  Yummy.  Mostly.

These are the noodles we used:

This is what they looked like ready to eat:

The crazy thing is DEAR ONE ATE TWO BOWLS OF THIS STUFF!!!!!!  Unbelievable.  And the next day he ate the rest. Unheard of!  Funnily enough, I did not like is as much as I thought I would.  Isn't that a pretty pass?!

Food Friday: Homemade Veggie Burger Sandwich!

We eat veggie burgers around here.  I am still trying to make one that works as far as flavor, texture, ease of construction, and enjoyment.

This is the one I made this week.

This picture was an open-faced sandwich that I had to start eating with a fork.  It was delicious!  The layers were: toasted one hundred percent whole wheat bread, smear of Homemade Balsamic Mayonnaise, one Roma tomato sliced sort of thin, slice of sweet onion, Homemade Veggie Burger, sauerkraut on top then sprinkled with Montreal Steak Seasoning.  It was so good and stuck with me for hours.

Here is how I made the veggie burger.  I am sorry I don't have a really specific recipe just the method, but the method worked.

We had some leftover squash soup, some leftover rice glop (my term for rice and other ingredients that have become a more or less solid mass since I failed to stop the cooking in time), some leftover cooked pinto beans.

Started heating our cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat then made the veggie burger mixture.

In a large bowl I placed the very flavorful squash soup--about 2 cups of it, 1 1/2 cups of the cooked rice, and 2 cups of cooked pinto beans. I used a potato masher to smush them up until I was satisfied with the texture.  Some of the beans were still mostly whole.  At this point I added about 3 Tablespoons of leftover thick pizza sauce, about a teaspoon of Montreal Steak Seasoning, and a good big glug of Worcestershire sauce. Then I threw in about 2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats. I mixed these all together very well.

By this time the cast iron frying pan was hot so I added a Tablespoon of coconut oil and let it melt.  Using a 1/2 cup portion scoop, I scooped four mounds of the veggie burger mixture into the pan, pushing down on each mound with the back of the scoop to make a nice neat round burger about one-half inch thick.  I let them cook, still over medium heat, for 2-3 minutes or until I thought they were solid on the bottom. I then flipped them, cooked them longer on the second side then served to Dear One along with French fries. I had some mashed potatoes and salad with mine.

The upshot:  these taste really good.  When they came off the frying pan they were too soft for my Dear One's palate but he did think they tasted good.  This was for lunch.  At supper time I got the two leftover ones out of the refrigerator and found that they had become much more firm. Yay!  When I warmed up one for my own supper (Dear One did not want a repeat...usual story there...) it softened up again but still worked as you can see on the sandwich photo.

There was enough of the "batter" to make four more veggie burgers the next day using a smaller scoop, which was quite large enough.  I felt justified in eating two of them!  After all, what could be wrong with beans, rice, oatmeal, and squash?!

This is still not the perfect veggie burger (especially since I don't have an accurate list of all the ingredients in all the components) but is on the way to getting there. Something about the oatmeal firms them up, I think.

Food Friday: The General's Surprise

Always looking for ways to improve our healthy food options, I read a recipe for General Tso's Cauliflower Healthified which somehow showed up in my emailbox.   Since I had recently had a chat with Dear One about our menu choices I decided to give it a try.  Well, what is not to like about General Tso's sauce?!  And cauliflower? You cannot go wrong with cauliflower.

So I made the recipe.  The sauce was delicious.  The oven baked breaded cauliflower was nice and crisp.  The rice was brown.

This is what it looked like on the plate:

When Dear One asked me what it was I told him it was General Tso's Surprise.  He ate several pieces before he asked what it was.  When I told him it was cauliflower his enjoyment in the meal immediately faded.  Funny guy.  I said, "You know you love it."  He said, "I did until I heard I was eating cauliflower!"  Really funny guy.

Well, there was more for me, I guess.

Next time, and there will be a next time, I will not bread the cauliflower. I will just roast it and then douse it in the delicious sauce.   It won't be crispy or look sort of like fried chicken, but it will be healthified by me, and much healthier than breading.

Instant Pot Food: Vigo Rice

So far, after about two months, I am still so very happy with the Instant Pot (IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6 Qt/1000W)  that I purchased on Amazon after watching multiple YouTube videos using this piece of equipment. It is worth saving up the money to purchase one. I am only sad that I was unaware of the special cyber sale day in July when they were 50 percent off!  Maybe Black Friday in November will have them available someplace for a good savings if you want to get one.

Anyway, this is a meal I made recently.

Dear One did not want leftovers.  Well, what else is new?!!  I thought with the instant pot I could make a pretty quick and easy meal with no leftovers.  Of course, the possible problem here is that there would not be ENOUGH for a meal....

What I did:

Washed, cut in half and removed the seeds and pithy membranes from one red bell pepper then chopped finely. (Vegetable chunks of any reasonable size are not welcomed by Dear One so VERY TINY pieces need to be provided, and that is tiny pieces PRIOR to cooking!)

Peeled and cut in half one sweet onion.  Rapidly sliced the onion.  (Had accident with the sharp serrated knife...)

Tossed the pepper and all the onion  into the instant pot then added the contents of the Vigo yellow rice package plus 2 cups water.  At this point I was not sure of what settings to use because everyone does things differently with their I-pots.  I pressed the "Manual" button then decreased the time from 30 minutes to 8 minutes.  I think I had already put the cover on and moved the gadget on top to pressure or steaming or whatever it says.  And walked away!

When the pressure had built up (probably about 10 minutes, maybe a little more) the timer started counting down.  When the timer dinged I was so happy. I left the pot in the warming mode for about 5 minutes then VERY CAREFULLY moved the gadget on top to "Venting" and let the pressure go down instantly (more or less instantly because I had let it alone for 5 minutes...) and removed the cover with the steam escaping out the back AWAY from my face.  (Did not want to add scald burns to my face in addition to the sliced finger to go with this meal...!)

Finished Vigo rice supper.  Yay!  It worked.

The rice was beautifully cooked and tasted pretty good.  We will probably have this again.  After I buy more emergency Vigo rice packets...

There was enough for two servings.  NO LEFTOVERS.