Recipe Review from 6/7/2021

With temps hitting 95*F, I went simple and pulled out the instant pot. While the beans and meatballs were easy and relatively quick to make (each taking about an hour respectively), the house didn't stay as cool as I would have liked or hoped for. In hindsight, the IP puts out a fair amount of heat in the way of steam. And no, we don't have air conditioning. Usually we don't need AC and we don't need it in June. Toasty! Toasty!

San Miguel Mission, CA.  Artwork inside the church.

I'm going to refer you to the Milk Street cookbook for the two instant pot recipes below; unfortunately, they are a bit too long to type out here.   Sorry - no pictures. 


The Meal Plan:
Sat (L)Forestry project, lunch provided (S) pizza
Sun (L)leftover pizza (S) Grilled chicken and beans
Mon (yoga)leftover chicken
Tues - IP Meatball hoagies
Wed (yoga) leftover meatballs
Thurs (Husband out)- leftover meatballs
Fri - leftover chicken

Lunches - sandwiches, fruit, chips

Meatball Hoagies (Milk Street Fast and Slow) Instant Pot
Meat and sauce are cooked together in one pot for a nicely spicy saucy dish. While this was served over hoagies, I was thinking it would also be good over polenta, penne, spaghetti, on a pizza or even as a fun variation with garlic bread. I used 1 1/4 lb bear meat (recipe calls for 1 lb ground beef), and got about 15 golf ball sized meatballs with plenty of leftover sauce. I did freeze the sauce for a later date (thinking pizza or pasta). Recommended!

Recipe states serves 4, I got 2 1/2 meals plus sauce for later.


Beans with Quick Pickled Tomatoes (Milk Street Fast and Slow) Instant Pot
This is not your standard smokey baked beans. Using carrots, onion, and tomato paste to flavor the beans while they cook, the tomatoes are "quick pickled" (tossed with some vinegar and salt), and stirred in after everything is done cooking. If used to Bushes Baked Beans or VanCamps, this dish is going to be sweeter. I served it with grilled chicken and brats. Recommended!

Recipe states serves 4-6. I had it as a side for five meals (about 2/3 cup portions).


Pumpkin Waffles (AllRecipes) I had a partial leftover can of pumpkin from waffles I made the previous weekend. Not wanting to make waffles again, a Google search pulled up this recipe.

And this is a winner!

Thick, soft, fluffy pumpkin-y pancakes with the essence of cinnamon and spices. Served with a poached egg on top - this hit the spot for a weekend breakfast. I have two more cans of pumpkin in the pantry...I can see these happening again quite soon. Recommended!

Probably serves 4; 6 if serving with eggs and bacon or sausage.

1 ½ cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup AP and 1 cup WW)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.