Instant Pot Week #1 Turkey Tetrazinni

I am currently in the middle of a kitchen deep clean. The deep clean means getting rid of anything I haven’t used in the last three months, including ingredients, cookware and small appliances. Yeah, its brutal.

One appliance that is in danger of getting dumped are my pressure cookers. I love them and think they are a useful tool but I haven’t used them much in a lot longer than 3 months. In order to save my pressure cookers from the donation box, I am making a concentrated effort to use them more, starting with a week’s worth of recipes using the pressure cooker here on A Solitary Feast.

First recipe is Turkey Tetrazinni. A lot of people think you can’t cook pasta in the pressure cooker. You can but it is a little tricky, especially if you are using a tomato based sauce as they tend scorch on the bottom of the pot, giving the dreaded burn notice. If you like tomato based sauces for your pasta, check out this recipe at Desserts for Two to see a great recipe for Spaghetti in the Instant Pot . Its one of my favorite recipes for making Spaghetti in the Instant Pot.

A couple tips for making pasta in the Instant Pot.

1. Add your liquid first and then use a spatula to scrap the stuck on bits from the bottom of the liner if you used the IP to brown the meat. This will remove any stuck bits from the bottom of the liner and could possibly cause a burn notice.
2. Don’t add your pasta in on big clump. Add it in several different layers going in different directions. This will help keep the pasta from cooking into one big clump.
3. Don’t stir the pasta into the liquid. Just make sure it is submerged by gently pressing it into the liquid. Don’t let the pasta touch the bottom of the pot.

Turkey Tetrazinni

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From The Instant Pot Bible The Next Generation

1 TBS butter

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb turkey tenders, cut into thin strips

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/4 tsp nutmeg or cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons chicken broth

6 oz raw spaghetti, broken to fit the liner of the pressure cooker

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

Set the pot to saute. When the pot is hot, add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, 2-3 minutes.

Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the oregano, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the broth and scrape the bottom with a spatula to loosen any stuck on bits. This will help prevent a burn notice. Layer the pasta in batches over the broth. Don’t stir. Instead gently push the pasta into the liquid, making sure it doesn’t tough the bottom of the pot. It doesn’t need to be completely covered with liquid.

Lock the lid. Cook 6 minutes on high. When done, quick release the pressure. Add the cream and stir well to get all the noodles mixed in. Turn off the heat. Add the parmesan and stir until the cheese is completely melted.

When you first open the pot it is going to look like a lot of liquid is in the pot. Have faith, once you add the cream and cheese and let it sit a few minutes it will be perfect.

Whole 30 Recipe Round Up

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The most common question I get when I talk about the Whole 30 is “what do you eat?”.  I usually say “Damn good food” and show them my blog.  I have posted over 60 Whole 30 compliant recipe adaptions since I did my first Whole 30 in April.  I have tons more in my draft pile for me to work on in the coming weeks.  The thing that surprised me, as well as most people I talk about the Whole 30 to, is how much food you can eat when you eliminate so much.

Here are a few of my favorites.

1.  Magic Mushroom powder
2. Beef Stew
3. Salisbury Steak
4. Teriyaki Chicken
5. Pan Fried Sardines
6. Tuna Salad, 2 Ways (Whole 30)
7. Turkey and Cranberry Meatballs
8. Sloppy Joes

Pressure Cooker Herbed Turkey (Whole 30)

This week I am posting my Whole 30 Thanksgiving recipes. When I started A Solitary Feast my goal was to show you that just because you are a small household you don’t have to give up Holiday food traditions. This year, I wanted to show you don’t have to give up your Holiday food traditions just because you are doing a Whole 30. When I could , I did straight up adaptions of traditional thanksging recipes like turkey, and mashed potatoes and gravy. When I couldn’t easily do straight up adaptions, I tried to find things that taste so good you won’t mind they aren’t exactly like a tradional holiday recipes, like the stuffing and cranbery sauce. I hope you will find these recipes useful whether you are doing around of Whole 30 or not.

By the way, my camera picked horrible time to be at the repair shop for routine maintenance.  I clearly suck at planning these things.  But I wanted  you to have the recipes even though I don’t have pictures.

“Herbed

• Difficulty: “Easy”
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From The Complete Slow Cooking For Two cook book Pressure cooking technique by me

(2 ½ to 3- pound) turkey breast

3 garlic cloves, cut into slivers

2 TBS ghee, at room temperature

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried sage leaves

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 onions, sliced

1 cup chicken stock

Poke several holes in the turkey breast with a sharp knife. Push the garlic slivers and parsley into the holes. Rub the tukey with the ghee and sprinkle it with the basil, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Place the turkey on the trivet in the pressure cooker liner. Add one cup stock to the liner. Lock the lid and bring to high pressure. Cook 3 minutes per pound of turkey. Naturally release the pressure.

 

Thanksgiving Round Up 2017

 

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Thanksgiving is only 18 days away.  Since I was planning on doing a Whole 30 in November, I planned a Whole 30 Thanksgiving feast.  I still plan on posting those recipes this month even though I am not doing a Whole 30.   For those of you not interested in Whole 30 Thanksgiving recipes, I am posting a round up of all the Thanksgiving recipes I have posted since the beginning of A Solitary Feast so you can plan your holiday meal.  I hope you can find things to enjoy.

Brown Sugar Rubbed Turkey Breast

Wildrice Stuffing With Cranberries And Walnuts

Balsamic Honey Brussels Sprouts

Scoop And Bake Dinner Rolls

Cranberry Pie

Spiced Cornish Game Hens

Homemade Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Pie

 

Pressure Cooker Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf (Whole 30)

Sometimes it is hard being a friend,not because you don’t want to be but because you don’t know how to be. Sometimes your friend is going through something that is just tearing her apart. I Know there is nothing I  can say or do to fix the situation or make it better for her and it makes me feel helpless and a failure as a friend. I know she doesn’t feel this way about me but it is how I feel about myself.

In my head, I know all I can do is be present when we are together, let her talk when she needs to talk, cry, if she needs to cry, ignore the whole sorry mess, when she needs to ignore it. It doesn’t feel like nearly  enough.

I think that is why I was so grateful on Sunday when she asked if I could come spend the night and help her get her apartment together before our friend comes to town this weekend. Finally, I have some concrete way I can help. I can do something for her that makes a difference. The whole time she was working in the living room and I was working in the kitchen she kept telling me she was sorry she asked me to do this, she should be able to clean her apartment on her own. I tried to tell her I don’t mind we all have times we can use a hand.

At various  times throughout my life I have had people who called themselves my friend for as long as I was happy, fun and willing to help them when they had difficulties.  As soon as I wasn’t happy and fun and couldn’t help them with their problems they didn’t want to be around me.  In my book, that isn’t a friend. A  friend is someone who is there in good times and bad even when it is hard. I hope  I am suceeding for her, even just a little bit.

Pressure Cooker Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf

• Difficulty: Easy
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adapted from The Big Book of Paleo Slow Cooking

1 TBS olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 lb ground turkey

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 celery stalk, diced small

1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/8 tsp dried thyme

2-3 TBS dried cranberries

In a medium bowl, combine the onion, turkey, salt, pepper, celery, rubbed sage, rosemary, thyme, and cranberries.  Using your hands. gently combine the ingredients.  Don’t squish the meat between your fingers.  You don’t want tough, overworked turkey.  When the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, shape the meat into a loaf.  I use a 5′ x 3′ loaf pan to shape and cook my meatloaf.  You could free form it and cook it in any pan that fits your pressure cooker.  Lock the lid.  Bring to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes.  Natural release the pressure.