Instant Pot-ober : Instant Pot Chili + A GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the Larson Lingo's annual Instant Pot-ober 

(formerly known as Crocktober since 2011)

Out with the OLD (Crockpots!) in with the NEW (Instant Pots!)

Every October, I post one of my favorite Slow Cooker Recipes & declare it "Crock-tober"
2 years ago I got an Instant Pot & used my Instant Pot for my Crocktober post and I haven't looked back. I have been using my Instant Pot instead of my Crock Pot for the past 2 years and I am in love.

Instant Pot-ober doesn't have a ring to it like Crocktober does, but oh well ;)

As a working mom, an Instant Pot (or Crock Pot) is a staple during the Fall & Winter months.
They make my life & dinner time so much easier!

I am so excited to share this recipe with you. Everyone in my family loves it.
When Kevin and I got married 16 (!!!) years ago and one of my bridal showers, the hostess knew I loved to cook so she sent a blank recipe card with the invitation and asked everyone to fill out the recipe card with a tried & true recipe. The hostess put them in a binder for me & as a young wife of 23 years old, I had a great little collection of recipes!
This chili recipe was one of the recipes that was given to me by our family friend Jenna.
I have tweaked & changed the recipe a little bit (the original doesn't call for diced tomatoes, but we like those added in) and I converted it from a stove top to Instant Pot!

Here is what you need:

• 2.5-3 lbs of Beef Stew Meat (cut in 1 inch cubes)
• 1 T minced garlic
•  1 cup diced onion
•  1 can of beef broth
• 3 cans of chili beans (or pinto beans)
• 1 cans of diced tomatoes with green peppers/onions
• 1 1/2 t cumin
• 1 T Italian Seasoning
• 3 T chili powder
• 1 t salt
• 1 t pepper 
• Splash of Olive Oil

Directions:
Press the SAUTE button on your Instant Pot:

Add a splash of olive oil, the meat, diced onions & minced garlic.

You are going to saute this for a couple minutes to get the meat browned:

Then, add in the spices:

Saute for another minute or so, just to get everything coated:

Then add in the diced tomatoes & beans (drained):

Add in the can of Beef Broth:

Give everything a big stir:

Then put the lid on your Instant Pot turn the knob to SEALING:

Cook on Manuel HIGH PRESSURE for 18 minutes:

After it is done cooking for 18 minutes, When time is up, let it do a natural release for 15 minutes. If there steam left, do a manual release.
When you open the lid, it will look like this:

Give it a big stir & you will be able to see how tender the meat is:

It is ready to serve! We like to garnish it with sour cream, shredded cheese & cilantro:

This Chili is so good...we love having beef chunks rather than ground beef.

I also serve this with Cornbread & whipped honey butter:

To make whipped honey butter, buy whipped butter and let it sit out on counter until soft. Then spoon into a bowl & add honey. Mix together & viola! Whipped Honey Butter!

We hope you love this Chili as much as we do!

It feeds a crowd and is very filling.

Enjoy!

You could make this in a crock pot, you would just add all the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. If you wanted to brown the meat, you could do that before hand.

In honor of my 8th Annual Crocktober Post which is now Instant Pot-ober, I am giving away THREE Instant Pots!

THREE lucky people will win THIS Instant Pot....a 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker--Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Saute/Browning, Yogurt Maker, Steamer & Warmer!

You can keep it for yourself, give it as a present....the holiday season is right around the corner!

 

I am OBSESSED with it & I am excited to give one away to 3 lucky readers!

But....that's not all! Those 3 people will ALSO get a $100 Amazon Giftcard!

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

Giveaway ends next Monday, November 5th.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

Once school starts, our lives get busy...very busy.

Back to School also means the start of the soccer season and this year all 3 kids are playing soccer.

3 kids with 2 soccer practices each means 6 soccer practices a week. 

Kevin is coaching Luke's team and I am coaching Claire's team so that just adds to the chaos.

Meal planning is a MUST for me since this time of year is so crazy. 

All 3 kids have soccer practice on Thursdays from 5-6, so it's so important that on those days I have dinner ready to go as soon as we get home. 

Because of this, I use my Instant Pot on most Thursdays.

I dump all the ingredients in & turn it on before we leave for soccer practice and when we get home, dinner is ready! 

Because the weather is still warm for us in August/September, I'm not into my Fall cooking mode of soups & casseroles just yet. A month or so ago, I created this Burrito Bowl recipe and it's a hit! I knew I had to share it with you guys!

Here is what you need:

 - One 2.5 lb bag of frozen chicken tenderloins

-1/2 bag of frozen Bell Peppers/Onions (I love the fire roasted from Trader Joe's)

- 1/2 bag of frozen corn (I love the Trader Joe's roasted corn!)

- 1 can of black beans, drained

- 1 can of diced green chilies

- 1 (12 oz) jar of chunky Salsa)

- 1 packet of Taco Seasoning

- Lime Juice 

Directions:

Dump everything into your Instant Pot:

 Then I add a few squirts of lime juice to the top and give the mixture a big stir:

Then put the lid on your Instant Pot turn the knob to SEALING:

Cook for 12 minutes on manual high pressure:

 After it's done cooking, let it naturally release pressure for 10-15 minutes. Then when you take off the lid, it will look like this:

 I always check a piece of chicken to make sure it's cooked because I'm a freak show about making sure food is cooked. LOL.

 The chicken is cooked & falling apart! 

If you don't have an Instant Pot yet....what are you waiting for?!?!?!

You could make this in your Crock Pot...dump everything in and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

There will be a lot of liquid in the Pot from the chicken & peppers, so get a strainer and strain it in your sink:

 I let it strain for a couple minutes & then I put the mixture into a serving dish.

 Now it's time to make your Burrito Bowls! When we make these, I use either Brown Rice or Quinoa. Use whatever you like. I am obsessed with these from Trader Joe's:

 You can find them in the freezer section and each box has 3 packets (each packet has 3 servings) You heat them up in the microwave for 3 minutes. Easy & quick!

(They also have white rice if you prefer that)

After your rice or quinoa is done, it's time to pretend you are at Chipotle and make your Burrito Bowl!

On the bottom, I add rice & the chicken mixture:

 Then I add guacamole (or you could add fresh avocado), sour cream & fresh salsa:

 I sprinkle on shredded cheese & some fresh cilantro:

 I also like to add shredded lettuce. It makes it taste fresh & I love the crunch of the lettuce.

 You could even add some crushed up tortilla strips. Or, you can make it an actual burrito and serve this in tortillas.

I hope you love this meal as much as we do. 

It's easy, quick & healthy! 

Enjoy!

Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

As you know, I am pretty much obsessed with my Instant Pot. I have had mine for almost 2 years and I haven't used my Slow Cooker since I got my Instant Pot! In fact, when I finished my 40 bags in 40 days this Summer, I donated by Slow Cooker! Can you believe it?!?! I figured if I haven't used it in almost 2 years, why keep it? I'm all about the Instant Pot!
One of my favorite things to make in my Slow Cooker is Ribs.
{Here is my Slow Cooker Ribs Recipe}
The Slow Cooker Ribs are amazing...they are fall off the bone. They are more of a Fall/Winter Recipe & I serve them with mashed potatoes. I knew I wanted to try out Ribs in my Instant Pot and make them with a rub & more like they were BBQ'd.  I tried these out several times this Summer and I'm ready to share the final recipe. They are SO good!!!!

 Here is what you need:

Instant Pot (this is the one I have)
3-4 lbs of Baby Back Pork Ribs
1/4 c brown sugar (forgot to add it to the photo!)
2t Smoked Paprika
2t Chili Powder
1t Garlic Powder
1t Cumin
1/4 t Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1t Garlic Salt
1t Sea Salt
1t Pepper
1/2 t Liquid Smoke (I got it here)
1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 cus water
BBQ Sauce

Combine the ingredients in a bowl for the rub...brown sugar, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic salt, sea salt & pepper:

Mix Together:

Put the rub on BOTH sides of your ribs.
(No photo of this because my hands had rub all over them!)

Open your Instant Pot and pour in 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar & Liquid Smoke.
Then place the trivet in the Instant Pot (this comes with your Instant Pot)

 Now wrap the ribs around the Instant Pot liner:

Then put the lid on your Instant Pot turn the knob to SEALING:

Cook for 20 minutes on high pressure:

After it is done cooking, keep the Instant Pot closed for another 15 minutes and THEN release the pressure.
Your ribs will look like this:

Carefully take out the ribs and lay them on a cookie sheet that is covered in foil:

Brush BOTH sides of the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Our favorite BBQ sauce is Kinders.

Then place the ribs in a 375 degree oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove the ribs & serve!

If you don't want to turn on your oven, you can BBQ them for 5-7 minutes instead. 

These ribs are also FALL OFF THE BONE!

So tender & juicy.
 I hope you love these ribs as much as we do!
And, if you havne't gotten an Instant Pot yet, what are you waiting for?!?
Go buy one, you will love it, I promise!