Pressure Cooker - Mushroom Risotto

Recipe from the Power Pressure Cooker XL's YouTube, found here.

*Note* The recipes I post here are adjusted for the Power Pressure Cooker XL. You may need to adjust if you have an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• ~2 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz cremini (or any type) mushrooms
• 4 oz heavy cream
• 6 oz sherry cooking wine
• 2 oz butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• grated parmesean cheese - for topping
• fresh basil, chopped - for topping
• lemon zest - for topping, optional

Directions

1. Press RICE/RISOTTO button
2. Add olive oil, ~1 min to heat up
3. Add onions, garlic - stir up a little to "sweat" them - add salt & pepper
4. Add in this order: mushrooms, sherry, rice, stock
5. Stir briefly to mix all together
6. Place the lid on the cooker, lock the lid & make sure pressure release valve is closed
7. Press CANCEL, then press RICE/RISOTTO and then TIME ADJUSTMENT up to 13* minutes
8. Once timer reaches 0 hit CANCEL, release pressure, open.
9. Add butter, stir, then add cream.
10. Plate, top with parmesan cheese, basil & lemon zest.

*I've made this twice as of this posting (4.11.16) and both times I cooked for the recommended 8 minutes to start. Both times I wound up with too much liquid and had to re-cook for another few minutes.*

Pressure Cooker - Apple Cider Pork Loin

Recipe From http://www.powerpressurecooker.com/rsp_details.php?rpid=25

*Note* The recipes I post here are adjusted for the Power Pressure Cooker XL. You may need to adjust if you have an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• 2lb center cut pork loin
• ~2-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cup apple cider
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 apples, cored & sliced
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced dry onion

Directions

1. Season the pork loin with salt, pepper, & minced dry onions
2. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet
3. Sear the pork loin on all sides in skillet
4. Press Chicken/Meat button, add olive oil to inner pot.
5. Sautee onions in pot
6. Add all remaining ingredients & pork loin to pot
7. Place the lid on the cooker, lock the lid & make sure pressure release valve is closed
8. Press CANCEL button
9. Press CHICKEN/MEAT button, then TIME ADJUSTMENT to 30 minutes*
10. Once timer reaches 0 hit CANCEL, release pressure, open.
11. Serve with apple & onion mixture from pot.

*When I made this (only once as of 4.11.16 posting this), I cooked for 20 mins per the recipe and the meat was still undercooked in the middle. After another 15 mins, it was a bit dry. So I'd suggest a middle 30 minutes - but perhaps use a meat thermometer to test.*

Cranberry Upside-Down Cakes

Recipe From: http://roostblog.com/roost/cranberry-almond-upside-down-cakes.html

*Makes roughly 8-ish cakes. Double recipe if necessary.

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1+1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground all spice
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (MELTED)
• 1/2 cup honey
• Canned whipped cream

Ingredients for cranberry layer:

• 1+1/2 cups fresh cranberries (1 bag has plenty)
• 1 TBSP freshly grated orange zest
• 1 TBSP freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & line your muffin tin. I used parchment paper muffin cups I bought at Hy-Vee. Or, you can just cut out squares of parchment paper and make your own!

2. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and all spice in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine eggs, melted coconut oil, and honey. (Hand mixer helps)

3. Combine all wet and dry ingredients and set aside.

4. Toss cranberries with orange zest, lemon zest, and honey. Arrange mixture into a single layer at the bottom of each muffin cup.

5. Top with cake batter and cover evenly.

6. Place pan into oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown & fully cooked. 

7. Top with a dollop of your favorite whipped topping and sprinkle of cinnamon.

8. Enjoy!

Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole

Recipe from: http://cupcakesomg.blogspot.com/2012/07/paleo-sweet-potato-casserole-and-rest.html

Casserole Ingredients:

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1-2 TBSP maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• juice of half an orange

Pecan Topping Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup chopped raw pecans
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 TBSP maple syrup
• 1 tsp melted coconut oil

Directions:

1. Peel and dice sweet potatoes into large chunks.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  (I recommend using something like a soup pot. Give yourself plenty of room to work with)

3. Add sweet potatoes to water & boil until fork-tender. ~10 minutes. Turn off heat.

4. Drain potatoes, then dump them back into the large pot w/ other ingredients.

5. Using a hand mixer, blend until potatoes reach desired consistency and flavor. You may want to add a little more coconut milk, spices, or syrup based on your taste.

6. In a separate bowl, combine all topping ingredients & mix until pecans are well coated.

7. Dump sweet potatoes into an oven-safe dish and top with pecans.

8. Bake for about 15 minutes, until topping is browned. Serve warm. (I baked mine for about 20 minutes.)

9. Enjoy!! Yay!!!

Sorry it's blurry, the damn casserole wouldn't sit still for the picture.

Note: The picture on the blog where I found this one showed the casserole in a round glass dish. I realized after I was halfway through my preparation that the only glass casserole dish I own is a rectangular one. This is fine, however the sheer surface area size meant I had to increase my pecan topping quite a bit. I didn't measure how much more I added, I just sort of threw in some more pecans and a dash of everything else and added it to the rest. No worries.

Cinnamon Salted Caramel Brownies : Vegan, Gluten Free

Recipe From: BakerBettie website

Note: This is an expensive recipe. Almost all of the ingredients will come from the HyVee Health Market, and things like Almond Butter, Coconut Oil, Real Maple Syrup, and Almond Flour aren't cheap. But they are typically staples you only use a small amount of in other recipes. You use a lot of these in this recipe, but I promise it is worth it. This recipe is DELICIOUS. It is rich, so you're not tempted to eat more than one brownie at a time, so they last a while! Make it. Enjoy it. You won't regret it!

Ingredients:

for the salted caramel sauce:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 1/4 cup pure ("real") maple syrup
• 3/4 cup solid coconut oil
• 2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

for the brownies

• 1 1/2 cups of salted caramel sauce (from above)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (i bought regular cocoa powder and it was fine)
• 2 cups sifted almond flour

Directions (prepare to get sticky):

• In a large mixing bowl, combine cocoa powder and almond flour.

• Put all ingredients for the salted caramel sauce into a food processor or high-speed blender.

• Blend on high for two minutes, scraping the sides down periodically. *DON'T SKIP ON BLENDING FOR THIS LONG.* Blending for this long will create the sticky caramel-like sauce!

• Pour 1 1/2 cups of the salted caramel sauce into the flour/cocoa mixture and stir until well combined.

• Spread the mixture evenly into a lightly oiled parchment paper-lined 8x8 pan.

• Bake at 360 degrees for 12-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

• Drizzle warm salted caramel sauce over the top of the brownies. 

Earlier, I poured any remaining sauce from the food processor to a measuring cup. I now put the cup into the microwave for about 15 seconds to warm it up enough to pour.

• Allow to cool in the pan.
• Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Tortilla-Less Chicken Soup

Recipe From: Paleo Slow Cooking: Gluten Free Recipes Made Simple by Chrissy Gower

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalepeno pepper, diced (I left this out as I am a wuss when it comes to spicy foods)
• 16 ounces chicken broth
• (1) 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles 
• (1) 28-ounce can enchilada sauce (I used mild, but use whatever you like for your spiciness preference!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions:

• In a medium-size pan, saute the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil until onions are translucent (3-5 minutes over medium heat)
• Place sauteed veggies in the slow cooker
• Rinse & trim the chicken breast (if necessary) and add to the slow cooker.
• Add remaining ingredients, stir, cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Notes:

I cooked for 9 hours and found it was perfect.

I added shredded mozzarella cheese to my servings as I'm kind of a wimp with spiciness! 

Also a fun add-in: crunched up pieces off HyVee Brand Black Bean & Quinoa tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Clean "Ranch" Dressing

Recipe From: Delilah
This is perfect to dip veggies in!

Ingredients:

• 1 container Chobani Greek yogurt, plain flavor
• Garlic powder, salt, pepper, parsley to taste

Directions:

• Scoop the yogurt into a small tupperware container.
• Stir in the seasonings. 

It's that easy!

Just make sure you SLOWLY add in the seasonings and taste as you go. The first time I made this, I put in WAY too much garlic and had to scrap the whole thing. But, once you perfect it, it tastes just like ranch without all the bad stuff!

Enjoy!