instant pot ginger garlic drumsticks

I love how my new Instant Pot is inspiring me to try new recipes again.  Cooking and eating was becoming a blah experience.  I enjoy having something new to look forward to toward the end of the day.  Everyone enjoyed the chicken.  The meat is always so tender from the Instant Pot and full of flavor.  What will I try next?

instant pot ginger garlic drumsticks (Living Sweet Moments) 
12 chicken drumsticks, skin on 
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey 
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
2 garlic clove minced1 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced

In the instant pot, mix the sauce ingredients: water, soy, honey, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, and onion until combine.
Add chicken drumsticks and push them down so they are submerged in the sauce as much as possible.
Cook on high for 10 minutes.
Let the drumsticks cool for 5 minutes before releasing the steam.
Release the steam.
Remove the drumsticks and place on a cookie sheet with a lip lined with foil.
Push the saute button so the sauce boils and starts reducing.  Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water and stir into the sauce to thicken.
Pour sauce over the drumsticks and place sliced onion over the top.  Broil for 2 minutes on each side.

Note:  I doubled the sauce ingredients.  I'm glad I did because my family enjoyed the extra sauce on sticky rice.

pressure cooker teriyaki chicken

I asked my friend with a pressure cooker for a favorite recipe so I don't waste any time with so-so recipes and she enthusiastically shared this recipe, which she makes weekly for her family.  My family LOVED it. 

pressure cooker teriyaki chicken (Dee-Anna found this recipe on allrecipes.com)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 cup chicken stock
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used frozen from Costco)
2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional
2 tablespoons cold water, optional

Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic powder, pepper, crushed pineapple and juice and chicken stock and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved.
Place chicken thighs in the pressure cooker and pour in the sauce.  Stir gently to coat.  Bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, maintaining high pressure.  Cook for 20 minutes.
Stir cornstarch into cold water and set aside.
Reduce the pressure using the rapid-release method.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a serving dish; cover with foil and set aside.  Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce, bring the mixture to a boil, and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 3 minutes.  Serve the chicken topped with the teriyaki sauce.

instant pot beef gyros

My husband got me an Instant Pot for my birthday and after trying it out using this recipe...I LOVE IT!  This is a great recipe.  These beef gyros were incredibly tasty.

instant pot beef gyro (My Crazy Good Life)
2 lbs. beef roast, thinly sliced (I bought the carne asada meat because it was thinly sliced)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Pitas or Naan bread, or Flat Out pitas

tzatziki sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup cucumber peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp. salt and pepper
2 tbsp. fresh dill

toppings: sliced carrots, sliced onions, sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, feta cheese

Directions for Instant Pot Beef Gyros:
1) Turn Instant Pot on saute and let the pan warn up. When it’s warm, add oil to the bottom of the pan and let it get hot.
2) Add meat, seasoning, garlic, and onion to Instant Pot. Sear and let onions soften for 3-5 minutes.
3) Pour lemon juice and broth over the meat. Give the meat a quick stir, then lock lid into place. Turn the steam valve to sealing. Using the Meat/Stew preset cook the gyro meat for 9 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 3 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure using the quick release method. 

Directions for Instant Pot Beef Gyros  stove top directions in italic):

1) Turn Instant Pot on saute and let the pan warn up. When it’s warm, add oil to the bottom of the pan and let it get hot. Do this on your stove top. 

2) Add meat, seasoning, garlic, and onion to Instant Pot. Sear and let onions soften for 3-5 minutes. Same directions for stove top. 

3) Pour lemon juice and broth over the meat. Give the meat a quick stir, then lock lid into place. Turn the steam valve to sealing. Using the Meat/Stew preset cook the gyro meat for 9 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 3 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure using the quick release method. Add lemon juice and broth, cover, let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

orange marmalade bbq chicken

My young son made this delicious chicken for dinner tonight.  True story.  I've been having each my kids make dinner one night per week and it's a smashing success!  If I had made this chicken myself he maybe would've eaten one drumstick.  He ate three!  He couldn't believe how delicious they were.  One of my daughters who doesn't like chicken ate it too!  Everyone loved it.  Three ingredients.  Three!

orange marmalade bbq chicken (slightly adapted from Lord Byron's Kitchen)
16 chicken drumsticks
1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
1 cup Smucker's orange marmalade
salt and pepper, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray  a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with foil (that's what I did).
Position the drumsticks on the sheet, skin side up and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Now stir the marmalade and the barbeque sauce together in a bowl and set aside.
Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon the sauce on top of each piece of chicken.  Use half the sauce.
Return the chicken to the oven and bake another 20 minutes.
Once again, remove the chicken from the oven and spoon more sauce onto the drumsticks.
Bake 10 more minutes.
Now spread the rest of the sauce over the chicken and bake 10 minutes more.
Serve and enjoy!

no churn two ingredient ice cream

I was spoiled today from morning til evening with delicious meals from my husband for Mother's Day.  For dessert he made crepes and my oldest daughter pulled out this no church two ingredient ice cream that she made.  The ice cream went into crepes with more strawberries and Nutella than you have probably ever dreamed of.
This ice cream is decadent. (And not overly sweet like store brand ice cream.)  My kids decided I should stop buying ice cream and stock up on whipping cream and sweetened condensed milk.  My daughter says you can add vanilla extract or other extracts to the mix or whatever add-ins appeal to you like chopped cookies or fruit.

no church two ingredient ice cream
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups whipping cream

My daughter says she poured the two ingredients into a bowl and used a hand mixer to whip it up until it formed soft peaks.  She poured it into a freezer safe bowl and froze it overnight. 

candy piano

We had a La La Land party because we had some celebrating to do so I looked online for party ideas and found this easy piano!  I didn't know where to find white chocolate kit kat bars so I texted a friend and what do you know- with her help I found them on the first attempt.  That's something to sing about.  (Tip:  Fred Meyer)

candy piano (makelifelovely.com)
white chocolate kit kat bars
mini kit kat bars 

All you do is line them up on a tray- as long as you want.  This made a really easy alternative to a birthday cake!!

tip: how to cut brownies

tip:  how to cut brownies
This double chocolate mint brownie recipe is one of my most loved and requested recipes and they're easy to make so I like to take them to parties, potlucks, etc.  The only thing I didn't like about them was cutting them into bars...until now.  I shared this recipe with a friend and she came back and asked if I had ever cut them with a plastic knife.  The answer was no.  Why would I think to use a plastic knife!  She's right- a plastic knife cuts them beautifully!  I just had to share this little tip if you should decide to make THESE wonderful brownies.  Taking two pans of these delicious brownies to school this morning for teacher appreciation was a cinch.