Happy Thursday, Lovelies!

Tonight I am going to share my first run at Keto baking with you!

I'm still going strong eating 90% whole30 compliant foods but I have thoroughly enjoyed my 'free Saturdays'. I look most forward to Saturday morning, its quiet, peaceful and I get to pour that first cup of  weekend coffee & add all the International Delight Oreo flavored creamer and sugar I want! It. Is. HEAVEN. And let me just say, I add ALOT. I basically go into a sugar coma by 8:30am. 😃

Last Friday, I was in the mood to bake. I wanted to bake something that tasted delish but was also guilt free. I find that even when I indulge in a  sweet treat, I am conscious of the ingredients I use. That's what living a healthy lifestyle is all about isn't it?

My boss/food mentor told me about the below recipe and I was dying to try them out! Here there are! They come from my new fav Keto blog: Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind. (Also, THAT IS THE BEST BLOG NAME) I am low-key jelly that I didn't think of it first!

Keto Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 C butter (browned)
• 2 C sifted fine-ground almond flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 C Swerve brand granulated erythritol*
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 C Lily's Dark Chocolate Baking Chips (these are sugar free but don't worry about that)

*Pro Tip: Sub 2/3 brown sugar Swerve, 1/3 granulated Swerve. You will not be disappointed! I cant say for certain if this math adds up to 3/4, but it worked spectacularly in my batch of cookies.

These babies are expensive! But SOOOOO worth it. I promise.

First you arrange all your ingredients for a pretty picture.. This is the most important step. 😃

 

Next, you want to brown the butter. If you don't know what browning butter is, google has a really great video you can watch. You literally watch the butter brown. Its riveting! But for the sake of time, let me give you the spark notes.

1. Place butter in a heavy bottomed skillet
2. Heat on high until melted and beginning to boil
3. Reduce heat and let simmer until the butter begins to brown

WHOA. That was tough! I thought that this was an irrelevant step, I mean butter's butter am I right? WRONG. Browned butter = LIFE.

Once your butter is browned, move it off of the heat and let it cool for about 15-20 minutes. I flash chilled mine in the freezer for 10 minutes, but that's only because I see them doing it on my favorite show, The Great British Baking Show and I was pretending I was a contestant under extreme pressure. Its when I do my best baking. 😃

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. And while your butter is chilling and your oven is preheating complete the following steps:

1. Add the almond flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir together with a fork or whisk
2. Add the Swerve, vanilla and cooled butter to a second mixing bowl
3. Add eggs, one at a time, to the Swerve mixture and mix until well incorporated
4. Slowly add the flour mixture until you have a nice gooey dough
5. Add the choco chipies. I added the whole bag by accident, but a little bit on purpose because I love me some chipies

Once you have your cookie dough formed, FLASH CHILL this sucker in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

When your dough is chilled, line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and place 12 equally sized dough balls (dough balls? I cant think of what else to call them?) onto the cookie sheets with enough space between them so that they do not touch while cooking.

These cookies need to be baked on the center rack of the oven for about 12-15 minutes each batch (don't cook them both at the same time). It will be extremely hard to wait for these cookies to be done. They made my entire apartment smell like the inside of a cookie factory. It's my new favorite scent. Au de Bailey's Friday Night Chocolate-Chip Cookie. (Patent Pending)

They will be ooohhhh soooooo ooey gooey when you remove them from the oven but trust me, you want to let them cool for 20-25 minutes (minimum) and they will melt in your mouth in the best way possible. If you don't wait, they will fall apart, burn your mouth and make a mess of your kitchen. So just wait.

 

My recipe yielded about 24 cookies, and since I'm on this strict M-F nonsense, I froze most of them. I accidently ate one of them from the freezer last night (whoops) and they are still absolutely delicious!

These are the best cookies I have had in a LONG LONG time. The chocolate chips... amazing, the brown sugar substitute… amazing, the finished product... AMAZING. I would highly recommend giving these a try if you love to bake or if youlove to eat cookies. And when you bake them, send some my way! I will never not have these cookies on hand. I have about 18 still in my freezer and I'm strongly considering baking them again tomorrow! A+++++++.

Until next time, sweet treat lovers. ❤

OK!

I have GOT to get it together and organize a cadence for posts because it has been way too long since my last post. I have no excuses. I'm just lazy.

I recently completed 69 days of doing whole30 and I will be the first to admit that my recipes get quite boring while on the program.  Its all about convenience and that makes for a redundant couple of weeks. Chicken and broccoli for lunch, grilled turkey burger with homemade French fries for dinner over and over and over. BOR-ING.

Upon the completion of whole30 day 69 I have decided to live by the 85/15 rule. That means that I will comply with the whole30 program from Sunday to Friday and allow myself to eat WHATEVER I want on Saturday. WHATEVERRRRRRRRRRRRR I want. I tested this out this past weekend and I learned two things. 1. I don't like how I feel after I eat fast food & 2. I can not be trusted around Oreos.

Today is Monday (the worst), so I am back to eating whole30 compliant foods. I wanted to make something fun enough to do a blog post on so I searched my Pinterest board and found a yummy 'comfort' food. So here it is.

Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders - sounds delicious right? That's what I thought too.

Ingredients:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup organic coconut flakes
1 tbsp. non dairy milk

SIMPLE. Just how I like a weeknight recipe. Its just 5 ingredients and takes 20 minutes from start to finish! What's not to love?

The first thing I did (after staging my ingredients for a class picture of course) was preheat my toaster oven.

Gangs all here!

Y'ALL. If you don't have a toaster oven. GET ONE RIGHT NOW. It is literally the best purchase I have ever made (next to the IP and wifi enabled crock pot). It heats up fast, cooks the food evenly, and doesn't heat up your whole house! Perfect for summer cooking. I have a middle of the road ($80) Hamilton Beach model and I would highly recommend. HIGHLY.

Whew. Are you still with me? Ok.

While my toaster oven was preheating, I prepared the chicken. First, it says to lightly tap the chicken breast with a rolling pin until it is all the same thickness. I didn't have the patience for this 'lightly tap' nonsense so I hit it with a hammer.

I next cut the chicken into even strips and began the dredging process. Dredging, what a strange word. I took each strip, soaked it in the egg/milk mixture, dropped it into the coconut flour and finished by rolling it in the flakes. So far so good!

Once my strips were ready, I popped them in the preheated toaster oven for 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

Buy me. Buy me. Buy me!!!

The chicken tenders smelled AMAZING! I love the smell of coconut and my mouth was watering. I was also getting hangry so I decided to have a snack while I waited for the timer to ding! My bestie and I went to the farmers market this weekend and I ended up getting fresh made salsa from the Mama Hoots both. Mama Hoots. There was probably 10 different booths selling homemade salsa but I had my heart set on Mama Hoots. I stopped at Fresh Thyme today specifically to pick up my Siete brand 'tortilla chips' so I didn't have to eat my salsa with a spoon. Siete makes these chips using all natural ingredients and cassava flour.

They are amazing. They are amazing. They are amazing.

DING. (Thank God! I almost ate the whole bag)

My tenders were done! The first thing I noticed about them was that they were pale AF. Like PALE. Like redhead in the sun pale. I thought to myself, hmm, coconut is white that's why they aren't golden brown but I bet they will be crispy. I put them on my plate and pulled out my Primal Kitchen BBQ Sauce (sugar free).

I was ready to stuff my face.

The first bite was bad.

The second bite was bad.

The third bite... BAD.

Let me get one thing straight. I am extremely disciplined. I will eat ANYTHING in order not to waste it. The way I see it, healthy food isn't always going to taste the best but I always remember why I eat the way I do. Food is meant to fuel your body and that's it. But these... THEY WERE BAD. The only way I can explain them is, cardboard rolled in notebook paper confetti. Literally. The chicken didn't even taste like chicken. I was basically dipping cardboard in sugar free BBQ sauce. I couldn't finish them.

BAD.

So I went back to my delicious chips and salsa.

Whoa. I don't want to end on a negative note. So please enjoy this picture of Boone stalking birds from his new favorite hangout spot (just close enough to the shower curtain that it touches him). We have a glass shower door and I had the bright idea to put a curtain up to hide it and its his absolute favorite go to spot. He's there right now as a matter of fact. What a weirdo.

Until next time.

IM BACK!!! Hey friends, it's me Bailey. 💜

It has been FAR too long since my last post and frankly I'm ashamed! Life threw a few curveballs my way (like 1 billion), and it derailed me for quite some time BUT I am finally starting to do the things I once loved again (and a few new things too) 😊

Here's a few things you missed this past year. I...

• Moved into an AMAZING apartment. Like really you guys. This place is beyond gorgeous.
• Started a new job with a FAN-****ING-TASTIC company. To say I love the work I'm doing would be a tremendous understatement.
• Finally joined a book club! (sorry Nana, your BC will always be OG)
• Learned to knit & crochet. WHOA. #grandmastatus #sorrynotsorry
• Have become obsessed with plants... like really obsessed.
• Started to train for my first 5k. And I am absolutely rocking every minute!
• Discovered my love for the whole30 program and not only have I successfully completed several rounds, I have also become disciplined enough to make it a lifestyle. #dedication

So much more has happened this last 405 days (yes I googled it), but those are the things I am most proud to share! 😊

 

And while I have changed so much about the way I live my life, some things haven't changed. Like my fascination with scouring Pinterest for fun new recipes to try. With my transition to eating whole30 (ALL THE TIME) it has become even more enjoyable to cook my way through the 10,000 pins I have saved. Using food as fuel is not as hard as I thought it would be and it actually is extremely rewarding. Take my most recent meal prep for an example.

 

Cajun Style Jambalaya w Spaghetti Squash

 

Okay first of all, let's take a moment to notice that this recipe does not call for Cajun seasoning!!! How they get away with calling this 'Cajun Style' Jambalaya is a mystery to me. But oh well, even with it's ironic name, this jambalaya turns out spicy and delicious!

 

Boone is totally creeping in the background 😂 

 Ingredients:

• 1lb shrimp
• 1lb chicken sausage (I used Aldi's 'Mild Sweet Italian') 
• 45oz (3 15oz cans) tomato sauce
• 2 bell peps (green)
• 1 onion (yellow)
• 2 celery stalks (diced)
• Spices; Cayenne, Paprika, Red Pepper Flakes, Garlic Salt, French Thyme, Oregano - to taste
• S&P - to taste
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 med-large spaghetti squash

 

 

 

This has got to be the easiest meal prep, EVER! Thanks to the best kitchen appliance there is, the IP! If you've read any of my past posts, you may remember the love/hate relationship I've had with my Instant Pot. Mostly because for several months I was TERRIFIED of it exploding. I have since realized that its safe, effective, and downright amazing.

 

Step 1: Poke several holes in your spaghetti squash

 

Step 2: Fill your IP with 2 cups of water (the most important step in avoiding explosions) and place your spaghetti squash onto the metal rack

 

Step 3: Set your IP to the 'steam' setting for 25 minutes (20 minutes for smaller squash)

 

 

 While your squash is steaming, get to work the following:

 

 

Step 4: Heat oil in a large skillet and add the shrimp

when hot

 

Step 5: Dice the sausage, peppers and onion and add to the hot skillet

 

Step 6: Once the ingredients become fragrant, add the tomato sauce and stir to coat

 

Step 7: Add all seasonings and stir to coat

 

Step 8: Set heat to 'low' and simmer for 15-20 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

Let your IP perform a natural release and once it has depressurized, cut the squash down the center and let cool for 5 minutes. (I did NOT let my squash cool and burnt all 10 fingertips, so this step is highly recommended) 😊

 

Finished product = YUM!

 

 


Once your squash is cool, you can start to assemble your prep containers! I added a little extra S&P to my prepped squash to mix in when served.

 

This 100% whole30 compliant meal prep makes 7ish servings and is JAM-PACKED with flavor! I have been searching for something exciting to eat for lunch and this takes the crown! It is just spicy enough to make your nose run which is exactly how spicy I like it! 😊

That's it! This recipe takes 10 minutes to prepare and about 45 minutes from start to finish! One thing I love about using the IP is that I can simultaneously be doing other steps while its working its magic! (its also nice not to have to heat up the oven)






I hope you have enjoyed my re-entrance into the blogging world! I've certainly enjoyed sharing this with you all!

 

Be on the lookout for my next post. I'm not sure what I'm going to feature BUT I did get a grill about a week ago and I'm basically a grill-master so its safe to say I'll be grilling up some goodness. Stay tuned. 😊

Happy April Blogger friends!!! 😏

I have been away for a little while handling all of life's challenges, but I am back to share my kitchen mishaps and cooking journey with you all!

This past month has tested me in all sorts of ways! Emotionally, mentally and physically! But I am ready to start April with a fresh outlook and move forward one day at a time, the best way I know how. MEAL PREP!

I have really let my meal prep fall by the wayside, so that was the first thing I did to kick off April right! I ordered my groceries online.. (still amazballs 😏) and after an effortless trip pick up my goods I was ready to rock and rolllllll!

I love zoodles sooooo much, so I decided to prep Pesto Chicken with Zoodles! 5 glorious days of zoodle goodness, and I. CANT. WAIT. to dig in at lunchtime today! (after my workout of course).

Pesto Chicken with Spiral Zucchini (zoooooodles) 😏

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 container pesto (about 1 cup)

4-5 medium zucchini

3 Tbsp EVOO

S&P to taste.

THATS ALL! This is one of those meals that is healthy for your wallet too!

I am slowing becoming more comfortable with pan frying chicken, so I decided to try and make my chicken this way even though all I wanted to do was bust out my Instant Pot!!! I cooked these babies slow and low. Initially browning the outsides in the hot olive oil, I covered them and let them cook at a lower temp for about 30 minutes before I felt they were cooked fully. While my chicken was cooking, I got busy spiraling my zucchini, and boy am I out of shape

I set those on a plate, washed out the pan (who wants zoodles cooked in chicken juice, YUCK!) and popped in my zoodles with a little S&P and a bit more olive oil! I gave the pan a few stirs to mix up all the seasoning, and then covered them for about 5 minutes to cook. I find that the more you cook, the easier it is to get the consistency just right!

That was all! It was time to assemble! I put my zoodles in my containers, cut up the chicken and dispersed evenly and topped with a lovely green heap of pesto! These meals were looking amazing!!! And my apartment smelled like heaven!

I popped the lids on and stacked them up in the fridge ready to go for the whole week! Darn that feels good!! 😏

Along with this easy peasy lunch meal prep, I also prepped 10 hard boiled eggs for breakfast and my snacks for during the day. I usually pack a snack for 10am and a snack for 2pm to keep my metabolism going strong throughout the day! For my morning snack I pack 1/4 cup of grapes (purple of course), 1 halo and a baby bell cheese. It is about 150 calories of sweet and savory goodness!! For my afternoon snack I pack 8 baby carrots, 6 strips of orange pepper and a tablespoon of red pepper hummus, it is amazinggggggggggggggggggg.

I also always pack a bag of skinny pop popcorn, an apple and a banana to eat at my discretion during the day. This feels a lot like the road to success I've once known so well! 😏
The review on this meal prep is A+++. It was soooo good! What a filling and tasty dish to have for the middle of the workday! I am usually looking forward to trying something new each week, but I think this wins for the foreseeable future! If you haven't tried zoodles. Do it. If you haven't tried pesto. Do it. If you haven't tried them together, you haven't experienced a life worth living! DO IT!

Stay tuned to find out what's for dinner! Ill give you a hint, its a vegetarian take on a classic pasta dish! YUM!!

Quick side note... Boone and I have recently given our apartment a mini face lift.. check out how adorable he looks laying on our new rug! 😏😏😏

Happy Monday blogger friends! I'm going to post about something a little different today! A topic that is near and dear to my heart, MEAL PREP!

I love meal prepping! After moving to Omaha, and becoming more and more focused on health and wellness, I discovered the amazing benefit to meal prepping! The thing I love the most is how EASY it makes the rest of the week! Grab and go breakfasts, lunches and snacks that are healthy and guilt freeeeee! YASSS!

After the trauma of 2017, (getting in a car accident, losing my job/starting a new career, and entering into a new relationship) (Ok that last part wasn't traumatic 😏) I had lost ALL motivation to do any sort of meal prepping. I found myself eating like a 5th grader. A sandwich, fruit, chips, POP and a sweet. Or grabbing something easy, and FAST (fast food). Or eating leftovers from the night before. Now these things aren't bad every once in a while, but they just make for a boring, unhealthy and redundant lunch hour. I wanted to be excited about food again! I wanted to feel that sense of accomplishment after prepping a weeks worth of HEALTHY meals!

So I did.

Recently, I discovered the process of ordering groceries online. I have seen post after post from friends and family who have been doing this for a while and I just never took the plunge! Well in the spirit of all the changes I have been making, I decided to DO IT! And let me just tell you, it is LIFE CHANGING! I sat on my butt, meal prepped from Pinterest while simultaneously adding the items I needed to my online cart, chose a convenient time to pick them up and that was it! SO CONVENIENT! I went out to breakfast, did some laundry and cleaned out my refrigerator all before it was time to go get my groceries. (Like there were other people doing my shopping for me? WHAT!) Using the app, I checked in, pulled into one of the designated spots and BAM! There they were! Brought to me, and loaded into my car! WHAT?! REALLY?! Yes. It was like living in a dream. I will never buy my groceries the same way again! If you haven't done this yet, DO IT! I was hesitant at first, but boy am I a believer today!

This made meal prepping a cinch! I was so excited to get to it!

I started by making some Chocolate muffins for Reno. He likes his breakfast to be of the grab and go variety, and muffins are great for that! Baking up enough for him to have 3 a day, my apartment was smelling like Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

As the muffins were baking, I prepped MY breakfast. I absolutely LOVE overnight oats! Not only is it super easy to make but its healthy as well and the options are endless! I decided to do one I've never done before, Strawberry Coconut Overnight Oats with Flax Seeds (for and extra kick of health in the morning!) Its so simple! All I did was mix the oats, cashew milk and plain Greek yogurt together, added a pinch of flax seeds, a dash of vanilla extract and mixed it all up until blended well! I cut up 3 strawberries per serving(5 servings total), and topped them off with unsweetened coconut flakes! That's it! DONE! Popped them in the fridge to chill overnight and it was on to the next prep!

Lunch prepping is really important to me, I typically head to the gym over my lunch hour so when its time to eat I need something healthy, filling and worth the wait! This week I decided to do Bang Bang shrimp with zucchini noodles and couscous! Sounds delicious right? YUP! This recipe was also extremely easy to make! I got a veggie spiral-er (is that a word?) for Christmas a couple years ago, and I LOVE IT! I made my zoodles and heated them up in some olive oil until they were tender! YUM! After those were cooked up, I started on the shrimp and couscous (Boil water, put in couscous..). HOLY BUCKETS! The shrimp needed to be peeled and deveined.. WHAT! You're meaning to tell me that I have to pull them out of their shells AND pull out those gross little black 'veins' (you cant fool me, I know what that is!) UGH! I committed to this recipe, so for the next 15 minutes, I was elbows deep in shells and veins. YUCK! (I'm still having shrimp vein flashbacks..)

The good thing about shrimp is that it cooks up soooo fast! So while those were cooking up, I made the sauce! I mixed together Greek yogurt, hot sauce, sriracha, honey and lime juice! This made for a sweet yet spicy shrimp sauce! Once my shrimp were nice and pink, I tossed them in the sauce until they were nice and coated! Added them to the containers with the zoodles and cooked couscous, and WHAM! Lunch was served! So amazing!  I continue to amaze myself. I am like my own cheerleader, patting myself on the back for a job well done!

The last thing I prepped was my healthy snack! This was the easiest of them all! I have these great little containers (from the container store, the most amazing place on earth!.. besides Target 😏) that fit my snack so perfectly! About 1/3 cup of grapes, 1 halo and a string cheese. Just over 100 calories, this snack is easy to prep and even easier to eat! LOVE IT!

I love love love meal prepping! I was able to meal prep 5 days of breakfasts x 2, 5 days of lunches and 5 days of snacks in under 2 hours! When I ate my prepped meals today, IT FELT AMAZING! I feel like I have my life together when I successfully prepare meals, and STICK to eating them!

Here is to finally committing 100% to the New Year New Me resolution! I have been doing pretty darn good with most of it, but not all of it. TODAY IS THE DAY MY FRIENDS!

Let me give you my 2 second review on the recipes I chose, BOMMMMMMBBBBBB. The lunch was so amazing, I had to refrain myself from licking my container while at my desk. It was THAT good!

Now, go and get your meal prep on!

P.S Meal prepping is exhausting, just ask sleepy Boone!

ITS TUESDAY!

I hope you are all having a FANtastic week so far! Here in Nebraska it is COLD and a BLIZZARD. Like really. Is it time for weekends by the pool yet? I am hoping that my readers are enjoying my posts! If you make it through this next one, leave me a comment and let me know which one has been your favorite so far! Do you like the IP posts? Vegetarian? Or do you like when they are short? Long? LET ME KNOW! I welcome your feedback and am looking forward to reading what your thoughts are! 😉

Todays post is another rendition of 'What else can Bailey make in the Instant Pot?!' (spoiler alert: the options are endless, so buckle up folks!)

I absolutely LOVE Chicken Marsala! Who doesn't? I have made it on the stove top and in the crock pot too many times to count, but last night, I used the Instant Pot and OHHHH BOYYYY was it a game changer! I feel like I am in this new relationship (with the pot) and we are in this honeymoon phase where everything is perfect. I would characterize the relationship with my IP as being, sunshine and rainbows (its THAT good). And because I cant go more than 24 hours without spending some time with my new love, I whipped up a killer dinner last night and you guys HAVE GOT to try this!

The recipe is as listed below, with my edits! 😉

Pressure Cooker Chicken Marsala -

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 chicken breasts, because there is 2 of us...)

S&P to taste (among other spices)

2 cloves minced garlic 

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup Marsala cooking wine (I used regular Marsala wine, because the grocery store sucks)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup cornstarch (I used flower because my mom said I could 😉)

Fresh parsley (optional) (we went without)

Cooked egg noodles (we used rice, because we have to change everything about all recipes)

So now that we have our ingredients in order, lets get pott-ing! Insta-ing!? Hmm, maybe I just created an online phenomenon! Probs not, so lets move on.

Ok, so this recipe is BOMB. It is so easy to do! I filled my pot with some olive oil (the recipe said to spray your chicken with cooking spray, um WHAT? So I did NOT do that because WHAT?). Once the shock of the first instruction wore off (WHAT), I turned it to the sear function, let the oil get hot and I dropped in the chicken breasts (S&P'd) to brown on both sides. This only took about 3 minutes per side which was amazing! While my chicken was searing, I chopped up some goodies (the mushrooms and garlic) so that they were ready to go! Once the chicken was browned to my likening, I added the chopped mushrooms, garlic, Marsala wine, more S&P and some garlic salt! Once that was all in and looking scrumptious, I closed the lid and set it to manual high pressure for 7 minutes. SEVEN MINUTES. Whoa, this thing is nuts.

While my chicken was cooking I got to work on the rice. That took me 30 seconds, so I did some push-ups while I waited.

Just kidding, I cant do a push-up, so I sat on the couch for the longest 7 minutes of my life! DING DING! The dinner bell was ringing! I let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes before releasing the rest. Once I cracked that lid open, I knew we had done good! The smell alone was enough for me to know this was going to be amazing! The picture above does not do it justice you guys. That sauce was bubbling, the chicken was perfect and the steam was ALL OVER my camera lens!

 

I pulled the chicken out, set them on a plate and finished up by returning the IP to sear, bringing the contents to a boil and adding the flour and chicken broth (which I mixed to avoid clump-age). I stirred it for about 3 minutes until thick, returned the chicken to the sauce and let it simmer for a minute. But that was it. I couldn't wait any longer, it was time for dinner! YOU GUYS.

Holy hell this is good. I could not get enough! Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am basically Julia Childe, and those are just the facts.

I had dinner prepped, cooked, eaten and cleaned up all before 6:30! That is unheard of! 2 thumbs up, 5 stars and 100% on rotten tomatoes. You guys need to go out, get an instant pot and make this RIGHT NOW! You will not be disappointed!

Also, just a quick question unrelated to food. How does my cat become a model because COME ON!

Until next time! 

 

 

 

Happy Thursday Blogger Friends!

I have taken a small hiatus from blogging (it has been one heck of a January), but I am BACK and ready to share my latest recipe with y'all. So giddy on up! (How do we feel about the accent? Not my style?) Oh well, HERE WE GO!

Baked Potato Soup. Who doesn't love a good BPS? I have made many variations and have loved it more and more each time! I have made it on the stovetop, in the crockpot, with broccoli, and last night, I made 10 - Minute Baked Potato Soup in the INSTANT POT! WHOA! How does that even work? Potato's cant be cooked under pressure? This sounds like madness.. 

(Narrator) And madness it was.

The recipe is as follows (with my edits of course) :

Baked Potato Soup

5 lb bag of potatoes (I used about 8 Russet Potatoes)

1 large shallot minced (or 3 tbsp. minced onion)(I used onion and threw in some garlic too)

5-6 cups chicken broth/stock (I used stock, less calories)

4 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup softened cream cheese

1/3 cup sour cream (I used plain Greek yogurt)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used Colby Jack because its WAY better)

Dash of S&P and any additional spices desired 

1-2 cups milk (depending on how thin you want your soup) (I added ZERO CUPS.. Stay tuned)

Bacon crumbles (optional)

Green onion (optional)

This seemed easy enough.. (it was not)

I started by searing up the garlic and onion in a little EVOO. It doesn't call for this, but it makes the flavor SO MUCH BETTER. I love this setting on my IP! It eliminates the need to transfer your seared items and locks the flavor in! After searing for about 3 minutes, I added the diced up potatoes and filled the pot with chicken stock until the liquid just covered them.

Popped the lid (and sealed it of course), set it on SOUP for 10 minutes and let it do its THANG. I was so excited to use the soup function. It is really no different from the others I have used, but it is my goal for 2018 to use all 10 settings on my IP ULTRA! Challenge accepted!

It was so simple, I had no clean up and nothing else to prepare so I sat down to relax.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. This thing really lets you know when its done! I let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes before releasing the rest. While the steam was whistling I could start to smell the yummy soup that was waiting for us inside. I opened the lid and it looked great! The potatoes were so tender that they mashed up with no effort. Reno stepped in to help and added the butter, cream cheese, sour cream, Colby jack cheese and spices of our liking to the pot and mixed it up until smooth. That is where our problems began.

The potatoes DISINTEGRATED! POOF GONE! We went from thinking we were going to have a thick hearty soup, to stirring up hot POTATO WATER. YUCK.

I was PISSED! What the heck am I supposed to do with HOT POTATO WATER. NOT what I was expecting AT ALL. Good thing I am a quick problem solver, I immediately popped some more potatoes in the microwave while Reno added a flour/water mixture to the completed 'soup'. We had just made enough potato water to feed a small country, so there was no way we were going down without a fight.

The flour was starting to thicken the soup up, its a miracle how that works! And ding ding ding, the potatoes were ready! Reno cut the potatoes into chunks as I watched with my fingers crossed hoping these additions would make the soup edible. After about 10 minutes we had our verdict.

IT WORKED! THANK GOODNESS!

Our Potato water was beginning to look more like soup by the second! I got all the toppings out and we were ready to rock and roll! Reno and I like to top our soups (and really all our meals) in very different ways! I like mine classic, with Greek yogurt (sour cream), bacon crumbles and a little more cheese (because why not!) while Reno likes his DRENCHED in SRIRACHA!

We finally sat down to eat, and boy was it worth the wait! This soup is creamy, flavorful and delicious! The only downside to a soup like this is the amount of servings it yields! I used less of everything and we still got enough to portion out for the next 100 days. If excess soup is my only complaint, I would say that this recipe is pretty darn good overall! I will definitely add more potatoes next time.. I'm always learning.