Instant Pot Spaghetti

Let me start by sharing that I've always considered spaghetti to be a quick and easy weeknight meal.  I'm not Italian (although I do love some Italian food) and for me, it was a matter of boiling water and heating some sauce while the pasta cooked.  But then along came the boyfriend and he wanted more (ground beef or meatballs, peppers, and onions) and it became much more effort.  However he loves the way the sauce comes out in the instant pot (in this recipe from TheKitchn, so I am back to it being a quick and easy dinner!  Yay!  Now this is the part where I say, if you have an all day Sunday sauce that you make, you probably aren't going to be as happy (I find that if you have a really good recipe for anything and then try an alternate, you're never as happy with it).  And yes, it's not really *faster* than boiling water and cooking the pasta while you heat the sauce.  But it is simpler since it's all in one pot.  You brown the beef and then add the sauce and pasta and seal and you can go sit while it comes to pressure and cooks.  Or you know, make garlic bread if you want.


INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups water, divided
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara or tomato-based pasta sauce
8 ounces dry spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Turn an electric pressure cooker on to sauté. Once heated, add the olive oil and beef. Break the beef up into large pieces with a wooden spoon and season with the salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook, stirring and breaking the beef into smaller and smaller pieces, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Turn off the sauté function and add 1/2 cup of the water to the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck-on bits. Add the sauce and stir to combine well.

Break the spaghetti strands in half and spread them in one or two layers over the ground beef mixture. Do not stir from this point on.

Rinse the pasta sauce jar with the remaining 1 1/2 cups water (pour the water into the jar, twist on the lid, and shake gently) and then pour the water over the pasta. Remember — no stirring here.

Seal the pressure cooker. Set to cook on HIGH pressure for 8 minutes. The cooker should take between 10 and 12 minutes to come up to pressure.

Open the pressure release valve (quick release) as soon as the 8 minutes cook time is up. Open the pressure cooker and stir the spaghetti into the sauce. Turn off the pressure cooker and remove the insert from the pressure cooker. Serve immediately with a flurry of grated Parmesan cheese.

Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese

I haven't shared any Instant Pot / multicooker meals on here, and I realized I probably should.  Now let me take a moment to state a couple of things.  One, some people get really excited about their instant pot and try to cook *everything* in there and I don't hold with that.  Some dishes / recipes need a stove top or an oven or a grill.  Two, some people don't seem to see any benefit to using an instant pot because it's not in fact "instant".  It takes time to come to pressure (stuff I make is around 10 minutes) and there is a bit of a learning curve for how to put everything in there (follow recipes - don't try to wing it at first!).  When I share the spaghetti recipe I make, I will explain the differences and why the instant pot can be useful.  So anyway, I was reading TheKitchn (on feedly) and saw this post about 10 Instant Pot Beef Dinners to make and the last item caught my eye, so I decided to make it Saturday night.  And it was so easy!  It's not terribly photogenic, but it did taste good.

Set an electric pressure cooker to sauté and add 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, add 1 pound lean ground beef and cook, breaking up the beef and stirring, until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Turn off the heat, add 1 teaspoon onion powder, 3 tablespoons ketchup, and 1 tablespoon yellow mustard; stir to combine. 

Add 1 pound short, dry pasta (such as cellentani), 4 cups water, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and stir to combine. Lock on the lid, make sure the pressure valve is set to seal, and use the manual setting to set for 5 minutes of high pressure. It should take about 10 minutes to come to pressure. Quick release the pressure. Turn the pressure cooker off.

Add 3 cups shredded cheese (such as American, mild cheddar, or Colby) and 1/2 cup half-and-half, and stir, stir, stir. Cover and let sit for 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Sloppy Joes

I have realized that I have never posted Sloppy Joes on here.  We (the boyfriend really) found this recipe a number of years ago and we made it and called it good.  And then I tried to make the stuff in the can (I was looking for a quick and easy dinner one night) and ... omg - I just can't eat that stuff any more.  The flavor isn't right, etc etc.  So now I make this on the regular.  It's actually still pretty easy, chop your veg, a bit of browning the meat, add all the ingredients (start measuring out while you're tending the beef), and then let it simmer for a half hour.  I usually size it up to 9 servings and use a pound and a half of ground beef - that way I'm sure there's plenty, especially if we're hungry.



1 pound lean ground beef
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
¾ cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Step 1
In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.

 Step 2
Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.