Rachel

Name: Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Rigatoni
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 pound of Ground Sausage; 1 teaspoon of Salt; 1 teaspoon of Pepper; 24 ounces of Pasta Sauce; 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning; 3 cups of Chicken Broth; 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream; 16 ounces of Rigatoni Noodles; 1 1/2 cups of Shredded Parmesan Cheese; Fresh Parsley (Garnish); 1 tablespoon of Garlic

Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Rigatoni

February 28, 2023 by Rachel 5 Comments

Today marks the first day of yet another busy week. We are finally ‘healthy-ish’ again. So I’m back to making regularly scheduled family meals. But we still don’t have a lot of time on our hands between practices and extracurriculars. So we need easy meals. And our newest favorite easy weeknight meal is this Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Rigatoni.

What you’ll need

We know that one of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my Instant Pot. Between the Instant Pot and the air fryer (okay, and maybe the Vitamix, too!) — that’s all I need!

As far as ingredients, here’s what the recipe calls for:

1 pound of Ground Sausage
1 teaspoon of Salt
1 teaspoon of Pepper
24 ounces of Pasta Sauce
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
3 cups of Chicken Broth
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
16 ounces of Rigatoni Noodles
1 1/2 cups of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Parsley (Garnish)
1 tablespoon of Garlic

That’s basically it. The fresh parsley is optional, but absolutely delicious.

IP Creamy Sausage Rigatoni Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Instant Pot Creamy Sausage Rigatoni

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound of Ground Sausage
1 teaspoon of Salt
1 teaspoon of Pepper
24 ounces of Pasta Sauce
1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
3 cups of Chicken Broth
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
16 ounces of Rigatoni Noodles
1 1/2 cups of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Parsley (Garnish)
1 tablespoon of Garlic

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

Set Instant Pot to sauté.
When the Instant Pot is hot, brown ground sausage until cooked through.
After ground sausage is cooked, turn off sauté function. Add the broth, pasta sauce, heavy cream, garlic, salt, pepper & Italian seasoning into the instant pot.
Add the rigatoni noodles making sure they are fully submerged into the liquid.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to seal. Set Manual pressure to 'High' for 6 minutes with quick release.
When all pressure is released, remove lid and stir in the parmesan cheese.

Garnish with parsley.
ENJOY!

If you’re looking for other easy recipes, be sure to check these out. There are so many recipes that are weeknight (and family!) friendly.

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INSTANT POT CREAMY SAUSAGE RIGATONI RECIPE

Strawberry Shortcake Adult Milkshake

January 29, 2023 by Rachel 9 Comments

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — I’m not big on Valentine’s Day. But that doesn’t mean I don’t make it super cutesy for my kids with treats and activities. But this year I’m making a conscious effort to reconnect with my husband. Our kids are getting a tiny bit older (at ages 10, 7, and 4). And it’s time to get back to regular-ish date nights. This February our at-home date night is going to include a Strawberry Shortcake adult milkshake — made with Little Debbie strawberry shortcakes!

What you’ll need

First and foremost, you’re going to need a food processor or a blender. If you have one, or have the funds, I highly, highly recommend the Vitamix. Not only can you use the Vitamix for blending up frozen desserts, but you can use it to make all sorts of other things — like soup!

But here are the must-have ingredients:

Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Roll Ice Cream
Baileys Strawberries & Cream
Strawberry Milk
1 Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Roll
Whipped Cream

That’s all you’ll need. And I will tell you, these are absolutely addicting. But be sure that you enjoy responsibly!

HOW TO MAKE A STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ADULT MILKSHAKE

Strawberry Shortcake Adult Milkshake

Prep Time 1 minute

Total Time 1 minute

Ingredients

2 Scoops of Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Roll Ice Cream
2 ounces of Baileys Strawberries & Cream
2 ounces of Strawberry Milk
1 Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Roll
Whipped Cream

Instructions

Place 2 scoops of ice cream, strawberry milk & Baileys into a blender.
Blend for 60 seconds.
Transfer to a glass.
Garnish with whipped cream & a Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake Roll.
Enjoy responsibly!

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Easy Homemade Blueberry Lollipops

January 11, 2023 by Rachel 2 Comments

After the busy holiday season, with all of the extra candies and cookies and treats, I *try* to start the year off by starting fresh. Part of that means being mindful of what meals we eat. Now, I’m not saying that it’s perfect — because it certainly is not. In the last two weeks we’ve had pizza takeout twice. It’s about making small changes in moderation. Hopefully some of it will stick around. One of my favorite ways to make changes is by trying my hand at from-scratch recipes. These easy homemade blueberry lollipops are a simple way to try your hand at making candies for your family.

What you’ll need

This recipe is a little different than others I’ve shared. It requires a candy thermometer. If you haven’t used one before, no worries. I swear it’s not as complicated or as intimidating as it sounds. Try the one I’ve linked above — it has a handy clip for the side of your pot!

Besides that you’ll need lollipop sticks, a lollipop mold, and the following ingredients:

sugar
water
light corn syrup
cream of tartar
Blueberry Flavoring
blue Watkins natural food Coloring

Tips to make these easy homemade blueberry lollipops

Before you get started, you’ll need to know a few things. First and foremost, prep everything in advance. If you plan on saving the lollipops for later, be sure to have corn starch off to the side and ready.

Otherwise, I promise the recipe and steps are very straightforward. And you’ll love the results!

Blueberry Lollipops

Yield: 12

Blueberry Lollipops

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/16 teaspoon cream of tartar or half of 1/8 teaspoon
½ vile of Blueberry Flavoring
25 drops of blue Watkins natural food Coloring

Supplies

12 lollipop sticks
Lollipop mold
Candy thermometer

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

Prepare your lollipop molds by placing them on a flat counter near your saucepan so the transfer is quick. Add your lollipop sticks to your lollipop mold.
In a saucepan, add sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar. Mix.
Place the hook of your candy thermometer to the side of your saucepan.
Bring all your ingredients to a boil, mixing often with a wire whisk.
Continue to whisk until your candy thermometer reaches the temperature of 260°F. Add in your blueberry Flavoring and Food Coloring. Whisk.
Remove your saucepan from heat once your thermometer reaches 275°F. Immediately pour the ingredients from your saucepan and evenly distribute them into the cavities in your silicone molds. Make sure to pour over the sticks as well.
Allow them to sit and cool.
Once cooled, pop out and enjoy!

Notes

To store, you can individually wrap them in plastic, or dust them in corn starch and place them in an airtight container.

PIN FOR LATER

Air Fryer Chicken Hibachi with Veggies

January 5, 2023 by Rachel 6 Comments

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over, many of us are trying to find our footing once again with family meals. Once again we’ve been thrown back into the chaos of real-life. For many of us, that means less time to think about meal planning. If you’re in a pinch for dinner plans, this delicious Air Fryer Chicken Hibachi with Veggies is the perfect meal.

Why use the air fryer?

If you’ve followed my other recipes for a while, you’ll know I love using my Instant Pot and Air Fryer. They are just handy tools. Using the air fryer for this particular recipe just makes sense. First and foremost, it’s basically a one-pan meal. Second, the convection feature of the air fryer cooks this up quickly — which is perfect for a busy weeknight. However, this can easily be converted to a stovetop recipe in a wok.

What You’ll Need

Besides the air fryer, here’s what else you’ll need:

zucchini
yellow squash
onion
garlic
sesame oil
soy sauce
butter, salt and pepper
1 pound of boneless chicken thighs
and lemon juice.

Serve with a side of white rice and yum yum sauce!

Air Fryer Chicken Hibachi with Veggies

Yield: 4 servings

Air Fryer Chicken Hibachi with Veggies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 yellow onion
1 tablespoon of minced garlic, divided
2 tablespoons of sesame oil, divided
2 tablespoons of soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons of butter, divided
1/2 teaspoon of salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon of pepper, divided
1 lb chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
Sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces and set them aside.
Place the pie pan in the air fryer basket and add 1/2 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the vegetables and cook at 400° for 10 minutes. Shake the vegetables every 3 minutes.
Once vegetables are almost well done, remove them and set aside.
In the same pan, add the chicken thighs whole and add the remaining garlic, oil, soy, and butter. Cut the lemon in half and square the juices of one half onto the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook at 400° for 10 minutes.
Remove the chicken and chop it into bite-size pieces. Return chicken to the pan with vegetables and cook for 5 more minutes.
Return chicken to the pan with vegetables and cook for 5 more minutes.
Remove from the air fryer and let cool.
Serve with steamed rice and Yum Yum Sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds.

PIN FOR LATER

Copycat Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch

November 22, 2022 by Rachel 4 Comments

I grew up in a household were 99.9% of my meals were homemade. We had pizza on Friday nights and frequently went out for ice cream. But we rarely, if ever, ate takeout or fast food. The only ‘fast food’ we ever ate was a once in a blue moon Happy Meal. This is going to sound weird, but in high school I had a Taco Bell bean burrito for the first time and it was magical. Okay, so magical may be an exaggeration, but I just couldn’t believe that something so simple existed. And while some people have ‘drunk college Taco Bell’ stories, I didn’t really have that. I came to my Taco Bell love in a wholesome way. Ha! As wholesome as it can be. As my love for Tex Mex fast food developed, I became obsessed with one thing. This Copycat Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch is now the reason I no longer have to ever visit a Taco Bell ever again.

What you’ll need for this recipe

This recipe is certainly easy peasy. It’s not necessary, but I prefer to melt the cheese (as seen in step number 10) in our air fryer. It’s super easy. Of course, it’s not required to use an air fryer. You can just as easily melt on a skillet.

Here’s what else you’ll need:

5 pita bread, trimmed to taco shell size
2 cups shredded cheese
5 crunchy taco shells, pre-warmed
1 1/2 cups taco meat
2 cups shredded lettuce, iceberg
Diced Roma tomato, optional/recommended
Taco sauce, optional/recommended
Sour cream, optional/recommended

And that’s it! That’s all you need to make my absolute favorite fast food copycat recipe. If you try this, I promise that you’ll love it as much as I do.

Copycat Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch Recipe

Yield: 5

Copycat Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes

Total Time 14 minutes

Ingredients

5 pita bread, trimmed to taco shell size
2 cups of shredded cheese
5 crunchy taco shells, pre-warmed
1 1/2 cups of taco meat, cooked
2 cups of shredded lettuce, iceberg
Diced Roma tomato, optional
Taco sauce, optional
Sour cream, optional

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

Place the trimmed pita bread in an air fryer basket and top with shredded cheese to completely cover.

ALTERNATE: Preheat pan on stovetop at medium heat. Spray with oil. When hot, place pita bread topped with cheese in pan. Cover with lid.2.
Cook at 350°f for 4-6 minutes in air fryer until cheese is completely melted and gooey.

ALTERNATE: Melt cheese on pita on stovetop for 3-ish minutes.
Remove and place the crunch shell on the cheesy pita closing the shell inside the pita taco.
Add your meat, and lettuce and sprinkle with cheese.
To make it an exact copycat, add sour cream, taco sauce, and tomatoes to top it off.
ENJOY!

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Instant Pot Asian Pork

November 18, 2022 by Rachel Leave a Comment

My husband is obsessed with any and all Asian food. No lie. In fact, I think he eats Asian cuisine at least 6 out of the 7 days of the week. Whether it be eating pho while at the office, or making ramen — he’s obsessed. Naturally, some of his obsession has rubbed off on the rest of the family. I’ll admit — I despise cooking with a wok. We have one, but it’s just so bulky and awkward. I much prefer using an Instant Pot with similar (if not better!) results. That’s why this Instant Pot Asian Pork is the perfect meal!

So why use the Instant Pot?

If you’ve used an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker before, you’ll know that it’s the perfect way for all of the flavors to really soak into the foods. It’s the reason I will only cook spaghetti in the pressure cooker. Seriously. You haven’t tasted perfect spaghetti until you’ve tasted Instant Pot spaghetti. It soaks every bit of sauce and moisture up in the noodles. Perfection!

And the same can be said with this Asian pork recipe. Tender, juicy pork, full of all of the best Asian flavors.

What you’ll need

In addition to your favorite Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you’ll nee the following ingredients:

2 pounds of pork shoulder, boneless and fat trimmed
2 tablespoons of peanut oil (or sesame oil)
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons of raw honey
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 cup of white vinegar
2 cup of water + 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Green onions and sesame seeds for garnish

That’s it! I know it seems like a lot of ingredients, but I promise this will bring you the perfect flavors to create this recipe. And be sure to serve it with a side of rice, if that’s what you fancy!

Instant Pot Asian Pork Recipe

Instant Pot Asian Pork

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds of pork shoulder, boneless and fat trimmed
2 tablespoons of peanut oil (or sesame oil)
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons of raw honey
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 cup of white vinegar
2 cup of water + 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Green onions and sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

INGREDIENTS -

Set the instant pot to sauté and add the oil. Once hot add the pork and begin to sear the meat on all sides.
Once the pork is seared, add the ginger, garlic, and pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes more.
Cancel sauté mode and add a splash of water and deglaze the pot liner.
Pour in the remaining water, and add the chili sauce, soy sauce, and honey. Close the lid and seal the pressure valve.
Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. Let naturally release pressure for 10.
Manually release any remaining pressure and remove the pork. Using forks, shred the pork and set aside.
Drain the remaining liquid keeping 3/4 cup and set the instant pot to sauté.
Mix the cornstarch and 1 teaspoon of water to create a slurry. Once the liquid is simmering, whisk in the slurry to thicken the liquid into a sauce.
Return the pork to the instant pot and mix so that the sauce fully coats the pork.
Serve the pork with white rice and garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds. ENJOY!