Instant Pot Jambalaya

As you know, I am currently obsessed with my Instant Pot.
I am having so much fun creating new recipes and converting old recipes to make them Instant Pot recipes.
Next week is Fat Tuesday which always reminds me of Mardi Gras....I've never been to Mardi Gras, but I have been to New Orleans.
I went to New Orleans in 2006 for a week with our church to do Hurricane Katrina relief....it was an amazing experience re-buliding homes for people who lost theirs.
While in New Orleans, I had Jambalaya... & Louisiana is known for it's delicious Cajun food, including Jambalaya.
Since Fat Tuesday is next week, I decided to convert my Jambalya recipe into an Instant Pot recipe...and it turned out amazing!

Here is what you need:

Andouille or Kielbasa sausage link, sliced

Frozen chicken tenderloins (4 or 5 of them)
2 cups of shrimp (I used frozen cooked shrimp, you can use fresh shrimp or frozen raw shrimp)

2 tsp  Creole Seasoning
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2  tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 celery stalks, sliced

2 cans diced tomatoes with peppers & onions, undrained
1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cup long grain white rice

Chop up the sausage...

In the Instant Pot push the "saute" button. When it gets hot (the display will read HOT)  Add a splash of olive oil and the sausage and saute for 3-4 minutes:

While the sausage is sauteing, chop up your celery, onion & green bell pepper:

Add the celery, onion,  green bell pepper, minced garlic & 2 cups of shrimp. Saute for another 3-4 minutes.

Add the Cajun seasoning & cayenne pepper and saute for another 2 minutes.

It will look like this..Yum!

Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes (I use the diced tomatoes that have celery, onion & peppers), frozen chicken tenderloins, chicken broth & rice.

Give it a big stir:

Then put the lid on your Instant Pot turn the knob to SEALING:

Turn to high on manual setting and cook for 10 minutes. 

When time is up, let it do a natural release for 10-12 minutes. If there steam left, do a manual release.

Open the lid and this is what it will look like.....

Because I am a freak about cooking safety, I always have to check the chicken to make sure it's cooked. The chicken was perfect! You can easily slice/cut the chicken tenderloins with a fork after they are done cooking.

Serve & Enjoy!

This meal is so flavorful. You can adjust the cajun/cayenne pepper to your liking to make it spicer if you want.

My Jambalaya has sausage, chicken and shrimp in it. If you don't like one of those meats, you can leave them out.

It took less than an hour from start to finish. It was my first time using the saute function on the Instant Pot, which was fun to try out...it works so great.

I call this recipe another Instant Pot win!

I am making this again on Tuesday in honor of Mardi Gras.

If you don't have an Instant Pot yet...get one! They are $100 right now....worth every penny!

Hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Chicken Taco Soup

I have another quick, easy & healthy recipe for you today.
This is another one of my go-to dinner recipes.
Everyone loves it.
I made up this recipe a couple years ago and I based it off my Taco Soup recipe that I make with ground turkey/beef.
I decided to swap the ground meat for chicken and the kidney beans for black beans and also add in a packet of Ranch...because, why not?
I also decided to convert this recipe to an Instant Pot recipe because I LOVE MY INSTANT POT

and I want to convert all my recipes to Instant Pot recipes.

It is just so much faster than the Crock Pot and the flavor is so much better!

If you don't have an Instant Pot yet, I w will include the Crock Pot version of this recipe as well!

We are getting another huge rain storm here in California, so I am all about making soup when we have this kind of weather!

Here is what you need:

- One 2.5 lb bag of frozen chicken breast tenderloins 

- 2 large cans of diced tomatoes

- 1 can of corn

- 1 can of black beans, drained (you can also use kidney beans or pinto beans)

- 1 can of diced green chilies

- 1 packet of Taco Seasoning

- 1 packet of Ranch

 Directions:

Add the bag of frozen chicken tenderloins to the Instant Pot (or Slow Cooker)
 

Then add the diced tomatoes (not drained), corn (not drained), black beans (drained), green chilies, packet of taco seasoning & packet of ranch:

Give it a big stir:

Then put the lid on your Instant Pot turn the knob to SEALING:

 Cook on Manual High Pressure for 20 minutes.
(You can also use Chicken Breasts instead of Chicken breast tenderloins, so if you do, I would bump the cook time to 25 minutes) 

Do a natural release for 15 minutes

(This means you don't touch anything and you let the pressure cooker naturally release)

After 15 minutes, you might need to do a manual release to get the rest of the steam out.

When you open the Instant Pot, it will look like this:

 I wanted to make sure the chicken was fully cooked, so I took some of them out & they shredded easily & beautifully! The chicken was perfect & falling apart!

 I added the chicken back into the Instant Pot and stirred it all together. The rest of the chicken easily shredded with 2 forks while in the Instant Pot.

We serve this soup with a garnish of sour cream, shredded cheese & avocado:

 I also serve it with some tortilla chips on the side.

We love it with the avocado on top...so fresh tasting!

 I make this soup several times a month because we all love it...even my kids who are picky eaters.

This soup has SO much flavor and it is so easy to make....if you an open cans & dump them in a pot, you can make this soup :)

You can make this in a Crock Pot by cooking it on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

I haven't used my Crock Pot in months since I got my new BFF....the Instant Pot....this meal was made in a fraction of the time thanks to my new BFF!

 I hope you love this easy, delicious & healthy meal as much as we do!
Enjoy!

Savory Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs

One of my go-to appetizers when we have parties are Savory Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs.
 This is a family recipe that we have been making for probably over 15 years.
I make them all the time....I can't believe I haven't blogged them before!
I knew I needed to post them because the Super Bowl is this weekend and these are the perfect Super Bowl food.
They are so easy to make & they are great for parties because you make them in a crock pot (or Instant Pot) and they stay warm in there as well.
I used to make these in my Crock Pot, but as you know I got an Instant Pot last Fall, so I am on a mission to convert all my crock pot/slow cooker recipes to Instant Pot recipes!
To say I am obsessed with it is an understatement :)
I made these meatballs in the Instant Pot and it took under 20 minutes....normally in my slow cooker they take hours!
On this post, I will tell you the Instant Pot directions as well as Slow Cooker/Crock Pot directions for these meatballs.

Here is what you need:

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 can cranberry sauce
1 cup Ketchup
1 jar of Hoisin sauce (found in the ethnic/Asian isle of your grocery store)
2 bags of Frozen Turkey Meatballs

Directions:
In a bowl, mix the teriyaki sauce, cranberry sauce, ketchup & hoisin sauce until combined 
(You could also mix in the crock pot liner or Instant Pot liner)

Place the 2 bags of frozen turkey meatballs in your Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
Pour the sauce mixture over the meatballs.

Give it a stir.
Close the lid on your Instant Pot and turn the valve to sealing, like this:

Cook on Manual high pressure for 6 minutes:

Do a Natural release for 10-12 minutes
(Natural release means you let the pressure on your Instant Post release without touching anything)
When you open the lid, the meatballs will look like this: 

Perfectly cooked through & warm.

Once again, I am amazed at how quick these cooked in the Instant Pot!

When I make these in the slow cooker, I cook them on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 and I stir them every hour. So, if you don't have an Instant Pot, that is how you make them in a Crock Pot...still very easy! I am just amazed that it took under 20 minutes to make these in the Instant Pot....you can see why I am obsessed! It's still on sale for under $100 if you haven't gotten one yet. 

I serve the meatballs with toothpicks......

And, sometimes I make these meatballs for us to have as dinner & serve them over rice or cauliflower rice.....My kids are picky eaters and they LOVED it when I served these over cauliflower rice! Yeah!

It does make a lot of sauce, so I think you could even use 2.5 or 3 bags of frozen turkey meatballs.

Of course, you can use frozen beef meatballs instead of turkey, but the turkey ones are healthier and the sauce has so much flavor that you can't tell they are turkey rather than beef.

Hope you love these as much as we do, I make them every year for our Halloween party & the Super Bowl and for other block parties. They are a definite go-to appetizer for us and great for a crowd!

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 In case you missed it.... I have giveaway going on for a Pizza Maker and a $50 Williams Sonoma Gift Card.

Giveaway ends on Friday... Enter HERE

ALSO.....If you need other appetizer ideas to have for the Superbowl this weekend, here are some of my other favorites:

Baked Chicken Nachos {Recipe HERE} 

7 layer Greek Humus {Recipe HERE}

7 layer Dip {Recipe HERE}

Corn Dip {Recipe HERE}

Perfect Potato Skins {Recipe HERE}

Jalapeno Poppers with Bacon {Recipe HERE}

Who are you rooting for in the Superbowl?
I am rooting for the Atlanta Falcons...sorry all you Patriots fans, you have won too many Superbowls lately....it's time for a new team to win :)

Plus, I have to root for Atlanta since rumor has it that their Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan is going to be the 49ers new head coach. We need serious help!

If you don't care who wins,  do you just watch for the commercials & eat the food?