Teriyaki Meatballs in the Instant Pot (GF)

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I’ve been using my Instant Pot for awhile now, but this was my first time ever making meatballs in it.  I was definitely nervous I was going to find ground turkey teriyaki mush instead of balls.   I was also very surprised (and happy!) that the meatballs stayed together with no gluten!  I found these Gluten Free Chickpea Breadcrumbs that leave the perfect amount of crunch as opposed to regular breadcrumbs and I thought they were the perfect compliment to this recipe.

1 pound of meat fit perfect in 1 layer in my Instant Pot.


I browned the meat on all sides,

and while it was browning, I mixed the sauce together.

After browning, I poured the sauce in and set it on Manual 10.


I let it naturally release pressure for 10 minutes and served immediately.

I served mine with some pineapple on the side to add sweetness.

Meatballs
1lb ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used these GF Chickpea Breadcrumbs)
1 egg
1/4 cup yellow onion
1 tsp garlic powder
black pepper
1tbsp oil
1/4 tsp ginger

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use Gluten Free Tamari)
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1/4 cup water
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup yellow onion
2 tsp ginger
3tbsp oil
1.5 tbsp coconut sugar
black pepper
1tbsp corn starch

1. Add your oil to the Instant Pot and turn it on the sauté normal feature.  Gently mix together all of the remaining ingredients for the meatballs.  Form balls and place in the instant pot.
2. Once the oil is hot, brown the meatballs on all sides. While it is browning, mix together the ingredients for the Teriyaki sauce in a small bow.
3. Once the meat is browned on all sides, leave the meatballs inside the pot, shut off the sauté feature and add the sauce.
4. Set the pot on Manual for 10 minutes.  Once it is done cooking, let the pressure natrually release for 10 minutes before opening the pot.

I served this over Jasmine Rice and with pineapple on the side.

Homemade Gnocchi

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Homemade gnocchi.  I will forever remember October, 2011.   Not only because that was when we got married, but when we arrived home from our honeymoon, still being in the honeymoon mood, I offered to make my husband homemade gnocchi.  All was going well, although the kitchen looked like a cyclone hit it, when all of a sudden the power went out.  Little did we know, the power would be out for the following 13 days!  Hurricane Sandy had hit NJ pretty hard.  I had to salvage whatever gnocchi I had already boiled, pack up the dough I had yet to boil, and try to clean the kitchen as best as I could in the dark, before heading over to my mom’s house.

I always had an obsession with gnocchi- that pillowy pasta goodness that no other pasta has. With minimal ingredients, I figured why not try it? So I did, again and again. My favorite way to serve it is with homemade tomato sauce (made from Jovial Organic Crushed Tomatoes– from Italy, in a GLASS jar!). Sometimes I’ll sprinkle parmesan, sometimes feta for some creamy and saltiness. No matter how I dress up my gnocchi, the taste is still amazing.

I also learned that the key to getting the potatoes to the right consistency was to bake them, NOT boil them.  Also, a giant potato ricer definitely helps!

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An Gnocchi Stripper with Paddle helps create lines, versus using a fork.

This is the recipe I followed (I doubled it):

Ingredients
2 organic russet potatoes (you can use yukon gold as well)
2 cups of organic white all purpose flour
1 organic egg

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425.  Wash the potatoes.  Once dry, place them on a baking sheet and into the preheated oven.  Bake for approximately 40 or until slightly overcooked.
2. Let the potatoes cool, cut in half and scoop the potato out of the skin.  Place the potato inside the potato ricer and rice into a large bowl. (If you don’t have a ricer, mash the potatoes until smooth.)
2. Combine the potato with the flour and egg. Knead until dough forms a ball. Roll small portions of the dough into long “snakes”. On a floured surface, cut snakes into half-inch pieces.  If you have a Gnocchi Stripper with Paddle, you can roll the gnocchi on the surface to create lines.  You can also do this by rolling the gnocchi on a fork. (The lines are optional but they help keep the sauce on the pasta)
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi have risen to the top; drain and serve.

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Healthy 2 ingredient Half Birthday “Cake”


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When my first daughter turned 6 months, I remember buying the biggest sweet potato I could find in Whole Foods to try to turn into a mini birthday cake.  It came out soo cute, and when my 2nd turned 6 months, I knew I had to do the same thing.
I couldn’t see feeding my 6 month old a sugary cake as I’ve seen online.  In fact, my 2nd had only started solids a week before her half birthday.  This “cake” is only 2 ingredients and super easy to make!

If you have small cookie cutters, they would work for the banana.  I used a stainless steel inside of a Linzer Tart cookie cutter.  I sliced the banana and then cut out star shapes using the cutter.

For the sweet potato “cake,” it’s just sweet potato peeled, sliced extremely thick, and then I used a cookie cutter to cut it vertically.

Pumping Mama Storage


I never thought I’d be an exclusively pumping mama.  When my first was born, I HATED the thought of pumping the mere *1* time a day I pumped, just so I could have a bottle of milk for my husband to feed.  The feeling of the pump, the sound of the pump, I found it anxiety inducing and uncomfortable.

Then came my 2nd child.  The day she was born we found out that due to health reasons, she was physically unable to nurse.  It took me about 10 months to morn over the loss of nursing relationship I imagined I’d have with her, and it took tons and tons of willpower and motivation to get me to pump what felt like all day, everyday, for 1 year.  LUCKILY the 2nd time around, I had more milk than she needed at times.  That frozen stash was then able to get me to a year of pumping and breastmilk for my baby.

Since breastmilk really is liquid gold, I needed a way to organize it so I was using the oldest first.  From my previous daughter, I had learned that the more reliable and strongest breastmilk storage bags were these Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags.  The trick is to initially freeze them laying flat, and then store upright.  But then what happens when you run out of room in your freezer?

You buy a deep freezer!  We purchased a deep freezer and kept it in the laundry room.  I went to the dollar store and purchased about a dozen gift bags (these bags are cheaper than the dollar stores!).  I then went through all of the milk bags (wearing a pot holder because it was just too cold after awhile!), and organized them by month.  Then I started filling the bags with the oldest date of the month first.  I used the gift tag that the bag came with and wrote down the beginning and end date of the bags inside the gift bag.  I used this system for the rest of our pumping journey and it helped keep me sooo organized, insuring that not even a drop of milk went to waste!

Instant Pot Vegetable Fried Rice

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Ever since I purchased the Instant Pot, I’ve become increasingly obsessed with it.  It’s easy to use, easy to clean, and has a stainless steel interior which I love!

I actually got rid of my slow cooker and rice cooker and exclusively use the Instant Pot for slow cooking, making rice, and pressure cooking.

I use the pot to make lunch almost as much as I use it to make dinner.  I love making this “fried rice” for my girls for a quick and easy lunch.

Check out the recipe below!


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Ingredients
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 clove of garlic, sliced
2 cups white basmati rice
2.5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3tbsp oil (I use avocado)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 organic pastured eggs, scrambled
Coconut Aminos (I sub this for soy sauce)

Directions
1. Heat up about 2tbsp the oil on the sauté function.  Once the oil is hot, sauté the onion, garlic and carrots until the onion starts to become translucent.  Shut off sauté.
2. Add the broth and rice to the pot.  Cover pot and press the Manual button and set to 2 minutes.  Once the rice is done cooking, let it sit for 10 minutes before releasing pressure.
3. Once pressure is released, open pot and add the corn and peas.  Mix together and cover the pot for another minute or 2.
3.  Once the peas and corn are hot, move all of the rice over to the side of the pot.  Add another 1tbsp where there is no rice, and add 2 scrambled eggs.  Use the spatula to move the eggs around until cooked. Mix the eggs into the rice.  I do like to sprinkle some coconut aminos onto the rice.  Sometimes I’ll add a bit to the broth before cooking, and other times I’ll add at the end when I’m mixing the rice with the eggs.  It adds a bit of flavor, versus the sometimes too salty soy sauce.