Sides

Name: Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 16 min
Yield: 2 cups
Cuisine: N/A
Ingredients: 1 cup Brown Rice; 1 1/4 cup Water; 1 tsp Salt

Classic Corn Casserole

October 18, 2019 by Sarah Leave a Comment

Corn casserole, corn pudding and spoon bread are all possible names for the same dish – Whole Corn, Creamed Corn, Sour Cream, Butter, Eggs and Jiffy Corn Muffin mix. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

The variations, though, come in your extra additions or subtle differences in the combination of ingredients. If you ask anyone on my mom’s side of the family, Corn Casserole consists of whole corn, creamed corn, butter, eggs and crushed up saltine crackers. It’s a perfectly acceptable interpretation of corn casserole, but I very much prefer corn muffin mix to the saltine crackers.

Ask someone else and they’ll tell you that corn casserole should have chopped jalapenos and shredded cheese mixed in. Again, a perfectly delicious option.

That is the beauty of this dish. You have a basic, fool-proof recipe in which you can customize to your heart’s desire.

Corn Casserole Variations

Add 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice to the batter. Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top. Bake as usual.
Mix in one drained can of diced green chilies before baking.
Amp up the sweetness by added 1/4 cup sugar to the batter.
Add 1/4-1/2 cup crumbled bacon to the batter.
Do any combination of the above for an even more interesting interpretation.

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Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice

March 8, 2019 by Sarah Leave a Comment

Cooking brown rice doesn’t have to be a daunting, time-consuming task. Instant Pot Brown Rice takes one-third of the time and it is completely hands off. You simply add all the ingredients and let the pressure cooker do the work.

I like to cook a large batch of brown rice at a time. Each batch gets split up for several meals and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for up to three months. To freeze rice, let it cool completely after cooking. Then spread it in a thin layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a baking liner and freeze. Once frozen, you can transfer the rice to a freezer bag. Freezing in a thin layer prevents it from freezing in a solid block.

Cooking your rice in advance can save you major time when you’re ready to cook dinner. You can reheat refrigerated or frozen rice in a non-stick skillet or use the rice to bulk up your meals.

My favorite thing to do with cooked rice is make skillet meals by adding a protein, some vegetables and some seasonings to kick it up. Take two cups of cooked rice, add one cup of salsa and one drained and rinsed can of black beans. Sauté it so the flavors can come together and top with cooked taco meat for a delicious Taco Bowl.

Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe

Yield: 2 cups

Perfect Instant Pot Brown Rice

Have perfect brown rice on the table in a fraction of the time by cooking it in the Instant Pot.

Prep Time 1 minute

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 16 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup Brown Rice
1 1/4 cup Water
1 tsp Salt

Instructions

Place Rice, Water and Salt in the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.
Cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes.
Let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then release pressure.
Lightly stir with a rubber spatula to allow remaining moisture to evaporate

Notes

This recipe is a ratio. It can be doubled, tripled or even halved based on how much rice you need with the same cook time.

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Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 55 Total Fat: 0g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 585mg Carbohydrates: 11g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 0g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 1g

How To: Slow Cooker Black Beans

February 22, 2019 by Sarah Leave a Comment

bowl of cooked black beans with ingredients

Slow Cooker Black Beans are the way to you when you are on a tight budget. Dried beans are one of the best choices for a healthy, filling meal whether your food budget it tight or not. A batch of cooked black beans costs pennies and have great flavor when you make them yourself. Of course, canned black beans are also affordable and great in a pinch.

Why Use a Slow Cooker?

Cooking beans in your slow cooker eliminates the need to soak them overnight. It is also nice that you do not have to babysit a pot on the stove. You literally combine all of the ingredients and let it cook for 6-8 hours on low.

When making black beans, I use a lot of aromatics to add a lot of flavor. I use my black beans for soups, chili and Mexican dishes so the aromatics lend themselves to the dishes. If you are looking to use your black beans for desserts (yes, this is totally a thing), you may want to omit everything but the salt.

This same process can be used for almost any dried bean or lentil. How will you use your Slow Cooker beans?

Yield: 6 cups

Slow Cooker Black Beans

Slow Cooker Black Beans are incredibly easy, affordable and delicious. The bay leaves, onion and garlic impart amazing flavor.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb Dried Black Beans, rinsed
Water, enough to cover by 2-3 inches
3 Bay leaves
2 tsp. Salt
4 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 Red, Yellow or White onion, roughly chopped

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on low 6-8 hrs. The black beans should be soft when done. Remove the bay leaves after cooking.
At this point, you can drain the black beans, but I like to reserve some of the liquid for Black Bean Soup or to serve over rice.
Black beans will keep in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Notes

You can crush the garlic and cut the onion into quarters if you would like to remove them after cooking. You will still get the flavor.