Bean and Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

Avocado Smash

• 15 oz can no salt added cannellini beans rinsed and drained
• 2 avocados pitted, peeled and chopped
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup parsley roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup basil leaves roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Tomatoes

• 4 Roma Tomatoes cut in half, seeds and juice removed
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Pinch each of salt and pepper

Toast

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 slices thickly cut gluten free bread
• leaves Basil for garnish
• Fleur de sel for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Toss the tomatoes with the oil and spread out onto a baking sheet, cut side up. Add the garlic into the cavities of the tomatoes, drizzle with balsamic and add a pinch each of salt and pepper. Lightly press the tomatoes down to flatten.
• Roast until the tomatoes soften and caramelize, about 20-30 minutes. Allow them to cool compltely, then carefully remove and discard the skin.
• Meanwhile, add the beans, avocado, lemon juice, parsley, basil, garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor and puree until smooth.
• Once the tomatoes are finished, brush the bread with the remaining oil and toast on the bakign sheet in the hot oven until lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• To assemble, divide the avocado between the four slices of toast, top with a piece of roasted tomato and garnish with the fresh basil leaves and fleur de sel.

Sourdough

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE STARTER FIRST DAY

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet
• 3.5 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar

STARTER FOR FOLLOWING DAYS

• 2 tbsp starter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup room temp water
• pinch of sugar

BREAD INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1.25 cups water
• 1 cup starter

Directions for starter:

• Combine starter ingredients in non metallic bowl (glass preferred). Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
• When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
• When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!

Directions for Bread:

• Combine bread ingredients and mix:
• by hand 20 min
• mixer 7 minutes
• Place dough in greased bowl and let rise 45-60 minutes until doubled. I just leave it in the mixing bowl and put a lid on it to let it rise.
• Lightly grease loaf pan
• Deflate the dough (I just put the mixer back on with the dough hook for 1 minute)
• Place dough in loaf pan, let rise for 60-90 minutes
• Preheat oven to 350
• Bake bread for 40 minutes
• Remove bread from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

I like serving with whipped garlic herb butter.

Instant Pot Bottom Round Roast

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2.25 pounds bottom round roast 
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper .5 cup red wine
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 medium onion (cut in half and then in slices)
• 1 pound carrots (washed and cut in chunks)
• 5 medium potatoes (Yukon gold, washed and cut in chunks)
• 1 stalk celery (washed and cut in half lengthwise and then sliced)
• 1 large sprig roasemary
• 1 large sage leaf
• 1 teaspoon oregano (dried)

Instructions

• Open meat package and pat it dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper both sides of the roast
• Plug Instant pot in and press the sauté button. Let the IP heat up (the display will display "hot") and add olive oil and once that heats up add the roast fat side down. Sauté for 3 minutes and flip to the other side for another 3 minutes. Remove and set aside
• Add wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the IP insert to deglaze. Make sure to get all the flavor crystals
• Add the meat back into the IP, then add broth, onions, rosemary, sage and oregano
• Seal the IP and make sure the venting knob is in the sealed position. Press pressure cooker button and set the time for 35 minutes
• Once the IP beeps, let it rest for 5 minutes, then do a quick release. See notes on how to do that
• Add carrots, potatoes and celery. Seal IP and make sure the venting knob is sealed. Press pressure cook button and set timer for 10 minutes - the IP won't take as long to come to pressure this time
• Wait 10 minutes before doing a quick release or you can wait for the pressure to release by itself
• Remove meat to a platter and take the vegetables out of the broth
• Take two forks and shred the meat however large or small you want it
• Plate some meat and veggies and ladle on some gravy

Insta Pot traditional Asian style chicken bone broth soup

INGREDIENTS

1. 3.8 lb whole chicken
2. 2 medium size loose carrots, cubed
3. 2 ½ cups daikon raddish, cubed (use a vegetable peeler to peel the outer skin first then cube)
4. 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced (rehydrate the mushrooms a night before and keep the mushroom water)
5. 3 tbsp goji berries, optional
6. 4 large Chinese red dates, alt. medjool dates
7. 2 tea leaf bags mixed variety of Chinese dry herbal ingredients for chicken stew use, optional, (ginseng, astragalus root)
8. 2 ½ tsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse the chicken under cold water. Pat dry. (optional) trim the chicken skin and extra fat.
2. Place the whole chicken in a large size about 6 Qt. pot. Add all the ingredients 
3. Fill the pot with mushroom water and cold water up to 3.5 Qt. (* leave extra room to prevent over boiling)
4. Press “Soup” - High Pressure - Normal - 35 mins.

Instant Pot Chicken Taco Meat

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
• 1 pound chicken breasts 8 ounces each
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1 fresh lime optional, but highly encouraged

Instructions

• Pour chicken stock into pressure cooker. Add in taco seasoning and mix well. Place chicken breasts in chicken stock and top chicken with salsa. 
• Close pressure cooker and point vent knob to sealed position. Cook on high pressure for 9 minutes for fresh chicken breasts, 13 minutes for frozen chicken breasts. 
• Let pressure release naturally.
• Remove lid from pressure cooker and shred chicken using hand held mixer or two forks. Add zest and juice of fresh lime to shredded chicken and mix well.
• Serve as base for chicken tacos, in burrito bowls or in enchiladas. 

Insta Pot Chinese Sticky Rice

Ingredients:

• 2 handfulls of dried shitake, soaked in water to rehydrate, then sliced to slivers
• half package of chinese sausage, chopped up into tiny pieces
• 3-5 scallions, chopped then separate whites from greens
• 1 cup sticky rice
• 1 cup water
• soy sauce

Cooking:

• put insta pot on sautee, and brown sausage and scallion whites
• add mushrooms, sticky rice, and water (make sure to use as much of the marinated mushroom water as possible and add water to complete the 1 cup) to the insta pot
• cook on rice setting (14 min?)
• let it natural release for 10 min then release rest of pressure before opening
• Add soy sauce to taste (usually a few shakes)
• garnish with scallion greens and serve

INSTANT POT CHICKEN AND RICE CONGEE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package of costco chicken thighs (no bone)
• 7 cups water
• 1 cup rice
• 1 teaspoon of ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• soy sauce – for serving
• sesame oil – for serving
• green onions (scallions) – for serving (about 3)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine water, rice, frozen chicken, and ginger in the pot
• Set insta pot on normal porridge setting, let it start
• Use Natural Release when the cycle is done
• Open the lid very carefully. Remove the chicken pieces into a bowl and shred (I usually save about 1/2 cup of this to feed my very spoiled dogs). The congee may seem watery.
• Use the SAUTÉ function, and cook, stirring the congee until your desired thickness. The congee will thicken as you stir it. It will also continue to thicken as it cools a bit.
• Add the chicken meat back into the congee as well as a splash of sesame oil and soy sauce for flavor. Finely slice the green onions for garnish. 
• Turn off the Instant Pot. Taste and add salt, as needed. Ladle the congee into bowls and top with green onions.