Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp in my Instant Pot

Hi everyone - I'm just dying to share what we had for dinner tonight with you!

It was delicious and soo easy!

First of all, I have to thank my Wonderful Hubby, as he helped with the prep before I walked in the door from work.  He is my own AWESOME personal sous chef and follows my prep directions to the letter. Love him!!  He ROCKS!!

I bought a spaghetti squash after I saw a post on PINTEREST, on how to cook one in the Instant Pot.
There are MANY pins about this - but this one worked great - and it will be my GO TO in the future.
(even my 21 yr old who "HATES" spaghetti squash liked tonight's dinner!)

Basically, cut the squash in half - NOT length-wise, but through the middle, scoop out the seeds/guts, and place the rack that came with your Instant Pot in the pot.  Add 1 cup of water and the Squash.
Oh - don't worry, if your squash doesn't fit - the instructions on the link say to cut it in half, but my hubby had to cut one of the halves in half and it worked perfectly!!

Put on the lid, and cook for 7 minutes on HIGH pressure - and do a quick release when done. PERFECT!!!!

Meanwhile - in a skillet on the stove, saute' @ 1/2 an onion ( that is all I had, you can use more) in a little olive oil, add about 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, .....cloves of chopped garlic - (it is up to you - how much garlic to you like??)  Once they are translucent, I added, Salt, Pepper and Hot Pepper flakes to taste  - just a few shakes of each.  A pinch or two of dried basil and parsley too.  I added about 1 Cup of white wine.

I added 1 lb of cleaned shrimp, tails removed, and I cut them in half first and sauteed them until almost all pink.  I juiced 1 1/2 lemons and added that juice to the pan.  I then added 2 Teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with @ 2 teaspoons of water to the pan to thicken the sauce a little.  I tossed in a bag of baby spinach and sauteed until it all wilted a little.

Wonderful hubby was shredding the spaghetti squash with a fork at this point, and placed it in my pasta serving dish.  I then poured the shrimp and sauce over the top and added about 10 leaves of chopped fresh basil leaves.

It was YUMMY!!  We added grated Parmesan cheese before eating. This served 4 adults and I even have a nice portion left for my lunch tomorrow!!!

I hope you give it a try and ENJOY!!

Here are the ingredients in list form:

1 Spaghetti Squash
1 lb cleaned shrimp without tails - cut in half
a few Table spoons of Olive Oil
1/2 - 1 onion chopped
5-10 cloves of garlic chopped
1 Cup white wine
Juice of 1 1/2 Lemons
Dried Basil and Parsley (fresh if available)
a few shakes of Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)
Salt and Pepper
1 bag of spinach
Parmesan Cheese

Thinking back on this - I could have removed the squash from the Instant Pot and kept it warm - then cleaned out the pot and used it with the Saute feature, to cook the rest of the dish, instead of using a pan on the stove.....   LIVE and LEARN!  Will have to try that next time!!

My Breakfast "Chopped" Challenge

The Food Network show CHOPPED is one of my favorites.  Sometimes I have fun creating my own challenges for myself.  This morning was one of those times.  I wanted to make a nice breakfast for my wonderful hubby and I, so I searched my fridge to see what was on hand.

In my "Basket" I had:

A few slices of "AVOCADO" 

Sliced RED ONION

GOUDA CHEESE

SOUR CREAM

Here is what I came up with:

First, I mashed the AVOCADO and added a little SOUR CREAM, salt & pepper, and hot sauce to make an avocado cream.  

I then sauteed the sliced RED ONIONS with a little butter, then dropped an egg for each of us on top of the fried onions, and flipped them over.  I placed slices of GOUDA CHEESE on top of the eggs, and covered the pan to help cook the eggs and melt the cheese.

I toasted an English Muffin for each of us. I spread a little of the Avocado Cream on them, topped them with the fried onion and cheese eggs, along with a dollop of the Avocado Cream, fresh cilantro, black pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce, and served them with fresh fruit.

Hubby said that I nailed the "challenge!"

Happy Saturday everyone!  

Have a FANTASTIC DAY!!

((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

Hello and WELCOME!!

Hello my friends!    Yes, I have started another BLOG!!  ( I don't know what I was thinking?? )

I am sure I will be back to "tweak" everything - but for now - I want to share my first official "FOODPORN FOLLIES" post with you!!

This is what we had for dinner tonight!!

Yes, this is Sauerbraten, made in my wonderful new Instant Pot!!  Lovin' everything that has come out of it so far!!  I served it with steamed baby carrots and wide noodles.

Let me tell you - this makes A LOT of AMAZING gravy! ( So good, you are gonna want to drink it with a straw - I kid you NOT!! )   It was that good! I froze the leftover gravy and plan to make a meatloaf to serve it with another day!!

But I digress.... Here is how I made tonight's dinner:

(1) 2 lb Bottom Round Roast

Marinade:
In a sauce pan - combine:
1/2 C Red Wine
1/2 C White Sugar
3 Cups White Vinegar
1/4 C Soy Sauce
1 C Water
1 Med Onion - sliced
5 Cloves Garlic - roughly chopped
3 Bay Leaves
1 T Peppercorns
1 T Whole Cloves
1 T Whole Allspice
1 T Whole Coriander

Cool to room temp and marinate Roast for at least 1 day and up to 3 days ( I only had 1 day - and it was great!)

To Cook:
Remove Roast from marinade - Strain the marinade and reserve the liquid
Pat dry the roast.

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the Instant Pot - Turn on the Saute Mode.  Brown the meat on all sides. Remove from pot.  Add 1 onion, sliced, and saute until soft.  Turn the IP off.  Add the roast back in. Add 2 Cups of the strained marinade to the pot too.  Cover and Lock. Close the Vent. Choose Manual Mode and cook on High Pressure for 60 mins.  Do a Quick Release when done.

While it is cooking - take (12) Gingersnap Cookies - and crush in the food processor - hold this for the gravy.

Remove Meat from IP.

Turn IP to Saute.  Add the remaining Marinade @ 2 Cups and 1 can of Beef Broth. Bring to a boil while stirring.  Stir in Gingersnaps, and cook and stir until thickened.  Add a slurry of 1-2 T of cornstarch and water, if gravy needs to be thicker. Turn off and stir in 3/4 Cup of Sour Cream.

Slice the meat and serve with gravy.

ENJOY!!