Greek Yogurt

52 ou ultra pasteurized milk (I use Fairlife)

About 1/3 can sweetened condensed milk

Large dollop or two of Greek yogurt

In the Instant Pot, whisk together a small amount of milk and the remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour in the rest of the milk and whisk together. Cover the Instant Pot with a plate. Press the Yogurt button on the pot and set the timer for 10 hours. Strain yogurt overnight in the fridge.

It took a lot of trial and error to get this recipe to where I liked it. Too tart. Too runny. Too sweet. Finally, just right! I usually pour the remaining condensed milk into jelly jars and freeze them to use for the next batch. I also freeze one or two jars of the yogurt to use as starters for the next batches as well. I have used the Fage and the Chobani yogurts and they both turn out fine, but for some reason, I like to stick with the Fage. The first batch I made was way too runny. Then I learned the longer you let it sit in the pot, the stiffer it becomes, but it also becomes more tart. So I added a whole can of condensed milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Now, if you are looking for yogurt that tastes like cheesecake, there is your recipe. Tasty. But not very versatile if you want to use the yogurt in recipes. So just the third of a can adds just the right balance. Also, before every batch of yogurt, you want to make sure the pot is really clean. I usually add some water to the bottom of the pot and a couple of squirts of lemon juice. Then, I hit the steam button and set the timer for 5 minutes. This usually gets the pot squeaky clean. You can also put the lid on without closing the seal instead of a plate, but I found the ring of the lid sometimes retains the scent of a previous meal and can alter the flavor of the yogurt a bit. You don't need pressure, so whatever works to cover the pot! You don't have to strain the yogurt if you don't want to. Not straining it will give you the runnier, creamier yogurt. But I like the yogurt stiff, so I bought a yogurt strainer off of Amazon and usually strain it for 8-10 hours. Occasionally, I have a batch that comes out a little lumpy. No problem, either mix with a wooden spoon or use an immersion blender to smooth it out.

I was pretty intimidated at the thought of making my own yogurt. But once I jumped in and started, I found it was way easier and way tastier than I imagined. Give it a try- you won't be sorry! 

Chicken Pesto with Pasta

2 lbs of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

Salt/pepper

Olive oil

1 lb pasta (I used bow tie)

About 3 1/2 cups of water

6 ou pesto sauce

6 ou spinach

Sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 ou cream cheese

Parmesan cheese

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute chicken in olive oil until just about cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add pasta to the top but do not stir. Add water to the pot. Top with pesto sauce. Do not stir. Cook on High Pressure about 6 minutes with a quick release. Turn Instant Pot back to saute. Add spinach and tomatoes and stir until the spinach is cooked down. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Top with Parmesan cheese.

This recipe was a last minute happy accident. My garden started growing mystery squash in the spring and I just let it go out of curiosity. Well, all the plants turned out to be spaghetti squash so we are over flowing. This was supposed to be a chicken pesto spaghetti squash recipe. I thought one of the squash was ready, but turned out to be mostly green on the inside still when I cut it open. Drat! So I changed my plans and made do with what I had in the pantry. Pasta it is. Well, I've only ever followed recipes for the Instant Pot so I had to do some research to come up with my own. How to cook pasta? So a couple of the websites I found just said to cook the pasta for half of the time the directions call for. (Ex- the box of bow ties said to cook for 12-14 minutes, so I cooked for 6.) As far as the water, multiple sites said to add water until it just reaches the pasta. You can always simmer off or drain any extra liquid at the end, but this advice seemed to work out just fine for this recipe. I used 2 large chicken breasts. I also used about half of a 7 ou jar of sun dried tomatoes. Per usual, add more or less. I was thinking maybe some artichoke hearts might be a good addition to this as well.

While I was disappointed my spaghetti squash didn't work out this time, I was happy at the way this recipe turned out. Stay tuned for a squash recipe in the future.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Marinade:

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 small container of plain Greek yogurt

1 Tbs Garam Masala

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 tea black pepper

1/4 tea ginger

Sauce:

15 ou can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes

4-5 cloves of garlic

4 tea Garam Masala

1/2 tea paprika

1/2 tea tumeric

1/2 tea salt

1/4 tea cayenne pepper

1 cup whipping cream

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade except the chicken. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and fold into the marinade. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat the Instant Pot on the Saute mode. Add the chicken plus the marinade to the pot. Saute for at least 5 minutes, until the chicken is browned. Add all the ingredients for the sauce except the cream. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with a quick release. Turn the Instant Pot back on Saute mode selecting the low setting. Add the cream and simmer until the sauce thickens to your preference. Serve over rice.

This was one of the first meals I ever made in the Instant Pot and now we make it at least 2-3 times a month. I love this recipe. It is so simple and quick to make. I like to prepare the chicken in the marinade the night before to make this a little simpler the night of. The original recipe calls for 5 chicken thighs, but I find it cooks down and doesn't leave enough for leftovers. There is plenty of sauce after using 8 chicken thighs. This past time I made a mistake at the grocery store and bought a can of petite diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. I used it anyways and there was no difference in consistency or taste- so whatever you have on hand will work just fine. We also usually serve this with naan bread (Costco has a great pack of individual size pieces of bread that we just keep in the freezer and then throw in the toaster when we are ready to eat.)

So happy I came upon this recipe on Pinterest!

https://www.lancfoodiegirl.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala/