Pasta Fagioli

2/3 cup dry navy beans

2/3 cup dry red kidney beans

1 lb ground Italian sausage

1/2 yellow onion

3 tea minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

15 ou tomato sauce

15 ou diced tomatoes, undrained

2 celery ribs

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1 tea salt

 1 1/2 tea Italian seasoning

1/4 tea red pepper flakes

1 cup cooked ditalini pasta

grated parmesan cheese

Soak beans overnight. Rinse and drain and then cover again with water and boil until beans are soft, about an hour or hour and a half. Preheat the Instant Pot using the Saute button. Saute the onions in olive oil until they begin to soften. Add sausage and and cook until browned. Toss in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add prepared beans, broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine. Lock the lid in place and seal the vent. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with about a 5 minute quick release. Stir in pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

Denver Broncos Football season is upon us! That means lazy, snowy Sundays (or Mondays. Or Thursdays.) in front of the television watching the game with friends. And soup weather! Combine the two for a perfect weekend. This is definitely a lengthy process with preparation of the beans. I do like dried beans a little better than the canned, but feel free to use the canned if you are short on time. This is a very hearty soup that definitely worked as a main dish. I served with a salad and crusty French bread. (And of course all the chips and dips and apps and desserts provided by party goers!) And we can all agree that the soup was better than the Broncos performance!

For the original recipe:

https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/instant-pot-pasta-e-fagioli-soup/

Weekday Bolognese

olive oil

1 1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1 lb ground chuck

1 lb ground pork

4 ounces diced pancetta

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup of red wine

28 ounces crushed San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup Italian parsley, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream

salt/pepper

Turn Instant Pot to the Saute function and pour in the olive oil. When heated, add onions, carrots and celery and cook until soft. Add the beef, pork and pancetta along with a tea of salt and 1/2 tea pepper. Saute until meats have browned. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant. Deglaze the pot by adding the red wine and scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pot. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, water and 1/4 cup parsley. Place the lid on the pot, close the valve and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Perform a quick release. Turn the pot back onto Saute and simmer until desired consistency. Stir in cream and remaining parsley. Enjoy with a heavy pasta.

I already know what you are thinking so please don't just scroll past this recipe- "Bolognese is a labor of love that you have to tend to all day long, not something to be done in the Instant Pot." And you're right. It is. And I almost scrolled past. But we needed a heavy, fall comfort meal to help us survive the cold and I didn't have time to watch the Dutch oven all day. This recipe did not disappoint. Full disclosure- this was not like the usual bolognese sauce I make. However, it is a rich, meaty and delicious substitute that I would definitely make again and again. I had time to make this on a Wednesday, hence the name "Weekday Bolognese". Bolognese is such a heavy sauce so please don't use a wimpy pasta. We used gnocchi because it sounded good that day. I usually use the pappardelle pasta and that is enough to stand up to the sauce. I did have some trouble finding a can of crushed tomatoes, so I just bought the can of whole tomatoes and crushed them myself with a potato masher and added everything, including the juices. It's pretty simple. In all, it did take about an hour and a half to make this recipe with all the sauteing before hand. And the volume in the pot made the "come to pressure" time a little longer than most. But so worth it. And on a weekday!  

Here is the link to the original blog post where I found the recipe:

https://stripedspatula.com/bolognese-sauce-recipe-instant-pot/#wprm-recipe-container-9955

Hearty Beef Stew

2 lb beef for stew, cubed

olive oil

12 white mushrooms, sliced

1 small onion, diced chunky

2-3 celery stalks, diced

2-3 carrots, sliced

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 tea thyme

4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut chunky

1 Tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken stock:

2 cups chicken broth

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp tomato paste

Turn Instant Pot to Saute and add a couple swirls of olive oil when heated. Season beef with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Remove beef from the pot and set aside. Toss mushrooms into the pot and saute until they are softened and browned. Remove and set aside. After adding another couple of swirls to the pot, saute the onions until soft. Add celery and carrots and continue to saute until slightly softened. Add the wine to the pot and "deglaze" the pot by scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon, removing all the brown bits. Add thyme, potatoes and all the ingredients for the chicken stock. Pressure cook on High for 4 minutes and perform a quick release. While the vegetables are cooking, add the flour to the beef and stir to coat evenly. Remove half of the veggies from the pot and set aside. Place the beef back in the pot, close the lid and pressure cook for 32 minutes, plus a 10 minute natural release. Open the lid and push the Saute button again on the pot. Using a wooden spoon, mash up the remaining vegetables to thicken the stew. Return all the veggies to the pot and stir to heat them. Serve with hearty, crusty bread.

You guys...snow is in the Denver forecast next week! I can't believe it. But I am excited for it. Mostly, I'm excited for the hearty fall and winter meals and the aromas that will be filling my kitchen. I loved this recipe. There are a lot of steps and it definitely isn't a "dump and go" recipe but it was certainly worth the extra effort. I especially love that you don't use cornstarch or flour to thicken. When removing the veggies, I tried to remove half of the potatoes but all of the carrots- stew never has enough carrots in it for me and I didn't want to waste them by mushing them up. But if you have picky eaters, mash all of the carrots and they will never notice! Add more or less of the veggies listed above or add your own. The original recipe called for some frozen peas to be added in the end but I forgot to pick them up/don't really like peas so left them out. The original recipe also called for a 2 lb chuck roast to be browned whole and cut up later, but I just buy the roast already cubed to save myself a set and some time. And don't skimp on the bread. Buy the good stuff with the extra thick crusty crust that holds up to dipping! Stay warm next week!

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-beef-stew/?utm_source=fbIPRO