Bacon Potato Soup

6 sliced of bacon, chopped

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

4 lbs (approx) red potatoes, cut into large chunks

5 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup flour

4 Tbsp butter, melted

3/4 cup heavy cream

Turn your Instant Pot to the Saute function and cook bacon until crispy. Add onions and celery and saute until onions are soft and translucent. Pour half of the broth in the pot and deglaze the bottom to prevent burning. Add the potatoes, remaining broth, salt and pepper. Lock the lid in place and cook for 8 minutes. After the 8 minutes, let the pot natural release for 10 minutes and then quick release. Whisk the flour and melted butter together. Press the Saute button again and bring the soup to a boil. Stir in the flour/butter. Use an immersion blender or potato masher to blend to desired consistency. Stir in cream. Top with shredded cheese and enjoy!

It's Soup Season!! I had originally planned to make Pressure Luck's Potato Leek Soup but was disappointed when told the grocery store only special orders leeks. What!? (If you haven't checked out Jeffrey's blog yet, head on over and find something delicious to make. https://pressureluckcooking.com/) I knew I still had the ingredients to make a potato soup of some sort so I just changed up the plan a bit and hopped on Pinterest (who doesn't hop on Pinterest when desperate for recipes!?). This did not disappoint. I think I would top with some chives next time. I did alter the original recipe a bit but not much. Jeffrey's blog also mentioned that he serves his potato soup with soft pretzels. Genius. I had never thought of serving soup with soft pretzels but I may make that a thing now. I just bought a box of frozen. I didn't have the time (and let's face it, the will) to make homemade. Maybe someday. This soup was definitely an easy, quick and delicious Plan B! 

Recipe derived from: https://www.simplyhappyfoodie.com/instant-pot-simple-potato-soup/

Chana Masala

1 onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tea coriander

2 tea cumin

2 tea garam masala

1 tea tumeric

1 tea salt

1 tea chili powder

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes with juices

3 potatoes, diced

1 can coconut milk

salt and pepper to taste

Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot and add the olive oil. When hot, add onions and garlic. Stir occasionally and saute until translucent. Add spices and mix well. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes and coconut milk. Stir to combine all ingredients. Lock the lid in place and set the timer High Pressure for 15 minutes with a Quick Release. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice and enjoy with naan.

It's hard to be creative when meal planning. To mix it up, we like to throw in Meatless Monday- also makes it challenging to be creative. This meal is full of flavor and definitely something different to throw on the menu. The potatoes were a bit soft for my liking so next time I will either cut them into larger cubes or decrease the time 1-2 minutes. I also portioned the leftovers out into containers and froze them for future lunches. They thawed and reheated great- I may make this recipe just for this purpose. We always buy the individual size naan at Costco so they paired nicely with this (we also freeze those and just pop them in the toaster at dinner time).

Original Recipe:

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.com/instant-pot-chana-masala/