I looked at some frozen meatballs….and thought I could make better tasting ones for cheaper!
Instant Pot Carnitas Recipe
We spent a week in Mexico City this summer and the food…y’all the food is amazing. Hand made tortillas and the best roasted chicken I’ve ever had! Street food is the most amazing in Mexico City….even better than my Mother-in-law’s but don’t tell her I said that! After getting home I had a craving for some of those flavors and so we made Carnitas!
Traditional Carnitas are slow simmered all day but this lady didn’t have the energy nor the patience to wait that day so i did it in the Insta Pot!
(p.s. Check out this Traditional Carnitas recipe by Mexico In My Kitchen because I am in no way an authentic carnita maker! This is the lazy way to get some carnita flavor if you (like me ) don’t have the time to do it the right way.
Thankfully I was able to get my mother in law’s recipe and switched it up for the pressure cooker.
Carrot Patch Cupcakes
Spring is coming! Celebrate with these beyond adorable Carrot Patch Cupcakes…no carrots required!
Carrot Patch Cupcakes
Ingredients
12 cupcakes from your favorite recipe or boxed mix
2 to 3 cups chocolate frosting from your favorite recipe or store bought
1 cup ground Oreo Cookies
12 strawberries, washed and dried
1 (12 ounce) package orange candy melt wafers
Instructions
- Melt the candy wafers according to package directions giving special care not to overheat the candy. If the candy coating is overheated, it will be too thick. You can add 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening or coconut oil to help thin the candy but do not add any other type of liquid as the candy will seize and harden.
- Dip strawberries into the melted candy and then place on waxed paper. Once the candy has set, pour remaining melted candy into a zip-top freezer bag or piping bag with the tip snipped. Drizzle over the strawberries. Allow to set completely before decorating the cupcakes.
- Using a 1A round piping tip, add a border of frosting around the cupcake. Place a small amount in the middle.
- Flip each cupcake and dip the frosted top into ground Oreo cookies.
- Top each cupcake with a dipped strawberry.
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
I LOVE cinnamon rolls and I love every possible way to have them. These cinnamon roll cookies give you the burst of flavor of those ooey gooey cinnamon rolls but travel much better!
Easy S’mores Dip
This was a HUGE hit at our house recently. We had planned to make s’mores over the fire pit but the pouring down rain caused us to move our fun inside.
Instead of using the microwave, we used my favorite cast iron pan and the oven.
Easy S'mores Dip
Author: MoolaSavingMom.com
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- Cooking Spray
- Chocolate Baking Chips
- Marshmallows
- Graham Crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Spray cast iron pan with cooking spray.
- Sprinkle a thick layer of chocolate chips on the bottom of the pan and top with marshmallows.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the marshmallows turn golden brown and expand.
- Sprinkle a few chocolates on top and use graham crackers to dip and enjoy.
How to Dehydrate Mushrooms
This week I spotted a great deal on shiitake mushrooms on clearance at Harris Teeter just 99¢ each!
So I got four packs and QUICKLY had to decide what to do with them because ONLY my husband eats mushrooms and he has been out of town all week long. So my options seemed to freeze or dehydrate them. My freezer is SOO full so I decided to grab my new Instant Vortex Plus and use the dehydrate settings to preserve them
These mushrooms were already sliced but if you buy whole mushrooms- was and slice into equal sized slices. I used the dehydrator on the Instant Vortex Plus and 7 hours later I had perfectly dry mushroom slices.
I used clean, dried canning jars to store the mushrooms in the back of my cabinet- to keep them cool and dark. They should be good for 6-12 months if kept cool and dark, and while they will still be edible after that the flavor may start to diminish.
When I’m ready to use the mushrooms (usually I put them in stews or sauces) I will put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and top with boiled water- to cover them plus a little extra. Once they re-plump I will strain them and use them in the dish I am cooking.
You can use the liquid that rehydrated the mushrooms in any dish you are cooking but since only my husband eats them- personally I just toss that water.
If you’d rather try a dehydrator instead of the InstantVortex – I’ve had one similar to this one and loved it.
Chipotle Chicken With Avocado Cream
y’all I needed a fast chicken recipe but also needed to use up some avocados…. but I hate avocados so I needed something that I could let my husband eat with the avocados and me without.
I kind of just grabbed what I had and turned it into a sauce- and finished cooking the chicken in it and topped it with the cream and OMGosh it was delicious.
Chipotle Chicken With Avocado Cream
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, cut in half
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Olive Oil
- 1 can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 Onion, sliced or diced
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lime, juiced, divided
- cilantro
- ½ cup sour cream
- Avocado, chopped
- water, as needed
Instructions
- Salt and pepper chicken breast.
- In skillet, heat oil and add chicken breast.
- Brown each side and then set aside chicken,
- Add onions to pan and saute until tender.
- Add tomato sauce, broth, cumin, garlic, chipotle peppers and sauce.
- Bring to a boil and add chicken,
- Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook about 10 minutes more until done.
- In a blender mix sour cream, remainder of lime juice, avocado and some cilantro. It will be thick to make creamier sauce add water until smooth.
- Serve chicken over rice topped with cream sauce and cilantro.
Easy Steak Tacos
My husband has a HIGH standard for the Mexican inspired dishes I cook- probably because his Abuela lives IN MEXICO and he’s knows what authentic Mexican dishes are supposed to taste like.
He gave raving reviews to these tacos and in fact got a second plate last night plus he had some for lunch today!
I served our tacos with my from-scratch red sauce but you can use any jarred or bottle taco sauce.
Crispy Potato Stacks
y’all know that potatoes are GOOD but these potatoes are AMAZING.
First you will want to wash your potatoes and preheat your oven to 375F.
Use a Mandolin Slicer to about 1/8 inch thick slices. Be careful though these babies are SHARP.
This is the Mandolin Slicer I use.
Put the slices in a bowl and mix with olive oil, butter, garlic powder, salt, Italian spices and about 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used Mexican blend because it was what I have but you can use Mozzarella, parmesan or whatever you prefer)
Instant Pot Birria Inspired Tacos
I saw these tacos on TicTok and just had to give them a shot….with my own take and in the Instant Pot!
These are not overly spicy but def. have a kick to them! The authentic ones are made with beef but I had chicken that I needed to use so I went with that and OH SO glad that I did. They were delicious!
These take a few steps…but it’s OH so worth it!
The broth smells AMAZING when the Instant Pot is opened.
It’s really hard to wait for them to fry up! Be sure the griddle is really hot before placing the tacos on it.
We served ours with a slice of avocado and some lime and some extra broth for dipping.
