Instant Pot Chicken Chili

We all have days when we forget to take out the meat to thaw, or realize it is 3:30 and we haven't planned for dinner. Instead of spending way too much money eating out for dinner, try using your instant pot to make some quick and flavorful meals! As we try new recipes I want to share them with you to inspire your instant pot journey. It would only be fitting to start this series with our current family favorite.

This chili is the best! It's so easy and so so good. (This is not my original recipe, I found it here.) I love that the site the recipe is on gives several variations to how you can make your chili using any combination of canned and dried beans and fresh and frozen chicken. Our preferred method is frozen chicken with home canned beans. (I have tried it with frozen chicken and dried beans and didn't like it as much. I'll explain why in just a minute.) Overall, this is an amazing recipe and a great way to enjoy flavor packed chili in about an hour.

I think we foodies can agree that the key to a great chili, other than proper seasoning, is a slow simmering cook. The slow time gives the beans and meat time to release juices and soak up all the flavorful goodness. I enjoy a chili cooked this way just like anyone, but sometimes, you just don't have time. This recipe has saved a few nights of poor planning on my part and provided leftover lunches.

Really quick, before I forget, the thing with doing dried beans and frozen chicken. It wasn't bad at all, but I prefer to rinse my beans to get all the starchy goop off them. By pressure cooking them from their dried state, I wasn't able to do this and the chili came out a weird brownish blackish color. Not as pretty, but still tasted fine.

The thing I love most about this recipe is how easy it is. I don't have to thaw out the chicken. Just put it in frozen!! Then start adding your other ingredients. We use black beans that I pressure can myself. I also add frozen or home canned corn, a combination of taco and chili seasonings, a little bit of water, and salt and pepper. Then, stir everything together. Dump your diced tomatoes on top, do not mix them in. Put the lid on, select the desired setting and walk away. I usually cook my on high pressure for 25 ish minutes. It takes about 5-10 minutes for my Instant Pot to reach pressure, then the 25 minute timer starts. After it is finished cooking, I let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then quick release to let the rest out. As soon as you can open the lid, it is ready to eat!! Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, red onions and a few pickled jalapenos. Heaven, I tell you, pure heaven.

Now that I've walked you through the basics of the recipe, I need to explain the Instant Pot terminology I put in bold. When I first started using my Instant Pot, I had no idea what these were, but it only took using the machine once to understand. This appliance is seriously the easiest thing to use. Please don't feel overwhelmed by the thought of one. It is such a time and energy saver, and does not take long at all to figure out.

High pressure - this is just one of the settings for pressure intensity on the Instant Pot. The others are Low Pressure and Normal. I have only ever used High Pressure that I can recall.

Reach Pressure - In order for your Instant Pot to function as a pressure cooker, pressure much be allowed to build up on the inside of the pot. When your machine has reach the appropriate pressure to cook your food, this is called reaching pressure. Fortunately, your appliance does all of this for you, there is no need to watch a gauge or overly monitor.

Natural Release - This simply means to allow the Instant Pot to slowly release steam after the cooking period is over. It does this on its own and doesn't require you to switch anything.

Quick Release - If your recipe calls for a quick release method, you will switch the steam release to venting manually and allow the steam to release at a much faster pace.

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When you first get your Instant pot, make sure to go through an initial test run. Your instruction manual will lay out specific directions for your model. This was extremely helpful to me in getting to safely play with the features and understand how to use everything.

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it! if you do, head over to A Mind Full Mom and let her know you enjoyed it.

Stay tuned for more Instant Pot experiments, I mean recipes. Have a blessed day!

Here is a quick walk through for this recipe...

Millionaire's Fudge (that won't break the bank)

With the Christmas (and holiday) season on our doorstep, it's about time for me to make some fudge! I love this recipe not only because it tastes delicious but because I have memories of my mom making this every year. It is one of my favorite Christmas treats and it is so easy to make. This recipe also happens to be my Grandma's (and Great-grandmother) recipe, and after losing my grandpa this year, somehow this makes me feel close to them. How cool is it that I am the fourth generation of my family to make (and enjoy) this treat? I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

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Basic Recipe:

21 ounces a chocolate chips

7 ounces (1 small jar) marshmallow fluff

1 can evaporated milk

4 1/2 cups sugar

2 TBSP butter

1 tsp vanilla

1.Pour chocolate and marshmallow fluff in a large glass (NOT PLASTIC) bowl and get aside.

2. In a large saucepan, combine evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla and butter. Heat to a boil.

3. Once boiling, reduce heat slightly, set timer for exactly 6 minutes, and stir constantly while it boils.

4. Pour sugar mixture over chocolate and marshmallow mixture and stir til combined.

5. Pour in parchment paper and spread around to begin the cooling process. (This is when you will incorporate and add ins.)

6. Spread to desired thickness and leave to cool and set. (This should take 1-6 hours depending on thickness, temperature, and humidity.)

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Since filming this, I have messed around with the recipe a bit and made some with walnuts, another batch with mini marshmallows, and a batch with pepitas (pumpkin seeds), almonds, and chocolate chunks. Kyle loved the addition of nuts to the fudge (he has been asking for that for years) and I loved the extra pockets of fluffiness the marshmallows created. All around, this is a very good base recipe to experiment with. My next flavor will be a chocolate and peanut butter swirl! Any flavor suggestions you would like to see me try?

Thank you for reading and watching! If you like this and want to see more, make sure to subscribe to my blog and my channel and you will get notifications when I post new content.

Merry Christmas!

Homemade Pear Sauce and Pear Syrup

What can you do with 3 lbs of pears? Check this out!

My best friend told me about this amazing treat they make every once in a while at their house and after forgetting to make it a half a dozen times, I finally did it! I made Pear Sauce! This is perfect for us, because Raylen can't have applesauce because it doesn't agree with him (if you catch my drift) but pears are good. It was so easy to make and tastes amazing!! You don't have to add anything at all to it, although you can add spices if you want a little more flavor. (I added cinnamon to mine.) This is also a great recipe to can in your water bath canning system. So, if you are like me and haven't ventured into pressure canning yet, here is a great recipe to try in your water bath! If I can ever find pears on sale, i plan on make a huge batch of this and putting up as many jars as I can.

Check out the video for how I did it and keep reading for the specifics.

Did you know??

Pears are so good for you!! They are high in fiber and a great source of vitamin C, as well as rich in antioxidants. They are known to help fight diabetes, are good for your heart, help you lose weight, and improve digestion! So, I need to start eating pears like yesterday! I didn't realize that pears are actually very cold hardy and are harvested all year long. The pear is traced back to China, but today there are over 300 varieties of pear trees all over the world.

Here is a great resource to learn more about pears and their health benefits: https://draxe.com/pear-nutrition/

The whole process of making pear sauce was relatively simple. I just peeled and cut the pears, cooked them and then strained to make a smooth sauce (if you want a chunky sauce, you don't even have to do this step). I even made a pear butter type thing out of the scraps and it tastes amazing! I think I'm going to use it as a glaze for a pork dish. We shall see.

Anyway, pear sauce is easy, not sure if it is cheaper yet, but there are no artificial ingredients and if that is important to you, then I'd say its worth it! I am still learning more about canning and as I become more confident I will write more about it. But for now, all I have to say about it is that it is fun and I can see myself canning for many years to come!

I hope y'all enjoy this super easy recipe! Let me know how your pear sauce turns out!