Corn in the Instant Pot

It's not that cooking corn is hard, it's just that it got easier. 

Put trivet in bottom with 1 cup water. Corn on top of trivet. (Break corn in half to fit if needed) High pressure for 1 minute, quick release and Wallah! DONE! Perfectly done. 

The BEST Zucchini Bread

Because everyone needs a go to zucchini bread recipe....

Recipe from: The Kitchen McCabe 

3 C. Flour
1 t. Salt
1 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Baking Powder
1 T. Cinnamon
3 eggs
1 C. Canola or Vegetable Oil
2¼ C. Sugar
1 T. Vanilla
3½ C. Zucchini, grated

Grease and flour two 8x4" loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixture, and stir until just combined. Add the zucchini and mix in until well distributed.
Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges remove the bread from pan.

Chocolate Waffle Cones

My kids were super excited about these. They smelled like baking brownies when I cooked them. (They work better as cones if you give them a few hours to cool and harden, but if you don't plan ahead, you can still eat them right after you make them) 

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

2 whole eggs 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the waffle cone maker to 2 1/2 to 3. 

Place the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Stir to combine then set aside to cool for five minutes.

Using kitchen aid, mix all ingredients until smooth. 

Spoon 11/2 Tbsp batter (purple handled scoop) on center of waffle iron and bake 1 minute, then check. Cook extra if necessary.

Quickly remove the waffle from the waffle iron onto a clean towel. Use the cloth to help lift and roll the waffle around the cone to form the waffle cone shape. Let it cool on the cone for 30 seconds to secure its shape. Finish cooling on a cooling rack. 

I got 14 cones from this recipe. 

Raspberry Lime Popsicles

We are beating the summer heat with some homemade Popsicles. First on our list this year--Raspberry Lime, using fresh raspberry purée from the raspberries in our garden. They do have a strong lime flavor, which one of my kids did not like, but 4 outa 5 loved them. 

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups water

3/4 cup raspberry purée. (Twice strained because my kids didn't want ANY seeds) 

Instructions)

1. In a medium size bowl, whisk together lime juice and granulated sugar until sugar is dissolved.
2. Next stir in water and raspberry purée. 
3. Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze for at least 5 or more hours then enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Greek Yogurt

I've been making my own yogurt with my Instant Pot for a while now and have had fun making some different flavors.  This time I tried Smuckers Strawberry Lemonade Drink Mix (from Costco).  It was really good on its own, but I topped it with some crumbled graham crackers and chopped white chocolate and had a delicious treat! 

So there isn't an exact recipe, you can make the strawberry lemonade flavor more of a hint of flavor using less, or more for a sweet treat.  For this sweet treat, I used one scoop for about a cup of yogurt.  Then it's as simple as mixing and serving. 

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

These were really good warm out of the oven, but John really liked them made into sandwiches.
John's Rating: 8 (rated them 9 for sandwich bread)

Recipe from: A Recipe a Day

1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons oil
3 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, rolled oats, egg, oil and 2 1/4 cups flour. Turn onto floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Knead for a few more minutes. Let rise in warm place for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Shape dough into balls and place in greased pan. Let rise about one hour.
Bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes. Butter tops while still warm.
Makes 12-16 rolls depending on size.

S'more Rice Krispies

My kids love s'mores and the other day I made these no fire involved, cold lunch compatible s'more creation. So not a lot of Rice Krispies here, much more "s'more" ingredients, but served like a rice Krispy treat. 

1 box Golden Grahams (12 oz)

1 bag mini marshmallows (16 oz)

1/4 cup butter

2 Hershey bars

1/4 cup of mini dried marshmallows

2 (ish) cups Rice Krispies

Melt butter in a large bowl.  Stir in marshmallows and coat the marshmallows with butter.  Microwave 2 minutes on power level 4.  Stir until smooth.  

Pour over Golden Grahams and Rice Krispies stir until all are coated. Mold in a buttered 9x13 pan. Gently press mini marshmallows and chocolate Hershey bar chunks on top. Cool completely and serve.