The post below contains affiliate links, because if, while you are reading this post, you are overcome with a sudden, irresistible, undeniable urge to purchase a Greek yogurt strainer, then I could earn a couple pennies for being in the right place at the right time.
New day, new year, and I did the unexpected today. I used the Instant Pot for three different dishes. First off was my virgin batch of yogurt. Charlotte gifted me with a fancy pants Greek yogurt strainer when we went over for New Year’s Eve dinner. I had to play with it immediately. We got home at 9p, and I checked the fridge for ingredients. Whole milk, check. Plain Greek yogurt to use as starter, check. By 9:15p, I’m in my jammies Instant Potting, and dreaming of a fresh yogurt breakfast to ring in the new year. I researched a few methods, and came up with this recipe. It come out gorgeous! Thick, tart and lovely. I was excited because I had also read many horror stories of runny yogurts, but those stories pushed me to be really accurate with the temperatures. It was worth the effort. Even Jeff, who is steadfastly against anything that might be healthy, liked it and came back for seconds.
Next up was lunch. The Red Wings were playing in the Centennial Classic today, so of course we had to do buffalo wings. We love chicken wings in this household, and you can’t imagine the joy of knowing I can get these from frozen to table in less than 20 minutes. And they’re healthier because they’re not fried, and they’re juicier because of the pressure cooking. Perfecting a chicken wing recipe may be one of the top 10 achievements of 2016 for me.
Last was an off-the-cuff macaroni and cheese dinner for Kenzie. But we didn’t have macaroni, all we had were egg noodles. But I figure, noodles are noodles, so I winged it. (Delayed pun, hah!) I threw a couple handfuls of egg noodles into the Instant Pot, enough to pretty much cover the bottom, and added enough water to cover the noodles, which was about 1 cup. Did high pressure for 5 minutes and a quick release. The noodles did not absorb all of the water, so I had to strain them. From there, I added a couple tablespoons of margarine, a handful of cheese and probably a tablespoon of milk. I also added some shredded chicken leftover from lunch (minus the hot sauce). It was so good! Total comfort food. I regret not taking a picture, but I’ll work out the proportions and photograph when I post the recipe.
All in all, it was a successful day. I’m really surprised I’m getting as much use out of this small appliance. I really didn’t think it could replace my slow cooker or my pressure cooker, but quite honestly, it’s almost replaced my stove.
Leave a Reply