I have found that my Sunday prep time isn’t as much of an undertaking as it was that first Sunday of January if I keep mostly on top of it. Making dressings when I run out, having a veggie chopping session mid week, etc, means my weekend prep is very streamlined. That first Sunday we got back was exceptionally involved because we had just come home from being out of town so you know how the fridge looks after that. For upcoming breakfasts, I made a batch of pancakes for the kids and bread for myself.
The bread was the “legit bread” from this instant pot cookbook.
It’s apparently such a phenom that it is now sold in stores. For that reason, I decided to stick with the exact recipe. Ordinarily I’d think it would be just as easy to make bread in the oven. It wasn’t any faster in the IP and I had nowhere to go so it’s not like I needed to set it and forget it. I don’t quite get the point of baking in the instant pot unless you are in a situation where all you have is an instant pot (dorm room, travel, etc) and yet, I was curious enough to go for it.
As soon as I put it in the pot I had a momentary freak out because I DIDN’T COVER IT with foil like it says to in the recipe.
With 3 cups of water surrounding the glass pyrex I put it in, I was sure I had ruined it and was going to open it up to a soggy water logged mess 45 minutes later.
But lo and behold, it was fine!
Since I made this on Saturday it seemed like the wait for Sunday morning was an eternity, but it was very worth the wait.
Beautifully spongy soft but sturdy bread. It has true flexibility like wheat bread, isn’t delicate like other grain free breads, and doesn’t crumble like most gluten free breads. It’s kinda amazing!
And it came out of the instant pot!?!
Crazy times we live in.
I topped it was cashew butter (what else is new) and enjoyed two slices to start my day.
This was my first time cooking with cassava flour and so far so good. OH! And being the bold person I am, I swapped the potato starch for tapioca starch (without any issues). There’s little else that bring me a high like a successful grain free baking experiment gone right. It’s SUCH a gamble due to all the bizarre properties of the different flours, but I have always had things turn out when interchanging starches in gluten and grain free baking, so I’m happy to report back that this was the same. If you are thinking of buying the cookbook, it’s worth it for this recipe alone. It’s only $9.99 on kindle anyway.
Next up! A whole chicken. Cleaned out the IP only to use it again. I’m that annoying pot head blogger now. So sorry.
I covered it in ghee and salt, seared both sides on the sauté setting and then added thyme and 1 cup of water, and sealed it to cook for 25 minutes.
Before and after…
Helloooooo home-made stock!
Jarred that up and then shredded the meat once it had cooled enough.
Can you see the steam?
Chicken for the week!
I had lunch on the late side because P had a baptism class but I had this pre-made salad from TJs ready to go (which I added avo to).
Sorry about the weird lighting on these dinner photos.
We had a birthday party that afternoon so I (ONCE AGAIN) used the instant pot (third time in one day – can’t do that with a slow cooker!) for our dinner.
I made a lentil and sausage recipe from Melissa Clark’s cookbook. I have cooked five things from this book in under two weeks! Obsessed.
Side note: I just found a grain of rice on my computer keypad. Wonder how long that’s been there….
I eyeballed the amount of green lentils from the bulk bins at WF and was pretty dead on!
I also got the fresh house made sausage from WF to make the dish better than an ordinary dish. The rest of the meal’s ingredients were so cheap that getting some awesome sausage seemed fine. And in actuality, the price of the sausage wasn’t too bad considering they were humongous and four was enough for us all.
I chose the chicken special of the day which was a white wine shallot flavor, and the pork kielbasa. Both were good, but I think I preferred the chicken one? It was nice to have different flavored sausage – I feel like Italian and apple are the only options at the store. And sometimes it’s just one if you’re wanting organic.
This meal was delicious, but admittedly a fodmaps gut bomb. I was nervous about it, and predictably off after (in all the ways I knew I would be), but my body recovered the next day and I think it was worth it. Lentils are so good. The kids loved them too. Both have since eaten the leftovers for their lunches upon request.
I served it with steamed kale to get a veggie in.
And then a little parsley on top and mustard on the side (as Melissa recommends). The mustard was a nice touch. I love sausage and mustard together and the apple cider vinegar finish brought it all together.
Anyone tried this??? I didn’t buy it, but am curious.
I am equally obsessed with my IP. Most especially nom nom paleo recipes from her blog. I got her new book and ended up returning because none of recipes jumped out at me. But the beef stew from her blog is SO, SO GOOD. And the beef chili, Kalua pig, IP bone broth, carnitas, pho – basically all of it. The kids haven’t been sold on the stew but whatevs – more for me! How was the whole chicken inside? I’ve been nervous to try.
Does the melissa hartwig book have a bunch of IP recipes?
I don’t have the melissa hartwig book. I have a melissa clark book, that is written entirely for the IP. That’s the one I’ve been cooking out of mainly. As well as the nom nom paleo one. Did you get her new one or her older one?
That is totally insane you can make gf bread in the IP! The method does sound crazy but obviously it worked out.
I love lentils with mustard, usually as a vinegrette with a big gob of dijon for lentil salad but i’ll add a blob to lentil soup too. Too bad your tummy doesn’t get along with the lentils! I made a pot of mujadarra last weekend which i think your kids would like but also lots of onions and lentils so that’s probably a dealbreaker for you.
You’re certainly getting good use of the IP and the Melissa clark book! Win/win.
The recipe for mujadarra in america’s test kitchen calls to me every time I open the book. My stomach is kinda weird right now from hormones so I’m throwing caution to the wind and just eating more fodmaps because what the hell. Maybe next time I should try that recipe.
What size pyrex did you use for the bread? I want to make this but don’t know what type/size of container to put the dough in. The recipe isn’t very specific either. Thank you!
I know right!?! I had the same issue and couldn’t get a clear answer. I used a 1 Q and it was perfect. So basically any shape that holds that amount that fits in your IP will work.
Thank you so much! I plan on trying this as looks easy and delicious.