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Monday, February 5, 2018

Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice

Whether you are looking for a delicious comfort food meal or an easy quick recipe, this Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Rice is just that. This cheesy Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is easy and just takes takes minutes to prepare with having a full meal ready in just minutes with the Instant Pot.

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.

This recipe is packed full of flavors and nutritious as well with the long grain rice, broccoli, and chicken. Simple to make this casserole and an instant family favorite for dinner time!

I have been loving my Instant Pot! Less mess, less dishes!.....Plus the bonus of getting the meal ready quicker. You really can't beat it!

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice combines the main dish and the sides all together in one amazing casserole!

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.


Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice 

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Ingredients for Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice: 

2 Tbsp vegetable Oil
1 1/2 -2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 small onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cups fresh broccoli, steamed
1 1/3 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese

Directions for Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice: 

1. Turn Instant Pot on and set on Steam. Place broccoli florets in steamer basket and set Manual for 0 minutes. When done Quick Release and remove broccoli right away. Turn Off. Set aside broccoli in separate bowl and clean out pot insert.

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.

2. Place pot insert back in Instant Pot. Turn Instant Pot on Saute. Add vegetable oil and heat until hot. Add chicken, onion, garlic powder, and pepper when hot.

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.

3. Cook chicken mixture until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Add rice and broth and stir together.
4. In a small bowl combine together the milk and flour and whisk together then set aside.
5. Lock lid on Instant Pot and cook on manual high pressure setting for 5 minutes. When time is up do quick release.
6. After the quick release,  immediately remove lid and add the flour/milk mixture, broccoli, and shredded cheese and stir all together well. Serve.

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.

Enjoy this delicious one pot meal!

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice is an easy one pot casserole to feed the whole family.







Saturday, January 27, 2018

Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Macarons are a fun French treat that adds brightness to your day with the rainbow of cheerful colors they have. These little cookies have a perfected look and a crisp/chewy texture with sweet flavor. Specialize them even more with a variety of different flavors between the cookies and the filling. Whether you are celebrating a bridal or baby shower, wedding, or just because, macarons are a delightful addition to any celebration or everyday! You can't go wrong with these Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Macarons can be temperamental, but don't be feared. Once you figure out their texture, its response to your oven, how they react to your climate, and have patience when making them, you'll be so excited with them in the end! Macarons are made to impress, their crisp shell and pleasantly chewy inside is exactly what you want.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

These little cookies are a lovely treat to enjoy, and can be to make, once you get the hang of it. Give yourself a few tries and you'll be making macarons for all occasions!

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Here I am sharing a basic macaron recipe, but there are so many flavor combinations that can be done as well. Enjoy making these cute, elegant, and tasty sweet treat.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat


Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling 

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Cookie Ingredients for Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling:

3/4 cup Blanched Almond Flour (this is the brand I used and found at our local Walmart)
1 cup Confectioners' Sugar
2 large Egg Whites, at room temperature
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
Food Coloring Gel

Vanilla Buttercream Filling Ingredients: 

1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
4 cups Confectioners Sugar
1/4 cup Milk
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Clabber Girl Corn Starch


Tools to use for Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling 

Pipping bag
Pipping bag tips
Food coloring gel
Parchment paper or Silpat mat

Directions for Macarons with Vanilla Buttercream Filling:

Macaron Cookies:
1. Combine almond flour and confectioners' sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing against it to break up any clumps. Set aside.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the egg whites and beat using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until whites get frothy, about a minute. Then add the granulated sugar and beat on high for about 2 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form, a meringue

3. Using Food Coloring Gel, add a knife tip of color to your your meringue mixture. Mix for only a small amount longer until its well blended. Use more gel for bolder colors.

4. Gently fold in the dry ingredients a little at a time. Repeat until mixture is smooth. It will run a little but not be too runny. Be sure to not over mix.

5. Using a pipping bag with a 1/2 inch round tip, filled with batter to pipe each cookie.

6. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat mat and pipe batter into 1 inch circles, 1 inch a part. I use a macaron template that I found online for consistency. There are also macaron silpat mats available.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

7. Once done piping the circles, tap the baking sheet on the countertop several times to release any air bubbles. Batter will flatten out a little. When lifting up your spatula, the batter should pour with a steadily and settle back down in the bowl.

8. Let batter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes until they for a skin. This is helpful when baking to form the signature macaron feet.

9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

10. Bake macarons for 15 to 18 minutes. The cookies should come right off the baking sheet when lifted off. 18 minutes worked best for me.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

11. Let cool somewhat then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Vanilla Buttercream Filling:
1. Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer, cream the butter until soft and smooth.

2. Warm the milk and dissolve the Clabber Girl Corn Starch in it.

3. Add the milk/corn starch, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar a little at a time and mix together until light and fluffy, well blended.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Put together the Macarons: 
1. Using a pipping bag with a round tip, add the buttercream filling.

2. Pipe a swirl of filling on the flat side of the cookies.

3. Top with another cookie, creating a sandwich effect with 2 cookies with filling in between.

A Few Baking Notes:
- Do not overfold as the batter will be too runny, they will spread out and not for the signature feet. Do not under fold as the batter will crack.

- Do not skip the drying time. This will help develop a skin over the batter to create the feet when baking. They should be completely dry to touch before you bake them.

-You may need to adjust your oven temperature down some or shorter baking time depending on your oven to see for sure what works best for you.

-If you have hollow tops, you may need to adjust your oven temperature or baking time.

-Store macarons in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat

Enjoy these pretty cookies with their round tops, ruffled feet, and tasty filling between!

Basic French Macarons with a Vanilla Buttercream Filling. A crisp and chewy sweet treat



This post is sponsored by Clabber Girl but 
all thoughts/opinions are always 100% my own. 


Friday, January 19, 2018

Instant Pot Chili

Here in Indiana we have hit the coldest spell this winter. Temperatures with wind chill hitting about -15. This calls for something warm and hearty for dinner. Chili is a winter favorite for us! Chili warms up any occasion from family dinner to a game day party. The Instant Pot helps make the chili and get it to the table much faster.

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

My husband is the chili maker in our house! The blend of flavors is delicious!

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

In the summer we have a pretty large garden and plant a few different varieties of tomatoes. I do a lot of canning and so I always make sure we can tomato juice from tomatoes in the garden.


We enjoy chili a lot in the fall and winter months, and its nice to have that canned juice right from our garden on hand.

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

We really like the McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix. It has the right blend of flavors that we love. We prefer our chili more on the spicy side, but not too spicy rather than a sweet chili.

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

Instant Pot Chili 

PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE

Ingredients for Instant Pot Chili:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup fresh onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 packet McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix (1.25 oz.)
1 (15.5 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 quart jar tomato juice (I can my own tomato juice in quarts, but it also equals 4 cups.
salt and pepper to taste

Directions for Instant Pot Chili: 


1. Set the Instant Pot to Saute and add vegetable oil and chopped onions. Once pot is hot, add ground beef and chopped green bell pepper. Brown together.
2. Once browned, add the McCormick Chili Seasoning Mix and stir together.
3. Turn the Instant Pot "off" the Saute option.
4. Drain any grease if needed
5. Add the red kidney beans, the Rotel, crushed tomatoes, and tomato juice
6. Lock lid and set to Manual for 15 minutes.
7. Quick release when done.
8. Serve with saltine crackers and cheese for extra flavors.

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal

We love this chili as our main meal or as a side....and leftover chili is always my favorite!

A delicious chili recipe that is easy to make in the instant pot for a family meal










Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Ramblings from the backroad....


A few days ago, my husband and I enjoyed a fun extended weekend in one of our favorite cities, Nashville, Tennessee! We attended the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention that was held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The convention is in a different state each year. This is our 4th time attending, and we always look forward to it.

Our convention was full of great breakout sessions with a variety of topics. I am a volunteer for Ag in the Classroom and loved the Purple Plow breakout session for new ideas for classroom lessons!


We also heard from Reba during the closing session. A highlight of the convention was that President Trump came and addressed the thousands of farmers and ranchers that attended.

Nashville is one of our favorite cities! We first went there on our honeymoon and stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and have been there a few times since then. The hotel is a beautiful resort and convention center that is full of indoor atrium gardens, little shops, restaurants, and a lazy river that you can enjoy a boat ride.


We really like to go downtown and enjoy the atmosphere. We enjoyed eating at the Wildhorse Saloon and Caney Fork Restaurant. A place we really loved was The Southern! We love to seek out good food when we travel and it was so worth it.


We jumped on board with the Uber service as a way to save us parking and having to drive. So many of our friends were using it on the trip and it was so convenient!! One of our drivers actually gave us the restaurant suggestion for The Southern and I'm so glad we checked it out!

Our last evening we enjoyed a Grand Ole Opry Performance!


A few things I picked up from the weekend:

This FarmHer t-shirt

This set of chapter books for my boys to read featuring stories on the farm.

Now back to our regular schedule of school, work, and sports practices. I'll be enjoying more of my Instant Pot as well!

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