Instant Pot: Pot Roast

Dinner in an instant. Even a pot roast! 

After picking up the kids from school we went to the grocery store at 3:30 and bought some groceries for dinner. Next, homework from 4-5pm. Finally, at 5:10pm I started prepping dinner and the roast went in the IP at 5:20. By 6:30pm dinner was served. 

The Fish Fam loved it!

Sounds to good to be true right? Well, you can only see for yourself!

I highly recommend this Instant Pot pressure cooker. You won't be sorry!

Love my Incredible pot :)

Meatball Soup

This is a life saving leftover’s meal!

I make a lot of bone broth from chicken backs that I get at Wholefoods. After cooking it I let it cool overnight in the fridge and then put it in freezer bags and store in the freezer and get it out when need to use it. Easy peezy!

After heating up the frozen chicken broth I add my cut up veggies...carrots, zucchini, and yellow squash, which most of the time these veggies are pre-steamed or cut up and in a container already in the fridge. I make sure my rice is ready to go as well.

***Always make sure to clean your rice before you cook it!!! After measuring the rice put it in the pot and I like using clean purified water from our water filter to clean the rice over and over by grabbing it with my hands and rubbing it and then dumping the water out carefully to not let the rice dump out. Seriously, repeat this over and over until the water runs clear or is close to it. Rice naturally has arsenic, its in the soil, it can be reduced by cleaning the rice very well. Also, this is what Chinese people do...they always clean their rice!

Then I also used my leftover meatball to add in.

Add in sea salt, pepper, other spices to taste.

*** I also just learned that to make broths low fodmap you have to be careful about what types of bones you use. If it's from bones that still have lots of cartilage and remains it still has, I think, a good amount of polyols that will irritate your gut. It did mine, but it took awhile for me to finally discover it. So, for low fodmap Dr. Allison Siebecker suggests making bone broth that is from purely bones.

Super good!

Stew & Frybread

The Fish Fam sure enjoyed this meal...

Navajo Frybread & Stew

I'm Navajo and growing up I always enjoyed helping my grandma, mom, and aunties all make or rather "flap" the dough, to get it stretched and ready to fry in the pan. Unfortunately, I never learned how to make the dough. Sad I know. But, I sure can flap out the dough. But, getting the dough just right so it's nice and soft and easy to flap is an art that doesn't include measurements! It's all about watching your Masani (grandma) and learning.

But, in the last few times that I've made my own dough, and yes did have to use measurements, it's came out pretty good. The thing that might be funny is this is an all organic fry bread. Lol! It's even fried in organic shortening from mechanically pressed palm oil. A much healthier option than the usual crisco or vegetable oil.

Seriously, read this article here why vegetable oils and margarines are so toxic for our bodies.

You can use this recipe for a general idea and try at making your own dough...

Navajo Tortillas or Frybread

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 cups warm water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add 1 cup of the water and mix, adding more water as needed to make dough soft but not sticky. Knead smooth. It's best to let it sit on the counter with a towel over it to let it soften up, makes it easier to work with. When ready tear off a chunk about the size of a small peach. Roll in a ball then flatten out to about 1/8 inch. And flap and stretch it if you know how or just use a rolling pin. Put in pan or cast iron skillet or in hot oil to fry (carefully do so dipping the dough in the pan closest to you and slowly laying down the dough away from you until it is all in the oil, be so carefully to not drop the dough in or it will splash oil all over). Watch it closely and turn and cook on other side.

Serve with Navajo mutton stew. Yum!

Or in this case beef stew. They didn't have any mutton this time at the store.

Beef Stew

Meat:

1- 1 1/2 pounds stew beef

Vegetables:

1 onion, chopped

2-4 cubed potatoes

2-4 carrot, chopped

2-4 celery stalks, chopped

1 zucchini & yellow squash each

*All to your liking or add different veggies.

Seasonings:

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoons dried sage

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried parsley

*All to your liking

Flour Mix:

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

10-12 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons oil

The broth for our beef stew was made out of beef bones that we cooked in our pressure cooker, an Insta Pot, so amazing! Then I coated the beef chunks in 1/2 cup gluten free flour, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of pepper....mixed and shook meat and flour in a ziplock bag until it was well coated. Then added the oil to the pot and cooked it until it was browned all all sides, took a few minutes. Then I took it out and placed it on a plate. Next, add a little beef broth, maybe a little bit more oil to sauté the onions until caramelized and soft. Add in all the beef broth, meat, and chopped up vegetables. Cook until veggies are soft and ready!

You can make this stew in the crock pot or pressure cooker (find a good recipe and follow instructions exactly).

Also, add more sea salt (prob more of this) and pepper to taste.

While it's cooking get your dough ready and whalla, enjoy!

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients

4-5 peeled and diced carrots

1 med onion

1/2 tsp fresh ginger

1/2 tsp Geen Curry Paste

Juice of orange

2 cups chicken stock

Small handful of almonds

Fresh Spearmint leaves

Salt & Pepper 

I got the inspiration for this soup from this recipe at My Whole Food Life. I changed it up a bit.

I really enjoyed it!

Directions

1. I peeled and diced the carrots, onions, and garlic.

2. Steamed them until tender.

3. Put them in my vita-mix with the ginger, curry paste, chicken stalk, fresh squeezed orange juice, soaked and de-skinned almonds, spearmint leaves. 

4. Blend until smooth.

5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Simple soups are fun, easy, and so tasty!

Starting The Day :)

Being that we live right across from the beach I love to get up before the sun and watch the incredible Hawaiian Sunrises. The morning air is so calm, quiet, and heavenly. It makes me feel that I'm not on this earth. I love soaking my feet in the water, taking long deep breathes, focusing on the positive, being grateful!

Then coming home to stretch, breakfast, and my morning juice makes starting the day off right! I've been on a lime kick because a friend gave us a bag full of fresh limes off of her tree. And they are so so good! It gave the perfect taste to my juice this morning of...2 carrots, 1 celery, small bunch of parsley, 1/2 thumb size of ginger, 1 six inch chunky cucumber, and 1/2 a lime.