Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

A few months ago, I came across this recipe for "Instant Pot Mexican Casserole" from Disabled Kitchen and Garden and decided it looked really interesting. The quantities looked all wrong, though- neither metric nor imperial nor the usual blend I'd expect from somewhere in the English-speaking Commonwealth. It used the metric equivalents of some of the common US quantities.* On the other hand, once I had that part figured out, we decided to try it.

As per usual in my kitchen, some things ended up with substitutions, and some things I looked at and went "...yeah, my hands are not up for that." Then there was the post-execution roundtable for opinions. And another round of testing, etc.

It's taken a while to get this where we like it, mostly because it makes around 4 qts of heavy casserole, and by the time we kill a batch, we don't want it for a while. 

Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

Makes 12 1c servings

1 lb ground beef

16 oz bag frozen peppers and onions

1 4oz can green chilies

2 14oz cans diced tomatoes

1.5 c rice (basmati by preference)

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp table salt

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

2 14 oz cans chili beans**

1 c water

Turn the Instant Pot to saute and brown the hamburger into crumbles. Add in the peppers and onions, and cook until everything has thawed and the onions are starting to go translucent but not brown. Turn off the Instant Pot. 

Roughly level off the surface of the meat & veg in the pot. Now later in everything else on top in the order in which it appears above: green chilies, tomatoes with their juices, rice, herbs and spices, beans, water. 

Put the lid on and set the Instant Pot for 20 min. When done, do natural release for 10 min, and then quick release. (Do not do quick release right away, your kitchen will not thank you, it is a giant mess.) Remove the lid and mix thoroughly. 

Serve by itself, or with sour cream and cheese, or in a tortilla or with corn chips and a lot of cheese as a nacho topping...there are many options. 

*The Vancouver folk took one look at it and went "Canadian." So that mystery was solved. 

**The original recipe called for 2 cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed. I was out. We've decided it's better with chili beans.

Mustard Soup

 Mustard Soup is one of those foods that sounds iffy, but is great and glorious. It relies heavily on which mustard you use for the final flavor, which is part of the reason that every town in the Netherlands has variations on this recipe- every town has it's own beloved mustard. 

Here, Spouse requests mustard soup by coming home with a new and interesting mustard and leaving it conspicuously next to the stove. I generally end up mixing half of one smooth mustard and one cracked or whole grain mustard for the texture. This is also good with a handful of bacon crumbles or cooked barley mixed in, or as a sauce over pork chops. 

The basic recipe isn't actually complex, just a little finicky because you have to temper an egg. I make mine gf by using rice flour.

Mustard Soup (serves 3-6, depending.)

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 stick of butter

2 c chicken or veg stock

2 c milk or half and half

4 Tbsp mustard

2 eggs

Over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the flour to make a roux. Slowly add the chicken stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring up to a low simmer.

In a separate container, mix the mustard and eggs, until the eggs are well beaten and incorporated. Slowly temper the eggs by adding the hot liquid to them, whisking constantly. When they are warm, add back to the main pot. This takes about half the stock. 

Remove from heat & add the dairy. Taste. It may need more mustard. 

White chicken chili

 My mother keeps losing this recipe. I cannot count the number of times I've forwarded it back to her- one of our coworkers 20 years ago brought it to the office chili cook off, and it's been living in my email ever since. I cannot count the number of people I have sent it on to. I have, of course, made some modifications over the years. 

White chicken chili:

2 lb chicken breast - 1/2" cubes

1 medium onion - chopped

3 tbsp garlic

1 tbsp oil

4 - 15.5 oz cans Great Northern Beans - drained and rinsed

4 c chicken broth

2 - 4 oz cans chopped green chilis

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp pepper

2 cup sour cream/ plain yogurt

1 cup half and half

In large pan sauté chicken, onion, garlic powder in vegetable oil until done. (just enough oil to coat bottom of pan)

Add beans, broth, chilis & seasonings.

Bring to boil - reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in dairy

(These days, I add everything up to the dairy in the instant pot, cook for 4-6 min, turn the warmer off, and let it release. And then wait until it's cool enough I won't curdle the milk)

Makes 7 servings.

Weeknight Italian

 This is not a recipe for what my friend Evan refers to as Sunday Gravy. That takes 4-6 hrs, and fresh garden tomatoes. This is a recipe for 30 min on a weeknight when you want something several steps up from sauce in a jar. 

1lb italian sausage

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (or 2-3 Tbsp pre-minced, no judgement)

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp onion powder (optional)

1 c red wine (optional)

Salt to taste

If you're me, start defrosting the italian sausage you forgot to start thawing last night.

Start a large (5-6qt) pot, 2/3rds full of water on the stove at high. Add a tablespoon of salt.

In a dutch oven, deep frying pan, or other large capacity pot, brown the sausage. Add the garlic while you're opening the tomato cans. Stir. Add the tomatoes. Stir. Add the italian season and optional ingredients. Stir. Turn to low. Taste to check salt level- it's not going to need much, if any. 

In an ideal world, your pasta water is boiling.* Follow the directions on the package, but yes, this makes enough to go with the whole pound of pasta. Add the pasta to the water, and stir both pots occasionally until the pasta is done. Drain the pasta. Serve, with or without parmesan. Makes 6-8 servings.

*On the other hand, if this is the point you go "I knew I forgot something", be at ease. The sauce gets better the longer it simmers. The extra 20 min are no big deal. Except to your blood sugar. Eat a piece of the sausage as Quality Control.