Originally posted on my other blog (shiftmama.typepad.com) I decided it’s time to bring it over here. This is my kid’s all time favourite thing to make for lunch. I love that she can make this entirely on her own and that it is slightly healthier than the standard boxed Mac and Cheese.
I have finally joined the thousands of people with blogs that have an Instant Pot and instantly have become an expert in all things cooking in a pressure cooker…..just kidding definitely not an expert! BUT I will share recipes as we adapt and create them.
We bought an Instant Pot Lux Mini, it’s one of the smallest sizes of Instant Pots (3 quarts) and is the perfect size for our family. 80% of the time there are just two of us and we have fairly limited space in our kitchen to store things. Our hopes are that this will replace the slow cooker AND the rice cooker. Both of which are just way too big for two or three people.
The challenge now though is finding recipes for the 3 quart Instant Pot. There are so many sites and resources out there for recipes but most are for the 6 or 8 quart pots, so we’ve been experimenting with quantities and so far have been fairly successful.
Best recipe so far (aside from boiled eggs) has been Mac and Cheese. It’s so simple and fast and makes incredible cheesy Mac and Cheese.
Here’s what you need:
- 2 cups of chicken broth (we’re not fancy – Knorr Instant Chicken Broth has been perfect for this)
- 2 cups of elbow macaroni
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustand
- 2 tbsp of butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup 2% Milk
- 1 cup of cheese – we’ve been doing a blend of mozzarella and cheddar with a dash of parmesan (real warm, not the powdered stuff) if we have it.
Here’s what you do:
- Combine the broth, mustard and salt and pepper in the pot.
- Add macaroni
- Add butter. Give it a quick store and then put the lid on.
- Set the pot to manual pressure for 5 minutes
- When the time is up, manually release the pressure by turning the steam release valve to vent. CAREFUL – this will release the steam! Use a towel or oven mitt to turn the valve if you are accident prone!
- Once the pressure is released, open the pot and add the cheese and milk.
- Stir to melt the cheese and serve!
It’s so simple, and The Kid has requested this three times (we’ve had the pot for two weeks).
Outside in Kelowna 