Instant Pot Magic: BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Maylee at Beyond Gumbo

I’m having a great time trying out recipes in my new “Instant Pot.” Here’s a recipe that adapts very well to “Instant Pot” cooking: “BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs.” There is nothing better than a rack of juicy, tender and flavorful pork ribs. We save cooking pork ribs for special occasions as the process of smoking or roasting the ribs is somewhat time-consuming and involved. However, when cooked in an Instant Pot and then broiled for a few minutes in the oven to finish them off, the process is simple and easy. These are absolutely tender and flavorful.

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Let’s Cook Hot & Spicy Tomato Jam a.k.a. Knock-Out Tomato Chutney

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Maylee at Beyond Gumbo

I love ripe, juicy tomatoes and eagerly look forward to the early summer months when tomatoes ripen in Louisiana. Today I am making a new recipe — at least for me — with some of these ripe tomatoes. It is “Hot & Spicy Tomato Jam.” What? I had never heard of “Tomato Jam” until this year and apparently no one else has either. I took a chance and concocted my own recipe from several sources. The jam turned out to be delicious. I am so pleased. We ate the entire batch in two days. Just a warning — my recipe has a hot kick; hence the subtitle, “Knock-Out Tomato Chutney.”

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Instant Pot Magic: Coconut Curry Chicken with Potatoes & Carrots

Posted on May 16, 2021 by Maylee at Beyond Gumbo

Can you cook oriental cuisine in an Instant Pot? I decided to find out by cooking “Coconut Curry Chicken with Potatoes & Carrots” in my new kitchen appliance. And I was pleased with the results of my “Americanized” dish. The flavors of coconut milk, yellow curry and chicken combine to make a nicely seasoned main dish. The recipe comes from a college roommate and is one of my favorite oriental-inspired dishes. Typically potatoes are included in this recipe. My roommate, Lucy, also added carrots and onions. Serve the chicken with rice — even though it contains potatoes. Had I known that cooking with an Instant Pot was so incredibly easy, I might have purchased this kitchen appliance several years ago.

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Kids Can Cook: Graham Cracker Crush & Banana -Marshmallow Delight

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Maylee at Beyond Gumbo

Here’s an easy recipe and a way to use up those extra bananas which perhaps you might have purchased. This “lite dessert” quickly disappears at our house. It is a low-fat dessert — virtually fat-free (although it is not calorie or sugar-free). While sorting through a stack of vintage homemakers magazines, I ran across the recipe for “Banana Pudding Supreme” which actually isn’t a pudding at all but instead uses melted marshmallows. Hum. I haven’t cooked with marshmallows in many years. The recipe is simple and calls for layering melted marshmallows/whip cream along with crushed graham crackers and bananas. Other than melting the marshmallows on the stove, this dessert is an activity which kids can help make.

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Instant Pot Magic: Let’s Steam a Whole Artichoke

Posted on May 2, 2021 by Maylee at Beyond Gumbo

Here’s something that I never ate until I was an adult. That is a fresh, whole artichoke. My husband’s family loves to eat this vegetable — just for the fun of it. It is a social activity — sort of like a Louisiana crawfish boil. My mother-in-law boils the artichokes in a pressure cooker until tender. To eat them, you pluck off individual leaves, dip them in butter — or garlic butter. — and pull the pulp off the leaf between your teeth. You also eat the artichoke heart — that’s the best part. When my husband brought some colossal artichokes home from the grocery store, we decided to try cooking them in my new Instant Pot. So simple and the artichokes cook much quicker than boiling on a stove. In addition to enjoying the wonderful flavor of the artichokes, we learned that they are a powerhouse of nutritional value.