Creeping Back To Normal

Instant Pot Spaghetti

After a couple of weeks of passing germs around, being the caregiver, being the patient, I'm beginning to see daylight. Still not back to full speed, but I'm getting there. I did cook the easiest supper last night (after I woke up from a nap) and I'll share the recipe down below.

On Monday night I got together with my friends again to see the end—they all lived happily ever after—of the TV series we've been watching. We've taken turns providing supper. This week was a surprise. Açaí bowls!

Joanne brought a blender and frozen packets of the super berries and bowls she had stashed in the freezer. And the others brought assorted toppings. It was fun to have a make-your-own session. Thinking maybe all the fruit and super food helped me kick the last of the icky stuff I've had.

And now to the spaghetti recipe. I knew I had to do something for supper last night. If there had been a reasonable something to pick up in the city and bring home I would have done it. Daddy-O said we could go out if I didn't want to cook. But he had a meeting right at supper time. So I figured spaghetti was the easiest thing I could make at home. By the time I got home, I had used up my energy for the day, so I looked for a one-pot way to make spaghetti so I wouldn't have to dirty up so many pots. I wanted a streamlined dinner.

The recipe that looked the most promising was done in the Instant Pot. I've done pasta in it before with so-so results. These directions...not the ingredients...were enough different that I wanted to try again. Please, please, PLEASE go to the A Pinch of Healthy blog and read her post about how she makes it. She has lots of photos, answers questions and tells you exactly how to do it.

But I'm putting the basic directions here so that I can find this recipe. I've said before this blog is like my own recipe box. This was like comfort food spaghetti. I think it would be very kid friendly. Using the Instant Pot made for really easy clean up. Another big plus.

INSTANT POT SPAGHETTI

1 lb. box spaghetti, uncooked (regular spaghetti, not angel hair)
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon House Seasoning (or salt & pepper)
4-1/3 cups water
24-oz jar marinara sauce (I used Rao's)
parmesan, for topping

Turn Instant Pot on to Sauté. When pot is hot, add ground beef and House Seasoning and brown meat. When brown, remove meat and drain. Pour any excess liquid out of pot. Set meat aside.

Pour water into pot. (No need to clean anything out.) Break spaghetti in half and lay crisscross into pot. (Do this in 3 handfuls, alternating direction you put spaghetti in pot.) Use spoon and press noodles into water to make sure they all get wet. Don't stir. If some float, that's okay,

Put cooked beef on top of noodles. Don't stir. Pour jar of sauce over meat. Don't stir.

Put lid on. Use Manual and set to High Pressure for 4 minutes, closing vent. When time is up, NPR (natural pressure release) for 5 minutes. Then release remaining pressure. Remove lid and use tongs to stir noodles and sauce. Pick apart any stuck noodles. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken sauce. Serve with a little parmesan sprinkled on top.


Again, go see the whole process on A Pinch Of Healthy. I found that so helpful. NOW...let me tell you my one change from her recipe. I only had thin spaghetti here. I had two brands, so I looked to see if maybe one cooked longer than the other. And yes, the Ronzi took a little longer to cook than the Barilla. I figured that was a closer match to regular spaghetti. So I used that one and shortened the NPR time. When I do this again I might even shave another minute off the NPR. This was definitely acceptable, but it was more done than I usually cook pasta. And I will take the inner pot out of the cooker when it's done, so it won't keep cooking.

Using the Instant Pot just takes practice. And having the confidence to make some common sense adjustments. And then just do it. I'm getting better at it!

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I always keep a jar of house seasoning on the shelf. Sometimes I make a big batch. Most times I make it in this smaller proportion.

 *House Seasoning:  
1/4 cup salt 
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. garlic powder

Mix well. Store in an air-tight container, such as an empty spice bottle or small jar. 

This morning's sunrise.