Shelby

Made a big roasting pan of snack mix. Hoping the UPS man comes soon so I can give him a huge bag before I eat all of this lol.

We had Ronnie's kids and grandkids over yesterday to do Christmas (I'm FREE for the whole week now...I can bake and veg out...and bake...and drink wine.... ). They came over about 1 in the afternoon so I decided to do some brunchy stuff to eat. I only bought this tortellini because it was Christmas colored lol. A pasta salad with salami, cheese cubes and olive oil marinated cherry tomatoes from the garden last summer. I made a light vinaigrette dressing to go over it. Biscuits and sausage gravy (I kept the gravy warm in the Instant Pot...worked like a charm) Pickle dip (first time making this. OMG we loved it. Used pickles that I made last summer) and pretzels, little cheeses and M&M's Ham, mushroom, broccoli, cheese breakfast casserole. I think I used a dozen eggs. Cinnamon rolls. No one touched them ....oh well, more for me lol. My little drink-station set up .....mimosas were flowing (for the grown ups of course)

Gnocchi, crab cakes and pork belly OH MY!! Was busy Saturday getting ready for a big meal yesterday (see the lunch thread) so Saturday was a simple, piled high pastrami sandwich on @cyalexa's wonderful recipe for homemade buns. Last night (after gorging on brunchy food all afternoon) we wanted just a little something so we broke out some oysters and some shrimp cocktail.

Come sit next to me, I was thinking the same thing

I was just going through my cookbooks trying to find the recipe that I used last year for a breakfast casserole (can't find it) and look what I found! I have no recollection of purchasing this, nor do I remember it being given to me. Kind of scares me. I almost bought this a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, I will be perusing to see if any recipes jump out at me.

Venison chili cheese dogs Oyster Po Boys and onion rings

Me too!

Oh come, look...just take a look.....one smalllllll look lol. <---------------me being sneaky

Your meals also reflect the soul of an artist. It's no wonder that your son has such talent AND has married another talent.

Instant Pot!!!! Love my IP!

Yogurt made in the instant pot with some honey and granola.`

Steve-How cool! Neat story about the sugar cane. I'd like to try that someday. Paul-It's never too early to get some luck in. I have black eyed peas on my grocery list. Going to the big city tomorrow so I can't forget them! Norm-You've made me hungry for chili. And, your son is VERY talented! Spaghetti night with salad and more wonderful oysters last night.

Wow, it's WARM up there. Very unusual. Food looks good. Mango in the salsa with the pork?

Ohhhh I like it. Small enough for 2. No leftovers.

I've now had two occasions that I've wished that I had two Instant Pots. I know, I know, there are only two of us and that sounds silly, but it's true. When I was making yogurt, that same night I wanted to make black beans. Yes, I did them on the stove but all the while I was thinking how much faster (and better) the IP would have been. The second time was last night. I made red beans and andouille sausage in the IP. First time doing that. I sautéed the veggies for a bit and then threw in the andouille. Let that go for a while and then added all the spices and liquids. I used the chili/bean setting which is 30 mins. Wasn't done after the first go-round so I did another 30 mins. Perfect. Anyway, my plan was to get the beans done, dump them in a pot on the stove to keep warm and then use the IP to do some collard greens. Well, by the time the beans got done it was later than I had planned so I skipped the greens......if I had 2 IPs I could have done the greens at the same time as the beans......I also did rice on the stove last night.....hmmmmm.....that would mean I could have used 3 IPs....... The IP is also saving my ass on some ham I bought. I won't say what brand because maybe this is just how this particular kind of ham is supposed to be. It's a country ham that I bought. They send it all nicely sliced and vac. packed. They even send the bones which are going to be great for ham and beans etc. But the ham is really really tough. I was bummed because this was not a cheap ham. Anyway, I threw a couple slices in the IP and steamed them for about 20 mins. and VOILA, they are tender and good. So, anyway, I'm on the look-out for that $78 price...if anyone sees that, please alert me

You're going to see a lot of oysters from us We had some raw, some an easy version of Rockefeller and some shrimp cocktail (not pictured) night before last. Last night raw and some red beans, andouille sausage and rice.

Nice, Kay! RG beans are the best.....I am so glad you like your IP AND the beans.

I have no idea why the pics weren't showing up. I uploaded just like I did today, but anyway, I tried again and maybe you can see them now? If not, give me a bit and I'll try again.

I used whole milk. I wonder if one would have to add cream if I used 2%?

I'm sometimes an oyster purest lol. I ate a couple just plain--SO good. And did some hot sauce on the other.

Ohhhhh artichokes are probably really great in the IP. If I ever stumble across some, I'm doing that. Thanks FP Glad your stew turned out well. I haven't done that yet. Been waiting for a nice, cold, winter day.

Ohhhhhh , yes please. I love me some pimento cheese.

Appetizer of oysters on the half shell last night. See the "what I got for Christmas" thread for more details Then we had some RG beans and venison tacos

Yogurt is a total success. I can tell such a difference in taste from store bought. It's way more fresh (obviously) and has a great "tang" to it. I followed this recipe mostly. I did not add any vanilla because I like to use yogurt in place of sour cream sometimes and I used the freeze dried yogurt culture that I pictured above. Also, I only had a 1/2 gallon of milk so I halved the recipe. Just to note, a half gallon of milk takes 10 grams (or 2 packages of the kind I bought) of culture. I didn't take a picture of the milk in the IP because it looked like milk in the IP lol. Here is the yogurt after the 8 hours in the pot. I put it in my draining bag. I hung the bag from the faucet for ohhhh, maybe 30-45 mins. Excuse the dirty dishes please. After hanging the recipe suggests putting the yogurt back in the IP bowl and whisking to break up any lumps. A half gallon of milk yielded a quart and a half of nice, creamy, thick yogurt. I saved the whey......dunno what I will do with it.....might go right down the drain, but I'm going to google for ideas. The lady that did the recipe makes muffins I think..... And, here's what I'm eating as I type. Yogurt with a nice dollop of honey on top. Ronnie even likes it and he's not a yogurt fan. He mentioned frozen yogurt....I'll have to figure out how to do that next. Also, I came back from the laundry room to my two cats next to the bowl.....with yogurt on their whiskers. So, we have two more fans lol.