Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash in 7 Minutes
If you're watching your carbs then you might want to look at spaghetti squash as an alternative to pasta. A cup of cooked spaghetti squash strands has 10g of carbs whereas a cup of cooked spaghetti has 40g. Does it really taste like spaghetti? NO ... But its texture makes it tasty enough to pair with your favorite spaghetti sauce, beef stroganoff, and a zillion other items.
I've baked/roasted spaghetti squash in my MAK 2 Star and/or oven many times and it always comes out fine. This method, however, takes 40-60 minutes. It can also be cooked in the microwave.
But in your Instant Pot (IP), or any pressure cooker, it only takes 7 minutes. A spaghetti squash fits just fine in the IP. Cut the squash in half lengthwise from stem to tail and scrape out the seeds. You might want to drizzle the squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 cup of water and place the squash on the steaming rack. Make sure that the steam release hand is set to sealing (not venting). Press Manual and navigate to 7 minutes. When the IP beeps the squash is done. Carefully use the Quick Release method to release the pressure. Scrape out the strands (noodles) and serve.
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Pellet Grilled NY Steaks with Cauliflower Bake
Pellet Grilled NY Steaks with Cauliflower Bake
Pellet Grilled NY Steaks with Cauliflower Bake - If you're looking to cut back on carbs these days like I am then you might want to check out this post cause it's loaded with a few options you might want to add to your stash of recipes. First, we all know that steaks do not have any carbs so that's a good start. Throw in a cauliflower bake which is composed of cauliflower, butter, heavy cream, cheddar, Parmesan, thyme, salt and pepper and your carb count is still pretty minimal. Only thing missing is a small green salad. Here's where you need to pay attention to the carbs in the salad dressing. I think this is where my downfall is. I tend to be a little heavy handed at times ... something I need to work on. All in all, this turned out to be a great low carb meal.
If your wood pellet smoker-grill has the capability of direct cooking then configure your grill for such. My MAK 2 Star General's direct cooking is called the FlameZone. Preheat your pellet grill on high using any available wood pellets on hand. Reason being is that at such high temperatures you will not produce any smoke. I recommend using a searing grate if you have one in order to help create those beautiful sear marks. No, the searing marks do not make the steak taste any better but it sure makes them look fantastic.
Allow the steaks to come to room temperature before grilling. Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Grill the steaks for about 3 minutes before using a Pig Tail food flipper to rotate them 90º. This is how you create those cross marks. Grill for an additional 3 minutes before flipping the steaks over. Grill until the steaks are done to your desired preference. I like my steak medium-rare so I take mine till the internal temperature reaches 135º to 140ºF. Allow the steaks to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Ingredients:
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp dry thyme leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Directions:
- Boil or steam cauliflower florets until tender (9 to 13 minutes)
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- Spray baking dish with non-stick spray
- Place half the florets on the bottom of the baking dish
- Pour half the heavy cream over florets
- Season with half the salt and pepper
- Dot with half the butter and sprinkle half the garlic
- Sprinkle half the cheddar and Parmesan cheese
- Repeat with remaining ingredients
- Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown
- Let cool for 5 minutes before serving
Spatchcock Smoked 14 Pound Turkey
Smoked a little 14 pound spatchcock turkey on my MAK 2 Star yesterday. Served with a small twist. Instead of the normal mashed potatoes I chose to replace them with mashed sweet potatoes because I need to start watching my carbs. I didn't say eliminate my carbs all together so I had to keep the stuffing and a traditional green bean casserole. As always ... once the Money $Shot photo was taken I drowned everything with mucho gravy!
Spatchcocked the turkey and seasoned on and under the skin with extra virgin olive oil and Jan's Original Dry Rub. Wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for 4 hours. Preheated the MAK 2 Star with Hickory to 180ºF and smoked the turkey for 2 hours. Bumped the pit temperature to 350ºF until the IT at the thickest part of the breast reached 170ºF. Rested the turkey loosely under a foil tent for 15 minutes before pulling the turkey.
For those who may not be familiar with the term "spatchcock" here's a brief explanation:
The spatchcock, also known as "spattlecock", is poultry or game that has been prepared for smoking, roasting or grilling by removing the backbone, and sometimes the sternum of the bird and flattening it out before cooking. The preparation of a bird in such a manner for cooking is more popularly known as butterflying the bird.
Since there is only the two of us we'll have lots of pulled turkey for future use. Looking forward to grazing, soup(s), and casseroles. Every year during the Christmas holidays I like to stock up on a few smaller turkeys and freeze them for future use during the year. Stores practically give turkeys away to get you into the store.
Organic Edamame Spaghetti
Organic Edamame Spaghetti
Organic Edamame Spaghetti - The DW and my Granddaughters simply love Edamame Beans (Green Soybeans). We get them at Costco and they'll sit down and wolf em down in no time. So it's not surprising that when we saw Organic Edamame Spaghetti at Costco that it quickly found it's way into our basket. Wow!! 25 grams of protein per serving.
Threw together my pork sausage spaghetti sauce and boiled/simmered ½ lb of edamame spaghetti. It only took 4-5 minutes to simmer the pasta. The Edamame spaghetti turned out real good. Didn't taste all that different from regular spaghetti. Have enough raw product left for 3 more meals ... maybe next time I'll see how it pairs up with an Alfredo sauce.
Instant Pot Pork Loin and Vegetables
Instant Pot Pork Loin and Vegetables
Instant Pot Pork Loin and Vegetables - What's better than an Instant Pot? Two Instant Pots to use for a recipe!! One for the meat and the other for the sides. The DW bought me these units when they were on sale big time at different times on Amazon. Had a pork loin on hand and decided to figure out a new way to cook it. Learned a lot from this cook which I'll share in a moment. Overall, I think it was a success and I plan on cooking many more meals using one and/or both instant pots.
The Instant Pot on the left is a 6QT 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker while the on the right is a 6QT 7-in-1 IP-Smart Bluetooth-Enabled Multi-functional Pressure Cooker. I have never used the Bluetooth function and while it's a nice feature I probably will never use the Bluetooth. The functions on both units are the same otherwise.
The pork loin came out a bit dry but I think it was my fault. Most recipes I found on the internet called for the roast to be pressure cooked for 30-35 minutes. One called for 20 minutes. What I did was cook it for 35 minutes but wound up allowing it to stay warm for 20 minutes while the 2nd cooker came up to steam and then steamed the veggies. Learned that it took my vegetable pot 20 minutes to come to pressure and then I cooked the veggies for 10 minutes. Next time, and there will be a next time, I believe I'll cook the pork roast for 25 minutes and use the quick release method. Meanwhile I'll start the veggie cooker a lot earlier so that both will be done at the same time. Like I said, the roast was a bit dry but it was still edible and tender. It reminded me of when pork was cooked to 160ºF.
Seasoned the pork loin and used 2 cups Apple Cider, medium red onion sliced, and 2 apples sliced. Then pressure cooked for 35 minutes ... Used a trivet -> 2 cups of water, 4 large red potatoes quartered, 3 large carrots, 4 stalks celery, half a pound button mushrooms. Pressure cooked for 10 minutes.
