Welcome to our home! This is our living room dressed up for Christmas. We have (what I refer to as) our "Family Tree" in the living room. These ornaments have been collected over the years. We have ornaments on this tree from both mine and my husband's childhood, and we add an ornament for each person in our family every year. When we take vacations, we pick up ornaments as a reminder of our time together. If you look closely, you'll find Mickey Mouse dressed kind of like Davy Crockett from our time at Disney World's Fort Wilderness, a rocking horse from my 2nd Christmas, Lucy on a jingle bell from our annual trip to see ICE! at the Gaylord, a gondola from a summer trip to Estes Park, Colorado, a black and white hand-painted skyline from our trip to Paris, and this year's gold Aspen leaf from our time at the Grand Canyon this summer. This tree tells the story of our family, and I LOVE IT!
I made our Christmas stockings, and yes, I am well aware that they are huge. I made each family in our extended family a set of stockings, and they are all big. We don't really do gifts for the adults, so our stockings ARE our Christmas gifts.
We have a small Christmas village on our console beneath our television in the living room. I have a friend who has a truly INCREDIBLE Christmas village, and it's a sight to behold. Ours is sweet, and I like it. There's a "live" nativity scene, ice skating rink, pictures with Santa in the gazebo, working streetlights, and a few other fun elements besides the lights in the village homes and buildings.
This is our formal dining room. We have Santas throughout the house at Christmas, and you'll find 2 hiding in here. On the formal tree, you'll also find some sentimental ornaments that I have received from friends at gift exchanges.
Our children's bedrooms each have a city theme. This one is London.... The tree skirt is actually the crib skirt I had made for him as a baby, and I love that it matches his room perfectly with his tree now!
Here is Paris... Pink, Black, Silver, White...shoes, purses, Princess carriage, chandeliers, dresses, and all things sparkly!
New York is my teen's room...so...I'm not taking pictures in there!
This is embarassing.... I created a full night-time skyline that covered a 16' bulletin board: Navy sky with black building silhouettes and yellow-lit windows...SIXTEEN feet by FOUR feet. It was then covered in super hero capes for each teacher. The capes had the teacher's name and their "super powers." (Problem solver, Math magician, Strategy sharer, etc.) I don't even have a picture of the whole board. Not.One.
I do however have this picture of the bottom right corner of the board where our Super Hero Band is ROCKING out for our Super Hero educational team. I thought they came out pretty cute, and the stage even has pleated skirting.
I'm going back through old pictures looking for bulletin boards that I've done over the years, because I realized that I haven't shared them! These are some that I did last Christmas for our elementary school. I have vowed to start taking more pictures, because I really simply don't have enough...and I missed out on so many of the fun details! For example, in the Making Friends snowman board below, the basket next to the snowmen holds snowman arms and a scarf. A black top hat sits next to the basket.
The snowman placing the star at the top of the tree? He has a PRECIOUS winter hat on, and the picture cuts off the big fluff ball at the top of it.
Each of the reindeer has a name plate at the top of their stall. I often get asked about templates. I don't have any templates for my boards, as I free-hand most of what I do. Even if you aren't confident in your craftiness, you can always connect a projector to your computer, use some painter's tape to hang paper on the wall, and use my images as your template.
Hopefully this gives you some inspiration for some wintery bulletin boards or party decorations of your own!
I needed a REALLY fast meal tonight. I had zero time. Truly. I know my pantry may contain some items that not everyone keeps on hand, but if you DO...this is an incredibly easy meal that comes together in no time. (I told you I had NO TIME!😉) It's similar to a Thai Tom Ka soup.
Wicked Easy Thai Chicken and Long Kow Vermicelli Noodle Soup
3 Long Kow Vermicelli noodle bundles (126 grams)
4 C chicken stock
2 cans coconut milk
1/4 C Thai Red Curry Paste
2 T Ginger paste from tube or 1 T of freshly grated ginger (adjust to taste)
1 t kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce (GF if preferred)
3 T brown sugar
Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, cubed
1 C carrot sticks (hand-cut or pre-cut)
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and sliced into sticks
Fresh basil
Fresh cilantro
Sriracha
Place Vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with cold water.
Place next 7 ingredients in a pot on the stove and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add chicken.
Drain noodles and add to pot. Heat through for 3 more minutes.
Place in bowls and garnish with remaining ingredients.
Y'all, I just realized how popular my Polar Express-themed bulletin board post has become! I also realized that I've done MANY bulletin boards since my twins were first graders, and so I'm going back through to find old pictures to share. Hopefully they inspire you to make your hallways or parties more festive!
In 2nd grade, the teachers at our Elementary School do a story and a gingerbread activity that leads to a fun "scavenger hunt" through the school as they look for clues and notes left by the runaway gingerbread man. So, it seemed fitting to decorate the 2nd grade hallway with gingerbread houses. Everything you see here is made with paper, glue, and an occasional marker. I only wish I had more pictures!
Y'all, I try; I really do. Let's be honest here though, I don't use recipes when I'm cooking, so even though I try to get a picture of all of the ingredients at the beginning, I AM MAKING IT UP AS I GO! I frequently have to add ingredients later. Forgive me? Here we go! Last night I came home after 3 days of camping with our Girl Scout troop, and I was beat! I didn't want to cook. After rifling through my fridge and freezers, this is what I came up with, and I loved it! It was a bit more work than I had planned, but I'll definitely be making it again. I started by putting short grain brown rice, salt, butter, and water in my rice cooker while I used my IP for the rest. For our family of five, I used 8 chicken thighs that provided a few leftovers, but this recipe could easily be divided for fewer portions. Remove the skin and fat from the thighs and season them with salt and pepper. Set your pressure cooker to saute, and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Sear the chicken in the butter, and dice 1/2 an onion (I love this Global knife for cutting onions) and press the garlic while the chicken is browning. Remove the chicken to a plate.
Look at all those browned bits in the bottom of the pot! I used 1 cup of white wine to deglaze the pot and scrape up the browned bits. Add the diced onion, pressed garlic, and 1 to 1.5 cups of chicken stock to the pot. Return the chicken to the pot and set it to high pressure for 10 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, heat 2 packages of frozen chopped spinach and then press to strain the liquid. Slice 1 block of cream cheese (low-fat if you wish) into smaller blocks. Grate 1/2 Cup of Parmesan. Strain 1 - 2 cans of artichokes (depending on how much you like them) and rough chop them into bite-sized pieces. When the chicken is finished cooking, turn the pot off and let it naturally release pressure for at least 15 minutes. You can do a Quick Pressure Release if necessary at that point, but it is better to let it release naturally when time permits. Natural release helps maintain the moisture in the chicken.
Remove the chicken to a plate or foil-covered pan while you finish the creamy sauce.
Turn the pot to keep warm if it's still fairly hot or saute if you allowed full natural pressure release. Stir in the cream cheese until melted, add the spinach and stir to combine. Add the Parmesan and artichokes. If the sauce is too thick, you can add 1/4 cup of milk at a time to reach the right consistency for your preference.
Add brown rice to the bowl and top with a chicken thigh, creamy spinach & artichoke sauce, and some crushed red pepper. Yum!
My husband loves cabbage rolls. He came into the kitchen, and he said, "Ooooh! Cabbage rolls! You know who makes the BEST cabbage rolls?" Me: *side eye* "You better watch it." He responded, "Andy's mom's cabbage rolls were the BEST! I ought to give her $50 to make a big batch for us. They're SOOO GOOOOOOD!" Fast forward to after dinner...He ate those words, quite literally, because THESE were the best cabbage rolls...even according to my hubs. Now, I can't say I've ever seen a "beautiful" cabbage roll, but they do TASTE amazing. Next time, maybe before digging in, I should stage my food.... Nom. Nom.
Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls - by Dawn in an 8 qt. Instant Pot 1 lb ground turkey (or pork) 1 lb ground beef (80/20 or 70/30, but not super lean) 2 lg egg 1 C uncooked white rice Garlic, minced 2 T butter (or oil) 2 C shredded carrots (food processor or wet chop in blender...if you've not seen this, just wait!) 1 large onion, minced (or wet chopped) 1 C chicken stock 2 large onions, sliced 1 can crushed tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce 1 C sour cream Salt & Pepper 2 heads of cabbage Sour Cream for garnish Dill
Cabbage: The cabbage needs to be "softened" one way or another. There are several ways to do this. I have found that if you cut the core out of the head(s) of cabbage and put it in the freezer for 24 hours, and then allowing it to defrost, it creates soft leaves that aren't mushy and completely disintegrating. Then, you also need to cut the hard center "vein" out of each leaf as you take the cabbage apart leaf by leaf. I've *heard* that you can cut the core out and place the head of cabbage in your Instant Pot with 1 cup of water for 3 minutes on manual high pressure. I tried this...once..., but my outer leaves were literally falling apart and the inside leaves weren't steamed/cooked. So while I lurve my IP, I didn't love it for softening the cabbage. You can also soften them old-school style by putting the cabbage head(s) in boiling water. You'll still need to cut that hard "vein" from the center of each leaf so that you can roll your cabbage rolls.
Wet chop? Well...confession here...I do not own a food processor. I had one, and it broke the first time I used it, and I have never replaced it. I've got crazy cool attachments for my KitchenAid Stand Mixer and this awesome blender that has the Ice AutoPulse function, and I've got old school kitchen tools that get me through just fine. I *have* found that while my KitchenAid attachments work great for grating cheese, they do NOT work as well with carrots. (That's quite the carrot cake story - that involved plastic shreds from my attachment to be dumped into my cake batter and noticed *just* before I put them in the oven. I could have died! My sweet husband (knowing how frustrated I was) offered to run to the store to just pick up some shredded carrots along with a few other items on our list. He returned WITHOUT the carrots, so he proceeded to hand-grate all of the carrots I needed for the cake, because quite frankly, I was OVER the cake.) So, fast-forward to now, and I'm a busy mom, and although I think you keep more of the onion and carrot flavor by doing them all by hand, I'm not going to lie and say I do it that way all of the time. Throw the carrots and onions in the blender and cover with water. Use the "Ice Auto-Pulse" function until they are sufficiently "grated." Strain the water, and you have "grated" vegetables. Seriously, SO easy!
Add olive oil to the inner pot of your Instant Pot and saute your strained carrots and onions. I recommend cooking these until they are caramelized to really add some tremendous flavor.
Add your crushed/diced tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper, and dill to the vegetables and heat through.
Meanwhile, place your meats, eggs, uncooked rice, garlic, and salt & pepper in a bowl.
Add 2 cups of the veggie sauce to the meat and mix well to combine. Set remainder of veggie sauce aside. Pour 1 C Chicken Stock into the empty inner pot of the IP. Place the "cores" or "veins" from the leaves along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching the bottoms of the rolls.
Place ~1/3 Cup of meat/rice/veggie mixture into a softened cabbage leaf and roll tucking the ends in as you do to create a little package. Place the rolls on top of the cabbage in the pot. Once the bottom is filled, pour 1/2 of the remaining veggie mixture over the cabbage rolls. Repeat with remaining meat and cabbage leaves, followed by the veggie mixture. Top it all off with sliced onions.
Be sure the valve is set to seal, and turn your Instant Pot on to Manual High Pressure for 15 minutes and do a natural release when it is finished. (Alternatively, you can do 18 minutes and quick release with very similar results.)
1 lb ground turkey (or pork) 1 lb ground beef (80/20 or 70/30, but not super lean) 2 lg egg 1 C uncooked white rice Garlic, minced 2 T butter (or oil) 2 C shredded carrots (food processor or wet chop in blender...if you've not seen this, just wait!) 1 large onion, minced (or wet chopped) 1 C chicken stock 2 large onions, sliced 1 can crushed tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce 1 C sour cream Salt & Pepper 2 heads of cabbage Sour Cream for garnish Dill
Remove core and soften cabbage (Instant Pot, freeze & defrost, or boil.)
Grate carrots & onions (wet chop or use food processor.) Add olive oil to the inner pot of your Instant Pot and saute strained carrots and onions. Cook until caramelized. Meanwhile, remove center "vein" from each leaf. Add crushed/diced tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper, and dill to the vegetables and heat through.
Meanwhile, place meats, eggs, uncooked rice, garlic, and salt & pepper in a bowl.
Add 2 cups of the veggie sauce to the meat and mix well to combine. Set remainder of veggie sauce aside. Pour 1 C Chicken Stock into the empty inner pot of the IP. Place the "cores" or "veins" from the leaves along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching the bottoms of the rolls.
Place ~1/3 Cup of meat/rice/veggie mixture into a softened cabbage leaf and roll. Place the rolls on top of the cabbage in the pot. Once the bottom is filled, pour 1/2 of the remaining veggie mixture over the cabbage rolls. Repeat with remaining meat and cabbage leaves, followed by the veggie mixture. Top it all off with sliced onions.
Be sure the valve is set to seal, and turn your Instant Pot on to Manual High Pressure for 15 minutes and do a natural release when it is finished. (Alternatively, you can do 18 minutes and quick release with very similar results.)
If you've met my husband, then you'll know he's more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy. If you've eaten with my husband, you'll also know that although I wouldn't call him a picky eater, he's fairly vocal about what he loves and will tell me if something's not his favorite. (Respectfully of course - he just really loves food, and his food choices reflect that.) I'm here to tell you that THESE POTATOES are his favorite. They are SO easy. They involve a little more work than some other potato recipes, but they're a heck of a lot easier than...oh...say...scalloped potatoes. For that reason, I secretly love that he's deemed these his new favorite.
Wash up some small potatoes. I've used Baby Creamers, small red potatoes, and small golden potatoes with success. Throw the potatoes in your IP, pour in 2 cups of chicken stock, add 2 Tablespoons of butter, and salt & pepper. You *can* add whole garlic cloves if you wish, and I highly recommend it. I like to do 4 huge garlic cloves or 8 normal size. Seal the pot, make sure the valve is closed, set your IP manual High Pressure for 3 minutes.
As soon as it is finished, quick release the pressure. (Otherwise your potatoes will explode and not be nearly as pretty.) Remove the potatoes to a greased baking sheet (but leave the garlic in the liquid), and gently flatten them slightly. They will each "pop" just a little. (I use the flat side of a meat tenderizer, but you could just as easily use the bottom of a glass.) Brush them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper (and garlic powder if you want.) Slide them into a 425 degree oven or under a broiler (but pay attention) just to give them a little color, crisp, and depth of flavor. Keep an eye on them, because if you cook them too long, they'll get rubbery and not be the creamy goodness they should be.
While your potatoes are in the oven, turn your Instant Pot to Saute and reduce the remaining chicken stock, "melted" garlic, and butter down until you have enough to toss the cute little 'taters in. Remove the sauce, pour over the potatoes, sprinkle with parsley & Parmesan, and serve!
Seriously, these are so good and go with ANYTHING....Well, almost anything.
Dawn's Instant Pot Jacques Pepin-style Potatoes
Ingredients:
3 lbsSmall potatoes
2 CChicken stock
2 Tbutter
Salt
Pepper
4-8 Garlic cloves or garlic powder *optional
Parsley and Parmesan for garnish
Cooking Directions:
Wash small potatoes. (Baby Creamers, small red potatoes, and small golden potatoes)
Place potatoes in IP
Add 2 cups of chicken stock, 2 Tablespoons of butter, garlic cloves, and salt & pepper to the IP.
Seal the pot, make sure the valve is closed, set your IP manual High Pressure for 3 minutes.
Once complete, immediately quick release the pressure according to manufacturer's directions.
Remove the potatoes to a greased baking sheet, and gently flatten them slightly. (I use the flat side of a meat tenderizer, but you could just as easily use the bottom of a glass.)
Brush them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper (and garlic powder *optional*)
Place into a 425 degree oven to slightly brown.
While your potatoes are in the oven, turn your Instant Pot to Saute, and reduce the remaining chicken stock, butter, and "melted" garlic down
Remove the sauce, pour over the potatoes, sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan, and serve!
I was really in an Instant Pot mood, and after I used it to make my potatoes, I also used it to make chicken thighs. (Yeah, yeah, it's clear that I live near a Costco. I'm not an affiliate for them.... I wonder if that's even a thing? We tend to have a lot of Kirkland brand in our house.)
Instant Pot Pesto Chicken
Okay! So, pesto chicken! Again, this is super easy. Like so easy that I had time to make a salad and butter some bread for sides while this magically cooked in my Instant Pot. I used 8 chicken thighs (that's 2 packages from Costco, Ha!) and nestled them in my IP. I mixed 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock, 3/4 cup of prepared pesto, 1/8 C Ranch, and some pepper and poured it over the top of the chicken. I added 6 whole cloves of garlic and some fresh thyme from my herb garden. (Read: pots on the back patio that I use to grow herbs. It's too dang hot here to grow basil and mint in the sweltering sun.) Seal up the pot, make sure the vent is closed, set it for manual high pressure for 9 minutes. When it is finished, turn the pot OFF and let it naturally release pressure for 6 minutes. Then quick release the remaining pressure. Again, you can remove the chicken and use the saute function to cook down the sauce. I served the chicken with some of the pesto sauce and freshly grated Parmesan.
Instant Pot Pesto Chicken
Ingredients:
8Chicken Thighs
1.25 CChicken stock
.75 CPrepared Pesto
1/8 CRanch Seasoning
6Garlic Cloves
Fresh Thyme
Parmesan, freshly grated
Cooking Directions:
Place 8 chicken thighs in Instant Pot
Mix 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock, 3/4 cup of prepared pesto, 1/8 C Ranch Seasoning, and ground pepper
Pour over chicken
Added 6 whole cloves of garlic and fresh thyme
Seal the IP, make sure the vent is closed, set for manual high pressure for 9 minutes.
When it is finished, turn the pot OFF and let it naturally release pressure for 6 minutes.
Quick release remaining pressure.
Remove thyme stems and discard.
Remove the chicken and use the saute function to cook down the sauce as desired.
Serve chicken with the pesto sauce and freshly grated Parmesan.
Have you missed me? I've missed you. It's just been crazy busy, and I've been trying to really focus on being "present" where I need to be. I feel like I have a bit of a better balance personally, and I'm excited to get back to blogging and share some things that friends and readers have been asking me about...a lot.
So...this whole Instant Pot craze? (Or choose your brand of pressure cooker / multi-cooker. I'm not sponsored by any of them, so it "makes me no nevermind." *That was in my best Southern drawl.* I'm from Texas, so it's a pretty serious drawl. I once ordered "Sprite" at a drive through and got "fries." Spriiiiiiiiite.....friiiiiiiiiies apparently sound a little alike.) I digress. Yes, I really love my IP. I use it for entrees, soups, rice, Jacque Pepin potatoes, yogurt, and more.
Confession: I actually own two Instant Pots. I have an 8 qt. that I use at home, and I have a 6 qt that we use in our travel trailer. I might have a bit of an obsession.
That being said, yes, I *do* love to cook and bake, BUT...the whole purpose of the IP recipes are to make things a little easier and less work for those of us who don't have time or those that don't like to cook. I'm hoping to share some of the recipes that I use in my kitchen to make this whole process a little less daunting. (You need to read through your manual and understand the sealing, pressure release options, and safety measures. I am not responsible for you using your specific model correctly.) Confession #2: I owned an old school pressure cooker, but I *never once* used it, because it scared the bejeebers out of me. Once you understand the IP, it's EASY (and not scary at all.)
So let's get to it!
Instant Pot Beef Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
"Sunday" Beef Pot Roast that doesn't take ALL. DAY. LONG.? Yes, please! There are a few tricks to make it TASTE like you spent all day on it, and it makes this IP recipe a little more involved than most of the others I'll share, but hopefully this helps you get comfortable with some of the features.
Gather your ingredients (or most of them at least...they aren't all pictured here.) Pat your roast dry and generously season it with salt and pepper. Put oil in the Instant Pot and select "Saute." This part is important if you want it to taste like you REALLY invested time in your roast. Yes, it's going to take some extra time, but I *promise* that it is SO worth it! LET IT SEAR FOR AT LEAST 5 (to 8) minutes per side. You want a dark brown "crust" on all sides.
OH!!! Huge tip here (especially if you have a bigger IP like my 8 qt that's pictured): Get a set of LONG TONGS! They are life-changing when working in the IP with hot oil and searing food. My hands don't end up with 2nd degree burns if there's extra moisture that makes hot oil pop. Drying the meat is important, but these help! These are often used for grilling, but they are amazing when working in the IP, too.
Look at that crust!!! Isn't it pretty? It smells *so* good. Remove the beef and set it aside. Yes, the bottom of the pot looks like you should clean it out before you move forward, but PLEASE DON'T! There's great flavor in there. Throw your onions in, and as you saute them (yes, still...and you *may* have to press Saute again if you really sauteed all sides for at least 5 minutes.) Scrape up the brown bits as the onions cook and help naturally deglaze the pan. Again, I know this is longer than most IP recipes take, but in comparison to ALL DAY? This is totally a win! No, it's not a super-fast weeknight meal, but you can do it after you come home from a morning at church and a lunch out and still have it ready way before dinner time. Once the onions are sauteed and really soaked up that meaty goodness at the bottom of the pot, add pressed garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock, red wine (if using), and SOME carrots - not all of them, unless you like mushy carrots.
These carrots are for flavor for now, we'll add carrots and potatoes later when it also gives you a fail-safe to check your meat. ;-) I know, you're learning, and this is more stressful than you want it to be, but I've got you! Set your pot to Meat, High Pressure, for 60-80 minutes. (I do 80 minutes if I have the time.) You'll get to check your meat before you "commit" to your veggies.
Confession #3: Guys, I'm nervous! I haven't blogged in so long. Blogging has changed in that time, and I'm hoping that you are enjoying this. PLEASE tell me what you love, what you miss/want, and what *ugh...yes* even what you don't want that I'm doing. The overwhelming response to my personal Facebook post makes me realize how many of you WANT to see these, but I want to make sure that I'm sharing the pieces you want.
Get 1/4 Cup of cold water and add 2 T of cornstarch. Swirl them into a slurry in a small saucepan.
When you hit the 60-80 minutes, you can Quick Release (turn the valve for the quick steam release.) Again, if you have the time, natural release is actually preferred, but not mandatory. Once it has released, open and add the small potatoes and 2 inch or "baby" carrots that you want. Set on Manual High Pressure for 3 minutes. Quick Release again when it's finished.
The top image (below) has the uncooked carrots and potatoes. In the bottom image, you can see the carrots that I put in at the very beginning next to the ones I just added a few minutes ago. The more brown carrots have been cooking for over an hour under pressure and disintegrate, but the more orange carrots are perfect!
You can ladle out a cup or 2 of your "juices" from the IP, and add them to your saucepan. Heat on the stove and whisk. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove once it's thickened. You have an amazing sauce for everything! OR you can add the cornstarch and cold water mixture to your IP and select saute to do it right in the pot.
Serve your potatoes, carrots, beef, sauce, and fresh parsley. So yummy!
Author: Dawn Earley
Instant Pot Beef Roast
prep time: 10 mins cook time: 2 hour total time: 2 hours and 10 mins
Ingredients:
Beef Chuck Roast
1-2 T Canola Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 onion, sliced into
strips
5-8 cloves of garlic
2-3 T tomato paste
3 bay leaves
Rosemary, minced
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2-3 C beef stock (2 if using red wine)
1 C Red wine (if using)
Small Bag of peeled and cut Carrots (divided)
15-20 Small potatoes
(red, golden, or even fingerling)
1/4 C Cold Water
2 T Cornstarch
Parsley
Instructions:
Pat your roast dry and
generously season it with salt and pepper.
Put oil in the Instant
Pot and select "Saute." LET IT SEAR FOR AT LEAST 5 (to 8)
minutes per side. You want a dark brown "crust" on all sides.
Remove the beef and set
it aside.
Add onions to the IP,
and as you saute them, scrape up the brown bits as the onions cook and help
naturally deglaze the pan
Add pressed garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, rosemary, Worcestershire
sauce, beef stock, red wine (if using), and SOME carrots (just for flavor)
Set your Pressure Cooker to
Meat, High Pressure, for 60-80 minutes
When cooking is
complete, you can Quick Release (according to manufacturer's directions) or if time permits, natural release.
Add remaining carrots
and potatoes. Set the pot to Manual, High Pressure, 3 minutes. (If
you like your carrots more al dente, then only do 2 minutes.)
Mix water and
cornstarch. Set aside until the pot
completes the 3 minutes of high pressure.
When the 3 minutes is
complete, do a Quick Release of pressure. Ladle 1-2 C of the cooking
liquid into the saucepan with the cornstarch and water. Cook and stir
over medium heat until the sauce thickens. OR* add the cornstarch and water mixture directly to the IP liquid. Select saute and allow the sauce to thicken in the pot.
Serve roast,
potatoes, carrots, sauce, and parsley garnish
we got from LampsPlus when we redid our dining room. (I just realized that I never did a post for that makeover. 😜)
