TACO PASTA (INSTANT POT)

 As I read and learn more about cooking with the Instant Pot, the more creative I am willing to be with recipes. I am almost always in the mood to bake, but I am not always in the mood to cook. There is a difference you know between baking and cooking, you know.

We have always said the $64,000 Question in our house is "What's for dinner?" Remember that show? (I guess I am showing my age.) That's because you have to cook dinner.

Fortunately for me Wayne doesn't mind eating something several nights in a row, if he likes it. So I often find myself looking for a recipe/casserole that makes enough for several meals for us. We can warm them up in the microwave and eat whenever we are hungry.

Two good things I have learned when cooking pasta in the IP is the ratio 1 (cup of liquid):4 (oz of pasta) and cooking time is about half of what is recommended on the box/bag for the pasta. Knowing that you can then be as creative as you want in mixing together ingredients that you like. 

I really wanted to use macaroni for this recipe, but all I had 16 ounces of was penne pasta. I had to settle for it because I can't go to the store.

If you are reading this "hot off the press" on the 28th, we will be in CO Springs celebrating Christmas with our older son Jeffrey and his family. Christmas 2020 is one for the record books for us because of COVID-19. So many of my friends are not being able to be in-person with their families this Christmas while some are celebrating as normal...COVID-19 or not.

DIL Sara's parents both got the virus the first of November. Her daddy is still dealing with some of the results of his getting the virus. Not surprising Sara has had some concerns about our coming for Christmas knowing we would have been with younger son Patrick and his family two days before coming to CO. To ease her concerns and our concerns for safety, we celebrated with Patrick and family on the 16th with exchanging gifts and then have been self-isolating since. That meant no going to the store to get anything. Needless to say, I can't wait until we can get back to a more normal life.

Anyway, with just a few ingredients, I came up with this recipe for Taco Pasta and it served as a main dish for us during Christmas week. 

TACO PASTA  in the INSTANT POT

1      tablespoon oil

1      lb. ground beef

1      envelope of taco seasoning mix

1      can diced tomatoes

4      cups beef broth

1-1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican style shredded cheese)

 

Add the oil to the inner pot and

then break up ground beef and

cook until done.

Use the SAUTE function to do this.

Add seasoning mix (sorry about the steam) and

stir in meat to coat.

Add about 1/4 cup of broth and scrape the bottom of the inner pot to loosen any meat.

Add the rest of the broth and

the diced tomatoes, undrained.

Add the pasta and

press down to make sure it is immersed under the liquid. 

Add lid and close.

Press the Pressure Cook option and

reduce time to 5 minutes.

It will take about 10 minutes for pressure to build (ON).

When pressure has built, the timer will start counting down when it starts to cook.

When cooked, do a Quick Release (QR)

by pressing the vent.

When pressure is totally released,

(this took about 2 minutes)

open the lid.

Add the cheese and

stir to melt. 

Serve warm. 

We sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on top of serving.

It warms up so nicely in the microwave, too. I put my serving in a microwave container that has a lid, sprinkle a little water on it, cover it with the lid, and reheat for about 2 minutes on reheat - pasta option. Then I sprinkled a little more of the three cheeses on it and allowed it to melt.

Yummy. As good as originally.