A Life, Lived

Christmas Weight Gain

Lots of folks gain a bit of weight over the Christmas season. There is an important lesson in this meme.

Changing Parenting . . .

A Cat Proof Christmas Tree

and no . . . that is not Lucca!

Travel Tuesday - Rome

Shots from our Christmas in Rome . . .

Happy BIrthday Mom!

Someone turns 78 today!

Paul and I are taking her to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the weekend where she will have some great wine, good food, see a play, be pampered in a nice vintage hotel, and do a bit of shopping. Not a bad way to celebrate another milestone!

Another Type of Advent Calendar . . .

Travel Tuesdays - Florence

Happy Hanukkah

Welcome December

It is the first of December.

Keen parents are excitedly thinking up funny antics for their elf on the shelf to get into (trust me - you will regret this in a week!).

Others are setting out advent calendars.

I'll take this one we saw at Costco in Syracuse:

Instant Pot Chili Mac

This Instant Pot Chili Mac and Cheese makes the perfect hearty comfort food meal for any day of the week. It is a one pot dish that is easily made in under 30 minutes. The delicious combination of pasta, chili, beans, and cheese will have you going back for seconds. You will want to cook this recipe again and again.

We made this on a Friday night after a hectic week. It was the perfect antidote to the stress of the week . . ahh . . . comfort food!

Instant Pot Chili Mac

1 lb 93% Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey (you won't need to drain as very little fat)
1 Medium Onion, chopped
1/2 cup Celery, chopped
2 Tbsp Chili Powder, mild
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano, dried
1/8 tsp Chipotle Powder (optional, or cayenne pepper)
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt (or 1 tsp table salt)v1/2 tsp Black Pepper
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth

(1) 4oz Can of Green Chiles (mild, fire roasted are good)
(2) 15.5oz Can of Red Kidney Beans (rinsed & drained)
8 oz Elbow Pasta (macaroni)v(1) 14.5oz Can of Diced Tomatoes (juice and all)
(1) 15oz Can of Tomato Sauce
2 1/2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Press the Sauté (Normal) button on the Instant Pot. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost done.

Add onion and celery. Sauté until almost translucent, stirring occasionally. Make sure to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot (deglaze).

Add garlic and the spices. Stir.

Add in the broth, chiles, and beans Stir to combine. Let the contents come to a simmer.

Add the pasta, stir and submerge it.

Press the Cancel/Keep Warm button to cancel the sauté mode.

Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce, and let them stay on top. DO NOT STIR (this helps alleviate the potential burning that can happen with tomatoes).

Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to “Sealing” position.

Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) button and the + or - button to select 4 minutes* (or 1/2 of the time on the pasta package directions), and make sure that High Pressure is also selected.

When cooking time ends and the unit beeps, do a Controlled Quick Release (QR) (slowly at first, in small bursts so sauce doesn't spew out of the knob) of the steam.

When the steam is all out and the pin in the lid drops, carefully open the lid, facing away from your face. Stir contents.

Add cheese, if using, and stir. Let sit a minute until melted.

Season with more salt & pepper to taste, if desired.

Garnish as desired. Serve it right away!