Friday, November 29, 2019

Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Corn Pudding Casserole



I like a corn casserole that has a more souffle consistency. I've tried many recipes...this is my own rendition and it was a hit! Perfect creamy texture, and the crushed Ritz crackers give it that extra texture. 
I used one of the pans and the lid from this stainless stacking pan set in my Instant Pot to prepare this recipe, and it worked fantastically. 





4 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 stick butter (melted)
1 29 ounce can whole kernel corn (drained).
1 sleeve crushed Ritz Crackers


Add all ingredients except corn and crackers to blender and blend until thoroughly mixed.
Pour into a bowl or pan which will fit in your pressure cooker. Add the corn and the crackers and mix. If your casserole container does not have a lid, cover with foil. 

Add 2" water to your pressure cooker cooking pot and place a small trivet in the pot.  Place the bowl containing the casserole on the trivet.
Seal the pot and set the high pressure cook time to 40 minutes. Once done, allow a 10 minute natural release. 

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Corn & Chicken Chowder



November is definitely here in Ohio today....30 degrees and spitting snow!
I was in the mood for a warm and filling soup, so decided on this Corn & Chicken Chowder. I've made it before, and it always hits the spot. If you're following WW or ITrackBites Better Balance, it's 1 point per serving with the bacon bits, or 0 points without!

This can be made on the stove-top (as I did today), in a slow cooker, or in an Instant Pot. The beans add the creaminess without adding points.


Ingredients:

  • Boneless chicken breast tenders, 16 ounces (0 points)
  • Navy Beans, 1 can  (0 points)
  • Corn Kernels, 2 cans (divided)   (0 points)
  • Better Than Bullion Roasted Chicken Flavor, 2 Tsp.  (1 point)
  • Better Than Butter seasoning, 2 Tbs.  (1 point)
  • Green Onions, sliced    (0 points)
  • Bell Peppers, 1 cup diced    (0 points)
  • Celery, 1 cup diced   (0 points)
  • Real Bacon Bits (optional), 1 Tbs per serving added at serving time. (adds 1 point per serving) 

Start out by cooking the chicken tenders until completely done in a skillet. Once done, remove and cut into bite sized pieces and place in a 3 qt sauce pan or Dutch oven. 
Add the navy beans (undrained) , one can of corn, the Better Than Bullion, and the Butter Buds to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into pan with chicken and stir. Set to simmer.
Dice green onions (reserve some of the tops for garnish), celery, and bell peppers and add to the pot. 
Drain the remaining can of corn kernels and add to pot. Stir to combine and simmer until ready to serve. Garnish with 1 Tbs of bacon bits if desired. 















Point Breakdown: Total Points for 6 servings (without bacon) is 2. This amounts to 0.33 points per actual serving, which the app counts as 0 points in the ITrackBites recipe builder. 
Real bacon Bits (I used Hormel) are 1 point per Tbs.











Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Prettiest and Easiest 2-Ingredient Dough Bagels Ever!!

I love 2-Ingredient Dough Bagels!
Being able to have a warm, fresh bagel while staying my iTrack Bites allowable Bites is awesome, and I love having the bagels ready for a quick 2 Bite treat.

However, I HATED making the dough and forming the bagels in the traditional recipe. The dough as mixed was soft and sticky, making it almost impossible to form the bagels without having the dough all over my hands....very yucky!

If you've made these, you know that you must keep adding flour to make the dough shapable....thereby adding to the Bites, and making the bagel drier and less chewy.

I came up with a process a while back to make this a hands-off process....and in the meantime, making some of the most lovely and yummy bagels I've seen made with 2-Ingredient Dough!
I decided to share my process while making them this morning....excuse the impromptu pics and video.




Basic 2-Ingredient Dough Recipe:
1 cup Fat-Free Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Cup Self Rising Flour
1 Egg, beaten (for egg wash, optional....I am no longer doing the egg wash...see below)
Seasoning of choice (I like Everything Bagel)

The Bites value of these 8 bagels are 1.3 Bites each (1 cup self rising flour = 11 Bites)

Rather than making them in a bowl, I opt to use my older Ninja, which has a blade system which pulls up and out of the container when finished blending. You can use any blender, but I've found this type works best because it's easier to get the sticky dough out. I have tried using my Vitamix blender (love it, but the dough sticks to the blades and it is difficult to get all of the dough out) and it works but is my second favorite tool for this dough.
The Ninja also allows me to pulse and nicely blend the dough without getting clogged up.
I use the silicone donut mold pictured to make the bagels. It's oven proof and microwave proof, and also fits perfectly in my Power Air-Fryer Oven, which I use to bake the bagels.
Silicone Donut Mold from Amazon

Process:
Prep the molds by spraying with a bit of non-stick spray.



If not using egg wash, sprinkle your molds with desired seasoning...
I'm using Everything Bagel.




Place the greek yogurt and self-rising flour in the blender container.




Place lid on blender


Pulse the dough until blended well. For me, about 15 seconds in 2-3 second bursts.


Remove the blades (only if using the Ninja).


Spoon dough into molds. The recipe makes 8 bagels, so I end up using both of my molds. 



Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth the dough in the molds. Doesn't have to be perfect....this will be the bottom of your bagel!
Excuse the video...trying to smooth one-handed while videoing.



The smoothed dough!

Now, brush with egg wash if you wish, and sprinkle with Everything Bagel (or seasoning of your choice) if you didn't add to the mold earlier. Even if you did, you can opt to add extra seasoning now if you want strongly seasoned bagels.
Pop them in the oven at 360 degrees for 6-8 minutes. I do 6 in my air fryer over. 

Look at this....Bagels baking and perfectly clean hands!!



When done baking, remove the bagels and carefully use a butter knife to flip them and place them back in the molds. Brush with more egg wash and sprinkle more seasoning. Place back in the over for another 2 minutes to brown the bottom. 





Here's my finished bagels this morning....crispy outside and chewy inside.
15 minutes start to finish, and ready for some fat-free cream cheese!!