RECIPE - Delicious InstantPot Beef Stew

This recipe is a lot for a 6 quart Instant Pot, and may overfill it.  So you may consider reducing some of the ingredients (like the vegies), precooking the vegies, or using a larger pot.

I looked over a recipe for short rib beef stew and then made this up on the fly. So this is not necessarily for beginners who need it all planned out.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 lbs stew meat
• 2 tbsp better than bouillon beef
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sherry
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 large red potatoes (1.5-2" chunks)
• 8 oz baby carrots (whole)
• 16 oz baby bella mushrooms halved or quartered
• 2 large onions (chunked)
• 1.5 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 tsp ground sage
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss meat in flour.
2. Either in the Instant Pot or a separate pan, pan sear the beef in small batches, 2-3 minutes tossing about halfway through, to brown some of the sides.  You should still see pink, do not cook all the way through.  Remove beef and place in Instant Pot.
3. If you wish to deepen the flavor you can sauté the onions until they are slightly translucent or the mushrooms (this will actually reduce the amount of water and make more room in the Instant Pot.
4. Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 60 min. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

I used cooking wine, which is already salty, so I didn't add any salt and it needed quite a bit for my taste.

There are three ways to thicken the broth and I describe the flour method above:

1) toss beef in 1/4 cup flour before pan searing

2) add 3-4 tbsp of corn starch to enough cold water to dissolve it and stir in after cooking (add more if not thick enough, this way keeps the broth more transparent, however, after reheating it will not stay thickened)

3) mash up some of the potatoes after cooking.

Easy Shrimp and Cheese Grits

I thought I would share with you this recipe that I created with input from my friends.  It turned out delicious and is actually a super easy weeknight meal, believe it or not.  It goes really quickly.

Shrimp and Cheese Grits

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon, chicken
• 6 cups Water
• 1-1/2 Cups Quaker Old Fashioned Grits
• 8 oz Cheddar, sharp, shredded
• 6 tbsp Butter
• 2 lbs Shrimp, (21-30 count, peeled, and deveined)
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Tony Sacheres Creole Seasoning
• 3 tbsp Green Onion, sliced

Preparation Steps

1. Bring water and bouillon to a boil, then slowly stir in grits.
2. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. While grits are sitting, toss shrimp with oil and seasoning in another bowl.
4. When grits are ready, add cheese and 4 tbsp butter to grits and stir until smooth and thoroughly mixed.
5. In a frying pan on medium heat add 2 tbsp of butter until slightly browned, then add about 1/4 of the shrimp at a time, turning when the edges just begin to turn pink (less than one minute). Continue to cook for about another 30-45 seconds. Remove from heat and place in a separate bowl.
6. Spoon grits onto plate, top with shrimp, and sprinkle on green onion, if desired.

Notes

The Quaker grits recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of salt for this serving size, however, there is enough salt in the bouillon and the seasoning that it makes added salt too salty.  For an alternative taste, use smoke gouda instead of sharp cheddar.