Instant Pot Again, Mardi Gras,

On Saturday I posted a recipe for Mongolian Beef in the Instant Pot. I made it for supper for us and decided to add the pineapple as well as the juice. It was delicious. Mind you, I am not sure where Mongolians get Pineapple from. Of course these days, internationally, most people have access to most foods, but if you are interested, I have linked to a Wikipedia article. Pineapple is certainly not a staple. However, it was good and we both enjoyed it. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of the Instant Pot. If you remember, I changed them because the first one I got was too big for my kitchen. So I was following a recipe from the recipe booklet which came with the delivery of the small one. It was for cooking chicken. At one point it says press the Poultry button. So, off I trot to do just that, only problem, I don't have a Poultry button. I went through the distruction booklet again and finally found a note, tucked away, saying my mini model doesn't have a Poultry button. OK, fine, but these are the distructions which came with it, what am I supposed to do instead????? Absolutely nothing. I did it by guess and it worked out fine, but I wasn't too happy that they hadn't explained this in the book. Yes, I know, one book fits all, but apparently it doesn't.

Matt foes for the results of his kidney ultrasound this morning.

It appears that Mardi Gras is on Tuesday, so practically every recipe I see is for Cajun something or other or dishes suitable for the occasion. Many years ago I picked up a recipe for Jambalaya in the local newspaper which I made many times. A friend of ours in NC who had a shrimp boat, used to love it and would give me 5 lbs of shrimp to make it (I never used that much shrimp, it was overkill) so I made a larger amount than usual and left it for him to finish it for breakfast the next day - possibly lunch too. I have since read many Jambalaya recipes, but this is a very good dish. I haven't seen the recipe for a while and see it calls for converted rice - I would use basmati. I would also use much more shrimp.

Jambalaya

2-1/2 cup water
1 cup converted rice
1 tsp salt
3 tsp red pepper sauce (hot)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 lb cooked shrimp (I usually use more)
1 cup diced ham
1/2 med green pepper cut in 1 x 1/4 in strips
4 green onions, with tops, sliced
2 med tomatoes, roughly chopped

1. Bring water to boil, add rice, 1 tsp salt and red pepper sauce. Simmer 20 mins. covered. Remove from heat, let stand approximately five mins til liquid has disappeared. Put in a large bowl. Combine garlic, oil, remaining salt with rice. Add rest of ingredients except tomatoes. Chill a minimum of 3 hours. Stir in tomatoes to serve

Servings: 4

Have a great day