Blog | Heather Likes Food

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

By Heather LAST UPDATED July 17, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED October 25, 2017, 1 Comment

You don't need to run to Olive Garden when you're craving soup! This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana takes only 7 minutes and tastes like it's been simmering all day!

This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is the ultimate quick-fix soup that tastes like it's been simmering all day!

If you've been to Olive Garden, it's likely you've tried this staple soup. It is brothy yet creamy and loaded with soft potato, tender kale, and spicy Italian sausage. It's probably on my list of top five favorite soups ever!

I love making this in the Instant Pot because it cooks the potatoes so quickly and makes the sausage so tender it almost melts into the soup.

The best way to eat this Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is definitely with a big loaf of crusty bread to soak up all the broth. If you need a good bread recipe, this no-knead bread goes perfectly with it!

Want More Easy Instant Pot Soup Recipes?

Tools I Use For Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana:

The Instant Pot 🙂 : This is the model that I have and LOVE. My Instant Pot has been with me for over a year, and I’ve put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
The Chop Stir: This strange little tool makes short work of browning ground meat with its odd shape that allows it to crumble the meat quickly as it cooks.

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5 from 2 votes

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

You don't need to run to Olive Garden when you're craving soup! This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana takes only 7 minutes and tastes like it's been simmering all day!

Prep Time10

Cook Time7

Pressure Release5

Total Time22

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: fresh kale, Instant Pot, italian sausage soup

Servings: servings

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

½ pound Italian Pork Sausage
½ pound Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey
4 whole medium potatoes peeled and sliced
1 whole large onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups kale tough ribs removed and chopped
1 cup cream

Instructions

Set the Instant Pot to "Saute" and brown and crumble sausages until cooked through. Drain off excess fat or use a paper towel to absorb it. Return to pot.
Add onion, potatoes, garlic, chicken broth and salt to the pot and stir to combine.
Place and secure the lid on the Instant Pot, cancel the "Saute" mode and set it on "Manual" mode. Enter 7 minutes cooking time at High Pressure and allow to cook.
Once cooking time is up, do a manual release of pressure or allow it come down naturally. Remove lid.
Stir in kale and cream. Allow soup to sit for 5 minutes to allow kale to soften and serve.

Nutrition

The Ultimate Rice Crispy Treat Recipe

By Heather LAST UPDATED October 3, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED October 25, 2017, 1 Comment

This is definitely the ultimate rice crispy treat recipe! It's perfectly soft and chewy with an irresistible layer of marshmallow cream that makes them far from ordinary.

Ultimate Rice Crispy Treat Recipe

This ultimate rice crispy treat recipe might be the reason my jeans don't fit too well anymore. My kiddos love them and I always think I'll be able to control myself when I make a batch but it turns out I have absolutely zero self-control when it comes to marshmallow cream. ZERO.

Meaning I only make these when I know I'll be making them for other people, far, far away from my chubby face.

How to Make Rice Crispy Treats With Marshmallow Cream

The trick to making this the absolute bestest, most ULTIMATE RICE CRISPY TREAT recipe ever is two-fold-- First, don't overcook the marshmallow and second, hide a layer of marshmallow cream in the center for a gooey surprise.

You might worry that the extra layer of marshmallow fluff will make them fall apart, but never fear! These ultimate rice crispy treats set up beautifully and cut into perfectly stable squares once set.

Pin This Recipe To Your Easy Dessert Board

Tips For Rice Crispy Treats with Marshmallow Fluff:

Like I mentioned above, DO NOT overcook the marshmallow. In fact, you don't want to "cook" the marshmallow at all, just barely melt it. Marshmallows are sugar and when you cook sugar, what happens? It hardens! Cooked sugar and soft and chewy rice crispy treats just aren't friends.
I love leaving a few whole mini marshmallows in my rice crispy treats for added fun. To do this, melt the first portion of marshmallows + butter, add the cereal and then add in another cup of marshmallows. Adding them last will keep them from melting and will leave you with little pillowy sweet morsels studding your treats.
Wet your hands just slightly to press the treats into the pan. Doing this keeps the mixture from sticking to your hands and is much easier to clean off your hands than cooking spray or shortening.
MIX-INS! This ultimate rice crispy treat recipe can be adapted any way you want! Chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts, candy, food coloring, etc. I suggest adding any mix-ins at the same time you add the second portion of marshmallow to keep them from melting/getting crushed/color running. The only exception to this would be the food coloring or anything you want to stir directly into the marshmallow mixture.

Pin This Recipe To Your Easy Dessert Board

Want More Easy Desserts?

Tools Used for Ultimate Rice Crispy Treats:

Pyrex Easy Grab Pan: I love these pyrex pans because of the big handles. It makes them so much easier to pull out of a hot oven and also easier to wrap with foil or plastic wrap.
Get It Right Silicone Spatulas: I have waaaaay too many of these spatulas floating around in my kitchen but I just love them! They are heat-resistance and can be used for both baking and cooking so they are basically my go-to kitchen tool. I love that they come in lots of vibrant colors and are easy to clean. Most of the spatulas I have are at least 4 years old and still look new!

Pin This Recipe To Your Easy Dessert Board

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These Ultimate Rice Crispy Treats are perfectly soft and chewy with an irresistible layer of marshmallow cream that makes them far from ordinary.

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4.41 from 5 votes

Ultimate Rice Crispy Treat Recipe

These Ultimate Rice Crispy Treats are perfectly soft and chewy with an irresistible layer of marshmallow cream that makes them far from ordinary.

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Cooling Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy dessert, marshmallow cream, quick

Servings: servings

Calories: 298kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

½ cup salted butter
9 cups mini marshmallows 16 oz, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 cups crisp rice cereal
7 ounce Jar Marshmallow cream

Instructions

Combine butter and 8 cups marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook for 1- 2 minutes or until the butter and marshmallow are just melted, no longer.
Stir in vanilla extract.
Add cereal and stir, followed by the remaining 1 cup of marshmallows. Continue to stir until the cereal is well coated.
Grease a 9x13" pan and spread ½ of the cereal mixture into the pan, pressing with just barely wet hands to make it easier.
Place spoonfuls of the marshmallow cream over the entire top of the layer of cereal and spread to cover.
Press remaining cereal mixture over the marshmallow cream and press into an even layer.
Let cool and set for about an hour before cutting.

Nutrition

Instant Pot Lentil Soup

By Heather LAST UPDATED June 18, 2020 · FIRST PUBLISHED October 23, 2017, Leave a Comment

Instant Pot Lentil Soup cooked in the Instant Pot is a quick and easy soup that is filled to the brim with flavor.

Instant Pot Lentil Soup is basically what my fall dreams are made of. It's rich and hearty without being heavy like many hearty soups are.

If you've been turned off by lentil soup before because of its lack of flavor or texture you're going to want to give this recipe a try-- I really don't think you'll be disappointed! Everyone I've made this Instant Pot Lentil Soup for has raved about it and asked for the recipe.

Pin This Recipe To Your Soup Board

Tips for this Instant Pot Lentil Soup:

If you don't have an Instant Pot, no problem! In order to cook this soup on the stovetop, follow the recipe directions through step #2. Bring your soup to a simmer on the stovetop and cook for about 30-35 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Continue with the directions as printed on the recipe.
This recipe is a fantastic vegetarian/vegan soup as is, but I'm of the camp that believes everything is better with just a little bit of bacon. Adding a couple of slices of chopped bacon to the pan in step #1 adds a nice smokiness to the soup that I love.
Soup is always better with a good hunk of bread to dip in it and this N0-Knead Bread goes perfectly with this Lentil Soup.
Don't skip the lemon juice or use concentrated lemon juice! The FRESH lemon juice really makes all the flavors in the soup POP and turns it into something magical. Concentrated lemon juice (the kind in the bottle) does not have the same flavor as fresh and might make your soup taste a little off. Use fresh lemons and you'll be glad you did!

Want More Instant Pot Soup Recipes?

Tools Used For this Instant Pot Lentil Soup

An Instant Pot: This is the model that I have and LOVE. My pot been with me for over a year, but still works like new! It's changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
OXO Handheld Slicer: I love this little tool when making soup because it slices small amounts of veggies quickly and easily and I don't have to dirty a cutting board-- I just slice right over the pot! I especially love it for carrots and celery.
Better Than Boullion: I use a lot of chicken/beef/vegetable broth in my recipes because it adds such nice flavor but I don't love keeping cans or cartons of it in my pantry. For this reason (and more) I use this broth base anytime I call for broth in my recipes. It only takes 1 teaspoon of base to make 1 cup of flavorful broth and can be stored for quite a while in the refrigerator.

Pin This Recipe To Your Soup Board

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Instant Pot Lentil Soup cooked in the Instant Pot is a quick and easy soup that is filled to the brim with flavor.

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4.50 from 8 votes

Instant Pot Lentil Soup

Instant Pot Lentil Soup cooked in the Instant Pot is a quick and easy soup that is filled to the brim with flavor.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Pressure Release15

Total Time25

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: Instant Pot, quick, Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 227kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 whole medium onion chopped
2 whole carrots peeled sliced
4 whole garlic cloves pressed or minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon dried thyme
28 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
1 cup brown lentils rinsed and picked over
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt more to taste
Pinch red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper to taste
1 cup chopped fresh kale tough ribs removed
Juice of ½ to 1 lemon to taste

Instructions

Preheat Instant Pot on the "Saute" setting until hot and pour in olive oil. Cook onion, carrots and garlic in the oil until fragrant and stir in the cumin, curry powder and thyme. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Pour tomatoes, lentils, broth, water, pepper and salt into the pot. Close lid and set manual timer for 20 minutes
Allow to Instant Pot to release pressure naturally or wait 5 minutes and manually release the pressure if you're in a pinch for time.
Remove about 2 cups of the soup, place into a blender, and blend until smooth. Stir pureed soup back into the rest of the soup. Alternately you can use an immersion or stick blender to lightly blend the soup and thicken it up a bit.
Adjust salt and pepper seasoning to your preference and stir in lemon juice-- this really makes the flavors pop! Stir in chopped kale and set Instant Pot on saute mode to bring the soup to a simmer and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the kale is tender.
Serve hot!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Cookie and Kate

Nutrition

Other Soup Recipes You Might Like

Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

By Heather LAST UPDATED April 5, 2018 · FIRST PUBLISHED October 12, 2017, Leave a Comment

You guys have to try this Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup! Top it with a little bit of bacon and you have a creamy soup done in 7 minutes!

Creamy, cheesy soups have always been one of my most favorite things, and this Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup is no different. Loads of sweet onion, potatoes, and sharp cheddar cheese make this soup super warm and comforting.

But I think the thing that makes this recipe spectacular is the addition of dried dill weed and Worcestershire sauce. These two ingredients add so much flavor and add a bit of a different twist that you haven't tried before.

Cooking Tips for this Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Don't have an Instant Pot? No problem! Make this Cheesy Potato Soup on the stovetop by following the directions through adding the potatoes. At which point you'll bring the pot to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. You'll then stir in the cheese, half and half and rest of the ingredients.
Want to switch up the flavors? Using different cheeses (smoked, sharp, mild, pepper) will change the flavor of the finished soup substantially. Play with different cheeses and find a combination you LOVE.

Want More Easy Instant Pot Soup Recipes?

Tools I Use For Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup:

The Instant Pot 🙂 : This is the model that I have and LOVE. My Instant Pot has been with me for over a year and I’ve definitely put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
OXO Handheld Slicer: I love this little tool when making soup because it slices small amounts of veggies quickly and easily and I don’t have to dirty a cutting board– I just slice right over the pot! I especially love it for carrots and celery.

📖 Recipe

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4.56 from 9 votes

Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

You guys have to try this Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup! Top it with a little bit of bacon and you have a creamy soup done in 7 minutes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time7

Pressure relase10

Total Time22

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: creamy, Instant Pot, Marie Calendar's

Servings: servings

Calories: 652kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 ½ cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
8 cups potatoes peeled and sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
5 cups chicken broth
2 cups half and half
4 cups medium or sharp cheddar grated
1 ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Set the Instant Pot to "Saute" and cook celery and onion in the butter until translucent.
Add potatoes, salt, and chicken broth to the pot. Stir to combine.
Place and secure the lid on the Instant Pot, cancel the "Saute" mode and set it on "Manual" mode. Enter 7 minutes cooking time at High Pressure and allow to cook.
Once cooking time is up, do a manual release of pressure or allow it come down naturally. Remove lid.
Stir half and half and cheese until combined and melted and season with dill, paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Serve.

Nutrition

Better Than Costco Mac and Cheese

By Heather LAST UPDATED November 5, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED October 10, 2017, 3 Comments

Costco Mac and Cheese-- quick, easy and just as good (or better) than the deli version. You can go ahead and throw that membership card out. 🙂

Could this Costco Mac and Cheese recipe be the easiest, creamiest, most flavorful mac and cheese ever? Maybe. I was planning on posting this recipe as a Costco Mac and Cheese copycat but once I made it again to take pictures I decided it was, in fact, BETTER than Costco's version and I'd be doing it a disservice by calling it a mere copycat.

Pshh.

Nobody wants to be called a copycat, after all.

My favorite part about this recipe is how stinking easy it is. I'm a huge fan of slow-cooked roux-based cheese sauces that typically top most homemade mac and cheese recipes but I don't always have the time or patience for that! This "Better Than Costco Mac and Cheese" uses jarred alfredo sauce as the sauce base and it doesn't even need to heated up before baking! Just cook your pasta, pour on the sauce, stir in some cheese and bake to ooey, gooey perfection.

[brid autoplay="true" video="484767" player="19763" title="Better Than Costco Mac and Cheese" duration="63" description="Better Than Costco Mac and Cheese Recipe" uploaddate="2019-10-30 15:19:50" thumbnailurl="https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15101/thumb/484767_t_1572449098.png"]

Pin This Recipe To Your Pasta Board!

Tips for Costco Mac and Cheese:

Use a "Four Cheese" or other mild-tasting alfredo sauce. When testing this recipe I once used a "Garlic Alfredo" and while delicious, it was a bit too garlicky to pass off as Mac and Cheese, in my opinion.
Choosing Cheese-- After studying the Costco Mac and Cheese label, I settled on using sharp cheddar, Jarlsberg, and parmesan cheeses to try to recreate to the flavor. The ingredient list on Costco's actually lists Gruyere instead of Jarlsberg but both are in the Swiss Cheese family and Jarlsberg is typically a little bit cheaper and melts BEAUTIFULLY so I went with it and loved the results. But the bottom line is, use the cheese you have/love. 🙂
Choosing Pasta-- any pasta shape can be used for this recipe. I like the cavatapi because it has lots of surface area to grab hold of the cheese sauce, but if you have penne, use it! Have elbow? Use it!

Want More Easy Pasta Recipes?

Tools Used for Costco Mac and Cheese:

Pyrex Easy Grab Pans: I love these pyrex pans because of the big handles. It makes them so much easier to pull out of a hot oven and also easier to wrap with foil or plastic wrap.
Cheese Box Grater: Grating cheese is usually a task I pass off to my kids because I hate it, but this grater makes it as enjoyable as it can be. 🙂 I love the four sides and that they include a slicing blade.

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4.50 from 28 votes

Better Than Costco Mac and Cheese

Costco Mac and Cheese-- quick, easy and just as good (or better) than the deli version. You can go ahead and throw that membership card out. 🙂

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy, jarred alfredo sauce, quick

Servings: Servings

Calories: 520kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

8 ounces Cavatapi Pasta
15 ounces Jarred Prepared Alfredo Sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
8 ounces Sharp Cheddar shredded and divided
4 ounces Jarlsberg Cheese shredded
½ cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook pasta according to package directions to "Al Dente" doneness. Drain and place in a large bowl.
Pour alfredo sauce and dijon mustard over the cooked pasta and stir. Add in ¾ of the sharp cheddar and all of the Jarlsberg and parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined.
Spray an 8"x 8" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and spoon pasta into the dish.
Sprinkle remaining sharp cheddar over the pasta. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

Nutrition

Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED September 25, 2017, 1 Comment

This Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup has all the flavor of your favorite stuffed bell peppers wrapped up into a hearty soup that is made in 7 minutes thanks to the Instant Pot!

This Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup is one of my new favorite recipes for the fall. It tastes just like a stuffed pepper and is so much easier to make!

No pre-cooking meat, no pre-cooking rice, and no hollowing out peppers! Everything is made in one pot inside the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker and only takes 7 minutes to cook!

It's basically my weeknight dream meal.

Tips for Making Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Don't have an Instant Pot? No problem! This can be made in any electric pressure cooker or on the stovetop. To make on the stovetop follow the directions up until adding the rice. Bring all ingredients to a simmer and then add the rice. Let simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender.
I like to use a combination of ground turkey and ground beef in my Stuffed Bell Pepper soup as stated in the recipe, but feel free to use any combination (or lack thereof) that you like.

Want More Easy Instant Pot Soup Recipes?

Tools I Use For Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup:

The Instant Pot 🙂 : This is the model that I have and LOVE. My Instant Pot has been with me for over a year and I’ve definitely put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
The Chop Stir: This strange little tool makes short work of browning ground meat with its odd shape that allows it to crumble the meat quickly as it cooks.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

4.80 from 5 votes

Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

This stuffed Bell Pepper soup has all the flavor of your favorite stuffed bell peppers wrapped up into a hearty soup that is made in 7 minutes thanks to the Instant Pot!

Prep Time5

Cook Time7

Pressure Release10

Total Time22

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fresh bell peppers, Instant Pot, quick

Servings: Servings

Calories: 493kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground beef
28 ounces tomato sauce
28 ounces diced tomatoes undrained
2 cups diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced onion
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 cups beef broth
¾ cup uncooked rice

Instructions

Set the Instant Pot to "Saute" and brown and crumble meats until cooked through. Drain off excess fat or use a paper towel to absorb it.
Add onion, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green peppers, sugar, salt, broth and rice.
Place and secure the lid on the Instant Pot, cancel the "Saute" mode and set it on "Manual" mode. Enter 7 minutes cooking time at High Pressure and allow to cook.
Once cooking time is up, do a manual release of pressure or allow it come down naturally. Remove lid and serve.

Nutrition

Four 7 Minute Instant Pot Soup Recipes

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED September 25, 2017, Leave a Comment

My Instant Pot is my life-saver during this busy fall season, and these four instant pot soup recipes are favorites in my family. All four only take 7 minutes of cooking time and are a cinch to throw together.

Pin These Instant Pot Soup Recipes!

Soup is one of my very favorite things to make, and we eat a lot of it here at Chez Cheney. Especially since I fell deeply, madly in love with my Instant Pot. I've had it for a little over a year now, and I can safely say that's its changed a lot of the way I cook. Not only is it great when I get a hankering for last minute pot roast, but it also cooks whole grains and rice quickly and flawlessly. It also makes short work of one-pot meals like soups and stews.

I don't have an Instant Pot, should I get one?

If you don't have an Instant Pot or another brand of an electric pressure cooker, I full-heartedly urge you to take the plunge ASAP! There's a bit of a learning curve-- I felt like I was operating a nuclear warhead the first few times I cooked with it-- but once you get the hang of it, you'll fall in love. If there's one tool you can have in your kitchen arsenal that will help you get dinner onto the table in record time with phenomenal results THIS. IS. IT.

This is the Instant Pot Model that I have and it's been through a beating this past year as I've put it through the ringer, but it still works and looks like new. The 6-quart capacity is a great size for my family of 5. I can make a big batch of soup, cook a moderately sized roast, or a large portion of rice or grains with room to spare.

These four instant pot soup recipes are some of my family's favorites. I have Zuppa Toscana, Chicken and Dumpling, Cheesy Potato, and Stuffed Bell Pepper here. Each soup is completely different from one other and will suit lots of different tastes. I love adding bacon or ham to the cheesy potato and if you love Olive Garden's Signature Soup, you have to try the Zuppa Toscana!

[brid autoplay="true" video="484759" player="19763" title="Four 7 Minute Instant Pot Soups" duration="93" description="4 recipes for instant pot soups" uploaddate="2019-10-30 15:19:49" thumbnailurl="https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15101/thumb/484759_t_1572448944.png"]

I hope you'll try these Instant Pot soup recipes out! If you have any questions at all about operating your Instant Pot or making these recipes, feel free to email or message me on Facebook-- I'd love to help you out!

To view the recipes below click on the Name or Picture to be directed to the recipe.

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Pin These Instant Pot Soup Recipes!

Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup

Instant Pot Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Pin These Instant Pot Soup Recipes!

Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Want more Instant Pot Recipes?

Pin These Instant Pot Soup Recipes!

Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken

By Heather LAST UPDATED September 4, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED September 11, 2017, Leave a Comment

The easiest, moistest, most flavorful chicken ever! This bacon wrapped pesto chicken is packed with flavor and takes only 15 minutes to bake under the broiler, making it a perfect weeknight meal!

This bacon wrapped pesto chicken is a game changer, people. Let me explain why.

I've taught a handful of classes on quick cooking over the past few years and there's one kitchen tool I always work into my lesson because it's my favorite -- the broiler.

It's been my experience that most people are actually afraid of the broiler, and rightly so. It's the only appliance that can turn a perfectly browned loaf of garlic bread into coal in the amount of time it takes to sneeze. BUT it's that power and high-heat cooking that makes it such a great tool for quick and easy cooking!

If you're one of the many that equate using the broiler to cooking with the eyes of Hades, let's think about the broiler in a different way. Imagine flipping the broiler upside down so that the heat is coming from the bottom. Now, what do we have? A BBQ Grill!

The best way to cook this Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken

You see, a broiler = an upside down BBQ grill!

It's not so scary when you think of it this way, is it?

When you're able to harness high heat from a broiler and use it correctly (aka not scorching your garlic bread), you end up with food that is juicy, caramelized (we all love those charred bits), and the best part, COOKED QUICKLY!

This Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken goes in and out of the oven in 15 minutes and only takes about 10 minutes to prep which means it can be on your table in 30 minutes flat.

This is a sponsored post for HemisFares™ brand that is available exclusively at Kroger family of stores. All opinions are honest and 100% my own.

For Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken, Jarred Pesto is Your Friend!

For quick weeknight cooking, pre-made ingredients that pack a ton a flavor are your friend. I love to keep jarred basil pesto in my pantry so I can pull it out in a hurry and use it to dress up just about anything. The jarred pesto at my local Smiths is usually on the top shelf near the spaghetti sauces.

About a month ago, I posted about this new line of imported foods carried at Kroger stores when I made 5 cheese stuffed Lumaconi, and I've been excited to try out some more of their products. For this Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken, I spread HemisFares™ brand Pesto alla Genovese (Basil Pesto, Find #50) across strips of boneless skinless chicken breast that I pounded a bit to thin them out.

I used about a tablespoon of pesto per each piece of chicken.

I then rolled each piece up into a pinwheeel and wrapped a piece of bacon around it, securing the loose ends under the bottom of the roll.

Once all the rolls were ready I transferred them onto a baking sheet, gave them a little squeeze of lemon juice over the top and popped them under the broiler. I cooked them for about 7 minutes, flipped, and then an additional 7 minutes until the bacon was browned and crisp and the chicken was cooked through.

Aren't they gorgeous? I love all the colors and can you tell how juicy that pesto chicken is?! SO GOOD!

Why is this chicken SO juicy?

The secret really is in the pesto-- it's so full of flavor and keeps that chicken moist while cooking. If you haven't found the HemisFares line at your local Kroger store, look for it! There are so many fun international ingredients, perfect for quick meals and fancy gatherings alike. For more information on HemisFares you can check out the website HemisFaresFinds.com or visit Facebook.com/HemisFares.

If you try the recipe, let me know!

📖 Recipe

The easiest, moistest, most flavorful chicken ever! This bacon wrapped pesto chicken is packed with flavor and takes only 15 minutes to bake under the broiler. making it a perfect weeknight meal!

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4.91 from 32 votes

Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken

The easiest, moistest, most flavorful chicken ever! This bacon wrapped pesto chicken is packed with flavor and takes only 15 minutes to bake under the broiler, making it a perfect weeknight meal!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broiled, jarred pesto recipe, moist chicken breast

Servings:

Calories: 211kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar HemisFares Basil Pesto
8 slices bacon
½ lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the broiler on your oven on HIGH with the oven rack about 8-10 inches from the top.
Pound each chicken breast thin until it's an even thickness (about ¼in) and cut each in half long ways. Season each strip with salt and pepper.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of pesto over each chicken strip and roll up into a pinwheel.
Wrap each pinwheel with a single piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick if needed.
Place wrapped chicken on a lined baking sheet and squeeze fresh lemon juice over each of the pinwheels.
Place under broiler and cook for about 7 minutes, flip and continue to cook for an additional 7 minutes or until the bacon is browned and chicken is cooked through.
Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

7 Totally Do-able Cooking Tips for Incredible Burgers

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED August 31, 2017, Leave a Comment

When it comes to amazing burgers it's all about using the right ingredients and knowing the perfect way to cook the meat. Keep these 7 cooking tips for incredible burgers in mind and you'll be set! Let's start from the beginning...

Pin It For Later

Before I start in on this, let's get one thing straight.

I am NOT Bobby Flay.

Got that? Yes, I feel like I make a pretty killer burger and using these cooking tips for incredible burgers I'm about to lay out for you here will get you amazing results. But, if I had to choose between eating a burger that I made or one made by Bobby himself, I'd choose the latter and I hope you do too!

Don't be a fool.

It's not that I'm not confident these tips will help (in fact, most of these I learned from the grill master himself), it's just that I'm not claiming to be the "be all, end all" source of burger wizardry. Is Bobby? Probably.

Probably, yes.

With that said, here are my go-to cooking tips for incredible burgers.

THE MEAT

It's not so much about the cut of beef used but about the fat content in the beef. FAT = FLAVOR and JUICINESS. An 80/20 blend (20% fat) will give great results. If meat with any lower than 20% fat is used the burger will be dry and nobody wants that!

As an aside, I've recently started cooking with meat from Butcher Box and we've fallen in love with their ground beef and steaks. It's 100% Grass Fed beef and makes some of the best burgers we've had at home.

They also have organic chicken, and heritage breed pork and it all gets shipped right to your door. If you're looking for a great place to source your meat, I can't recommend them enough!

THE SHAPE

I like to use a form to make my burgers so they are all the same weight, shape and size. Doing this means that they will all cook at the same rate and be uniform.

My favorite form is an old peanut butter jar lid that I've been holding onto forever for just this purpose. Each patty turns out to be about 6 oz and are the perfect size. I line the lid with plastic wrap, gently pat the meat into the lid until it's level, turn out onto a plate and pat gently around the edges to smooth.

Ever had your burger patty swell up like a foot ball while cooking? Just make an indentation in the middle of each patty with your knuckle and that will prevent it from puffing up while cooking.

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THE SEASONING

When it comes to burgers, I'm a purist.

Salt and Pepper is really all that's needed for a mean burger.

I used to swear by mixing mayonnaise into my meat to make it moister but it's not needed when using meat with a high enough fat content like we talked about above.

But the trick with using just salt and pepper is using enough! Home cooks tend to under season their food and that's why food tastes So. Darn. Good. when going out to eat. It's actually seasoned! Imagine that. 🙂

Salt draws moisture out of the meat so I always season the first side with salt and pepper just before putting it in the pan.

Once the seasoned side is face down in the pan I season the top. When seasoning, do so LIBERALLY! I'm talking ¼ of a teaspoon per side (I'm using kosher salt here which has a larger grain. If using regular table salt you can probably get away with a bit less) .

It might seem like a lot and I'm sure the sodium police will be knocking down my internet door soon, but remember that it's seasoning the entire burger inside and out.

THE TEMPERATURE

BEFORE COOKING: I form my patties, place them on a plate and put them right back into the fridge while I'm getting my pan heated up and prepping toppings, etc.

Putting a cold patty in a hot skillet means that the internal temperature will stay colder longer than it would have if it was at room temperature giving more time to let it sear and gain amazing flavor before it's cooked to the preferred doneness.

FOR COOKING: The pan should be screamin' hot to get that great seared crust on the burger. Cast iron or stainless steel pans work the best as the high heat won't damage them.

Once the burger is in the pan the heat can be turned down to medium high heat to finish cooking.

THE COOKING

When I'm ready to cook, I pour a bit of oil-- about 1-2 tablespoons- into the hot pan, swirl it around and place the patty in there. And once it's in there I just let it be until I'm ready to flip.

No pressing the juices out with the back of a spatula, no flipping it over 20 times, just let it be.

When the burger is ready to flip, the juices will start to accumulate in the center of the burger showing that it's ready. It takes about 3-4 minutes per side for medium doneness. Adjust to your liking.

A note on what kind of oil/fat to use: I like to match my cooking fat to what kind of burger I'm making. For instance, If I'm going to put bacon on it, I'll cook up the bacon first and use the leftover fat to cook the burger in.

Doing this will bump up the flavor a few notches and make it that much better. If I just want a straight burger I'll cook it in a neutral oil like canola or peanut that won't transfer any flavor to the burger.

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THE CHEESE MELT

I hate biting into a big juicy cheeseburger expecting that super satisfying cheese pull only to find out that the cheese isn't melted at all!

The cure to this is to steam the burger for a few minutes while cooking. Just a minute or two before the burger is finished cooking I'll place my cheese on top, throw a couple of ice cubes into the pan and put a lid on it.

Not only will the steam help melt the cheese evenly, it will help finish cooking the burger with moist heat to keep it nice and juicy for you.

THE BUN, THE TOPPINGS

If the keys to a great burger are in the tips above, the key to an AMAZING burger are to use the above tips and put them to use with an excellent bun and toppings.

Think about the most amazing meal you ever had. Think about the textures and the flavors that were in that meal. It's likely one of your favorite meals because it incorporated all the flavors and textures of cooking-- crunchy, sweet, sour, creamy, salty, spicy, cold, hot, etc.

So, when crafting your perfect burger think about how you can get all the flavors and textures into it.

What does a classic bacon cheeseburger have in it?

Toasted bun-- crunchy

Bacon-- salty and crunchy

Burger-- salty and spicy

Cheese-- creamy

Burger Sauce-- creamy, sweet and sour

Pickles-- sour and crunchy

Onion- spicy

Lettuce and Tomato-- cool and crunchy, maybe sweet

All these flavors, textures and temperatures work together to make an irresistible explosion of flavor in your mouth.

BIG SHOUT OUT

If it wasn't for Butcher Box and their killer ground beef, this post and these cooking tips for incredible burgers wouldn't have come to life.

Like I said before, they have some of the best ground beef I've tried and can't recommend their meats enough.

Take a look at their website here and if you order through this link, --> ORDER HERE <-- you'll receive a free pack of bacon. Who can say no to free bacon?! 🙂

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If you dig burgers, and loved these cooking tips for incredible burgers you might like these...

Pepper Jack Stuffed Doritos Burgers

Texas Toast Griddle Burgers

Loaded French Dip Burgers {Giveaway!}

Spiced Apple Pork Burgers

Greek Style Turkey Burgers

Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup

By Heather LAST UPDATED October 14, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED August 25, 2017, 1 Comment

This Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup is the perfect comfort food! It's a hearty soup full of veggies, tender chicken, and topped with dumplings.

Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings are one of my family's favorite meals lately. It's heartier than chicken noodle soup, and my kiddos love the drop biscuit dumplings.

This recipe is one that I've used for as long as I can remember for the stovetop and I just modified to cook in the Instant Pot.

I was nervous about how the dumplings would cook under pressure, but they turned out great! I will admit that they aren't quite as fluffy as their stovetop-cooked counterpart but for the time cooking in the Instant Pot saves me, I think it's worth it.

Cooking Tips for Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup:

Don't have an Instant Pot? No problem! This can be easily made on the stovetop. Follow the direction in the recipe through mixing the dumpling batter. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Place small spoonfuls of dumpling dough into the soup, cover pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the dumplings are set. Cooking on the stovetop yields less tender chicken, but is still delicious!
Instead of using frozen veggies, feel free to use up any veggies you have in the fridge/pantry. Carrots, zucchini, brussels sprouts, potatoes, green beans, corn, spinach, etc. all work well and will make the soup your own!

Want More Easy Instant Pot Soup Recipes?

Tools I Use For Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup:

The Instant Pot 🙂 : This is the model that I have and LOVE. My Instant Pot has been with me for over a year and I’ve definitely put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
OXO Handheld Slicer: I love this little tool when making soup because it slices small amounts of veggies quickly and easily and I don’t have to dirty a cutting board– I just slice right over the pot! I especially love it for carrots and celery.

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4.30 from 10 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup

This Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup is the perfect comfort food! It's hearty, full of veggies and tender chicken and topped with dumplings. So good!

Prep Time5

Cook Time7

Pressure Release10

Total Time12

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dumplings from biscuit mix, easy, One pot

Servings: servings

Calories: 388kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 stalks celery diced
½ whole large onion diced
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bag 12 oz mixed frozen vegetables
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken broth
2 ¼ cups baking mix like bisquick
⅔ cup milk

Instructions

Set the Instant Pot to "Saute" and cook onion and celery in the butter until translucent.
Add chicken, poultry seasoning, salt, basil, and cayenne to the pot and stir to combine. Top with the frozen vegetables and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine baking mix with milk and stir until just combined. Scoop small spoonfuls of the dough into the boiling broth and continue until all the dough is used.
Place and secure the lid on the Instant Pot, cancel the "Saute" mode and set it on "Manual" mode. Enter 7 minutes cooking time at High Pressure and allow to cook.
Once cooking time is up, do a manual release of pressure or allow it come down naturally. Remove lid and serve.

Nutrition

Other Soup Recipes You Might Like

Five Cheese Stuffed Lumaconi

By Heather LAST UPDATED July 17, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED July 24, 2017, 1 Comment

Five kinds of cheese, tender-chewy pasta, and a simple tomato sauce makes this five cheese Stuffed Lumaconi elegant enough for company and tasty enough to make you crave it for every meal.

Five Cheese Stuffed Lumaconi

Just after getting my driver's license as a teen so, so many years ago, I crafted a few goals for myself-- never get in a car accident that was my fault and try every new item (gum, mint, candy bar, etc.) I saw in the grocery check-out line. Don't ask me why I thought this was an important thing to do. Maybe I felt the need for ultra minty fresh breath for all the boys I wasn't kissing? Who knows, teenage brains are weird. But I do know that from a young age I've always loved trying new products I see at the store.

This is a sponsored post for HemisFares™ brand that is available exclusively at Kroger family of stores. All opinions are honest and 100% my own.

S0, when I learned about HemisFares-- a high-end imported food line owned by Kroger-- I knew I needed to try it! I set off to my local Fred Meyer to find a few things to make for dinner one night, and this Five Cheese Stuffed Lumaconi was what I came up with after finding the gorgeous HemisFares Lumaconi shells. It was a hard choice to make because I loved seeing all the pasta shapes that I usually don't see in regular grocery stores like Bucatini and Orecchiette. Each HemisFares product has a "Find Number" listed on the packaging and its kind of fun to keep track of how many HemisFares products there are around the store. The Lumaconi is #22.

To my cart, I also added a super pretty bottle of HemisFares 100% Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Find #48) and a pint of their Pistachio Gelato (Find #56) and Stracciatella Gelato (Find #52) because, well, gelato.

How to Cook Cheese Stuffed Lumaconi Pasta

Once home, I tore open the bag of lumaconi pasta and got some water boiling! I loved that the giant pasta shells had rough edges on them from the bronze mold they use, so the sauce clings to each bite. They totally reminded of my the type of pasta I've gotten at fancy Italian restaurants.

Once cooked, I filled each lumaconi shell with a combination of 5 kinds of cheese-- mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, cheddar, and a little bit of cream cheese. I don't claim one bit that this is an authentic Italian recipe, but it sure tastes good! The cheeses all melt together and turn into the creamiest, cheesiest pasta you'll ever make.

How to make a basic Tomato Sauce

I started the simple sauce off with a few cloves of garlic and a generous glug of the olive oil. Just before adding the tomatoes to the pan I couldn't help but take a piece of bread to dip in the garlicky oil and this Olive Oil is so, so good. It has so much flavor even without the added garlic! I can't wait to drizzle it over my salads and dunk my bread in it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

After topping the shells with the sauce, they went into the oven, and I decided that dessert needed to happen.

I'm a sucker for all things Pistachio, so that's the flavor that took the cake for me, but the hubs went after the Straciatella with no hesitation at all. 🙂

The cheese stuffed lumaconi pasta baked for about 4o minutes, and I topped it will some freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving.

Look at that cheese-pull! I'm in love.

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I do hope you'll try this Five Cheese Stuffed Lumaconi recipe and definitely take a look at the HemisFares line at your local Kroger family store! The pasta, gelato and other products are perfect for a fun and fancy night in! For more information on HemisFares, you can check out the website HemisFaresFinds.com or facebook.com/Hemisfares.

Want More Easy Pasta Recipes?

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4.58 from 7 votes

5 Cheese Stuffed Lumaconi

Five kinds of cheese, tender-chewy pasta, and a simple tomato sauce makes this five cheese StuffedLumaconi elegant enough for company and tasty enough to make you crave it for every meal.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cheese stuffed shells, homemade tomato sauce, ricotta cheese recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 1058kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 package HemisFares Lumaconi Pasta Find #22
32 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
4 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
¾ teaspoon kosher salt divided
1 egg
3-4 tablespoons HemisFares Extra Virgin Olive Oil Find #48
2 cloves garlic minced
28 ounces Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon dried basil
additional parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook lumaconi according to the package directions for “al dente” or just slightly under cooked. Drain pasta and lay on paper towels to slightly dry.
For the cheese mixture, combine cheeses, egg and ½ teaspoon salt until well mixed and spoon into a large Ziploc bag. Squeeze mixture into one corner of the bag and snip off the end. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil until it shimmers and stir in garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and stir in tomatoes, salt, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes on low. Stir in basil.
Spoon about a cup of sauce over the bottom of a large baking dish. Working one at a time, squeeze a steady stream of cheese into each pasta shell. Place each filled shell into the baking dish and spoon remaining tomato sauce over the filled pasta once all the cheese mixture is used. Cover pan with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly, removing foil for last 10 minutes of cooking. Serve hot with additional parmesan cheese grated over the top.

Notes

This cheese filling can be used in any type of large pasta shell. Look for Lumaconi, Manicotti, or Large Shells-- all can be used!

Nutrition

The BEST Lemon Bars

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED July 13, 2017, 2 Comments

These really are the BEST lemon bars I've ever had. I'm not sure if it's the buttery crust or creamy, tart lemon filling but they are absolutely killer and everyone that tries them agrees they are the BEST!I'll admit that these are not what you might expect when you think of a lemon bar. They don't have a shortbread crust, the filing is creamy instead of translucent and there's a crumb topping on the top that "normal" lemon bars don't have. But, you guys, if calling these the BEST lemon bars ever is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Why are these the BEST lemon bars?

Here's what these bars are all about. They start with a crust that is made from a yellow cake mix and it makes for the richest, butteriest crust that is perfect for holding up the tart lemon filling. This filling is creamy because it has cream cheese and is perfectly tart with a full helping of fresh lemon juice. The filling is also sweetened with powdered sugar instead of granulated so it's perfectly smooth and creamy. It's not quite cheesecake-y and not quite a traditional lemon bar but so, so good. And then there's the topping! It's a sweet and crumbly combination of brown and granulated sugars, flour, coconut and brought together with a bit of melted butter.

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Here's the hard part-- waiting for them to cool! Once baked they need almost THREE hours to cool before they are ready to cut into. I'll admit that I've dug in much sooner than that with less than catastrophic results, so do what you will. I will say that they taste best when well chilled and keep for up to a week in the fridge. They also make a killer breakfast, not that I know or anything.

Want More Lemon-y Recipes?

Lemon Vanilla Bean Mini Cheesecakes
Strawberry Lemonade Crepes
Sweet and Tangy Lemon Curd
Pink Lemonade Freezer Bars

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4.12 from 9 votes

The BEST Lemon Bars

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time2 55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake mix recipe, crumb topping, lemon cheesecake filling

Servings: bars

Calories: 343kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

15 ounce box yellow cake mix
1 egg
½ cup butter 1 stick, melted
8 ounces cream cheese softened
2 eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter 1 stick, melted
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ C ½ stick butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13" baking dish.
Combine cake mix with melted butter and egg and evenly press into bottom of the greased pan.
Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese with eggs and mix until smooth. Add in vanilla and lemon juice, mixing until smooth once again, scraping the bowl as necessary. Repeat with the powdered sugar and butter, scrape bowl and mix until completely smooth. Pour filling over cake mix crust.
In a small bowl, combine sugars, coconut, flour and melted butter. Stir with a fork until combined and sprinkle evenly over the filling.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden and middle is lightly set. The middle will still be jiggly like if you were to wiggle a jello mold. Allow to cool at room temperature 30 minutes and then refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting.

Nutrition

Sassy Pants Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED July 5, 2017, 1 Comment

All the things you love about creamy macaroni and cheese made a little bit sassier with the addition of zesty green chiles and smoky candied bacon. This kicked-up version will definitely have you coming back for seconds!

This is a sponsored conversation on behalf of Reser's Fine Foods, all thoughts and opinions are my own! 😉

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Well, howdy.

June has been a whirlwind of a month and I have another crazy one ahead! Time just doesn't stop, does it? We're in the thick of packing up our house and are headed to the great state of Utah for a stint while the hubs finishes up his doctoral internship there. We've moved a lot in the almost 13 years we've been married but this is our first big move with 3 kids. THREE KIDS. We're like a legit family now with legit amounts of family stuff. Rabbit stuff. Stuffy stuff. And moving sucks ya'll.

But, there's a silver lining here. Amid all the moving-ness of my life right now I've been able to drown all my stuffy stuff stress in copious amounts of macaroni and cheese these last few weeks as I've prepared for National Macaroni and Cheese Day, July 14th.

About now you're probably like, "Preparing? You've been PREPARING for a food holiday?" And to that, I'll answer a confident YES.

Food Holidays

You see, there are certain... we'll just call them perks... in having your job revolve around food. One of them is that you get to shamelessly celebrate ALL the food holidays. Instagram just wouldn't be the same if on National Donut Day 2000 food bloggers didn't post all the pretty donuts, would it? It's the same for National Mac and Cheese day!

So, in earnest preparation, I teamed up with Reser's Fine Foods to bring you some pretty fine Macaroni and Cheese. Myself along with two other Portland bloggers were tasked with crafting a macaroni and cheese recipe using their Main St Bistro® Signature Macaroni and Cheese PLUS 3 ingredients of our choosing to make something fabulous and then pit those recipes against each other to compete to the DEATH.

Okay, death might be a little extreme. But, there would be a winner and all those that didn't win would probably feel empty inside, so it was basically a death match.

Basically.

Marlynn from Urban Bliss Life and Melissa from Melissa Kaylene were my fearless competitors and we met up at Reser's headquarters to taste ALLLL the mac and cheese and gear up for the competition.

While there, we met the team at Reser's behind their ever-so-delicious Main St Bistro® Signature Macaroni and Cheese and were sent off only to come back a week later for the competition taping.

The Competition

I had never been taped for TV before so it was a little bit nerve-wracking but was mostly just FUN! We had 30 minutes to complete our dish and Marlynn, Melissa, and I had a blast. Aside from some occasional light-hearted smack talk, we were all just really supportive of each other and had a good time.

The judge, Molly Reihl from Fox 12 KPTV, came around and asked us questions just like in other Food Competition shows and we just had such a great time!

The Winner

The winner of the competition got to present a check for $1000 to the Oregon Food Bank in their name! We were all so excited to be competing for such a good cause.

As the judges deliberated we snuck in a few bites of each other's recipes behind the camera but we were still caught stress eating. Ha!

The judges told us the final tally was SUUUUUPPPER close but that the winner was.....

Um, yeah, I can't tell you! ...yet.

You'll have to wait until the actual National Macaroni and Cheese day, July 14th and watch the competition! If you're local you'll be able to see it on FOX 12 KPTV, aired sometime in the morning. If you're not local I'll be posting a link to the segment after it's aired. 🙂

My (Potentially Award Winning) Recipe-- Sassy Pants Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

All three recipes presented to the judges were phenomenal! Melissa and Marlynn did such a great job creating their recipes and things could get real if I sat down with a pan of either one of theirs' and turned on some Netflix.

In developing my recipe I went for the classic companion of Mac and Cheese-- bacon. But instead of using just regular bacon, I opted to kick it up by adding some brown sugar and turning it into CANDIED BACON! So there went 2 of my 3 ingredients.

For my third ingredient, I stirred in some canned, diced green chiles for a little tang and heat to balance out the sweetness and it turned into the most deliciously sweet and spicy, creamy, cheesy mac and cheese ever!

Using Reser's Main St Bistro® Signature Macaroni and Cheese as a base made throwing this delicious side together so easy. It’s made with real butter, real cheese, and has no artificial flavors or colors and is honestly so creamy and cheesy.

We were also allowed two garnishes so I sprinkled my Mac with a little bit of chipotle chili powder for some added smokiness and chopped fresh cilantro.

I can't wait for you to see the results of the competition, so make sure to tune into the competition on FOX 12 KPTV on the morning of July 14th or come back here for the replay!

In the meantime, here's a coupon for any Main St Bistro® item, including their Signature Macaroni and Cheese so you can make this Sassy Pants Macaroni and Cheese recipe-- because candied bacon ya'll. And it's easier to make than you think!

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5 from 2 votes

Sassy Pants Macaroni and Cheese

All the things you love about creamy mac and cheese made a little bit sassier with the addition of zesty green chiles and smoky candied bacon. This kicked-up version will definitely have you coming back for seconds!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: candied bacon, green chile mac and cheese, microwave

Servings:

Calories: 665kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

6 strips of bacon
¼ cup dark brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
20 ounce tray Reser’s Main St Bistro® Signature Macaroni & Cheese
3 tablespoons canned fire roasted diced green chiles
Finely chopped fresh cilantro and chipotle chili powder as garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place bacon slices in a bowl and toss with the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Lay each slice on the lined baking sheet and sprinkle any remaining sugar over the bacon.
Bake bacon for about 15 minutes or until golden brown-- bacon will "crisp-up" after cooling off a bit so don't worry if it looks limp. Transfer bacon from baking sheet onto a cutting board and set aside.
Partially remove the film from the top of the mac and cheese and stir in green chiles. Replace film and microwave for 3 minutes.
Carefully remove the film and stir. Microwave an additional minute or until hot.
Chop candied bacon into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle over the top of the heated mac and cheese.
Serve garnished with fresh cilantro and chipotle chili powder if desired.

Nutrition

Hawaiian Roll Pizza Sliders

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 25, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED June 19, 2017, Leave a Comment

These Hawaiian Roll Pizza Sliders are always the first thing to go on the Potluck table. You can even make them ahead of time and bake just before serving!

The bread is what makes these Hawaiian Roll Pizza Sliders so magical. I mean, the herby, garlicky butter doesn’t hurt much either, but I'm going to side with the bread here.

That said, if you're not a fan of Hawaiian sweet rolls, you can absolutely make these on regular plain white dinner rolls and still have great results.

If you'd like to make these up ahead of time, I've included the directions in the recipe card.

Flavor and Topping Ideas For Hawaiian Roll Pizza Sliders:

My favorite is, an always will be just mozzarella and pepperoni. It's a classic.
Crumbled Italian Sausage (cooked), diced green bell pepper, and onion
Black Olives, Mushrooms, and Pepperoni
Canadian Bacon and Pineapple
Salami, Pepperoni, and Italian Sausage
Your favorite pizza topping combination!

WANT MORE EASY AND FUN PIZZA IDEAS?

TOOLS I USE TO MAKE HAWAIIAN ROLL PIZZA SLIDERS:

Spring Chef Box Grater: Grating cheese is usually a task I pass off to my kids because I hate it, but this grater makes it as enjoyable as it can be. ? I love the four sides and that they include a slicing blade.
Pyrex Easy Grab Pans: I love these pyrex pans because of the big handles. It makes them so much easier to pull out of a hot oven and also easier to wrap with foil or plastic wrap.

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4.69 from 38 votes

Pepperoni Pizza Sliders

These Pizza Sliders are made with Hawaiian Rolls and are so easy! They are perfect to make ahead for parties and will be a hit for the super bowl! Top with Pepperoni or any of your other favorite pizza toppings-- they are totally customizable!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easy, hawaiian rolls, make ahead, party food

Servings: sliders

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 package Hawaiian Sweet Rolls 12 Count
½ cup favorite Pizza Sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese grated
24 pepperoni slices
¼ cup butter melted
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley.
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Coat a 9x13" baking pan with cooking spray. Cut rolls in half lengthways and place the bottom half in the pan.
Top with pizza sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni. Place the tops of the rolls on top.
Combine butter, garlic, parsley, and parmesan and pour over the tops of the rolls.
Bake uncovered for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on the top and the cheese is melted.

Notes

This can be made up to 24 hours in advance and baked later if you'd like. Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake covered for 10 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.

Nutrition

The Only Basic Quiche Recipe You'll Ever Need

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 11, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED June 19, 2017, 2 Comments

This is the best basic quiche recipe there is, and it can be totally tailored to your taste by switching out the mix-ins. BUT, it's the egg custard that is the shining star here-- creamy, dreamy, and delicious!

If you're a fan of quiche, you're going to want to keep reading. This recipe is an amazing basic quiche recipe that is nothing short of phenomenal and you can stir in any of your favorite toppings to make it your own. But first, I need to give you a little background.

This is a sponsored conversation on behalf of California Olive Committee, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to travel to the gorgeous Napa Valley and meet up with the people of California Ripe Olives. We ate more olives than I care to admit and had a fabulous time learning about California Ripe Olives from the olive growers themselves!

Like, did you know that olives straight off the tree are far too bitter to eat?

Or that the "ripening" method used for California olives today was invented by a housewife in late 1800 named Freda Ehmann? It is a seven-day process that starts by putting the olives into a curing solution to filter the natural bitterness out. The olives then go through a series of cold-water rinses, which remove every trace of curing solution.

Ever wonder why black olives are that gorgeous black color? Throughout the multi-day curing process, pure air is constantly bubbled through the olives, and it causes them to oxidize! It's fascinating!

We spent our weekend at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Napa, and it totally made me itch to go back to cooking school. The new wave of students were preparing for their first day while we were there and it brought back so many fun memories of my time at cooking school. I've helped the hubs through almost ten years of school; maybe I can coerce him into moving to Napa once he's done? Ha!

The building the school is housed is gorgeous and is a converted wine cellar from the late 1800's.

Not a bad view, eh?

We spent our time learning about olives but also got to cook with them in one of the CIA kitchens. We were put into teams, and here I am with my teammates, Leigh Anne from Your Home Based Mom and Kellie from The Suburban Soapbox. Our other teammate, Karista from Karista's Kitchen, was behind the camera and they are basically some of the sweetest, best bloggers there are.

Our challenge was to come up with a dish that included olives-- which wasn't very hard to do since they go with everything. We came up with a pan-seared pork tenderloin over goat cheese polenta, served with a green olive and kumquat relish and roasted asparagus garnished with toasted pine nuts. It's kind of hard to see the pork in the photo below, but IT. WAS. SO. GOOD.

Once I was home, I broke open a can of California Ripe Green Olives and got to cooking, because there's never enough olives, in my opinion, and I made a quiche. Not just any quiche, though. It was the be all, end all of quiches. I'm not joking-- the way that this recipe came into existence is pretty amazing.

The Story of the Best Quiche Recipe

So, I flew to California a day early to spend some time with a friend in San Fransisco and decided to eat all the San Fran food we could in our 26.5 hours together. I'm planning on putting together a post on all the food we ate soon, so stay tuned! But, BUT, one of our favorite things we ate was the quiche at b. Patisserie. It was creamy and rich, and alllmoosst had the consistency of a creme brulee. It was unlike any other quiche I had ever tried, and I LOVED it.

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Fast forward a few days later, I'm sitting on the plane with my new friend Karista and in some totally random round-out about way while talking Culinary School; she starts telling me about how one of her instructors at school taught her to make a quiche. She continued about how amazing it was, and it sounded just like the one I had eaten from b. Patisserie! Mind blown.

Here's the trick to this basic quiche recipe

In a typical quiche recipe, I would usually add six maybe even up to 8 eggs to make the custard-- it's an "egg pie," after all. But the quiche Karista makes, and I now have a hunch that b. Patisserie does as well, uses a ratio of ½ C heavy cream to 1 egg for their egg mixture. It seems like a lot of cream per egg, but it's what makes all the difference!

The egg mixture is so creamy and light, but still firm. It's not slimy and doesn't taste undercooked at all. It's just creamy, dreamy perfection.

Making the best quiche recipe your own

The beauty of this basic quiche recipe is that the egg custard is definitely the shining star, but you can add whatever you'd like to it, in the right amount. The trick is not to overload it with mix-ins-- you only want about 1 to 1 ½ cups total of other ingredients, or you'll have a hard time with it keeping it's shape since the egg is so soft.

I opted for chopped California Ripe Green Olives, along with caramelized onions, diced ham, and a little bit of sharp white cheddar. The olives added just the right amount of salt, and bite paired with the ham, onions, and cheese.

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I truly enjoyed my time in Napa with the California Olive Committee, and if you've never gotten your hands on a can of them, they are amazing. You'll know it's theirs by finding the“Product of the U.S.A.” on the back of the can! You can also keep up to date with them on their Facebook page-- Facebook.com/CaliforniaRipeOlives.

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4.58 from 14 votes

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe

Just like the name states, you'll never need another quiche recipe again! This creates a creamy and rich egg custard and you can switch up the mix-ins however you like.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Cooling Time15

Total Time1 25

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: French

Keyword: best quiche, cream filling, homemade crust

Servings: servings

Calories: 219kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 ½ cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup California Ripe Green Olives chopped
¼ cup sharp white cheddar grated
¼ cup diced ham
¼ cup caramelized onions *see notes*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until well combined.
Layer olives, cheese, ham, and onions into the pie crust and pour egg mixture over the top.
Place pie pan on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes or until the center of the quiche is just set-- it will jiggle like jello right in the center and when you insert a knife into the center it will come out with just moisture on the blade.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

To customize this quiche recipe, you can mix and match your mix-ins! You can use up to 1 ½ cups of ingredients and get good results. For the recipe above I knew I wanted to use 4 ingredients, so I just split them up into ¼ cup quantities to make 1 cup total.

It's best to cook vegetables that have a high water content (onions, peppers, greens, mushrooms, etc.) before adding to the quiche. Not only does it keep the quiche from getting soggy, it gives great flavor! That's why I use caramelized onions in the above recipe instead of just plain onions.

Some of my favorite mix ins:

Browned Breakfast sausage
Crumbled Bacon
Roasted Red Peppers
Fresh, diced tomatoes
Steamed Broccoli (finely chopped)
Any kind of cheese
Sauteed Kale, spinach or Mushrooms
Potatoes, diced and cooked

Nutrition

Lasanga Bombs

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED June 14, 2017, 2 Comments

Looking for a new way to serve up lasagna? These Lasagna bombs have all that you love about lasagna wrapped up in a crispy-fried pasta-y shell. It's lasagna taken to a whole new level!

I really don't know how this happened. The hubs and I have the bad habit of coming up with ridiculous ideas for food where we're eating dinner and most of the time they get forgotten-- this time was different.

Before I knew it I was at the store getting everything I needed to make these "Lasagna Bombs" a reality and golly-gee they worked! Like, really, really worked.

I should have known we couldn't go wrong with fried pasta and cheese.

Take a look!
[brid autoplay="true" video="484756" player="19763" title="Lasagna Bombs" duration="66" description="Stuffed Lasagna Bomb Recipe" uploaddate="2019-10-30 15:19:48" thumbnailurl="https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15101/thumb/484756_t_1572448878.png"]

Easy right? The hardest part (that isn't really that hard) is getting them to stay put with the skewer. They may take a little trial and error for you, but they will be well worth it!

Another option is to skip wrapping the pinwheel with the 2nd noodle and throwing them into the freezer to solidify before coating in the breading, frying, and baking. Either way you do it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

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I paired ours with my favorite pasta sauce (just don't buy it on Amazon, it's WAY too expensive) and sprinkled them with a good helping of parmesan cheese. So, so good and a totally different and fun way to enjoy lasagna! Hope you enjoy!

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Looking for a new way to serve up lasagna? These Lasagna bombs have all that you love about lasagna wrapped up in a crispy-fried pasta-y shell. It's lasagna taken to a whole new level!

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5 from 5 votes

Lasagna Bombs

Looking for a new way to serve up lasagna? These Lasagna bombs have all that you love about lasagna wrapped up in a crispy-fried pasta-y shell. It's lasagna taken to a whole new level!

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: crispy crust, italian sausage, lasagna variation

Servings: Lasagna Bombs

Calories: 704kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

16 Lasagna noodles cooked per package instructions
2 cups ricotta cheese
3 eggs divided
2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1 pound Italian Sausage browned and crumbled.
1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
¾ teaspoon salt divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper divided
Olive oil for frying
20 ounce jar favorite pasta sauce
½ cup parmesan cheese finely grated

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine ricotta cheese with 1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Working with one lasagna noodle at a time, layer a spoonful of ricotta cheese followed by Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese. Roll noodle into a pinwheel and place on another noodle, wrapping it around the sides of the pinwheel making sure the pinwheel side is covered. Use a toothpick or skewer to secure. Repeat with remaining noodles and ingredients.
Whisk together eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine panko crumbs with parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.
Dip each "bomb" into the egg mixture and then into the panko bread crumbs, making sure all sides are covered.
Heat olive oil until it shimmers in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat-- use enough oil that it comes about ⅛" off the bottom of the pan.
Working in batches, cook the bombs in the oil, flipping as needed until all sides are golden brown and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake the fried bombs for 15 minutes, remove and serve hot with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and warmed pasta sauce to dip.

Nutrition

Rocky Road Brownies

By Heather LAST UPDATED November 5, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED May 17, 2017, Leave a Comment

With a box of brownie mix and a handful of other ingredients, you can have these outrageous rocky road brownies that are sure to impress without spending a ton of time in the kitchen!

I came up with this rocky road brownies recipe idea while munching on a piece of fudge last Christmas. I was somewhere in between finishing the 2nd and 12th plate of holiday goodies that were brought to our home, and like any normal person does, brainstorming how to make more.

Brownies are one of the world's most perfect foods in my opinion (psshhh, move over bananas), and trying to make them better is one of my goals in this life. One way to make them "better" is by topping them with ridiculous amounts of chocolate and marshmallows, right?

Right.

Here we're using a simple boxed brownie mix as a base, but feel free to make them from scratch if your little heart desires. Take a look at how easy rocky road brownies these are!
[brid autoplay="true" video="484755" player="19763" title="Rocky Road Brownies" duration="61" description="Rocky Road Brownies Recipe" uploaddate="2019-10-30 15:19:48" thumbnailurl="https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15101/thumb/484755_t_1572448851.png"]

The first time I made these rocky road brownies was for a holiday party with my extended family just a few days after I crafted the recipe in my head and I couldn't believe how fast they disappeared! They were gone like lightning, ya'll.

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With a box of brownie mix and a handful of other ingredients you can have these outrageous rocky road brownies that are sure to impress without spending a ton of time in the kitchen!

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4.67 from 3 votes

Rocky Road Brownies

With a box of brownie mix and a handful of other ingredients, you can have these outrageous rocky road brownies that are sure to impress without spending a ton of time in the kitchen!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brownie mix, easy, marshmallow topping

Servings: servings

Calories: 333kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 boxed brownie mix
14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
7 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup salted peanuts

Instructions

Prepare brownies as directed on pacakge, bake, and cool completely.
Once brownies are cooled, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring well in between, until smooth. Stir in vanilla.
Fold marshmallows and peanuts into the chocolate until well combined. Scoop and spread on top of brownies into an even layer.
Allow brownies to set for 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Reese's Peanut Butter Popcorn

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED April 17, 2017, Leave a Comment

All the flavor of your favorite peanut butter cup wrapped around crunchy popcorn! This Peanut Butter Popcorn is for you, Reese's Lovers!

I have a deep, dark, passionate love affair with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The hubs knows it. The kids know it. It's just a fact that everyone around me has had to cope with.

At some point when we were first married I came clean and told the hubs how good they tasted first thing in the morning. I'm not talking about candy for breakfast- pssshhh. I'm talking, roll-over-and-reach-into-the-night-stand-and-eat-one-while-still-in-bed first thing in the morning. It's not an easy confession to make, but I knew it needed to be said if we were going to have any chance at a happy marriage, you know? And you guys, guess how sweet my husband was?

That dear, dear man kept my nightstand drawer full of peanut butter cups for years! YEARS! I'm not kidding. He'd often wake me up with a Reese's in hand and rub my back as I came sleepily into each day. We will be married for 13 years this summer and while it's been some time since I've woken up to the sweet kiss of a Reese's, dang it guys, I married the right man!

So, if dedicating a peanut butter popcorn recipe to your husband is even remotely romantic, that's what I'm going to do here. This one's for you, babe! 🙂

[brid autoplay="true" video="484757" player="19763" title="Reeses Peanut Butter Popcorn" duration="43" description="Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn Recipe" uploaddate="2019-10-30 15:19:49" thumbnailurl="https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15101/thumb/484757_t_1572448891.png"]

This peanut butter popcorn is sweet and salty and creamy and almost as good as eating a peanut butter cup right out of your loving husband's hands first thing in the morning. Enjoy, friends!

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Reeses Peanut Butter Popcorn- sweet, crunchy and peanut buttery

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5 from 4 votes

Reese's Peanut Butter Popcorn

All the flavor of your favorite peanut butter cup wrapped around crunchy popcorn! This Peanut Butter Popcorn is for you, Reese's Lovers!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Cooling Time30

Total Time35

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: microwave, peanut butter popcorn, reeses pieces

Servings:

Calories: 609kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

4 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups chopped
½ Cup white chocolate candy coating
8-10 Cups popped popcorn about ½ C unpopped kernels
½ C Reese's Pieces

Instructions

Combine peanut butter cups and candy coating in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir and continue to microwave in 20 second intervals until completely melted.
Pour chocolate over popcorn and stir until chocolate evenly covers popcorn. Stir Reese's Pieces into the popcorn and spread onto a baking sheet to cool and harden. Once coating is set, break into bite-sized pieces if needed.

Nutrition

Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

By Heather LAST UPDATED June 19, 2020 · FIRST PUBLISHED March 20, 2017, 12 Comments

These Instant Pot BBQ Ribs are the perfect recipe to make to break in your Instant Pot! They are so easy to make and taste like they've been slow-roasting for hours. Tender, fall-off-the-bone perfection!

Tender, smoked BBQ ribs that have been bathed in smoke for hours are pretty magical. Heck, I believe most all slow-smoked meats should have their place in heaven! But unless you own a BBQ restaurant, are independently wealthy, don't have children, or have a blessed BBQ pitmaster as a neighbor that will share with you, ain't nobody got time for smoking your own bbq ribs!

Am I right?

The beauty of Instant Pot Ribs

This is where the Instant Pot comes in. If you’re not familiar, an Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that doubles as a slow cooker, rice and yogurt maker, and more. There’s so much you can do with it! There are lots of brands out there that make similar electric pressure cookers, but the Instant Pot is what I have and love with a big capital "L."

Pressure cookers work by cooking food under intense pressure, so they cook incredibly fast and do a great job of breaking down the collagen and connective tissue in meats that typically take hours to break down.

But with the pressure cooker, making tender, fall-off-the-bone Instant Pot Ribs takes about one hour start to finish. Take a look!

Cooking tips for these Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

Make sure to remove the membrane or silver skin on the back of the baby back or spare ribs before cooking. During cooking, this membrane forms a thick, leathery skin that is less than desirable and prevents the flavors from penetrating into the meat fully.
Root beer or Beer? Your choice! Both obviously yield different flavors, but are equally delicious!
My recipe below includes a super simple spice rub for the bbq ribs that is phenomenal but feel free to use your favorite homemade or store-bought dry rub. The process of cooking is the same no matter what seasoning you choose to use.

These Instant Pot Ribs are so tender and cooking them in either beer, or root beer gives them just a little extra punch of flavor.

Once the ribs come out of the Instant Pot, I like to put them on a cookie sheet, brush my favorite BBQ sauce on them, and put them under the broiler for a few minutes. Doing this gives the sauce a chance to stick to the ribs and caramelize a bit, just like they were finished off on the grill!

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Tools Used in making Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

The Instant Pot! : This is the model that I have and LOVE. It’s been with me for over a year, and I’ve definitely put it through the ringer, but still works like new! It’s changed the dinnertime routine at our house and helps me make meals in under an hour that used to take HOURS!
OXO Stainless Steel Tongs: These tongs take a beating in my kitchen. They go from the grill for flipping meats to the salad bowl for tossing with very little complaint. They are built like a tank and have silicone grips that make them super easy to use, even with my very small hands.

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4.63 from 27 votes

Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Pressure Release TIme15

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Instant Pot BBQ Ribs

Servings: servings

Calories: 843kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 rack pork baby back ribs
¼ cup smoked paprika
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
11 ounces beer or root beer *See Notes*
1 cup BBQ Sauce

Instructions

Remove ribs from packaging and dry well with paper towels. Cut into sections of 3 ribs and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together smoked paprika, sugar, garlic salt, and onion powder. Sprinkle all of the seasoning over the ribs and rub in with fingertips.
Place ribs into your Instant Pot and pour entire bottle of beer or root beer over the ribs. Close lid and set the pot to cook for 25 minutes at high pressure.
Preheat oven to Broil on high
When cooking time is up, allow pot to naturally release pressure most of the way (about 10 minutes) and then quick-release the rest.
Remove ribs from pot and place on a baking sheet. Brush each piece with your favorite BBQ Sauce and place under the broiler until sauce is bubbly and starting to brown and caramelize-- about 5 minutes. Just watch them closely as things go fast under the broiler!
Remove from oven and serve.

Video

Notes

Baby Back, St. Louis Style, and Pork Spare ribs will all work for this recipe. I used Baby Back for the video and pictures.
Both Beer and Root Beer lend great flavor to the finished ribs-- so use what you have/want to! The end flavor will obviously be different but both are phenomenal.

Nutrition

Fail-Proof Easy Blueberry Muffins

By Heather LAST UPDATED November 5, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED March 13, 2017, Leave a Comment

One bowl + one short-cut ingredient = easy blueberry muffins! SO EASY, even a baby can make them! Don't believe me? Watch the video!

I'm silently squealing right now as to not wake the whole house up. I've been so excited to get this post up because not only are these the quickest and easiest blueberry muffins of ALL TIME, but we made a ridiculously cute video to go with this recipe and I LOVE it.

It could be that I'm just ~~a crazed~~ totally normal Mom that thinks her son is the cutest (and rightly so!), but I'm of the opinion that he's of above average cuteness. Take a look!
[brid autoplay="true" video="484762" player="19763" title="Fail Proof Blueberry Muffins" duration="61" description="Fail Proof Blueberry Muffin Recipe" uploaddate="2019-10-30 15:19:49" thumbnailurl="https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15101/thumb/484762_t_1572449029.png"]

Am I right? I cracked up during shooting when he cracked that egg and it startled him. Ahhhhhhh!

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Okay, enough of my gushing. Let's talk about these easy blueberry muffins! Don't they look dreamy? The secret to making these so easy is using Self-Rising flour.

Self-Rising Flour is basically all-purpose flour with salt and baking powder already added in so it cuts out a few steps. If you don't have any on hand you can still make these, though! I'll add a recipe to make self rising flour in the recipe below.

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These easy blueberry muffins are just the right of sweet and don't cross over into frosting-less cupcake territory like some muffins do. They also have a very light crumb with the perfect about of moistness. I hope you try them!

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One bowl + one short-cut ingredient = easy blueberry muffins! SO EASY, even a baby can make them! REALLY!!

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4.64 from 11 votes

Fail-Proof Easy Blueberry Muffins

One bowl + one short-cut ingredient = easy blueberry muffins! SO EASY, even a baby can make them! REALLY!!

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy, quick, self-rising flour

Servings: muffins

Calories: 202kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup Self-Rising Flour * See Notes*
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup frozen blueberries *See Notes*
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine the flour, sugar ,baking powder in a bowl.
Combine the milk, egg, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl and whisk until combined.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry and lightly mix just until no dry spots remain-- the more more you mix the tougher the muffin will be.
Gently fold frozen or fresh blueberries into batter and immediately scoop into the muffin tin.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the center of each muffin is set. You'll know it's set when you gently press on the top of a muffin and it springs back instead of sinking. Remove from the oven, allow to cook for 5 minutes and remove from muffin pan.

Notes

If you don't have self-raising flour on hand, combine 2 C All Purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon of baking powder in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined and measure out the amount you need for the recipe.
I used frozen wild blueberries for the muffins in the pictures and video. I like the wild blueberries because they are small and are great for muffins but they do bleed ALOT. Meaning that if you're not careful your batter will turn purple incredibly quick. If you'd like to use these blueberries make sure they are VERY frozen and just barely fold them in enough to get them somewhat evenly through the batter. Standard frozen blueberries will bleed but not nearly as much and fresh blueberries don't bleed at all. Use what have!

Nutrition

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Easy Thai Coconut Lemongrass Ramen

By Heather LAST UPDATED October 14, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED February 28, 2017, Leave a Comment

I love little short cuts in the kitchen and this Thai Coconut Lemongrass Ramen makes for a super flavorful meal without taking a ton of time to make thanks to cheap-o ramen noodles and ready made curry and lemon grass pastes. Easy and so, so flavorful!

I've eaten my fair share of cheap-o ramen noodles in my day in all their MSG-y goodness. It's not something I'm proud of, but it is what it is, right? I mean, we all do stupid stuff as kids and into adulthood. If only I had known how to dress those little orange packages up with a few ingredients and turn it into something like this Coconut Lemongrass Ramen! If only...

But, I'm trying to right some of the wrong done to my taste buds by sharing this recipe today. Yes, I am using a few cheap-o packs of ramen noodles but we're throwing away the seasoning packet and turning these noodle cakes into something pretty spectacular, if you ask me.

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All it takes is some coconut milk, chicken broth, red curry paste, ginger, and some lemon grass! Oh, and we'll add some chicken into the mix too.

The result is creamy and rich with just a little kick from the curry. The noodles and chicken are cooked with the seasoned broth and come out with such great flavor, you'll hardly recognize them.

Top off your bowl of Coconut Lemongrass Ramen with a big squeeze of fresh lime juice and a sprinkling of cilantro and you've got a bowl of noodles you won't only be unashamed of, but that you'll actually want to share!

If you like your ramen, I've doctored up some other ramen recipes, too! This Confetti Chicken Big Bowl is a huge hit as is this Teriyaki Chicken Big Bowl. Check. Them. Out.

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4.91 from 10 votes

Easy Thai Coconut Lemongrass Ramen

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: Instant ramen recipe, ramen noodles, red curry ramen

Servings: servings

Calories: 308kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Fresh chopped cilantro
Juice of ½ lime more for serving
1 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts thinly sliced
2 pkgs ramen noodles seasoning discarded
1 tablespoon Lemongrass Paste *See Notes
1 tablespoon Red Curry Paste
½ piece ginger peeled
2 cup chicken broth
15 ounce can coconut milk

Instructions

In a medium-sized sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in curry paste and cook for 1 minute until very fragrant.
Stir coconut milk, chicken broth, ginger, and lemongrass paste into the curry paste until well combined. Bring to a simmer, turn heat to low and gently cook for 5 minutes.
Stir sliced chicken and ramen noodles into the broth, bring to a simmer, return heat to low and cook just until the chicken and noodles are cooked-- about 3 minutes.
Remove chunk of ginger, and stir juice from ½ of a lime, soy sauce, and fresh cilantro into the soup and serve immediately. * See Notes

Notes

Lemongrass paste can be found at most grocery stores in the fresh herb section of the produce aisle. It comes in a toothpaste-like tube and can be stored for a LONG time in the freezer.
Packaged ramen noodles absorb liquid freakishly fast after being cooked, so I advise that any leftover noodles be removed from the broth and stored separately until ready to reheat. Alternately, if you have leftover broth and no noodles left, you can reheat the broth to cook additional noodles-- I do this all the time!

Nutrition

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Cheesy Broccoli Pasta with Barber Foods Crispy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

By Heather LAST UPDATED March 22, 2021 · FIRST PUBLISHED February 22, 2017, 4 Comments

Broccoli and cheese are two ingredients that are just meant to be with one another! So I put these soul mates together in this quick and easy cheesy broccoli pasta dish and paired it with some crispy chicken from Barber Foods that is stuffed with it the same exact thing! The result is creamy, cheesy, and filled with veggies that the kiddos won't mind eating! This conversation is created in partnership with Barber Foods.

I kind of have a thing for broccoli and cheese. I think it started young when I would request baked potatoes topped with broccoli and cheese sauce from a popular fast food chain when all my friends were ordering burgers to take back to the play structure.

I was a weird child.

Nevertheless, these two flavors are soul mates! So naturally, I put them front and center in this cheesy broccoli pasta recipe and then paired it with some chicken breasts stuffed with the same two ingredients to create a broccoli and cheese experience like no other, haha!

These Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts from Barber Foods are a total hit at my house. My kids love it when make these and I love that they take 0% effort to make-- you can't beat taking it out of the freezer and having it hot, crispy and ready in 35 minutes!

I talked about Barber Foods in a post way back in September where I caught some cute pics of my boy while shopping at Fred Meyer for them. That was back before we chopped off aaaallllll his golden ringlets (cue the waterworks). Check the hair (and chicken) out here.

Can you believe that hair?! I mean, really.

Anyway, we love this chicken so much I decided to partner with Barber again to bring you this recipe and reminisce of days gone by.

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I also made a little video to walk you through this whole cheesy broccoli pasta process!

To find where Barber Foods Stuffed Chicken is sold near you, here's a nifty store locator. And, once you find where to buy it, here's a coupon so you can have your own #BarberNight.

Want More Pasta Recipes?

Roasted Vegetable Pasta
Pasta Al Forno
Beef Parmesan with Garlic Parmesan Pasta

📖 Recipe

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta and Chicken-- Cheesy pasta, filled with broccoli and topped with crispy stuffed chicken! The pasta comes together in one pan and the chicken goes from the freezer to the table in 35! Made in Partnership with @BarberFoods. #BarberNight

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5 from 3 votes

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta with Barber Foods Crispy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken and broccoli, One pan dinner, pasta dinner

Servings: servings

Calories: 3438kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
½ cup Milk
2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces dry penne pasta *See Notes*
1 pound cut broccoli florets
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
4 Barber Foods Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet and stir in flour. Cook 1 minute.
Place chicken breast in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a food thermometer reads 165 degrees.
Stir in garlic, cook an additional 30 seconds and pour in milk and chicken broth. Continue to stir until no lumps remain. Pour in pasta, broccoli, salt and pepper -- stir to combine, bring to a simmer, cover and turn heat to low. Cook for 10-11 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Remove pan from heat and stir in mustard and cheese until melted. Sauce will be thin but will thicken as it cools.
Remove chicken from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Serve with hot pasta.

Notes

Any shape of pasta can be used for this recipe, just adjust the cooking time according to the recommended cooking time on the pasta package.

Nutrition

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Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

By Heather LAST UPDATED August 15, 2019 · FIRST PUBLISHED February 15, 2017, 36 Comments

Chicken Fettuccini is a favorite at our house, and I'm so excited that I can now make it super quick! Using the Instant Pot cuts the cooking time by more than half and the best part is I only dirty one stinkin' pot. I'm tellin' you this Instant Pot thing is a game changer, especially for this Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo.

You guys! I'm so excited about this recipe I could hardly wait to get it photographed and written out! I've been cooking A LOT with my Instant Pot (see my latest recipe here), and this one is pretty life-changing.

I'll admit I miiiiight be being a tad bit dramatic about this, but seriously you guys-- Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo DONE in under 20 minutes in one pot! I want to give this recipe all the exclamation points right now.

It's made with real ingredients, too. I'm not dumping in a jarred sauce and covering the lid. We're talking real cream, butter, and garlic. If I ever got a private concert from Julie Andrews, I'm pretty sure I'd have her sing "Favorite Things" with those three ingredients added to the song. You think she's too classy to oblige?

Probably.

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This Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo recipe is pretty self-explanatory, so I'm just going to leave this right here and direct you to the recipe card below and make sure to read the recipe notes if you don't want a mess in your kitchen. 🙂

If you have an Instant Pot make this like, now. If you don't, this is the one I have and love. Much love to you all!

**UPDATE 1/5/2018**

I'm still very much learning about cooking with electric pressure cookers, and one thing has become evident to me as I've read the comments from those that have tried this recipe: All Electric Pressure Cookers are not made equal! It looks like even those that are the same brand and/or model are cooking this recipe differently.

According to the comments, about 75% of you that have made it had it turn out fabulous (yay!) and the other 25% had problems.

After testing the original recipe again and again in my Instant Pot 6 quart DUO60, I've made a few modifications to the recipe card.

The first is that I added an additional ½ cup of chicken broth to the recipe. Doing this will leave more liquid for the sauce and hopefully eliminate the "BURN" or "ovHT" notification that some of you are getting. I did a little bit of digging, and this is what I found:

This mechanism is called “burn-protection”. When a high temperature (140C or 284F) is detected at the bottom of the inner pot, the burn-protection mechanism suspends heating to avoid burning food. On Instant Pot IP-DUO series, a warning message “ovHt” is flashed on the display. -- Instantpot.com

Apparently, dense foods with a high starch content, like fettuccini, can block the heat from distributing evenly in the pot, causing the sensors in the Instant Pot to suspend cooking, regardless of how much liquid is in the pot. If you are using a pot that is smaller than 6 quarts or using more chicken than is called for (causing the pasta to be weighted down more to rest on the bottom), you might run into this problem.

The second change I made to the recipe is an increase in cooking time by 2 minutes. The additional liquid and increase in cooking time should take care of any undercooked pasta. This said, due to the nature of cooking pasta in an Instant Pot, where the noodles aren't able to move freely, you will end up with with a few that were not submerged all the way or were stuck together--It's just part of this cooking method. Every time I've made it I've ended up with about 95% of my pasta being perfectly cooked. The other 5% is something I'm willing to sacrifice for the sake of how stinkin' easy this recipe is. 🙂

I appreciate all your comments and am grateful for an opportunity to fine-tune a recipe with your feedback! Please continue to share your experiences with the recipe, and hopefully, we can create the ULTIMATE fettuccini alfredo recipe for the Instant Pot together!

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Chicken Fettuccini is a favorite at our house and I'm so excited that I can now make it super quick! Using the Instant Pot cuts the cooking time by more than half and the best part is I only dirty one stinkin' pot. I'm tellin' you this Instant Pot thing is a game changer, especially for this Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo.

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4.86 from 63 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo

Chicken Fettuccini is a favorite at our house and I'm so excited that I can now make it super quick! Using the Instant Pot cuts the cooking time by more than half and the best part is I only dirty one stinkin' pot. I'm tellin' you this Instant Pot thing is a game changer, especially for this Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Pressure Release time15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: easy dinner, Instant Pot, One pot

Servings: servings

Calories: 1272kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds chicken breasts boneless and skinless
2 tablespoons salted butter
5 cloves garlic minced
2 cups heavy cream
2 ½ cups chicken broth
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch of ground nutmeg
1 pound dry fettuccini noodles
¾ cup parmesan cheese shredded
fresh basil

Instructions

Press saute button on Instant Pot and heat olive oil until display reads "HOT". Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place in the pot to brown. Cook 2 minutes per side just until lightly browned, but not cooked all the way through, remove from pot and place on a plate.
Melt butter in the pot and stir in minced garlic. Cook for less than 1 minute, stirring constantly until fragrant and pour in cream.
Bring cream and garlic to a simmer while scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula to release the browned bits from cooking the chicken. Simmer sauce for 2 minutes until just slightly thickened and pour in chicken broth, salt and nutmeg.
Break dry noodles in half and place into the pot, making sure all noodles are submerged, followed by the browned chicken breasts.
Cover Instant Pot and set it to cook at High Pressure for 10 minutes.
When time is up, allow Instant Pot to naturally release pressure-- about 8-10minutes (See Notes).
Remove chicken and slice if desired before returning to the pot. Stir in cheese and fresh chopped basil before serving-- sauce will thicken as it cools.

Notes

The first time I made this I tried doing a quick release of pressure after the cooking time was up and I ended up with a literal volcano of cream coming from the spout of my Instant Pot! Ha! So, that's why I recommend you wait for a natural release. Cream has a tendency to boil up when being cooked and comes right up to the top of the pot, making for an easy escape when you release the valve. You may be able to get away with letting it cool for 5 minutes and then try a quick release, but do so knowing you might get a cream bath. 😉

Nutrition

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Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup

By Heather LAST UPDATED April 5, 2018 · FIRST PUBLISHED February 6, 2017, 8 Comments

If you're craving a rich and creamy soup that is a snap to put together and takes under 20 minutes to make, this Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup is for you!

Have you jumped on the Instant Pot train yet? I bought mine last November with such good intentions on diving in, experimenting and sharing lots of recipes with you and am FINALLY doing it! The good thing about waiting a few months to start recipe creating is that I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how it works now. If you're not familiar, an Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that doubles as a slow cooker, rice and yogurt maker, and more. There's so much you can do with it and I've only skimmed the surface these last few months.

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I'm not gonna lie, when I first unboxed my Instant Pot and started reading the manual, I felt like I was about to operate a nuclear reactor and was a little freaked that it was going to blow up in my face. BUT never fear, never fear, I promise IT WILL NOT blow up, dismember you, or otherwise a make a mess of your kitchen. It's safe and easy and makes some of the best food ever in record breaking time.

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I have lots of recipes in the works to share, but this Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup is one of my favorites so far! I used 4 different kinds of cheese to kick up the flavor and finished it off with some fat free half and half to make it creamy without adding extra fat.

The flavor combo of the cheeses with the broccoli that gets cooked to tender perfection in the Instant Pot is so, so good. The addition of dijon mustard is a compliment to the cheeses and the smoked paprika adds a bit of smokiness that makes you think there might bacon in it which is always a win in my book

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If you don't have an Instant Pot, this recipe is definitely make-able on the stove top-- it will just take a bit more time. See the recipe notes for full instructions.

Want an Instant Pot? This is the same Instant Pot that I have and I LOVE it.

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4.50 from 10 votes

Instant Pot Broccoli with Four Cheese Soup

If you're craving a rich and creamy soup that is a snap to put together and takes under 20 minutes to make, this Instant Pot Broccoli and Four Cheese Soup is for you!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Pressure Release Time10

Total Time28

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheesy, creamy, easy soup, Instant Pot

Servings: servings

Calories: 368kcal

Author: Heather Cheney

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 whole small/medium onion finely diced
2 whole large carrots diced
1 clove garlic minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cup chicken or vegetable broth See Note 1
5-6 cup broccoli florets
1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
½ teaspoon black pepper
4 slices kraft singles american cheese cut into slices (See Note 2)
1 cup pepper jack cheese shredded
1 cup colby jack cheese shredded
½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
1 cup Fat Free Half and Half See Note 3

Instructions

Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot and add butter. When butter is melted stir in onion and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Stir in garlic and flour, and cook for 1 minute and stir in broth. Continue stirring until no flour lumps remain. Add broccoli to the pot, cover, and set Instant Pot to cook at High Pressure for 8 minutes.
At the end of 8 minutes, do a quick release of pressure, open lid and turn off the pot. Stir in salt, paprika, dijon, dill, and pepper.
Stir in cheeses, mixing until fully melted and stir in half and half just before serving.

Notes

1. I love to use Better Than Bullion for all my broths. It's so easy to keep in the fridge and mix up a bit when I need it.
2. I use 4 different kinds of cheese to kick up the flavor, but if you only have one or two, use what you have! Sharp cheddar is great because of it's strong flavor, but most melting cheese will work-- you'll just a little different flavor profile. Make it your own!
3. Fat-Free Half and Half can be a little finicky and has the tendency to curdle when overheated. I've found that Land O' Lakes Brand is the least likely to curdle for whatever reason and it tastes great too. And by all means, if you want to use full-fat cream or half and half, do it! It will just make your soup that much better!
4. To Make on The Stove Top: Follow steps 1 and 2 and then bring to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is very tender-- about 30 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and stir in spices, herbs, cheese and half and half to serve.

Nutrition

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THE MEAT

THE SHAPE

THE SEASONING

THE TEMPERATURE

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THE BUN, THE TOPPINGS

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