Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs - Freezer Friendly

So I'm on a mission to get together a great freezer meal workshop together that will allow me to create about 10 meals to place in my freezer, ready to cook when my day has been just to crazy.  It's taking me a while because I want to be sure to test them and make sure they are delicious and hold up to the freezing process.

Yesterday I posted Meal # 1, Italian Beef Sandwiches, that turned out amazing!  I'm trying to keep the same spice profile on part of these to cut down on groceries, so I decided on Meatballs for my second go round.

They turned out just as delicious as the beef.  The wonderful part about these is they can go straight from the freezer to your pressure cooker!  You can also do these in a slow cooker!  How versatile is that?  I also froze them in a way that I could take out as many as I like - no need to cook 40 meatballs all at once!  I also made this recipe super easy.  Yeah, if I'm cooking on the weekend I'll saute onion and peppers and all that jazz, but this is meant to be super quick, super easy, and super delicious!

I use Wildtree spices in all my recipes, but I always give substitutions for those who are not interested.  If you would like to know more about Wildtree or to order products you can Check out my website.  

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs (makes 40):

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground beef 90% lean

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Blend (or Italian Spice Blend -in the spice isle)

2 teaspoons Wildtree California Style Garlic and Pepper Blend (1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon black pepper)

1 teaspoon onion powder

20 fresh small mozzarella balls, deli style, cut in half or large ball cut into 40 1/2 inch cubes

At mealtime (for 12 meatballs):

2 15 oz cans crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons Wildtree Spaghetti Sauce Blend

1 teaspoon Wildtree Califonia Style Garlic Pepper Blend

or 30 oz your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce

Method of Preparation:

Put all ingredients except mozzarella into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  I really get in there will my hands and mush away because I like these to be tender, like a Swedish meatball.  If you don't want that consistency, mix gingerly until all incorporated.

I used a 2" cookie scoop to measure my meatballs so they would all be the same size and shape.  Measure your meat, place in your hand and flatten out.  Place one piece of mozzarella in the middle and form the meatball around the cheese, making sure is it all encased.

Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. continue until all the meatball mixture is gone, which should be about 4 meatballs.

Place sheet tray of meatballs in freezer for at least 3 hours and no more than 8.

Transfer meatballs to a zip top bag, being sure to remove as much air as possible.  Freeze until you are ready to use.

I am the world's worst food blogger photographer!

There are only 3 people in my house so I took 12 meatballs out for my first try.  I chose to cook mine in my Instant Pot, but you could also do this with a slow cooker if you do not have a pressure cooker.

Add crush tomatoes, spaghetti and garlic blend seasoning to pot.

Stir to incorporate.

Place frozen meatballs in sauce.

Place your cover on your Instant Pot and set for manual mode for 15 minutes.  Once done do a 10 minute natural release and then release the pressure.

For the slow cooker place in your pot and cook on low for 6 hours.  With both methods please be sure to check your internal temps to be sure your food is safe :)

These are great with pasta, polenta, or just on a toothpick for an appetizer.  

I just fished my meatballs out, added 6 ounces of noodles and a 1/2 cup of water and had this:

I hope you enjoy!  If you want to keep up to date on my freezer meal progress be sure to like my Facebook page.  I plan on having a downloadable grocery list, bag labels, and recipes so you can shop and make 10 meals for the freezer at once!

If you'd like to order the Wildtree products for this recipe they are item numbers 10570 and 10197.

You can order here.

Italian Beef Pressure Cooker Sandwich Freezer Meal

So I love freezer meals.  I work at least 60 hours a week, usually more.  If I'm not prepared or just plain wore out after a long day it is nice to have things in my freezer that I can just throw in my Instant Pot when I get home.

Right now I'm developing a freezer meal workshop that will have the grocery list, labels for the bags, and you can do 10 meals at once.  If this interests you be sure to like my Facebook page so you don't miss it when it's done!

Some of them you can cook frozen, but I don't do that with larger cuts of meat.  This recipe uses a 3 pound rump roast so I take it out the night before.  If you put it in a bowl with just room temperature tap water it'll defrost in just a few hours!

This was my Mom's recipe and in my opinion could hold it's ground with any of those awesome Chicago Italian Beef sandwiches!  I use Wildtree products, and I do sell them, but I always put a substitution for people that aren't interested in Wildtree.  I want everyone to enjoy them :)

Italian Beef

Ingredients:

3 pound rump roast

3 tbs Wildtree hearty spaghetti sauce blend  (or spaghetti sauce packet found by the gravy packets in your grocery store)

2 tsp Wildtree California Style Garlic Pepper Blend (or 1 1/2 tsp ground garlic with 1/2 teaspoon black pepper)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 12 oz jar mild banana rings

1 12 oz jar pepperoncini peppers chopped

At cook time:  

2 cups good beef stock

6-8 hoagie rolls or your preferred bread

Optional:  2 cups mozzarella cheese

Get out a large gallon freezer bag.  Add the whole jar of mild banana rings, juice and all.  Open the pepperoncini peppers and add 1/4 of jar.  Now if you like spice you can add some of the juice and more of the peppers.  If I'm making this for all adults I'll add at least half of the jar and half of the juice, but it is spicy.  I like spicy :)  Make it your own!

Add spices to your bag and swoosh around to incorporate.  Add the rump roast and squeeze as much air out as is humanly possible mixing the liquid with the meat.  I always put my bags in a large plastic container so that I don't have to hold the bag while I'm adding ingredients.

Freeze.....

Defrost this the night before you are going to make it in the refrigerator.  I can't lie, mine only stayed frozen for one day because I couldn't wait!  I wouldn't keep this in the freezer for more than a month or two, so be sure to date your bag!

Add two cups of broth to the Instant Pot and contents of freezer bag.  Hit manual and adjust time to 65 minutes.  Once the time is up do a natural release, which took 15 minutes for me.

Check internal temp of beef and make sure it is at a safe level.  Mine was well above, but I always check my meat because I'm paranoid like that :)

Remove roast and let sit for 10 minutes.  I always keep my pot on saute and adjust to low while I'm letting my beef rest.  Shred and return to pot.  If you have a meat slicer you can put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and slice thin.  I don't have time for that!

Slice your rolls and fill them up!  You can place a ramekin of the juice with your sandwich.  It doesn't need it but oh my is it delicious!  I like to wrap mine in foil with the top open, place on a cookie sheet, and put it under my broiler for a couple of minutes to get the bread all toasty.  It is also awesome if you top it with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and toast it up.  The foil makes it much easier to eat without destroying your clothes, because it is messy!

This sandwich has such great flavor!  My mouth waters while I eat it, it's so good.  I hope you enjoy it!

So yeah I use Wildtree and sell Wildtree.  As I said earlier I put subs in place so that people who aren't interested in Wildtree can make my recipes also.  I use Wildtree because they are organic and natural.  No preservatives or any of that...No GMO...Responsibly harvested...I could go on and on but I won't :)

If you are interested in trying the Wildtree version you can order the spices here.   They are items 10570 and 10197.  Take a look around my site!  Everything is delicious and there are so many recipes for all of our products.

You can also check out how to start your own Wildtree business if that kind of thing floats your boat.  I love love love my business and it has enriched my life so much!  A business was the last thing I was looking for when I stumbled upon Wildtree, but after being a customer for a while I just saw the potential and of course wanted the discount!

You can email me if you have any questions!

Pork Roast Marinated with Coffee and Molasses

So I was watching Good Eats and thought that Alton Brown's coffee and molasses marinated Pork Chops looked really good.  I loves me some anything made with molasses, so I decided to turn this into a pressure cooker recipe, and also do a roast instead of chops.  Why not glaze some carrots to go with it, and make a delicious sauce?  All with one pot!

It turned out freaking delicious!  I used Wildtree Seasonings substitutions but I'll include "regular" ingredients also.

Ingredients:

3 pound Pork Roast
1 12 oz bag baby carrots
1 teaspoon Garlic Grapeseed Oil or your favorite oil

For the Marinade (mix in large zip top bag):

2 cups strong coffee - cooled
1 cup Molasses
4 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Wildtree California Style Garlic Pepper Blend
                 or sub 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Thyme
t teaspoon Kosher Salt

Gently swoosh all of the marinade ingredients in a zip top bag until well combined.  Add Pork Roast and squeeze out as much air as you can.  I always twist the top of the bag until the entire surface of the meat is covered.  Store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours up to over night.

Turn Instant Pot on Saute and wait until it reads HOT.  Add teaspoon of Garlic Grapeseed oil and gently swoosh pan to coat bottom.  Place your roast in the pot to brown.

Remember you have molasses in that marinade so it will burn if left on one side for to long.  Rotate roast every minute or so until all sides have been browned.  Remove from pot.

Pour the remaining marinade in your Instant Pot and stir, removing any of the brown bits left from your roast.  Place the trivet that came with your pressure cooker in the bottom of the pan and gently lower roast back into the pot, the side with the most fat up.

Turn off your Instant Pot and secure the lid.  Push the Meat/Stew and raise the time to 60 minutes.  When the time is up turn pot off and let come to a natural release, about 15 minutes.

Carefully remove roast and place on a platter.  I always do a quick temperature check to make sure it is above 145 F.  It always is, but better safe than sorry!

Add Carrots to the pot, secure the lid, and press manual.  Lower the time to 2 minutes.  The awesome thing about this is your roast needs to rest to let the juices redistribute, so this one pot meal works wonders!

Do a quick release when the pot is done and remove the carrots.  Return to saute mode, stirring every once in awhile and fishing out any floating bits as you go.  You can start carving your roast while you are reducing your liquid, and by the time you are done with that your liquid should have reduced by half and you are good to go!

I do like my sauce thicker, so you can fish out 1/2 cup of liquid and add 2 teaspoons of corn starch, mix until well combined and add back to the pot.  This is purely preference sake.

Enjoy!

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Interested in the Wildtree Products I use?  They are organic and natural and I love love love them!  Check out my Wildtree Site to check out the products or learn about starting your own business :)

Instant Pot Polenta?? Yes Please!

To say I was skeptical that you could make decent #Polenta in a pressure cooker is about the understatement of the year.  I love my Polenta, I just hate standing at the stove stirring the bejezus out of it for 20 or more minutes.

So I finally decided to jump in and try it in my Instant Pot.

Whoah.

It's good.

And easy.

It's like I found a beautiful unicorn.

I wanted to make some garlicy, lower calorie Polenta.  This is all I did:

Ingredients:

4 cups Beef Broth
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Wildtree California Style Garlic Pepper Blend
1 tablespoon Butter
1 cups Corn Meal
1/2 cups hot water

Put beef broth, salt, butter, and California Style Garlic Pepper Blend in the Instant Pot and turn it to saute.

Once it is hot enough to start bubbling, slowly add the Corn Meal and whisk away or it will get clumpy!

Once all the Corn Meal is incorporated add the 1/2 cups of hot water, give it a good stir, and place your lid on the Instant Pot.  Set to manual for 7 minutes.  Quick release (carefully, in spurts in case you have foamage happening)

You get creamy, garlicy Polenta.  So good.  So delicious!  Helpful tip:  remove from Instant Pot immediately and soak.  Mine did not burn, but did stick a bit on the bottom and if I wouldn't have soaked it right away I probably would have had a hard time getting the bottom clean.  As it was it cleaned up like a champ!

You could replace the Wildtree seasoning with something from your local grocery store, or you could check out my Wildtree Site.

Interested in starting a business with an organic, natural company?  Click Our Opportunity on my site and see how you can join for $49.99!  Best decision I ever made!

Questions?  Email Me.

Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo

I don't know many people that don't like Alfredo sauce.  It is the Queen Mother of comfort food sauces in my book.  Since I am currently obsessed with my Instant Pot and saw that people actually cook pasta in it, I had to give it a try.  What I did I get?  Some of the most absolutely delicious Chicken Alfredo I've ever eaten!

In true pressure cooker fashion it was done in no time flat, and only required one pot to wash!  #Winning.

1 Pound Cellentani Noodles
1.5 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Teaspoons Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil
1 Tablespoon Wildtree California Style Garlic Pepper Blend
1/2 Cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (fresh, grated)
1/2 cup White Wine
6 Tablespoons Butter
1 Cup Fat Free or 2% Milk
1 Cup Wildtree Alfredo Extraordinaire
Water

Drizzle Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil on both sides of Chicken.  Generously sprinkle California Style Garlic Pepper Blend on both sides.

Turn Instant Pot to Saute mode and add 2 teaspoons of Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil to the pan.  Once display reads "hot" add chicken breasts. Sear on both sides and remove from pan.

Deglaze pan with white wine, stirring until you get all the tasty bits off the bottom.  You want to cook as much liquid out as possible because once you are using pressure cooking mode it will not cook the alcohol out of the wine.

Place your trivet into the pressure cooker and add 2 cups of water.  Place the chicken on the trivet, close the lid, and set to manual mode for 7 minutes. 

Once done let the pressure come down naturally for 5 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.  Move chicken to a plate to rest after checking that it has come to a safe temp, which is 165 F.

add your pound of pasta and cover until it is just all barely under water.  Do not take out the water that was left from cooking the chicken.  It is going to add tons of flavor to your pasta!

Set the pressure cooker to manual for 5 minutes.  Carefully release the pressure a little at a time to make sure no foam comes up through your release valve.  Place pasta in a colander in case you have any extra liquid. 

Turn you pot back to saute mode and add butter and milk.  Stir to make sure you don't scorch it, and once the butter is melted turn the pot off.  Add the Wildtree Alfredo Extraordinaire and whisk until it is all incorporated.  Return Pasta to the Instant Pot and  add the Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Stir to combined.

Secure lid back on the Instant Pot.  Slice your perfect chicken however you'd like it.

Remove lid.  You can either just add the Chicken to the pot and mix to combined or place the chicken on top of each plate of pasta.  It is tender and juicy and the flavor is out of this world!  I didn't even add salt and I'm a salt fanatic.

If you'd like to try some of the Wildtree products they can be purchased here.  I'm sure you could find substitutes in the grocery store, but why would you want to do that?  Wildtree is organic and is a company with a conscious :)

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