My version of Instant Pot Mac n Cheese.

I've gotten some requests to post how I made my Instant Pot mac n cheese come out creamy and smooth. It's not a huge secret but when I researched how to make this I noticed none of the recipes used Velveeta cheese in it. To me, that's the key to making this mac n cheese super creamy. I know some people may not want to use Velveeta, but  I tried doing this without and it just wasn’t the same. The only other product I used (and that’s when I made this in the crock pot) was Ragu’s Cheese sauce. It’s not bad, but Velveeta is better. The other product I use is Carnation Condense milk. I used 2% but which worked fine for me. Some people use just milk, which is fine, but the taste and consistency of condensed milk has no equal, for me anyway. And instead of using only water, I mixed water with broth, whether it’s chicken, beef, etc. It’s gives it a certain zing. So without further ado, here it goes:

Ingredients:

• 16 oz (1 lb) uncooked macaroni (any style you prefer) 
• 2 cups chicken, beef or other broth and 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons butter (cut up into cubes)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 16 oz Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
• 2 cups shredded cheese (more or less depending on how cheesy you like it.)
• 12 oz can of condensed milk (I used Carnation)

Step 1: Add the pasta, broth and water, salt into the Instant Pot. Press Pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. It takes a few minutes to come up to pressure. Once it's done hit the cancel button and turn valve to quick release the steam so your noodles don’t get overcooked. 

Step 2: Add and stir in the butter until melted. Add the Velveeta and milk gradually and mix together. You can then add the shredded cheese in small batches if you want it creamier, which is what I always do. You can also adjust by adding more liquid if necessary. As a finishing touch, I add a pinch of seasoning like, such as freshly ground pepper, powdered onion, garlic, cumin, or whatever you like. 

And that’s pretty, much it. Feel free to adjust according to your liking. If you like to see more recipes I make in the Instant Pot, comment below and let me know. Have a great Fourth of July!

Fall Decor

It's been a spell since I've been here blogging. Lots have happened. You know how life can be, but that's for later if anyone's interested in reading about it. I want to start by thanking you who are visiting my blog. Please feel free to like, comment, and share. Any ideas that you might have for future blog posts and things you'd like to see me create (whether it's crafts, art, decor or food or life in general) let me know.

This latest post is from the fall decorations it helped make for the church I attend. They were very happy to hear that I'll be taking over the bulletin board and it's decor, which I love. Here are some pics and possible ideas to help decorate any bulletin boards for the the fall season.

These are the flower arrangements I made for the church's podium. I reused their vases but I am on the lookout for different ones or perhaps painting these to a more neutral color.

This is how it ended up looking in the from. I added some fall vines to jazz up the white sheets.

Here's the bulletin board I undated for the season. The letter were bought by a sister from church from hobby lobby and I think it worked out well. I something simple and clean with some white space. I'll be updating the cross soon when it's time to change the decor for the winter/Christmas season. I'll be able to his the paper in the background better next time, as this was sort of an impromptu last minute decor due to so many things happening during this time. Hope you enjoy!

Braised Chicken Thighs

At the request of a few friends, I'm posting a recipe for slow cooker braised pork chops. I am listing the ingredients I used but I don't really measure much. I kinda eyeball it and then taste it to see if it needs adjustments, but I will do my best to give some kind of measurement. In the future I will try to add measurements but I try to keep things simple. This is actually my first time posting a recipe with some details, so it won't be perfect. If I do more maybe I'll add videos in the future. here it is:

6 Chicken thighs, seasons with salt and pepper
1 whole leek, chopped
2 1/2 yellow onions
5-6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 sazon packet of your choice. I like using the one with color (achiote)
You can also use Adobo if you have it in place of that.
3 Roma Tomatoes (or which ever you prefer.)
1 tablespoons tomato paste
2 carrots
2 Cut up potatoes(I used red)
1 Sazon de Jamon packet.
1 cup broth of your choice. I used beef.
1 cup white or red wine.
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado oil or other high heat oil
3 bay leaves
cilantro
Thyme

In a pan add oil and heat, Must be really hot in order to braise the thighs. Once the thighs are seasoned place in pan and braise each side for about 4-5 minutes. Should be pretty crispy looking.

As these are braising, cut up the veggies, reserving at least half of the onions and carrots and all of the garlic. These will be added to make the sauce. Add the rest of the veggies in the pot.

Remove the thighs once both sides are done. It won't be full cooked since it will be finished in the slow cooker. Place the chops on a plate to rest a bit then take the remaining onion, carrots to the pan to slightly cook them and get their flavor. Add garlic last since it can burn quickly. Reduce the heat to medium. Once the veggies are tender add the stock and wine. Add tomato paste, cumin, turmeric and thyme . I also thrown in some Sazon. Slowly reduce this to about half of what you started with.

Once done, arrange the thighs in the crock pot, add your sauce. You can add the bay leaves whole (these will be removed before serving!)

I usually set the slow cooker for 4 hours, although these will be fully cooked and fork tender at around 4 hours.

Serve with either rice, quinoa, potatoes or whatever your heart desires! This was served wit quinoa!

I hope you give it a try and add your own spin to it as well. Let me know how it turns out! I hope you enjoy! Take care, thanks for the request and taking the time to read my post! If you have any suggestions on how to improve my post or maybe something else you'd like to see, please let me know! God bless.

Braised Pork Chops

At the request of a few friends, I'm posting a recipe for slow cooker braised pork chops. I am listing the ingredients I used but I don't really measure much. I kinda eyeball it and then taste it to see if it needs adjustments, but I will do my best to give some kind of measurement. In the future I will try to add measurements but I try to keep things simple. This is actually my first time posting a recipe with some details, so it won't be perfect. If I do more maybe I'll add videos in the future. here it is:

4 pork chops, seasons with salt and pepper
1 whole leek, chopped
1 bell pepper
1 1/2 yellow onions
5-6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 sazon packet of your choice. I like using the one with color (achiote)
You can also use Adobo if you have it in place of that.
2 Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 carrots
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 Dijon mustard tablespoon
1 cup broth of your choice. I used beef.
1 cup red wine.
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado oil or other high heat oil
3 sprigs rosemary
3-4 bay leaves
cilantro

In a pan add oil and heat, Must be really hot in order to braise the chops. Once the chops are seasoned place in pan and braise each side for about 4-5 minutes. Should be pretty crispy looking.

As these are braising, cut up the veggies, reserving at least half of the onions, pepper and carrots. These will be added to make the sauce. Add the rest of the veggies in the pot.

Remove the chops once both sides are done. It won't be full cooked since it will be finished in the slow cooker. Place the chops on a plate to rest a bit then take the remaining onion, carrots and bell pepper and to the pan to slightly cook them and get their flavor. Add garlic last since it can burn quickly. Reduce the heat to medium. Once the veggies are tender add the stock and wine. Add tomato paste, cumin, turmeric, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. I also thrown in some Sazon. Slowly reduce this to about half of what you started with.

Once done, arrange the chops in the crock pot add your sauce. You can add the rosemary and bay leaves whole (these will be removed before serving!)

I usually set the slow cooker for 4 hours, although these will be fully cooked and fork tender at around 3-3 1/2 hours.

Serve with either rice, quinoa, potatoes or whatever your heart desires! I didn't take any after shots of this! Sorry!

I hope you give it a try and add your own spin to it as well. Let me know how it turns out! I hope you enjoy! Take care, thanks for the request and taking the time to read my post! If you have any suggestions on how to improve my post or maybe something else you'd like to see, please let me know! God bless.

Welcome and Happy New Year!

Hi all interested readers  My name's Griselle, but most everyone who knows me, including family, (except my mom of course!) call me Googie. I prefer it. In fact, if I could, I would totally change it legally to that!! LOL

But anyway, I had resolve long before the new year, to blog. Not just ranting or reviewing stuff, but more specifically on some of the things I do, such as draw and cook, and it's relation to drinking wine. Well, more like how drinking wine tends to make me a little more creative that normal. ;)

Why wine? Well, I like it. It's a nice way to relax after a stressful day (or even if things are not stressful), it goes great with food and dessert and you can drink it any time, anywhere. It can be relativity inexpensive depending on where you go but I've also notice that just because something is cheaply price doesn't make it bad. I've had so pretty decent "cheap" wines that kick ass! Also, a glass of wine has the same (if not less) calories than a shot of tequila. Plus, you get a lot more drink! And, in moderation, red wine is good for your heart. With all that going for it, is it not a wonder I like my wine?

Add some chocolate and smooth jazz......

You get the idea. Lately, though, I found that if I drink a little before or during something I am creating, it make it more interesting, inspiring and fun. Why is that? Well, with a little liquid courage, it helps to lower some of the restrictions I sometimes tend to put on myself when it come to creating. It gets me loose and lets me see thing more mellow and relaxing and fun.

Look, in this day and age there so much crap going on in the world that it's enough to make you wanna drink. In my case, I'm trying to focus on something positive associated with drinking in hard times. For the brief moment, it lets me forget the outside world and allows me to relax and feel good. I know many people will say that it's just  a cover for something else and that its' a short term solution to some kind of problem. Maybe in some cases that's true, but I don't read much into. There is such a thing as just having some fun and feeling good. Just tel the average pot smoker and they'll tell you the same!!! LOL! There's nothing wrong wit escaping reality, as long as you come back.

I know, I know....
It's hard to come back sometimes...
But I know that I've got something to forward to...
I think I drifted....

Anyway, that about sums it up for now. I think trying to make life a little more interesting and bearable in these dark times is a necessary thing. We all have ways of doing this. But this is my journey for the time being and I gotta say, wine's awesome and most everything goes better with wine!!! What will I create when I drink!?! Hopefully, some really cool and kick ass pieces of art and food. And when I do, I will share with all of you.

Can I create things that are bad ass and epic without the help of wine? Of course I can!!!

But where's the fun in that!?!