Tribe of Five

The other night I had some Pork chops to cook but I didn't want to fry them up like I usually do on the stove.  I decided to do a quick search on the Instant Pot app and found a delicious pork chop recipe that I modified to add in some potatoes and Veggies (and onions for flavor). I modified mine a bit so I will post my modified version below, you can find the original recipe here: Instant Pot Pork Chops with a Creamy Garlic Sauce INGREDIENTS 1. 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 2. 2 Pork chops 3. Lawrys seasoning, Garlic Seasoning and Pepper 4. One cup Beef Broth 5. Five Garlic Cloves chopped 6. 1/2 cup Whole Milk 7. Yellow and Red potatoes- three each, quartered 8. Brussels sprouts, halved (about 15 whole ones) 9. Whole chopped white onion MAKING THE MEAL 1. Add oil and press Saute on your instant pot 2. While it is heating, season the pork chops on both sides 3. Brown the pork chops on both sides (2-4 min. each side). 4. Remove pork chops and add broth 5. Deglaze the botto

When the triplets were little, we had a bouncy house and it was a lifesaver. Single mom, 3 busy active kids who needed to get some energy out in the winter!! Washington winters that aren’t cold enough for decent amounts of regular snow to play in, and there’s only so much energy one has for getting kids to rain gear and boots to puddle jump and play in the cold drizzle or water or the major downpour. Hence the purchase of a bouncy house. I was hesitant because it was a huge purchase and I was a single mom on a very tight budget. But it is still, to this day, one of the best purchases I ever made. It lasted from when they were 3 years old, till they were 9. During that time the “blower” went dead and I purchased new one, it was 4 years old and had been used daily in the winter months. Not bad if you ask me. When they turned 9, it was still in tact and completely functional, we just gave it away. They were getting a tad big for it, and we were moving so the timing seemed perfect.

Here is a list of some of my favorite baby items!   I have personally used all of these and absolutely love them.   Many of them I find essential to have if you have more than one baby, particularly a toddler and a new baby! Binxy Baby Cart Hammock   This product is really revolutionary for when you have 2 kids and need to use the actual "seat" part of the cart for your older child, but need somewhere to put the baby that won't compromise your ability to fit all your items in the cart!   City Select Stroller with Optional add second seat!  I love this stroller because it accommodates the infant car seat and larger seat in either spot, and both the car seat and the larger seat can face either way.  Many configurations, folds nicely, easy to use and easy to push!   2 nd Carseat base for whatever carseat you buy.   I won’t make a car seat recommendation simply because they’re all “safe” and meet the same testing requirements.   It depends on your vehicle si

When I bought my instant pot , the LAST thing I EVER thought I'd be making in it was yogurt.  Honestly!  But, now I can't get enough and neither can my kids.  It's money saving (HUGE!) and its delicious! I'm really excited at the moment because Instant Pot is having a big sale on many their products on Amazon and I just ordered myself a few items I've had my eye on such as the vortex in all sizes, ranging from 50-58% off depending on size!  I also grabbed the Ace plus blender at 40% off.   IP duo nova is currently 30% off, the duo Evo (sous vide model) is 17% off and the Aura Pro is 33-38% off depending on size! I use the cold start method in my 8qt Instant Pot and the following INGREDIENTS: 1. 1.5 gallons of Fairlife WHOLE milk 2. 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (others use 2, I find 1 works perfectly and not as much sugar) 3. 2-3 Large spoonfuls of yogurt starter (plain greek yogrut) **Optional** add 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla PUTT

New to pressure cooking?   Here is some information you might find really helpful!  I've tried to make this a quick read while still being VERY informative!  I have an Instant Pot brand pressure cooker, so most of this is geared towards that specific brand but it's pretty universally applicable! Pressure cooking time:    1) When you see a Pressure Cooker recipe that gives a cooking time , understand this is NOT the total amount of time it will take to cook your food. There are actually THREE time periods times to know and understand: (a)  Amount of time to come to pressure (b)  Actual Cooking Time. (c)  Natural Pressure Release Time (NPR) Recipes specify actual Cooking Time, and may also refer to a Natural Pressure Release Time.   The amount of time to come to pressure (a) varies and is dependent on the amount of food and liquid in the pot, the size of the pot, and the initial temperature of the food and liquid. This can vary from 5 to 30 minutes.  A cup of wat