dairy ⁽¹²⁾

I was craving Eggplant Parmesan (aka Eggplant Parmigiano), but I really, really hate making it myself. There's the slicing of the eggplant, the salting of the eggplant, the dabbing away of eggplant moisture, the breading of the eggplant, and I could go on forever.

So I usually buy this one. All the better to let someone else do the labors and me enjoy the flavors. My favorite Eggplant Parm dealer, Alfredo's Pizza Villa, has an option to serve it over pasta.

Could I recreate that at home? In the Instant Pot?

The answer is, "No." But I can come very close.

Happy Neurodiversity Week!

There are many types of #neurodiversity and #ADHD is just one of them. A lot of times, an Instant Pot is a godsend for the easily distracted, whether that be adult caregivers to children who have the urge to draw a masterpiece all over the living room in lipstick, or a person whose brain is the child trying to draw a masterpiece all over the neural-living room with cognitive-lipstick. Which is why so many of my recipes are written for people with low working memory and cover meals that would be faster and, some might find, easier to prepare without the Instant Pot. And today is no exception. Today, I present: boxed macaroni and cheese.

Craving a lasagna but don't have access to an oven? This soup'll do ya! This recipe can be cooked in a crock pot/slow cooker instead of an Instant Pot if you cook the included lentils a different way. This recipe can be made vegan if you substitute vegan cheese for cow cheese.

Why would you cook an egg in a microwave? Because children sense when you are involved in a time-sensitive task that requires your concentration and attention and seize the opportunity. But with a microwave, you're not (involved in a time-sensitive task that requires your concentration and attention) and all you sacrifice is that small bit of flavor from the Maillard reaction you're also not engaging in. Your move, children!

I can never, ever get tortellini right on the stove top. It either is too gummy or not fully cooked. But with an Instant Pot, it is perfect, every time. And you can too!

As for any other frozen tortellini brands, it will work identically. Don't try this with refrigerated tortellini as it is too delicate. Dry tortellini has its own recipe.

I also want to say that this doesn't include sauce. You are on your own to figure out sauce (like, say, from a jar or can), or use a recipe that cooks the sauce and the tortellini together all yummy-like.

This recipe just gets you from frozen plain cheese-tortellini to cooked plain cheese-tortellini.

Use case: Children who cannot agree on a sauce and you'd like to automate the tortellini cooking process so that you can spend more time with them.