Tag: Heathy

Healthy Instant Pot Elk Meat Chili

Published on by richbLeave a comment

A friend gave me some of the elk meat from his last hunt. This meat is very lean and can be pretty tough. Cooking it in the instant pot makes it nice and tender. I wanted a hearty meal so I came up with this recipe from the items I had in my pantry and it came out great.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds elk meat (Round steak) chopped into 1 to 1/2″ chunks
  • 2 tbsp. oil (Canola, Vegetable, or Corn oil)
  • 3 slices of finely diced bacon
  • 1 – 14 oz. cans of stewed tomatoes
  • 1 – 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
  • 1/2 – 6 oz. can of tomato paste
  • 2 cups of pinto beans (soaked overnight)
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 bell peppers diced (Green or Red)
  • 1 onions, diced
  • 2 tbsp. New Mexico chili powder
  • 1 tbsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp of oregano
  • 1 tsp of basil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp. Worcestershire
  • 1 tsp of crushed red chilies (I used 3 extra hot dried cayenne peppers crushed)
  • 3 tsp beef bullion powder
  • 4 cups of water
  • Additional Garlic & Onion powder and salt to taste (I added about 1 tsp of Garlic and Onion powder)

Directions

Night before, put pinto beans in bowl covered by 3″ of water. When ready to cook, set Instant Pot to sauté and add oil and Elk meat, bacon and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 of the diced garlic. Sauté till browned. Then add in tomato sauce and paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, basil, Worcestershire sauce, beef bullion, and red chilies and stir. Set Instant pot to pressure cook high and cook for 40 mins. When done do quick pressure release, open instant pot and stir in the rest of the ingredients and then set for pressure cook high for 15 more minutes. When timer expires do quick pressure release and enjoy.

Manchurian Vegetable Balls

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Ingredients

  • Vegetable Balls
    • 1 carrot grated fine
    • 1 cup of cabbage grated or sliced & chopped finely
    • 1/2 Onion grated
    • 1/2 Bell pepper chopped finely
    • 2 pieces of bread crumbed (for Vegan use Vegan Bread)
    • 1/4 cup of flour
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 1 egg
    • 1/3 cup water
    • Oil for frying
  • Sauce
    • 1/2 onion chopped
    • 2 tablespoons oil
    • 1 tablespoons vinegar
    • 3 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
    • 3 tablespoons Ketchup
    • 1 tsp Siracha sauce
    • 1/4 tsp sugar
    • 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water

Directions

For Veggie Balls: Add Vegetable Ball ingredients to a bowl and mix till well mixed. Heat frying oil in a pan, when hot, form 1″ diameter balls and drop into hot oil. Fry till golden brown and cooked through, then drain.. Or for Heathier version with less fat coat w/oil and cook in an air fryer.

For Sauce: Add oil to pan and heat till hot. Add in onions and fry about 2 minutes. Now add garlic and ginger fry lightly, do not brown. Then add water, ketchup, vinegar, Siracha and sugar. Adjust vinegar and sugar to taste. Cook about 2 minutes till boiling, then add in cornstarch/water mixture and boil till thickened. Serve Veggie balls with sauce on the side to spoon over.

Thai Basil Chicken

Published on by richbLeave a comment

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken Breast Chopped into bite size pieces
  • 3 Thai chilies chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons of Oyster sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
  • 1 cup of Thai Basil leaves chopped into small slivers
  • 2 green onions sliced finely
  • 2 Teaspoons of fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Directions

Add garlic and peppers into a mortor and pestle and crush together then put into a bowl and mix in oyster sauce, soy sauce, white and brown sugar, and fish sauce till combined. Add oil into a hot pan and then add the chicken. Stir till it starts to brown and then add in a tablespoon of the mixture from the bowl. Keep stirring till it starts to caramelize. Add in the rest of the sauce and stir till pan deglazed and a coating forms on the chicken. Add basil and green onions to the pan and stir till mixed, then remove from heat immediately and serve with rice.

Note: The first time I made this, the sauce looked very thick and I added 2 tablespoons of water to thin a little. This was a mistake, the sauce has to be thick to coat the chicken. If it doesn’t cote the chicken the sauce along with most of the flavor will be all at the bottom of the pan.