Instant Pot Garlic Pepper Spare Ribs

I live in a small one bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen. I do not have any open counter space because I own a million kitchen appliances. You name it, I probably have it. And currently, my new favorite is the Instant Pot! I recently upgraded to the newest model, well, because it has a pretty blue LCD screen and a fancy turn dial. But new model or not, it's awesome. I've been pretty busy the last few months with work travel and fun travel that I've been neglecting my normal weekend meal prep. That's where this Instant Pot comes in! It cuts down my cook time so much that I'm able to prep everything all before the sun goes down. I've only ever made stew and braises in my Instant Pot and I wanted to give ribs a whirl. Well, they came out amazingly tender and so flavorful! 

Instant Pot Garlic Pepper Spare Ribs

What you'll need:

• 1.5-2 lbs pork spare ribs, trimmed
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos or gluten free tamari
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (I used Red Boat)
• 3 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 7-10 garlic cloves, peeled
• small handful cilantro
• 2 stalks scallions, roughly chopped

What to do: 

1. In a food processor, combine, the coconut aminos (or tamari), fish sauce, black peppercorns, garlic cloves, cilantro, and scallions. Pulse until a thick paste - like mixture forms. 
2. Place the spare ribs in the Instant Pot and pour the marinade over the ribs. Massage the marinade into the pork. Flip the pork so it's meaty side down. 
3. Replace the lid of the Instant Pot and manually set it to 22 minutes on High pressure. Allow the Instant Pot to do it's thing. 
4. Once it's finished cooking, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release (allow the valve to depress on its own). Preheat the oven to 450F. 
5. Carefully, remove the ribs from the Instant Pot and place on a silicone lined baking sheet. Brush some of the juices onto the ribs. Roast for 6 minutes. Allow the ribs to rest before serving.
6. The remaining juices can be reduced and used as a dipping sauce. 

Spicy Bacon Chili Meatloaf

Every week, I like to plan my meals. I pick one or two different types of protein and make enough of it to last the entire week. This week, while visiting home for Mother's Day and feeling a little uninspired in the kitchen, I asked my sister for what I could make with some of the items in my freezer. I had ground beef and chuck roast. Sister suggested chili. That's when a got that tingle in my toes and a light bulb went off, "what if I combined chili and meatloaf into one?!" And BAM! My Spicy Bacon Chili lost a little sauce, but made up for in looks! How yummy does this meatloaf look? So anyway, Thanks Sister! You The Best!

Spicy Bacon Chili Meatloaf

What you'll need:

• 1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 1/2 large onion (softball size), roughly chopped
• 1 small - medium green bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 6 oz white button mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1.5 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4-6 oz bacon, fried and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp gluten free Worcestershire (or coconut aminos)
• 1/3 cup salsa (I used 505 Southwestern hatch chili salsa, found at Costco!) 
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chunky pico de gallo (homemade or storebought)

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Add the ground beef/turkey to a large bowl. Add the chopped onions, bell pepper, and garlic cloves to a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Drain the juices using a fine mesh sieve, get out as much water from the onion mixture. Add to the large bowl with the ground meat.
2. Clean and remove the mushroom stems and add to the food processor. Pulse until it resembles ground meat. Add the ground mushrooms to the large bowl with the onion mixture. Add the spices, Worcestershire, 1/3 cup salsa, egg and bacon. Using clean hands or a spatula, mix the meatloaf mixture until just combined. 
3. Pour the meat mixture to a loaf pan and roughly shape into an even sized loaf. Pour the chunky pico de gallo over the top and bake the meatloaf at 350F for 60 minutes. 
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.