INGREDIENTS
2 pounds dried northern beans / navy beans / or black eyed peas
3-4 pounds - ham hocks or meaty ham bone
1/2 onion diced
1 bay leaf
8 cups water (not stock)​

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot. Lock the lid in place and set the valve to sealing.
2. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.
3. Allow a natural release of pressure for 15 minutes, then release the remaining pressure and open the lid.
4. If using bone-in ham - remove bone, shred ham, place back in beans. Stir and enjoy.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup wheat berries (dry)
2 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
2 cups diced cucumber
1 cup fresh chives
1 cup feta
1/4 Greek Dressing (I used Kraft)

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook the wheat berries according to their package instructions.
2. While the wheat berries are cooking, dice veggies, and place in fridge.
3. When wheat berries have finished cooking, lay out on cookie sheet to cool.
4. Combine ingredients in medium bowl, add dressing, mix, and place in fridge to completely cool before serving.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa uncooked
2 cups water
1 cup cucumber chopped
1 cup fresh lemon balm (or mint) chopped
⅓ cup red onion chopped
1 cup roasted and salted pistachios chopped
1 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
Zest of 2 lemons
2 lemons juiced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
1 cup crumbled feta cheese​

INGREDIENTS

1. Rinse and drain quinoa. Add quinoa and water to a small pot and bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool for 30 minutes. For faster cooling, spread out on clean cookie sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together cooked quinoa, cucumber, lemon zest, parsley, lemon balm (or mint), red onion, pistachios, chickpeas, salt, pepper, and feta. 
3. In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice and olive oil. Add to salad and mix thoroughly.
4. Serve immediately or let the salad chill in the fridge a couple hours before serving.
5. Store salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Recently I bought the Instant Pot Max - I have been saving for it for quite some time. I am over-the-moon excited about it! About a week or so ago I decided to give it it's maiden-voyage and can some pinto beans. You can only can 4 pints at a time. But you know what? That's ok with me! Especially since I am just starting out on this pressure canning journey. 1/4 cup of rinsed (but dry) pinto beans, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, and water. 75 mins of pressure canning, and then natural release which takes about an hour. All in all I was ecstatic with the results! So right before bed I decided "Hey, I can put in 4 more pints!" And that's exactly what I did. Then a couple of days later I tried navy beans - which I did 3/4 cup of rinsed (but dry) beans, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, and water. 75 mins of pressure canning and Voila! 4 more pints of beans for the pantry shelves.

To say I am hooked is an understatement. Yesterday I decided I was going to take the leap and do 'raw pack pork'. That was a little more labor intensive since it was a bone-in pork shoulder that I got on sale and there was a lot of fat to remove. I stuffed those little pint jars as much as I could (leaving an inch head space), wiped the rims with vinegar and put on the lids. Set the timer and away they went. About an hour later I came up from the basement (I was working at the time) and noticed my IP Max flashing ALT at me - I was devastated! Did it get to temp? When did it error out? Aaagghh!!

I gathered my wits and researched what to do. Once I reset the canner I found that you can can cooked meat at the same temp & time. So that's what I did. I double checked everything and started over with the pint jars I had in their already. This time I came upstairs every half hour to check it's progress to make sure I didn't ALT again. And thankfully it went through it's entire process and natural released at the end. All four pints sealed and were ready for their resting time.

To say pressure canning is stressful is truthful. Yeah, I know I am "cheating" but that's what I can handle at this moment in life and I am ok with that. I will just keep pluggin along 4 pints at a time. :)