INSTANT POT Version of Mexican Pot Roast with Borracho Beans + Beef Bone Broth
- I bought a 5.5 pound rack of Beef Spare Ribs.
- Placed them in the InstantPot by wrapping them around the inside of the pot.
- Dumped a one-pound bag of picked-through and rinsed dry pinto beans
- Cut up one yellow onion into 1-2 inch squares
- Tossed in a few cloves of garlic (minced) and added about 2 tbsp of kosher salt
- Filled the water to the "Max Fill Line"
- Set the InstantPot on High Pressure Cook for 1.5 hours, with 15 min Natural Release.

BEANS OR REFRIED BEANS
- After the first round of cooking, I took out all the beans and most of the broth.
- Put the beans in a large pan, add garlic, tomato paste, dried cilantro, cumin, lime, and Mexican oregano
- Heat over medium heat and stir in all of the ingredients.
- At this point if you want beans, you are done. If you want refried beans you start mashing the beans and other ingredients, adding some of the reserved broth. Continually stirring until you have the consistency you want.

MEAT & BONE BROTH
- After removing the beans and most of the broth, fill the InstantPot with more water, 1 tbsp of vinegar, add some carrots, and 2 bay leaves
- Set the InstantPot on High Pressure Cook for 2 hours with 45 min Natural Release.

One of the things that I LOVE about living in our small town is that we have friends that raise animals for food. My favorite is the chicken. Last year my dear husband helped our friends "process" their chickens for the freezer. Because he helped them, we were able to get some for our freezer. So tonight's dinner is especially special to me - as he really stepped out of his "comfort zone" so he could learn how the process works. I on the other hand was not able to be a part of the process - yes, I am a scaredy cat - I admit it. LOL

I found this recipe online for Crock Pot Chicken. It calls for a whole chicken, but since ours are already cut up, I am using it that way. I made quite a few changes to the original recipe to suit our tastes. To find the original recipe, go to this link at 100 Days of Real Food.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tsp Hungarian Sweet & Spicy Paprika
• 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tbsp Dried Onions (or 1 tsp Onion Powder)
  
• 1 tbsp Dried Ground Cilantro
  
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Ancho Chile
  
• 1 tsp Garlic/Lemon Powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tbsp whole peppercorn black pepper
• 1 Large Onion
  
• 1 Large Chicken
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine the dried spices in a spice grinder and grind spices until peppercorns are ground, then place spices in a small bowl.
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the crock pot.
3. Remove any "extras" from the cavity of the chicken, pat the outside of the chicken dry, and then rub the spice mixture all over. You can even put some of the spices and onion inside the cavity. If you are using a chicken that has already been cut into pieces (like I did) then pat dry the pieces and place in a large ziploc bag with the spices. Close bag and shake to ensure all of the pieces have been coated with the spice mixture.
   
4. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the crock pot, drizzle about 1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on top of the chicken, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid. (For this recipe to be successful and juicy, your Crock Pot must have a lid that "seals" so it doesn't let the moisture out, If you do not have this, you can place a piece of foil between the crock pot and the lid.)
   
5. Cook for 4 – 5 hours on high (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone.

Don’t forget to check out the 100 Days of Real Food website for the original recipe and also for the recipe of how make your homemade stock with the leftover bones!

For dinner tonight I am making Slow-Cooker Beef and Black-Bean Chili. Started it this morning, can't wait to try it tonight! The house smells SO good right now! Here is the recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 pound beef chuck, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
• 1 cup dried black beans, rinsed
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream, for serving

Instructions
Directions In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine beef, tomato puree, beans, onion (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish), garlic, chili powder, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover, and cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 8 hours). Serve chili topped with sour cream and reserved onion.

Found recipe at www.marthastewart.com

MASA CORNBREAD

Ingredients

• 1.5 c masa harina
• 1/2 c flour,
• two eggs
• two t of baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1 scant T sugar (brown, turbinado, white, honey, whatever)
• 1.5 (approx) c of milk
• 1/2 stick of butter, softened

Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Rub half of butter (2 T) into dry ingr., Put the other half in a cast iron skillet in a 425 oven.
3. Add eggs and enough milk to dry ingr to make a batter (takes more than regular cornmeal bread), around 1.5 c.
4. When butter in skillet is melted, spread out batter and bake until brown around edges and light brown areas on top (20 min?). Cool out of the pan if you want to keep the bottom crust crisp.