Hello my friends & happy Wednesday!! I know it’s a bit early for a “Friday Favorites” but today is definitely going to feature of a few of my favorite new kitchen gadgets utilizing some of my Trader Joes Haul.

We don’t have a TJ’s close by but there is one on the way to & from my client’s house so I always make sure to save my grocery shopping for those days.

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a grocery haul & since I’m helping with a local 10 Week Fitness Challenge, I was inspired to start sharing some of my daily eats and tips as I’ve also been sharing with the challengers!

Some of my top picks were eggs, greens, kraut (great for digestion!), sunflower seed butter, peanut butter, chocolate chunks for baking, veggie soup, greek yogurt spinach and kale dip, tri-colored carrots, zucchini, ghee, grass-fed Kerrygold cheese, coffee, salsa, & organic chicken breasts! Can you tell we were out of like…everythanggg?

I picked up a lot of this with a new recipe in mind…with a new kitchen obsession called the Instant Pot! I recently stumbled across the Instant Pot on instagram and literally dove into 1 hour of watching YouTube videos on how to use it before I hit purchase.

I’m always looking for ways to make quick meals as I am usually getting home after dinner time & usually hangry ;] SO the Instant Pot looked like my new best friend — and no, they do not pay me to say this, ha! I just fell in love.

So, what is an Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot is a 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Saute/Browning, Yogurt Maker, Steamer & Warmer ALL IN ONE!

What sold me was that you can Saute or brown your ingredients in the same pot as you then slow cook or pressure cook! That way, you can saute your veggies or soup or stews or brown your chicken before it cooks — all in the same pan….which = less dishes! AMEN!

There are a ton of recipes out there for the Instant Pot and you need to make sure you take the time to learn about the product before cooking as you don’t want any steam injuries to happen — the good thing is, the Instant Pot really helps by having a tight locking lid and a pressure valve that shows you when the pressure builds up and when all of the pressure is released, so you know when  it is safe to take the lid off.

The other night I made a lemon rosemary chicken! SO simple.

*2 Chicken Breasts

*Juice of 1 Lemon

*Rosemary & Pink Salt To Taste

*3/4 Cup Chicken Broth

*2TB Oil or Grass-Fed Butter to Saute the Chicken

HOW TO:

1. I added about 1-2 TB oil to the bottom of the instant pot then put the setting to “Saute”.
2. Once warmed up, I added the chicken breast to brown on both sides (about 3-5 minutes each side).
3. I then added in the brother to de-glaze the pan and then added some fresh lemon juice, pink salt, pepper, & dried rosemary.
4. Lock lid into place and close steam valve on top.
5. Set to Poultry Mode for about 9-10 minutes.
6. Let depressurized naturally (won’t take too long!) and then open the top valve to finish the depressurize to make sure it’s good.

To serve with the chicken?? Zucchini noodles! I am obsessed with veggie noodles and they make an awesome base for any meal.

I was gifted a Veggetti Pro as one of our Wedding gifts from a family member and I’ve been using that thing weekly.

One of my favorite veggies to spiralize would be zucchini since it will soak up any flavor you put with it and I also love carrots! When you cook them down with some oil and garlic you’ve got a sweet yet savory spin on “noodles”.

Just add your noodles in a pan with oil and garlic on medium heat and cook until slightly softer. We added pesto, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, & salt/pepper to the noodles then chopped the Instant Pot chicken to throw on top! SO GOOD!

I hope this post helped you out with some meal inspiration if you’re looking to switch things up!

Be true to you,

xo Kasey

Have you ever used a pressure cooker or spiralizer? What are your favorite ways to use it!?