Instant Pot turkey chili baked potatoes - 6 smart points

This is an excellent weeknight meal that is quick and makes plenty of leftovers! It's easy, so easy in fact, that my husband started it while I was at the gym after work and he is not an Instant Pot pro (yet! he will be :)).

It's also healthy, only 6 smart points on Weight Watchers freestyle program. Now, if you aren't on the program you can also load it up with cheese and sour cream and make it decadent, don't get me wrong.

In my ideal world, I would use two instant pots to make this simultaneously but since I sadly only have one, that's not an option for me. I have included suggestions on how I would do it if I had two...some day!

There are two parts to this meal - baked potatoes and turkey chili. Most of the points, will come from your potato, so you could just eat the chili!

Part 1 - Pressure cooking potatoes

Put your trivet in the bottom of your Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. I use a 6 quart Duo IP. If you have a 3 quart, you can likely also use it for your potatoes but you will not be able to make as many potatoes at one time. If you only have one IP, like me, you will want to cook your chili on the stove but the chili requires a least a 6 quart, so you will want to use the smaller one for potatoes.

Put 6 medium baked potatoes on top of the trivet and pour in 1 cup of water. Set your instant pot to pressure cook, high and set for 10 minutes. When the cooking cycle is completed allow to naturally release for 20 minutes. While your potatoes are cooking, you will want to start your chili.

One medium potato is 5 smart points.

Part 2 - Turkey Chili

If you have a second instant pot, you can make the chili in it as well, you will need at least a 6 quart. Or you can cook the two items back to back, cleaning our your insert in between or using a second insert. Otherwise, I use my Cuisinart enameled Dutch oven.

Ingredients:
20 oz 99% fat free ground turkey breast
2 tsp olive oil
1 package chili seasoning
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 tsp liquid smoke

Stove directions: Heat olive oil in Dutch oven on medium to high heat and sauté turkey with chili seasoning until fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Add beans and tomatoes to the pot with enough water to cover the contents. Allow to simmer at least 10 minutes on the stove, ideally 20 minutes.

Instant Pot directions: A 6 quart, or larger, instant pot is needed. Turn the IP on to sauté, high. Add the olive oil to the bottom of the pan and sauté turkey with chili seasoning until fully cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Add beans and tomatoes to the pot with enough water to cover the contents. Put the lid on the IP and close the vent. Change the setting on the IP to manual, high pressure and set for 10 minutes. When the cooking time is completed, you can quick release the pressure.

My preferred way to make chili is in the Instant Pot but until I get a second pot, to make this combination meal I unfortunately have to use my stove! I think the IP does give the chili a better flavor in less time.

Recipe makes 6 servings, each serving is 1 point.

I smash my baked potato up and top with a full serving of the chili, for 6 points total. You can optionally top with fat free Greek yogurt (0 points) and low fat shredded cheese (3 points for 1/4 cup).

With cheese, it's 9 points.

This blog is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. This post contains some affiliate links, if you make a purchase via one of these links this blog will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support.

How to make cauliflower rice

Making cauliflower rice is a simple but messy process. Seriously when I'm done there are flecks of cauliflower all over my kitchen counter. However, when I checked the price of pre-riced cauliflower at my store, I decided it would behoove me to batch rice some cauliflower for my freezer.

I can't believe a paltry 10oz of riced cauliflower was over $4! I can buy a whole head for $2, shred it myself and end up with a lot more than 10oz. I put it in a freezer bag and have it ready when I want it.

All you need to do this:

Cauliflower (I recommend doing at least 3 heads at a time)

Food processer with a chop blade (6 cup or larger recommended)

Freezer bags or other storage containers

First, you need to prep your cauliflower. Wash your cauliflower and remove the center stalk. You need to cut or pull your head of cauliflower into smaller pieces that will fit in your food processer chute, for mine that is about 2in by 3in maximum. Put your chopping blade on your food processor, I use the same blade that shreds cheese. Fill your chute with cauliflower. It will feed in to the processor and be chopped into small pieces.

If your cauliflower gets mushy, check the blade on your food processor. It might be designed to blend/puree.

When the bowl is full (about 2 heads for my 6 cup food processor), empty the riced cauliflower into a storage container and put it in the fridge for use in the next few days or freeze it for later use.

When you are ready to eat it, it should be cooked to give it a more rice-like texture. A lot of the grocery store packages are designed for steaming it but personally I think it has better flavor and texture if it’s sautéed.

For basic preparation, you can sauté in olive oil or butter with some salt and pepper. For Asian dishes, I like to sauté it in sesame oil.

Make the starbucks sous vide egg bites without a mold!

I kept seeing people rave about these egg bites in the Instant Pot and I wanted to try them but I was reluctant to buy a special mold to make something I had never tried before. So I set out to make them in my 7in Fat Daddio pan that I bought for PIP recipes.

Since the "bite" is more like a loaf, I had to tinker a little bit with the cooking time. My first experiment looked like this.....hardly a success!

However, after I flipped it back into the pan and cooked it the rest of the way in my oven it was also delicious. The eggs were velvety smooth.

This one looks better right? Here is how you can do it yourself. This was made in a 7in pan, if you use a different size pan it might impact your cook time a little bit.

This recipe was based off of the recipe from foodie and wine that uses the silicone molds.

Ingredients:

5 Large Eggs
4oz of cooked crumbled bacon or I like to use pancetta because it comes already in cubes
1 ½ cups of cheese
4oz cream cheese
¼ cup heavy cream
Salt to taste*

*Note I did not use any additional salt because I was already using pancetta it's quite salty.

Directions: Cook the meat and if you are using bacon, crumble it. Put the eggs, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cream and salt into a blender and blend until fully mixed, about 45 seconds.

I use my Epica smoothie blender and it works great.

Breakfast smoothie anyone?

Put your pancetta in the bottom into a a lightly greased 7in pan and pour the blended egg mixture on top.

Cover the pan with foil. Pour one cup of water into the bottom of your Instant pot and using your trivet, lower the pan into the pot. The pan will be on top of the trivet.

Set your IP to steam for 14 minutes. Quick release the steam. You can cut slices and eat it from the pan, or you can flip it out on to a plate. It easily releases from my Fat Daddio pan. Full-sized bite!

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Easy Asian style peanut chicken in the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker

This recipe is quick, easy and delicious in the instant pot or other electric pressure cooker. This delicious chicken is fabulous on rice but since I'm currently doing the low carb thing, we had it on cauliflower rice. Having a sauce-covered main dish is key for me to not realize I'm eating vegetables instead of actual rice.

Ingredients:
2 tb of toasted sesame oil (I like this one from Trader Joe's)
1 tb of chopped garlic (I use this kind but you can use fresh if preferred)
3 chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch cubes
13oz can of lite coconut milk
8oz jar of peanut sauce (I used this kind)
salt to taste
3 TB of cornstarch to thicken sauce

Directions:
Turn your Instant Pot (IP) on saute, normal and let it warm up for 3-4 minutes. Add the sesame oil and the garlic. Saute the garlic for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in your coconut milk first, add the chicken and top with the peanut sauce and stir.

Turn the saute function off and turn the IP to pressure cook and set for 8 minutes. Make sure the vent is turned to "sealing." When pressure cook is completed, quick release the pressure.

The sauce will be pretty thin, if you want a thicker sauce, press cancel on the IP and change the setting to saute, high. Then spoon about a cup of sauce into a small bowl (I like to use coffee mugs) and add 3 Tb of cornstarch. Whisk it together until it's fully blended and add it back to the pot, stirring it in. Allow the sauce to simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce reaches desired thickness.

Serve over rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa.

Over cauliflower rice for a lower carb option. I sauteed the cauliflower in sesame oil.

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