Instant pot: clean out the fridge it’s cold outside, soup recipe

Since we have a garden and so do my neighbors and friends and it’s starting to dip down there in the temperatures at night we have quite a few veggies needing eaten! I’m sure you’ve had that happen as well, you look in the fridge and think “we need to eat this soon or it’s going to go bad and I’m going to have to throw it out and jeez what a tremendous waste of money!”

So this is my solution: clean out the fridge! Which is what I did for dinner tonight. And again I don’t do exact amount recipes people and you are cleaning out YOUR fridge so just use this as a guide and then go experiment… if the experiment fails order a delivery pizza lol problem solved!

(Note: If the kiddos like noodles grab a handful of uncooked elbow noodles and toss them in the bottom of the instant pot before you start adding the other ingredients) So first… grab the veggies out of the fridge and dice up a couple handfuls of every thing putting them in your instant pot as you go so you don’t dice up more than your pot can handle leave room for the meatballs!!! (been there and done that lol). Tonight’s veggies include: tomatoes, potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, onion, carrots, and red cabbage. I like to take a peeler to all the above except the tomatoes and onions and red cabbage (duh) remove the outer skins and seed them if necessary. Use your own judgement. Remember use the veggies you have… no need to run to the store for this… if you are confused refer back to the title of this article lol.

Now the meatballs. Same basic recipe as for the meatloaf in yesterday’s post except roll the meat into little balls lol. Easy!

( in case you forgot: Ground meat of choice, Italian seasoning, 2 eggs, bread crumbs, and milk) you want to make this mix a little tiny bit dryer than the meatloaf so the meatballs will stay formed together while cooking. I also added a bit of applewood smoked salt to give the soup a smoky flavor. I dislike liquid smoke and always use natural smoked salts instead. You can buy smoked salts in some grocery stores but I tend to like it so much and use it so often that I buy the larger cheaper priced bags thru amazon (Please Note: as an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases)  Applewood Smoked Sea Salt (5oz Pouch – Fine Grain)  to save some money. You won’t believe how many people I have gifted bags of smoked salt to after they have tried something I have cooked using it lol… back to the recipe… Place the meatballs on top of your veggies.

Now for the “juices” don’t be tempted to add more because as your veggies cook they create tons of juices naturally and you will have a mess on your hands. You only need a small amount of juices to “get started” using a pressure cooker however if you are doing this on the stove top instead of the instant pot keep an eye on those juices so they don’t boil down and you end up burning your pan lol. I used: 2 cups water, two tiny cans of V8 juice 5.5 oz each and a spoonful each of “better than bouillon” brand beef and veggie bouillon (mix the bouillons in the water and V8 juices first to help dissolve it some). Then gently pour the juices over your meatballs and veggies, put the lid on your instant pot and cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes. Always check your meats using a meat thermometer to make sure they are completely cooked! Usually 20 minutes is just about right to cook the small meatballs without turning your veggies into complete mush. I like crisp chunky veggies in my soup. But if the meat thermometer says it’s not done yet don’t be afraid to put it back on and cook it for a few more minutes.

Now go check to see what you have in the fridge and Conestoga chuck really loves his carrots so when I’m chopping and peeling carrots I always accidentally on purpose drop a few for my buddy to get lol. We ALWAYS have carrots in the house/RV for Conestoga Chuck and Lil Bit to have a “treat” lol

Tonight I fed 4 adults and 2 teenagers (with everyone approving of the final results)  with total cook and prep time of under 45 minutes and with enough left over for hubby to take as lunch tomorrow for work. All the ingredients were stuff that had to be eaten or thrown out in the next couple of days except the hamburger which was in the freezer… so I’m going to count this as a no cost meal (since the veggies were either from the garden, from a friends garden, or purchased as ingredients for other meals but we had left over fresh veggies remaining after cooking)….  or at the very most a super low cost meal! Even the canned V8 juice was left over from another time we made soup because you have to buy the cans in a 6 pack.  So get up and go clean out your fridge! and enjoy the yummy results of your cleaning efforts lol.