Mid-January 2020: Family Meals, Sides and Desserts Worth Mentioning

Posted on January 17, 2020January 17, 2020 by Erin

**This is something new to my blog which I am hoping to keep up each month in sharing foods my family have been trying out and enjoying. The hope is that these post will encourage others and my own family not to get in the rut of just making the same thing all the time too **

We had a beef roast to cook, so while at the farmer’s market we got an apricot brandy sauce from Bama’s Booth. We salted and peppered the meat and seared all sides, It was topped with spices, specifically fresh rosemary and onions.

We used water for the liquid in the Instant Pot, and cooked it on a trivet. Once done,chopped it up and drizzled the Bama’s sauce over the meat. It was a delicious mix of savory and sweet.

Instant Pot Chili from Cooking Classy we found to be a great middle-ground option. It’s not to spicy nor is it bland lacking flavor. I will address that I started grabbing a bit of this and that from my spice drawer adding to what the recipe called for. For toppings we added green onions and cheese. I feel a spoon of sour cream would have been a great addition as well cornbread! I will certainly make this one again.

Cornbread from Times Food of India. I have never made cornbread from cornflour before and I never knew what I was missing. Typically I would grab a bag of cornmeal from Bob’s Red Mill or a box from Trader Joes where you just add oil, egg and water. This recipe uses cornflour, all-purpose flour, sugar and a few other things that I already keep in my pantry and fridge.

We found this cornbread to be lighter on the inside (almost like moist cake) with a nice crunch on the outside. We added butter and honey and ate it along with the pot of chili I made. I imagine it would pairs wonderfully with all sorts of stews and soups too!

I had ground lamb in the freeze that was either going to become tacos, lasagna or and addition to spaghetti sauce but I wanted something different! After some scouring of internet, I found Rosemary Garlic Ground Lamb and Potatoes from My Heart Beets.

This recipe has a lot of flavor! Be warned if you don’t like a hot and spicy. I feel you could substitute the Serrano pepper for one without that much of a kick. My husband and I would totally eat this again as-is but for the kids it was just too spicy. I’m going to research mild spiced peppers so as to not stray to far from the original recipe. It’s a great choice for a hearty dinner during colder times of the year like winter!