Instant Pot Cheesecake

Who knew that you can make great cheesecake in your Instant Pot? It's true!

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/4 Cups graham crackers crumbs
1/2 Cup walnuts
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
5 Tbsp unsalted butter melted

Batter:

16 oz - cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 Cup white granulated sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Large eggs at room temperature
1/2 Cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Mixed Berry Topping:

5 Tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 Cups strawberries halved
3/4 Cup blackberries
3/4 Cup blueberries
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Directions

Cheesecake Crust:

1. Lightly coat a 7x3-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. Finely chop the walnuts or add them to a food processor.
3. Add all the graham crackers crumbs, ground walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and melted butter to a large bowl and stir until well combined.
4. Press the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Using a measuring cup, press the crust and try to line the sides about to the middle of the pan edges.
5. Freeze for at least 20 minutes.

Cheesecake Batter:

1. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before you begin.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy on medium-low speed.
3. Add the sugar and cornstarch and continue beating until well combined and creamy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition until well combined.
5. Add heavy cream, vanilla extract and almond extract. Beat well, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
6. Remove crust from freezer and pour cheesecake batter mixture into the prepared pan. Cover the top with foil.

Cook:

1. Place metal trivet into a 6-qt Instant Pot and add 1 1/2 cups water.
2. Gently transfer the cheesecake pan on top of the trivet.
3. Select manual setting and adjust pressure to high. Set time to 30 minutes. You can do 35 minutes for a denser cheesecake.
4. When finished cooking and the Instant Pot beeps, release pressure naturally for about 20-30 minutes.
5. Carefully open the pot and transfer cheesecake to a cooling rack. Let it cool for 1 hour, after which run a paring knife around the edges.
6. Transfer cheesecake to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Berry Topping:

1. In a large bowl, combine strawberry jam and 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir to combine.
2. Stir in strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and lemon zest until the berries are evenly coated in the jam mixture.
3. Remove cheesecake from pan before serving and top with the berry mixture.
4. Serve immediately.

Stir-fried Broccoli and Peanuts

The original recipe comes from Eating Well.

Ingredients

⅓ cup creamy natural peanut butter
½ cup water, divided
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1½ pounds broccoli crowns, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
¼ cup chopped unsalted peanuts
NOTE: I added pork. Chicken, tofu or another protein source would work equally well.

Directions

1. Whisk peanut butter, ¼ cup water, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and vinegar in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside. 
2. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add broccoli and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften and brown in spots, about 6 minutes. 
3. Add the remaining ¼ cup water and 1 tablespoon soy sauce to the pan along with bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the pepper has softened and the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes. 
4. Remove from the heat; stir in the reserved peanut sauce and season with crushed red pepper. Garnish with peanuts.

Communion Bread

Suzan Stegemoeller makes this yummy bread. I assume that someone somewhere along the way served it for communion. I just eat it cause it tastes great!

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

5 teaspoons oil

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons very hot water

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons molasses

Directions

1.  Sift together 3 times.
2.  Stir in 5 teaspoons oil. Set aside.
3.  Mix wet ingredients together until dissolved.
4.  Add wet to dry ingredients and mix well. Should be slightly sticky. Do not knead.
5.  Add more moisture if too dry.
6.  Divide into 4 balls. Flatten each into a 1/4 inch thick disk. Score each disk.
7.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove. Brush top with oil. Bake another 5 minutes (maybe a little more, if needed).

Suzan's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another yummy recipe from Suzan Stegemoeller.

2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar (raw or brown or a combination of the two)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
dash cinnamon
3 cups flour (half white, half wheat)
1 bag dark chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
2. Mix in soda, salt and cinnamon, flour.
3. Mix in chips
4. Roll into cookie size balls. 
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 325.

Molasses Peanut Butter Balls

This comes from Suzan Stegemoeller, one of my awesome running buddies.

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup dried fruit chunks

Mix and then roll into balls and coat with more powdered milk.

Applesauce Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cups applesauce
2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Cups whole wheat flour (part gluten, if desired)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 Cup chopped walnuts, optional
Cinnamon sugar, optional

Directions

1. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda and spices; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in nuts.
2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if desired. Yield: about 2 dozen. (NOTE: I prefer bigger muffins, so this makes 16 muffins for me.)

Protein Balls

This comes from Kay Lynn Larsen.

1 c dry oatmeal
1/2 - 3/4 c coconut
1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 - 1/3 c ground flax seed
1/4 c honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
(optional) 1/4 - 1/2 c mini chocolate chips

Mix together by hand and form into balls.