Monday, January 7, 2019

Instant Pot Keto Cheeseburger Pie

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

Keto is the thing right now. Most of the people I know are on some variation of a low carb or keto friendly lifestyle change. I say "lifestyle change" because a lifestyle change should be the goal of anyone wishing to lose weight or become a healthier person. Personally, my "lifestyle change" consists of eating healthier foods all around and becoming more active. However, my husband has gone full keto and he's loving it. He has lost 30 pounds in the last couple of months. He has been on other diets in the past but they usually caused him to have to deny himself certain foods altogether. The Keto lifestyle allows you to have some goodies now and then. There are plenty of recipes out there. We have been on Pinterest and we've tried a few recipes which we have enjoyed but a couple of days ago, he brought home a Keto Cookbook written for the Instant Pot. I have had an Instant Pot for a few months but I'm just now getting used to cooking with it and enjoying it more. Earlier this evening, I made the Instant Pot Keto Cheeseburger Pie. We both enjoyed it so I'll be adding this recipe to my regular meal planning shopping list.

Here's the cookbook my husband brought home. The recipes inside look great. The Keto Cheeseburger Pie was our first try. We look forward to trying more.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

Instant Pot Keto Cheeseburger Pie

Ingredients:

1 tsp Olive Oil
1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce (No Sugar Added)
1 tsp Garlic Powder or Minced Garlic (or one Garlic Clove)
2 TBSP Flaxseed Meal
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
2 TBSP Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Ground Mustard
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Here's how I made mine.

The recipe in the book instructs you to brown your ground beef in the Instant Pot. I prefer to brown the meat in my skillet. Otherwise, you'll have to wash the instant pot liner after browning the meat. If you don't wash it, you might get a burn warning which makes the Instant Pot stop cooking. Cooking the meat in my skillet avoids all that.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

The recipe book instructs you to drain the meat and then empty the meat in to a bowl. I chose to keep the meat in my skillet. I used a fairly lean meat so there wasn't much grease to drain. If you use less lean meat, you will probably need to drain off the grease.

Since, I left the meat in my skillet, I just added all the spices there as directed in the cookbook and mixed it up well. Then, I poured it all into my baking dish. You'll need to coat your baking dish with olive oil per instructions in the cookbook.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

The cookbook instructs you to use a spring-form cake pan that fits inside your Instant Pot (one like this one). I don't have a spring-form pan but my glass baking dish (similar to the one in this set) fits inside the Instant Pot nicely and works fine.

Before you place your baking dish inside your Instant Pot, you need to prepare the topping. In a separate bowl, add 2 eggs, the heavy cream, the ground mustard, and the pepper. Mix well with a wire whisk. The consistency should looking something like the pic below.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

After you mix it all up, pour the topping mixture over the ground beef mixture.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

It should look something like this after you pour the topping on the meat mixture.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

Cover your baking dish with aluminum foil. This will keep the steam moisture inside the Instant Pot from falling into your Cheeseburger Pie.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

If you have an Instant Pot, it probably came with a wire rack. If not, you can get one here. Pour 2 cups of water into your Instant Pot. Then, using the wire rack, lower your foil covered baking dish into the Instant Pot.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

Once you have lowered the baking dish into your Instant Pot, lock the lid and set it to seal. Select the Pressure Cook button. Set your pot to cook on high for 20 minutes.

Image Credit: Abundant Family Living

Once the cycle is finished, carefully release the pressure. Let the pie set for a few minutes. You don't want to burn yourself removing it from the pot but you also don't want your dish to cool down completely. You're almost done, but not yet.

After you remove your baking dish safely from your Instant Pot, sprinkle on the cheddar cheese. Broil at 450 degrees for about 2 minutes or until the cheese melted to your preference.

Mine looked like this when it was finished.