Emily Ley

Emily Ley

Recipe Roundup: Easy Crock-Pot & Instant Pot Dinners

few ingredients, simple steps, full bellies

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Emily Ley
Jan 17, 2024
∙ Paid

Something very strange has happened to me over the last year. I’ve become (gasp) somewhat comfortable in the kitchen. Now, don’t get me wrong — this means I feel good about my skills and have learned to trust my gut when it comes to certain things. This does not mean I enjoy recipes with:

  1. too many ingredients

  2. anything that requires cooking meat in a pan (a bad case of salmonella as a child scarred me for life)

  3. recipes that require extensive clean-up. No thanks.

Here’s what I do enjoy about being in the kitchen as of late:

  • Having Alexa play the Bridgerton soundtrack while I cook. It’s full of classical-ish instrumental versions of current hit songs. Very calming.

  • Using my vegetable chopper. Why? I don’t know. There is something satisfying about slamming the top of the gadget down and ending up with perfectly uniform pieces.

  • Sautéing onions and things. There’s something nervous-system soothing about standing over diced veggies glistening with oil, watching them warm up.

  • Feeing my people. Sitting with them around the table. Knowing what I made brought them some comfort.

Without further ado, I wanted to share some of my go-to recipes for any day that ends in y busy weeknights. These are stupid-easy (my favorite way to describe the types of recipes I enjoy) and family-approved.

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