I tend to underuse my Instant Pot. I use it mostly to make yogurt, to prep boiled eggs, to make broth, baked potatoes, and mashed potatoes, but I don't often just use it to make a meal.  IMHO, it takes all the flavor out of most vegetables, so I hesitate to make anything with vegetables in it, and it's not my first choice for preparing meats, either.  So when I ran across this super easy recipe for Instant Pot Tamale Pie, I was intrigued. And of course, I can't just follow a recipe, I have to make additions, delete things, and generally change it up.  It took a couple of "practice" runs, but I think this is the final version.  Enjoy!

Instant Pot Tamale Pie

2 cups Masa Harina

2 cups chicken broth

¼ cup oil

1-1/2 t. salt

1-1/2 t. Chili powder

1-1/2 t. Smoked paprika

1 t. cumin

1 t. baking soda

Filling

2 cups shredded chicken---pork or beef will also work

1 cup enchilada sauce

1 small sweet onion, chopped

Use a mixer to mix together the masa water, oil, spices, and baking soda. Whip this mixture for at least 3-4 minutes until it is light and fluffy

Grease a 7 inch springform pan. Spread half the masa batter on the bottom of the pan. Top with all of the meat and sauce, then add the remaining masa batter and smooth out the top. Cover the pie loosely with foil. You are doing this to keep water from dripping into the tamale pie.

Pour 1-1/2 cups water into the Instant Pot. Place a trivet in the pot. Place the pan on the trivet.

Secure the lid on the pot and set the Instant Pot at High pressure for 35 minutes. When cook time is complete, let pot release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, and then release all remaining pressure.

Allow the pie to rest for 10 minutes, and then unclasp the sides of the springform pan.

I served this with some black beans and some plain, chopped lettuce with a sour cream/chipotle dressing. 

Lack of planning

Sometimes I go to the idea cupboard and it is bare. Last night was a good example. With a hungry husband at my elbow, I rooted around and found a few staples in the freezer and pantry and came up with a meal that sated our hunger but would inspire no one. Frozen chicken breasts, frozen baby brussel sprouts and baby yukon gold potatoes. On another day I might have found a new chicken recipe or grilled the chicken, and added some fresh herbs to the potatoes, but on this day, I had little left to give, so I breaded the chicken with my old stand-by, Krusteaz, and threw it in the oven, added a little butter and balsamic and zapped the sprouts, and dropped the potatoes in a pot of boiling water. The outcome certainly wasn't a particularly pretty meal, or one that left us making sounds of pleasure, but the meal was a good example of what happens in many households at the end of a long day. It is likely that different circumstances of the day might have led to a different result, but I had a long, full day working on my thesis, and didn't have much brain power left to come up with something more interesting. There are a few hardy herbs still growing in my backdoor garden, along with a few tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse, so I will attempt to make good use of them over the next few days. My lovely eldest daughter and I were discussing the problem of "meal inspiration" today and agreed that sometimes meals get thrown together in the "5 o'clock" panic! She had the good idea of setting up a meal plan for a week or a month, thereby making life a bit easier when 5 o'clock rolls around, like it just keeps doing. Of course, with a new baby in the house, she has all the more reason to stay organized and on top of things.