It’s been 8 weeks since we officially took our 4 kids out of school and started homeschooling. Our reasons were many, but mostly logistics. I’m not sure what happened, but our recent move, new school and various life changes seemed to have an exponential effect. I was no longer able to keep up with schedules, uniforms, homework, lunches, snack days, volunteering, fundraisers, bedtime, morning battles as we rushed out the door, snow days, make up days… I think you get my point.
Plain and simple…we just don’t fit the mold of the average family.
I’m cool with that. I don’t feel the need to conform to the norm. I secretly love the challenge. I mean, if life wasn’t challenging enough I’m all “I have an idea… let’s keep all the kids home and teach them!” Kind of funny how my brain works. I’ll never tell you it’s perfect, but one thing I can say with 100% certainty this far into it… This has been the absolute best decision for where we are in our life at this moment.
The real reason I am blogging today is about dinner. The amount of food they consume is mind blowing. I don’t even have teenagers yet and I feel like my kitchen is always open. We are either preparing food or cleaning up after a meal. I know most moms feel like this. It never ends.
Death and Taxes ain’t got nothing on family life. Two things in life that I KNOW are for certain: Laundry and Dishes.
I try hard to have home cooked meals. It’s one of those things that matters to me. When I say home cooked though, I don’t mean elaborate. We have tacos and pizza on a regular basis, but I really try to use as much whole food as possible.
Welcome Home Little Instant Pot
Let’s talk about the Instant Pot. Maybe you’ve heard of it because for a while, I feel like everyone and their mama was getting one for Christmas. It was one of those gifts. I asked some questions on a Facebook post to get feedback before I committed. To say the tread went wild in response was an understatement. There were at least 100 comments and 100% said “YES! Buy the Instant Pot!”
“Well, Holy Crap! I need this thing in my kitchen yesterday!” I thought. “I’ve hit the jackpot for dinner time! All of my dinner dilemmas are over.”
*me, entering reality zone*
People were suggesting I dump in frozen meat and seasoning, push a button and boom…dinner is done in minutes! I was tempted, but I didn’t commit just yet. A friend of mine let me borrow her Instant Pot for a couple of weeks. I tried several recipes and decided I didn’t really care for it at all.
It turns out that the image of MAGIC DINNER was perhaps a little too literal.
For anyone wondering…As it turns out, you actually have to find a recipe, buy the groceries, cut and prep any side items and while you can actually cook meat from frozen, I’m way to detailed to just wing it. Then I’m stuck looking for a recipe on Pinterest to tell me how to make what I want from frozen, meanwhile I’ve got a kid pooping in his pants and one writing on the wall.
As it turns out NOTHING in life is easy when you are managing a houseful of kids.
My husband ended up buying the Instant Pot. To be honest, I think it was probably about 6 months ago when I had first caught wind of it.
Now, I actually really do love the instant pot. I just had to take my time to find meals that were simple enough for me to manage, had minimal ingredients, and made at least 71% of our family happy.
There are few meals that EVERYONE in my family likes. I’m okay with that.
I thought I would share a recipe that actually did get 100% Bain Family Approval. And to be honest, I made it because I knew I would like it. I really didn’t expect all of the kids to like it. I knew 3 would at least try it and 2 of those 3 would probably eat it because they have learned mom really does mean it when she says “This is your dinner, eat it or go hungry.” But nope… Everyone ate it and some evey asked for seconds.
It was like a Christmas Miracle.
For the record and for anyone on the fence: I don’t like to cook. I’m not creative on my own and if I don’t have a recipe, then I can’t make it. If I am missing an item from the recipe then I am immediately stumped and feel the need to find something new to make… or order a pizza in despair. You can do this if I can do this. You Ready?
The recipe: Chicken & Rice
I know! It’s sounds so simple right? It is! Did you know you could cook PERFECT Rice in the Instant Pot? Yep! So I usually make the rice first and set aside and then just use the same pot to make the Chicken.
—-> Here is how I make the rice
I pin a lot of stuff I am trying in the Instant Pot or even for new lunch ideas for the kids now that they are home. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest . I look forward to connecting with you more!
Let me know how you like the chicken and rice if you try the recipe! Share you favorite recipe with me if you’ve found a winner!
xoxo, Rebekah
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