Pressure Cooker Pork Loin, Stuffing & Gravy is a delicious one-pot recipe make in your Instant Pot. This full meal deal will be an instant family favorite!

INGREDIENTS

4 Tbsp. butter (divided)
24 oz. pork tenderloin
1 medium garlic
1 small can of black olives chopped
6 oz box Stove top
2 1/4 c. chicken bone broth or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. Organic No-Salt Seasonings
1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp. flour
1 small onion chopped

RECIPE

Add 2 Tbsp. butter to the Instant Pot and turn to saute.

When the butter is melted add the garlic and onion then pork loin and sear for 4 minutes.
Add the chicken bone broth or vegetable broth and seasoning to the pot and cover.

Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.

Remove the pork loin and set on a cutting board, allowing to rest.

Remove 2 c. liquid from the pot and reserve for the gravy. Add the box of the stuffing mix to the remaining liquid and onions and stir until all moistened.

Cover with the lid and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the stuffing and add to a bowl and cover.

To the Instant Pot, add the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and turn on to saute. (No need to clean out the pot first. The bits of remaining stuffing will just add a little flavor to the gravy)

 

Melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk for 1 minute.

Add the reserved 2 cups broth slowly, stirring to combine well.

Cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.

Season to taste.

After the pork loin has rested, cut and serve with the gravy and stuffing

 

Our cats are a part of the family and they get cookies this holiday season also as well as dress up festively as can be seen in this photograph

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour
1 6-ounce can tuna in water (do not drain)
2 tablespoons of oil
1 egg
1/4 cup water

Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl, adding  water a little at a time to achieve the dough consistency

2. On a lightly-floured parchment paper, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness.

3. Cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters, or use a pizza cutter to cross-cut into small diamond shapes.

4. Place on ungreased baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until firm.

6. Store in an airtight container.

Our dogs are part of our family and we love to include them in our holiday celebrations. Cookies are big in our family so of course we make them for our girls as a holiday gift.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup natural peanut butter **
1 cup water
1 egg

INSTRUCTIONS

preheat oven to 350F

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and the egg. Add peanut butter, water,  and stir until you have stiff dough. the dough becomes very firm and sticky. you may need to use your hands, or the paddle attachment on your mixer.

On a lightly floured surface, I do it on parchment paper, roll out the dough about 1/2 inch thick

use cookie cutters to make fun shapes. The  treats barely spread or rise.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden.

keep in an airtight container I use an old peanut butter jar. They also make great gifts.

**NOTE: Some peanut butter brands are including xylitol to cut or replace the sugar . DO NOT USE any peanut butter containing xylitol as it is toxic to dogs. Check the ingredients to be sure. Dangers of xylitol to your dog

My family has made making salt dough ornaments a tradition we do each year and it is so much fun!

Ingredients/Equipment Needed

1 cup flour (self-rising flour should not be used as it will cause the ornaments to bubble up while baking)
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water (or more as needed)
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
Food coloring (assorted colors)
Rolling pin
Cookie sheet
Drinking straw
Holiday shaped cookie cutters

 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

mix the ingredients together to a play dough like consistency if you want to add some food coloring to the dough this can be done now and kneaded in until the desired color is achieved

roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness and use cookie cutters or play dough cutters to make fun shapes. Use a straw to make a hole for them to hang

bake for about 2-3 hours you are looking for them to be hard and throughly cooked so all the moisture is out

 

Once they cool you can paint and decorate as you wish! Great for decorating your tree or a gift for family

 

 

We do a lot of babywearing and therefore never got a double stroller, when our second was born as we used our stroller with our first only a handful of times. Going somewhere with 2 young kids and all their stuff makes having something to help haul it very helpful. We looked into double strollers and they were all so big and clunky. Then we looked at wagons but most were big and bulky also or had little space for the kids legs and stuff. They also lacked the features we wanted. Then we found the Veer stroller and rugged wagon. We read a bunch of reviews and watched this great review by The Baby Guy NYC   Jamie does lots of reviews and gets to play with all the latest and greatest baby gear. We knew this was the piece of baby gear we were wanting so we pulled the trigger and bought the Veer and I can say I could not be happier about this purchase. The Veer is my favorite piece of baby gear that is not a baby carrier.

This wagon can be taken on off road adventures like the pumpkin patch. It was a very hot day hence the not so enthusiastic photograph of my tiny human.

We have found it is amazing to have on camping adventures.

The Veer is also really nice at restaurants as we do not need to worry if they will have 2 high chairs.

I fell in love with my Instant Pot Duo last year but as my tiny humans have begun to eat more I felt it was time to upgrade to the larger pot our Instant Pot Duo was the 6 quart and we wanted the bigger 8 quart but since we had gotten ours there were a few upgraded models out so we did some research on them. This comparison chart is helpful at seeing the differences in the models. We decided on the 8 quart Ultra 80 and so far could not be happier. I love that the lid works a bit better and it doesn’t struggle to come to pressure which our duo did occasionally. The knob feature is really nice and I love the look of it.

A stay in the hospital with your child is one of the scariest and hardest thing to go through. With my first he had to have surgery to repair a double hernia in his groin and we spent a day in the hospital and he went home that evening it was a very long and emotional day but when my second was only 10 weeks old she spiked a high fever and was so young she was automatically admitted to the pediatric unit at the hospital after a very stressful emergency room evaluation and some failed attempts at getting an IV. We stayed for 3 days under fever watch and they did a bunch of lab work all which came back negative. This would not be the first time she would spike a high fever she continued every few weeks for her first year of life and had another hospital stay at 10 months old. You feel so helpless not being able to help your child while they are sick lots of snuggles abs tons of breastfeeding (and pumping as she was not eating as she normally would from not feeling well) was all I could do and I wanted to do more

So hard to believe it has been a full year already! The beginning was a whirlwind of emotions and big challenges. You being born while we were evacuated as our town was on fire added so many big emotions to the mix of postpartum. I was so sad to bring you home to a motel and sad that our first family photographs are missing your big brother but so thankful that we were all safe and well and how so many came together to make your birth possible and the way I had envisioned it.

You are so full of personality and so different from your bother we are so very glad you picked us to be your family and look forward to watching you grow!

As if life were not crazy enough over here today I embark on the next big adventure… Graduate school. I will be starting my Masters in Counseling Pyschology with a focus on MFT (Marriage Family Therapy) at The University of San Francisco! The program is designed for working adults so I will continue to be a SAHM and spend my days with my beautiful children. I am so happy for this opportunity to be both a grad student and a stay at home mom. I am sure that this new big adventure will bring lots of new things for our family as we learn to balance me being a grad student and a mama. Now to figure out about being a student and a breastfeeding mama so I know when and where to pump!