Frozen Beef Meatballs in Tomato Sauce W/ Pasta - Instant Pot

I was tired after an appointment and I had gone snooping at a local farm stand we have, which always makes me feel better. I found a freezer full of various meatballs. I will try turkey next time. I purchased a large bag for $9.00 and decided I'd make it part of my Instant Pot experimentation.

This recipe is all mine, developed by me just for you. I am very happy with it. I made it in my 6 quart Instant Pot, it can easily be made in a 3 or 8 quart. I was making a meal for one keep that in mind. It could feed two no problem just add more pasta and meatballs, and maybe 1/2 cup more liquid.

I also bought a small loaf of bread at the farm stand. So none of this is made from scratch. I however know I speak to many women who need good meals fast and don't have all day to make something for dinner like I do.

I added a can of tomato soup and one and a half cans of chicken broth to the pot. Then I added a handful of shell pasta I had in the freezer. I then placed maybe 10 meatballs into the sauce ( made sure the sauce was at least 1/2 up the side of the meatball )  and that was the meal. I pressure cooked it on manual for 9 minutes and did a natural release after 5 minutes, otherwise, the pasta might get overcooked.

Once the pressure was gone and the valve dropped, I placed the meal in a bowl and added grated mozzarella on top to melt and tore some hunks of bread off the loaf to dip in the sauce. Before removing the meatballs I did test them for temperature and they were well over 165*. As I have said before, always test the temperature of food, so you are sure it is cooked properly.

The basics of this pressure cooker go like this: 1 1/2 - 2 cups liquid, plus protein, plus herbs or spice for flavor. That's it. That is for the smallest portions, never less liquid than that. I made sure the meatballs were half covered in the bottom with sauce.

Ingredients:

1 can tomato soup ( use pasta sauce if you have some )
1 1/2 cans liquid - use the tomato can - I used chicken broth
10 meatballs 1" each ( I used frozen )
1 cup dry pasta of choice - I used shells, I measured by the handful for this
Mozzarella to garnish after the dish is plated - as you see above, it melted nicely.

Method: Described above.

Remember these are all principles of cooking in this amazing device. So fast, so simple, so easy to put a meal on the table for the family without exhausting yourself trying to feed everyone.

I hope this meets with your approval as it did me.

~ Hugs From Mum