Instant Pot Pinto Beans & Ham

Cooking beans in the Instant Pot is a quick, easy and makes the perfect pinto beans. I am  loving this fail-proof method of cooking beans! 

Pinto beans are one of my favorite meals to prepare whenever I have leftover ham and nice ham bone to go with it. I normally cook pinto beans in my slow cooker, but recently started cooking them in my Instant Pot and I haven't looked back since. Cooking dried pinto beans has never been easier using your Instant Pot and it only takes about an hour.  

This Instant Pot bean recipe makes the best beans. Their taste and texture is firm but creamy, pink in color and so delicious. I like to season my beans with chopped onions and garlic that have been sauteed in olive oil and a bit of bacon grease. Then add chicken broth, water, bay leaves, salt, pepper and a big meaty ham bone. I love that you can saute everything right in the Instant Pot.   

Best of 2020 - Top 15 Recipes

From ooey gooey casseroles to delicious desserts, these are a few of your favorite things from 2020!!!

Hello 2021 and Goodbye 2020! It's been an amazing, delicious year for Mommy's Kitchen and now it's time to take a look back at your favorite and most popular recipes for 2020.  I have to say it's always so much fun looking back at all the posts that made the cut. 

The recipes below are the ones that had the most traffic and page views by you my readers. I hope you'll stick around and see what 2021 has in store for us. Happy New Year and thank you to everyone who stops by and visits. Now here's a look back at your favorite recipes from the past year. 

Drumroll please.... Presenting your top 15 Recipes from 2020!
 

Dried Orange - Cranberry Stove Top Potpourri

Fill your home with the aroma of citrus and warm spices with this homemade stove-top potpourri.  Stove top potpourri makes your home feel and smell so cozy and inviting.

Homemade Stove top Potpourri is one of my favorite ways to scent my home. The combination of dried fruits, cinnamon sticks, spices and rosemary, fill the whole house with an amazing  aroma. I like to use dried fruit to make this potpourri and I normally make it around the holidays to give to family and friends. 

Stove top potpourri is an inexpensive gift and a wonderful way to use up fruits that might be past their prime. This potpourri is one of my favorite scents! I love the combination of the oranges, cranberries and cinnamon sticks. If you have leftover cranberries for Christmas and you aren't sure what to do with them this stove top potpourri is perfect. 

Mom's Old Fashioned Marble Bundt Cake

A simple, homemade buttery, chocolate - vanilla bundt cake that is swirled together to make a marble design.

Growing up, this is was the cake my mom always baked. A simple, moist, no frills chocolate and vanilla swirled Bundt Cake sprinkled with powdered sugar. My Mom's Marble Cake was a staple in our home and always a family favorite. This cake is not really sweet or gooey like most cakes, but more of a chocolate and vanilla swirled pound cake.  The only time I really enjoyed a cake with frosting was on special occasions or Birthdays.

As a kid, I preferred just the vanilla part of the cake, because the chocolate swirl was more of a bittersweet chocolate. As I got older I learned to appreciate both parts of this delicious marble cake. Most folks will find this cake a bit dense and not sweet at all, but that's just the consistency of this German style cake.  Traditionally, this cake is enjoyed with a cup of coffee or a large glass of milk.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Homemade Apple Butter made easily in your slow cooker. Apple Butter is perfect slathered on hot biscuits, toast or scones. 

If you're an apple lover, you are going to love this simple, slow cooker apple butter! 🍎 This recipe takes up to 10-12 hours to make, but it's all hands free and cooked in your slow cooker. I normally start my apple butter before I go to bed, so the majority of the cooking process is complete. In the morning you will wake up to the aroma of cinnamon and apples lingering through your house. 

There's also no need to peel the apples for this recipe. I had a few bags of sliced apples with the skins on in my freezer and a few bags without. Both apple slices cooked up the same and the peels actually help to thicken up the apple butter. Don't worry that your apple butter won't be smooth by leaving the peels on. I use my immersion blender and my apple butter turns out super smooth every time.