Instant Pot Taco Pasta

Mexican inspired food is a favourite at our house, so I decided to combine our love of south western food with my new Instant Pot passion. 

Dear Husband is a hunter, so our freezer usually has an abundance of deer or elk, so a lot of what I make uses wild game as the protein. If you don't have any of that on hand, don't fret, hamburger would would just fine. You could even modify the recipe slightly and use chicken! I happened across many recipes for Instant Pot pulled chicken which would work perfectly. 

So, I searched and searched and searched for the perfect Taco Pasta made in the Instant Pot, but Pinterest was failing me. So, I decided to wing it based on what I had learned so far (I had made homemade macaroni and cheese in the Instant Pot a few days before, which was a super success), and borrowing some inspiration from about a half dozen of the recipes I did find. Then, cause I like jalapeño, I threw some of that in there too. Then I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. 

In less than half an hour, from frozen solid ground meat, to table. Not bad for a days work (don't tell Dear Husband; if he wants to think I slaved in the kitchen all day, that's his own prerogative). 

If I had to rate this dish on a scale of one to five, well, let me say this, Dear Husband didn't even drown his dish in Ketchup! Which is really saying something because he puts Ketchup on all his pasta. Gold star! We will definitely be making this again!

The keys to successful Taco Pasta plus your protein of choice

1 lb ground venison
2 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 lb rotini pasta
900 ml beef broth
2 cups chunky salsa
1/4 cup jalapeño (pickled or fresh), chopped (optional)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can corn, strained
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup shredded cheese (Mexican blend or Old Cheddar)
1/4 cup sour cream (for topping, optional)

Place the ground venison (or ground beef) and olive oil in the Instant Pot and, leaving the lid off, brown the meat using the sauté function, stirring frequently. Add the chopped onion and sauté briefly. Turn off the Instant Pot. Drain excess fluid if there is any remaining.

Add the uncooked pasta, beef broth, salsa, jalapeño, and taco seasoning and stir thoroughly, ensuring that all pasta is covered. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, set the steam valve to sealing and set the Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 4 minutes then do a quick release. 

Remove the lid. All liquid should be absorbed and the pasta cooked. Add the corn, black beans and shredded cheese and stir well. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream, a garnish of green onion couldn't hurt either, and Provechito!