BBQ Pulled Chicken, Sweet Potato Applesauce Mash, and Roasted Brussels & Bacon

I was out of town all weekend, so I made this meal before I left to make sure I had lunches already prepped for the week. In addition, I went ahead and ordered my other meals from Territory Foods (formally known as Power Supply), which is a meal delivery service in my area that I utilize when I can't meal prep everything myself. For more information on Territory Foods and what it's like when I order from them check out this blog post. About this meal though... these are all recipes I have made before and ones I knew would be easy to throw together. The BBQ Chicken and Sweet Potato Applesauce Mash were done in the Instant Pot and were an amazingly quick and simple way to bulk make my proteins and carbs. The Instant Pot Sweet Potato mash is actually the same one I posted last week, just with an added homemade applesauce to mix things up. Also, I absolutely love Brussels with bacon, so I decided to just pair this delicious meal with that. I typically bake the bacon on a sheet pan first, then remove the bacon and set aside when done. With the bacon fat still on the pan, I throw the Brussels (shaved Brussels in this case) on top and mix it around with the bacon fat, throw some salt on top, and roast for about 20-30 minutes, mixing everything around every 10 minutes. This meal was a comforting and delicious one that was extremely easy to throw together!

BBQ Pulled Chicken
Ingredients:

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used chicken breasts)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup apple butter, with no sweetener added (check ingredient label!)
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:

1. Add the chicken, salt, granulated garlic, and water in the Instant Pot®.
2. Close and lock the lid. Press MANUAL for high pressure. Set cooking time to 25 minutes. Once the time is up, quick release the pressure (using the instructions on page 7).
3. Pour out as much water/broth as you can. Reserve the broth for future soup making, if desired.
4. Whisk the apple butter, balsamic, molasses, garlic, ginger, and salt together. Pour over cooked chicken with remaining juice.
5. Press the SAUTÉ button on the Instant Pot®. Let the chicken and sauce simmer to evaporate some of the juices. Once some of the liquid has evaporated, CANCEL the sauté function. Shred the chicken, if desired, before serving.

Original recipe found here

Super Fast Instant Pot Sweet Potato Mash with Applesauce
Ingredients:

• 6 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
• 2 cup of water
• 1 to 2 tbsp of coconut oil
• salt and seasonings to taste
• 1 pound apples or 2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

1. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into 1″ cubes.
2. Add sweet potatoes and water to the instant pot. Close pot and set to sealing.
3. Cook on manual, high pressure, for 10 minutes.
4. Immediately quick release the pressure as soon as the 10 minute cooking cycle has completed.
5. If you’re making the applesauce from scratch, do this while the sweet potatoes are cooking. Peel and dice the apples. Put into a small pot with a 2–3 tablespoons of water and cover with a lid. Cook over medium-low heat until the apples are very soft. Remove the lid and cook until most of the water has evaporated.
6. Use oven mitts to carefully remove the inner pot from the Instant pot, carrying it to a colander in your sink to drain the potatoes.
7. Quickly wash out the inner pot and dry it with a kitchen towel.
8. Immediately place the clean inner pot back into the instant pot, add the coconut oil and press the sauté button.
9. Once the coconut oil starts to sizzle, add your potatoes back to the pot along with 2 cups of applesauce, salt, and any other seasonings you desire (I added a dash of cinnamon too!). Use a wooden spoon to stir and turn your sweet potatoes, cooking until a desired consistency is reached. This step should only take a few minutes before you are ready to serve your sweet potato mash! Enjoy!

Original recipe found here