I finally did it. After so many of you told me how great the Instant Pot is, after so many insisted that I would love it, after all kinds of hemming and hawing and rebelling about getting one more appliance for my kitchen…I finally got myself an Instant Pot.
It was Amazon Prime Day. It was a good deal. It was a big pot for my family’s big needs. It was time.
I’m sure you’re all wondering, has my new Instant Pot completely changed my life? Am I a better mom now? Do I sleep better at night because of it? Does it help my house stay in a less cluttered state? Do I get mail to the box in better time? Am I finally wearing matching socks? In other words, does the Instant Pot help make my world go round?!
The answer to all of the above is “no.” But I do make mean batches of hard boiled eggs in record time, so I think we can all give a cheer and feel that this was definitely a worthwhile purchase.
I’ve truly had fun with my new toy, which isn’t taking up any extra room on my counter because it has actually taken the place of my coffee pot if you can believe it! (I realized after I started drinking this healthy coffee that I no longer need a coffee-maker taking up space on a daily basis. Away went the coffee pot. In its place went the Instant Pot. A pot for a pot. It just seemed logical.)
At the very moment our Instant Pot arrived on our porch, I was making Tuna Salad. Matt decided he definitely wanted boiled eggs in his tuna since we now had an Instant Pot in which to make them quickly. I read the “how to boil eggs” instructions while he got it set up, and while I’m pretty sure we didn’t do everything right, nothing blew up, our eggs hard boiled like they were supposed to, and Matt got eggs in his tuna the way he wanted. Good story, huh?
Not long after the arrival of the pot and the making of the eggs, we headed back out to church camp for a week. So our Instant Pot sat forlorn and lonely on our counter-top all week. Since coming back from camp, I’ve been playing with it as I’ve had time. Here’s what I’ve tried, though please don’t get excited because my stories might bore you to sleep…
For instance, one night we had company and my stove was full of other big pots cooking other food. So I tried steaming our broccoli and carrots in the Instant Pot. The recommended seven minutes was way too long and our broccoli came out dead and mushy and completely unappetizing. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to try a new appliance when you’re serving food to company?
See, look. My full stove, which is what led me to steam veggies in my Instant Pot. Fascinating.
A few days later I put a whole chicken into my Instant Pot, dumped on some BBQ Sauce, and turned it on. That was ridiculously simple and we ate chicken for lunch 35 minutes later. I served it with okra. It was very good. The end.
The part of the story you don’t want to hear is that I asked Matt to please take the leftover meat off the bones, but I didn’t communicate clearly about saving the bones so I could try making broth in my new Instant Pot. Learning to make broth in my new pot will have to be a lesson for another day.
Perhaps my favorite of anything I’ve tried so far is cooking frozen ground beef! As soon as I perfect this method, I will for sure share the details. I think this will be a HUGE time saver!
Sooo, while none of this Instant Pot news was super exciting to read about at this point, you can be sure that as we settle into a new school year with lots of teenage mouths to feed, we will be absolutely making the most of our new Instant Pot! And when I figure out all the great food we can make with it, I’ll share all the fabulous details!
I’d love to hear from you if you have an Instant Pot. What are your favorite time-saving recipes to make?
mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, steam pot supper, brown rice, chicken broth, cheesecake,
Wait . You can make cheesecake in that thing?? You sold me.
We love the rice too!
I make rice often too.
Eagerly following! I saw your Prime Day post and took the plunge with you…
So far I’ve successfully tried rice – both brown and white and I’m VERY pleased to be able to replace my worn-out and too-small electric rice cooker.
Also, soaked black beans are fast and DELICIOUS in the instant pot! I’ve tried stovetop, oven, crockpot, even electric roaster oven for black beans and my family has enjoyed them. BUT the texture in the Instant Pot can’t be beat – never going back! (Though the max seems to be two pounds of beans, it’s fast enough to do multiple batches if needed…)
Oh, and I wish I had the 8 quart! Smart purchase.
I have had my instant pot for almost two years. I have two. I bought one on Black Friday in 2015 and one on Prime day in 2016. I use it at least once a week. Sometimes I have both going at once. That is usually when I am cooking rice in one and the main dish in another. My favorite food in it is boneless skinless chicken breast. I love salsa verde chicken and white chicken chili. I had joined a facebook group for the Instant Pot and found lots of recipes. I mostly stick to my tried and true recipes because I rarely plan ahead and I need to throw things together quickly. I try to keep the basics in my house at all times so I always have something to make for dinner in a pinch. It really is a useful appliance. I also buy rotisserie chicken at Costco. Once I have picked it clean I put it in a bag in the freezer. When I get two I put them in the pot and make bone broth. Chicken soup is usually on the menu. Have fun playing with your new toy.
I just made pot roast again tonight. I’ve been using it nearly every week for something. It makes the best ham and bean soup I’ve had since my mother made it in her stove top pressure cooker years ago. I’ve been adapting everything I can that we would normally never make in warm weather because we don’t like to use the oven when it’s hot…like my mother-in-law’s goulash and baked pork chops.
I have had my IP since last year and it is one of the few appliances I have that is worth getting excited about!
We have chickens, and the IP steams fresh laid chickens eggs perfect.
It will thaw and cook a frozen chicken in just over an hour.
It makes rice faster and better than a rice steamer.
It makes divine beans.
I pasturize raw milk and then make yogurt in mine in 4 pint jars – comes out better than any I’ve made before!
Cooks root veggies great, carrots, potatoes, etc.
I used to even steam little canning jars with different types of baby food in them.
I too skip using it for greens, because my default cook is to forget stuff in it for anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes, and that just makes mush.
I occasionally use it for one pot casserole type dishes, but same thing, sometimes stuff gets too mushy, but can work in a pinch!
We eat a lot of black beans at our house, so I normally make a pot of those at least once a week. 1 lb black beans, 6.5-7 c water, quartered onion. high pressure for 23 minutes, sealed. Add salt after beans are cooked (1.5 T or so).
Also Adobo Chicken:1 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 bay leaf, and a diced and seeded fresh jalapeno. 8ish chicken legs or legs/thighs. Make sure your chicken is fully submerged (add more of the sauce above if needed). Cook for 12 minutes on high pressure. Serve with rice. (This guy’s recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTq8TfLfK8g)
OK, after your adventures with it and seeing the comments, I’m putting an Instant Pot on my needs list.
I love my InstaPot. Here are a few of my favorite recipes so far….
Creamy Italian Chicken
http://www.pressureson.net/2017/02/creamy-italian-chicken-with-penne.html?m=1
Tender Pork Loin
https://youtu.be/T76zRJ_CzV4
Salsa Chicken
2-3 chicken boneless breast
1/2 to 3/4 jar of any salsa you like. I use 3/4 jar if I’m serving over noodles
Cook manually for 17 minutes
Let it release air naturally for about 2 minutes, then release the rest of the steam with the lever
Shred and serve on taco shells or over noodles/zoodles
I have converted your Easy Crockpot Mashed Potatoes recipe! The only difference is that I cube the potatoes (my family prefers the smaller bits of peel), and I sprinkle generously with garlic powder. Put potatoes on the rack or in a steamer basket in the pot. Add 1 cup water. Set to Manual High for 8 minutes. Quick release, (I do dump the cooking water), add remaining ingredients and mash. It is so quick and easy!! Love the recipe already but this is great for when we want mashed potatoes quick :)
Hi Laura. I’m so glad that the pot is working. I was very, very hesitant to purchase it. Please borrow (or watch her videos) “hip Pressure Cooking” Laura D.A. Pazzaglia. I’m not related or affiliated with her but like her experience. She has great conversations regarding pressure canning. I love her charts in the back of the book for vegi/legume/meats, ect. Our eggs are fresh and I pressure for 2 minutes, immediately submerg in a sink full of very cold water, otherwise we get a grey ring. I purchased a cilacone basket for eggs, a steel basket for vegetables (so delicious steamed because they sit above the 1 cup of water). Please try yogurt and drain for beautiful greek yogurt. I’m “over the moon” regarding frozen hamburger as well, 8-)
That’s it. I’m getting one! I have 7 in my family, and three of the kids are adult-sized teenagers. What size should I get?
Get the 8 quart. You will have so much fun!! :)
I make a black bean, chicken, and chicken sausage creole style dinner that we love. Rinsed dried black beans, frozen chicken breasts, sliced sausages,chicken stock or water with bouillion, smoked paprika, some salt, pepper, garlic, frozen bell peppers, onions ( sometimes without the last two). Ready in well under an hour.
I would love for you to convert your Easy Italian Pasta Bake to the Instant Pot… My initial reaction would be to brown the meat, dump in the rest of the ingredients (not the cheese) and high pressure for 5 min, NPR 5-7 min, then put the cheese on top while getting out the rest of dinner?
Another comment – I make yogurt in 4 oz mason jars, 1-2 times per week. I’ve got the *hands-on* process down to about 45-50 min (not all of that is actually hands-on) and have yogurt 8-10 hrs later (overnight or all day). I also make hard-boiled eggs usually once per week. I was doing more in my IP but my kids aren’t big on soups, and it was too much time on my BAD feet to debone a whole chicken. I do need to make beef-bone-broth again, but my local source for bones is gone, so I’m seeking another source.