I consider myself a bonafide foodie. I love to try new recipes and new foods. I consider watching Top Chef or MasterChef the perfect night of TV. I LOVE to cook from scratch. New gadgets? No problem… until the Instant Pot came along!
Like many households, I was intrigued by the idea of cooking foods quickly. As a working mom, it is super important that I can start a meal after getting home at 4:15 and still have it on the table by dinner. I’ve never been a huge slow cooker fan during the days I’m gone (even before This is Us!!). So why was I so hesitant to buy into the latest phenomenon??
I had images in my heads of steam pouring out of the top, or the top bursting off to the ceiling, or it being super difficult to manage (did I mention all the Top Chef I’ve watched where they use real pressure cookers??). But when a slow cooker pot broke in the sink while washing it, I took it as a sign to replace it with an Instant Pot. I really didn’t have cupboard space for another item, but the Instant Pot could replace the broken slow cooker’s spot. I finally scored a good deal on one and bought it.
And then it sat. In my cupboard. For 3 more months!
I was intimidated to even try it! Finally, I sucked it up and jumped on the one place you can learn to do just about anything – YouTube! I started with just using water like they recommend. I’m a visual learner so even though I did read the instruction manual, I preferred to see someone else using it.
The result…I LOVE my Instant Pot! I use it as much as I can now! I love that I can sauté meat and then add the rest of the ingredients after. I love that I can use the slow cooker option or the pressure cooker. I love that I can take chicken directly from the freezer and 15 minutes later (after it gets to pressure) have perfectly cooked, shredded chicken! It has cooked the most tender meat and roasts ever for us! It’s even easy to clean.
It’s not perfect. There are things I’m still trying to get correct – like cooking pasta too long in soups, etc. But it really is wonderful to have for your kitchen. Don’t be intimidated like I was. You can do it! In the comments, I’d love to hear your favorite recipes, too!
This is a great blog! It can be intimidating. I love my instapot now too but it took a while to get there, and a little trial and error! It makes the best brown rice, quick too! It’s the first time I have actually preffered brown rice to white rice. It’s that good.
2 c. brown rice
2 1/4 c. chicken broth
salt
garlic powder
23 minutes (on stew setting, after reachning pressure)
allow to naturally release.
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