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Rochester Local

Instant Pot® = Instant Happiness

Instant Pot®, instant pot cooking, how to use an instant pot, pressure cooking, electric pressure cooker, easy meals, family friendly cooking

The Instant Pot® is a specific brand of an electric pressure cooker.  It is currently trending and seems to be appearing in households everywhere!  I ordered one during the Amazon Prime Day sales this summer and while it hasn’t completely changed my life (I still struggle to get dinner made most days), it’s been a fun and tasty learning experience!

When my Instant Pot® arrived, I was a little scared.  

There were lots of parts and buttons, and did you know you can make a bomb out of a pressure cooker?  I attempted to do the recommended water test,  but as soon as it started, I was worried I did it incorrectly so I quickly unplugged it and walked away for 3 days.  Once I regained some courage, I tried again and passed the water test.  Next, I cooked totally frozen chicken in about 25 minutes.  And this is where the magic happens.  I forget to line something up for dinner almost every day, so cooking from frozen has been revolutionary for me.  It usually takes 20-30 minutes depending on the type and size of your meat.  

While not solely a reason to buy a $100 machine, my favorite item to cook in the Instant Pot® is hard boiled eggs.

 I have always enjoyed hard boiled eggs, but could never figure out how to cook so the peels would come off easily.  To make in the Instant Pot®, you use the included trivet and set for 5 minutes.  Once they are done and cooled enough to eat, the peels come off so easily, usually in 1 or 2 large pieces.   You can use fresh or older eggs, from a farm or the grocery store, it doesn’t make a difference.  My children have been loving them also!  

How to Use the Instant Pot

To cook in the Instant Pot®, you need at least 1 cup of liquid.  When you cook eggs or potatoes, you can just use the trivet and put in a cup of water.  If you don’t have enough water or liquid it won’t come to pressure and cook correctly.  The saute feature is really nice if you want to braise your meat or saute some veggies before cooking.  You can saute high or low and then put the lid on and immediately start pressure cooking.   Once your food is done, the Instant Pot® will beep.  It automatically goes to a “keep warm” setting.  At this point you can let the pressure release naturally (natural release/NR), or you can turn the knob and do a quick release (QR).  This is when the steam will release out the top.  I’ve never been burned by turning the knob, but I’ve heard of using a wooden spoon handle to turn it to prevent getting burned.  

The Instant Pot® is big and yet another kitchen appliance to store.  We are short on storage and since I use it two to three times a week, I just keep mine on top of my fridge.  I also don’t usually like using anything I can’t put in the dishwasher, but I think this is worth the hand washing.

Where to Find Recipes

Besides the instruction manual, there are several great pressure cooker cookbooks.  There is an entire board on Facebook devoted to the Instant Pot®.  It is run by Instant Pot®, so they are available to answer questions.  Lots of recipes are shared, and problems are solved.  Pinterest is full of Instant Pot recipes and easy meal ideas.  You can search under “Instant Pot” or “electric pressure cooker” and find a huge variety.   I watched a few youtube videos to get a feel for how to use it as well.  

Pressure cooking is picking up steam in the blogging world, several blogs are devoted to sharing recipes.  The Skinny Taste girl has several really great ones, my favorite is the stewed chicken with corn!  More recipes are coming out all the time, and you can convert most crockpot meals for the pressure cooker.  Typically cream type soups don’t cook well, but can be added later.  My neighbor recently made us an Instant Pot® cheesecake; it was wonderful!  She used a recipe from This Old Gal.    

While the Instant Pot® cannot meal plan, grocery shop and do the prep work for you, it does make cooking a little easier.  To be able to make things fast and typically in one pot is valuable for moms and anyone with a busy schedule.    

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