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Instant Pot -- instant gratification?


KathieB

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I was going to post this in the What's for Dinner? thread but I think it deserves a thread of its own. :D 

Holiday meals are in the rear view mirror now, so I'm looking forward to some experimentation. My sis and niece are over the moon over their instant pots. I thought I'd never get one, as I'm cooking for one and it seemed like more cook power than I need. However ... with a gift card I won as a door prize and and an end-of-year sale, I'm now looking forward to my free instant pot arriving one day next week. I've been searching recipes on line as well as collecting them from sis and niece, and am raring to go. It's a lot of cooking power, but I'm looking at it as feeding me and the freezer. I love being able to pull something yummy out of the freezer for an easy supper.

Last night I had a delicious beef stew at sis's that would also be great with a venison roast currently in the freezer, a gift from a neighbor. On the horizon ... Greek chicken with artichoke hearts, venison stew, mac and cheese, and who knows what all else! <drooling>

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I had to look it up and noticed a link to a short video "5 things not to do with your instant pot" that was interesting.  I'm still having fun with my  s l o w  cooker and electric steamer, but I looked up the Greek chicken and artichoke recipe and I'm going to have to cook that!

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I have a couple slow cookers but am not excited about the quality of the finished product for many recipes. The instant pot foods I've eaten seem to hold their texture and flavor better. 

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7 minutes ago, Sable said:

make sure the steam release valve is not under your upper kitchen cabinets.

Good point, thanks. Both sis and niece have kitchen islands where their IPs sit. I don't. But I do have counter space with no upper cabinets that will do. :) 

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I won one too but haven't touched it yet. Looking forward to hearing about your recipes . I also checked out the greek chicken with artichoke hearts.

We have a huge greek feast on New Years Day total of 30 this year. I make the Lemon Chicken and changed my recipe a little this year I received some great kudos the best being It was just like his greek mothers chicken. I was walking on air with that one as I'm about the only one there that's not greek. I think I'll add some artichokes next year

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they have a smaller version now, I have an 8 quart, but I also make in quantity and then freeze - so Im making two meals instead of one meal (there's 3 at home currently). I have a friend who is alone and she makes her meals in her instapot and freezes in portion boxes and probably has a rolling 6. months of meals at all times..she cooks on Sundays only- I want to do it like this too.

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That is what I usually do too, cook one day and freeze ahead but only for about a month at a time. 6 would be a dream but I would need a bigger freezer. I've been on a 'fresh cooked eat it right then' kick lately but so done with that now. 

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1 hour ago, Qubanqtee said:

they have a smaller version now, I have an 8 quart,

Mine will be a 6-quart --- should be big enough for a small whole chicken. My sister's is an 8-quart.

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12 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Well I looked up recipes for the Greek chicken with artichokes and I had everything on hand (I used thighs instead of breast pieces) so I made it for supper and wowsers! is it ever good!

Now I really can't wait for my pot to arrive! I'll add the ingredients for the Greek chicken to my shopping list today.

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4 hours ago, KathieB said:

Now I really can't wait for my pot to arrive! I'll add the ingredients for the Greek chicken to my shopping list today.

I subbed powdered chipotle for the red pepper flakes and dried oregano for the fresh, and I only had lemon juice, so no zest, and it was still outstanding.  I seasoned the thighs with Greek seasoning rather than just salt & pepper.

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Kathie, you're going to have so much fun with your IP.  :)

There were a couple blogs that were recommended to me when I first got mine that were a big help when I was getting started, and also have some great recipes, both simple (like my family likes), and more complex.   

Dad Cooks Dinner

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com

Pressure Luck Cooking

https://pressureluckcooking.com

I would love to make yogurt one day, but I've not gotten up the courage for that yet!

 

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Hey Kathie!  I'm just hanging out over here still.  :)

Hope you enjoy the sites.  They both have videos of each recipe too, which are nice, if that's your thing.  I'm usually just happy reading the recipe.

Pressure Luck has a couple good intro posts and videos,  those were helpful for me when I first got mine.

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I've made beef stew and celery soup so far ... both delicious! I have the ingredients on hand for the Greek Chicken and Tikka Masala. Will try one over the weekend. My sister teased me today, said I need to start a pop-up diner when my freezer gets too full. :D 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love my instant pot, definitely retains more flavor than using a crockpot. I eat low carb and it’s great for boiling eggs to perfection. Of course any chili, soup, stew are excellent in the instant pot. 

My new love though is my Ninja Foodi Grill/air fryer. Especially for doing low carb, it’s wonderful. Steaks and chicken cook to perfection. Air fryer wings are restaurant quality. 

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1 hour ago, WyckedWood said:

My new love though is my Ninja Foodi Grill/air fryer.

Oh, nooo. I barely catch up with the instant pot movement and already it is being overtaken by the Ninja Foodi. Now I know 3 people in my nebulous "circle" who have and love them. First I need time to master the instant pot!

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  • 1 month later...

I don’t have an instant pot but a Nesco that I got about 5 years ago. It does the same things, browns, pressure low and high, slow cooks and rice but no buttons for just one thing like soup.  I love cooking with it, meat is not dried out like a slow cooker.  Made chicken noodle soup in 25 minutes tonight, delicious!  I am happy to discard my old pressure cooker for this, since you can set and go and it keeps things warm.  I just cook for one and got the 6 quart model.  

Just picked up an air fryer but haven’t done a lot with it yet, I got the small one 2 quarts because just me!

 

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I  got the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid. It sits on top of the IP and uses radiant heat and a fan to air fry, bake, broil, roast, and dehydrate. I broiled a steak the other day that turned out very nicely, also some egg plant fingers with a parmesan/breadcrumb seasoned breading. Looking forward to more experimentation. Could cook a whole chicken in the IP, then switch out the lid and brown it. Or use the AF Lid for the whole cook cycle.  :hmm: What to do?

Also got the little egg bite molds. Made "pancakes" that weren't very satisfying. Sort of like pancake-favored donut holes. Haven't tried the molds with eggs yet.  

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