Instant Pot

I can't believe I haven't blogged yet about the wonderful, wonderful item that is the Instant Pot.

I got it in December (I think?) but they were wildly popular before then.  I was a little late on the Instant Pot bandwagon.  But I am SO GLAD I got it.

Basically, it's this magical pot that does a whole bunch of things.  In ONE pot.  Most people (me included) use it specifically for the pressure cooker option.  Imagine being able to cook chicken breasts (from frozen) in 8 minutes.  Or cook pasta in 2 minutes.

The Instant Pot can do it.  Although, the times are a *bit* deceiving, because the cook times don't include the time it takes for the pot to reach pressure (usually 10 minutes or so).  But it is still faster and WAY easier.  It can also be a slow-cooker.

It looks intimidating, but I swear it's not.  Once you cook your first meal in it you will no longer be scared.

Here's just a few of the things I've made:

Chicken Taco Soup
Italian Zuppa Tuscana
Beef Stew
Chicken Breasts
Mississippi Pot Roast
Lasagna
Chicken pasta & mushrooms
Rice (all kinds)
Hard Boiled Eggs
Banana Bread
Red Beans & Rice
Mixed Berry Jam

And I know I'm forgetting some things.  You can literally make anything in it!  I think my favorite part is that you have just ONE pot to clean up at the end.  So if a recipe calls for sautéing vegetables or bacon first, you do it in the same pot (using the sauté function of course).  It's just so easy.

There are TONS of Instant Pot recipes online.  The cookbooks are slowly coming out.  I got one at Costco, and just last week I found another one on the bargain shelf at Barnes and Noble (Cooking Light Instant Pot).  They both have been useful.

I use it at LEAST once or twice a week.  Usually when I'm doing my batch cooking for the week.  Every two weeks I'll use it to make a batch of chicken breasts and then I'll shred them (using my hand mixer....it's so much easier this way).  I freeze half of the shredded chicken and then we use the rest during the week.  I either top it with salads or make chicken salad.

Anyways, this is my plug for the Instant Pot.  I believe the cheapest place to find it is on Amazon.  And they sometimes go on sale at Target.  I would get the 'Instant Pot' brand.  The 6-quart.  That seems to be the most popular and is the 'original'.