My wife was given one of these for finishing her degree and landing a new job. I got it out, did the pressure test etc. and then it just sat there. Ignored. alone. unused.

So I suggested we box it up and take it back. She started crying. Now I feel bad. She doesnt have time to cook etc. with the new job. We just do fish sticks and other 'quick' recipes etc.

The daughter and I found a cool recipe called Honey Sesame Chicken. I mixed up the hone and stuff, used the saux button to make it simmer, dumped in 3lbs. of frozen chicken breasts and 15 min later we had an amazing home cooked meal, honey sesame chicken over rice.

My wife pointed out to do anything with frozen chicken takes an hour. We were both mind blown how easy it was, and how tasty the meal was.

the Insta Pot will now become a part of our weekly food prep, we still have to learn the recipes etc but our first attempt was a big hit.

This is a Older article but it sums up my experience. Interesting is how much cheaper the Insta Pot is now. I bought mine from Sams for $89.

they make cooking artichokes a breeze

We have the 6 qt model, but I couldn't agree more.

The other day my wife was upset that the roast she took out was still frozen, so we did threw it in the instant pot. 30 minutes of cook time later, we had a full meal. About an hour ago together between prep, heat-up, and pressure release.

Just as easy as the crock pot, but 10x quicker!

My wife picked up the 8qt version as well. We now use it at least twice a week.

Very convenient and the food has been wonderful.

We have one. I was leery at first, we have a crock pot as well as all kinds of other kitchen toys. Wife uses it from making soup to rice maker to making hard boiled eggs to sticking a pork butt in with some root beer for an amazing pulled pork. 1-2x a week at least. She loves it. Go online for a deeper dive and see some recipes. There’s frozen complete meals in a bag you can buy at the grocery store and a few minutes your ready to eat.

Here are two recipes that I've enjoyed.

Potato Soup

Arroz con Pollo
If you half the amount of rice it turns into a delicious soup.

We have the Emeril 8 qt instapot/air fryer and I use it at least three times a week.

Last night, I took frozen (yes, still frozen) chicken leg quarters, 3/4 cup of water, sprinkled Tony Chacheries on them and pressure cooked them for 10 minutes, then drained the stock, used it to cook instant mashed potatoes.

I coated the cooked chicken in Tony's once again and set the fryer top on and cooked again for 10 minutes.

Perfect baked chicken.

They are fantastic. It makes rice perfectly every time. I make chili, roast beef, chicken soup etc. in it. We use it weekly.

We have the 6qt. Used it about a half dozen times and it's been relegated to the storage room. We were gifted a air fryer and I use that for making fries, onion rings etc. have not experimented much beyond that. The thing with the Insta-Pot is it's anything but instant. You still have to do all the prep work as normal and you still have to plan you're meals and make sure you have all the needed ingredients. Then it takes ten minutes for the pot to build up pressure before the cook time actually starts.

Then if you have to brown meat you either do it in batches in the Insta Pot or bust out you're skillet and do it on the stove top all at once. Another dirty pan to clean.
I just never warmed up to it as a device that solved a lot of problems. Now for the last couple months we have been doing the Hello Fresh program. So far I love it. You get enough ingredients for your meal and that's it. Everything is pre packaged. You don't have left overs and that works great for us because we all to often would be throwing away left overs.

And it gets you out of a cooking rut. Cooking the same 6 to 8 dishes in rotation. They have some really creative recipes and you get a easy to follow recipe card with it so you can recreate that recipe on your own any time. We get three meals a week and the cost is about $10 per serving. Plus it relieves me from having to go into the store and then realize I forgot a mask. For us it's been the solution to a lot of the meal prep and cooking problems.

The name Instant Pot gives some people the impression that things are...instantaneous or, work-free. It should've been labeled 'Modern Pressure Cooker' but, you know...marketing and branding.

Anybody experienced in cooking knows that prep is the key to proper execution, regardless if its grilling, using a wok, a slow cooker, setting up a buffet, etc. The more prep you do, the easier it'll be to get things done, kinda like a lot of things in life. I've knocked out a bunch of IP dishes, all good; it definitely cut down on the cook time had I did it manually or, without the device. While there's a handful of recipes I'll keep in rotation, I use the IP a lot for making stocks and bean dishes.

We got the 6 qt Duo Crisp for Christmas. It has both pressure cooker and air fryer lids. So far we have been pleased. My wife hasn’t enjoyed cooking but has used this a bunch of times with good results. Some hits have been a curry butter chicken, Mississippi pot roast and lemon, garlic, white wine chicken thighs. I found it was easier and just as fast to make wings in our convection oven. It really cut down on the time for anything requiring braising.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
The name Instant Pot gives some people the impression that things are...instantaneous or, work-free. It should've been labeled 'Modern Pressure Cooker' but, you know...marketing and branding.

Anybody experienced in cooking knows that prep is the key to proper execution, regardless if its grilling, using a wok, a slow cooker, setting up a buffet, etc. The more prep you do, the easier it'll be to get things done, kinda like a lot of things in life. I've knocked out a bunch of IP dishes, all good; it definitely cut down on the cook time had I did it manually or, without the device. While there's a handful of recipes I'll keep in rotation, I use the IP a lot for making stocks and bean dishes.

Yep, I was raised by parents who lived by the pressure cooker. They must've used that thing 3 or 4 times a week.

I've never owned one and never will. I'm happy with Crock Pots (all day long cooking) and regular cooking.

I just made my second batch of ham & bean soup from the leftover Christmas ham in my 8-quart IP. The thing makes great soup and stock.

This thread is timely. I’ve had my InstaPot for a few years. I’ve only done ribs and corned beef and cabbage in it. They were alright but nothing that I would share here with you guys. As Im writing this I’m doing Navy beans and a left over honey baked ham bone that’s been vacuumed sealed in the freezer since last Easter. I can only hope it turns out well since I heard these pots are supposed to work good for beans. If not, there’s always microwave burritos

Yeah, an Instant Pot isn’t instant. You still have to read a recipe and prep something to cook.
What I don’t have to do is watch it. I can decide when it starts cooking, for how long and let it go into keep warm mode so a warm meal is waiting for me when I get home. Not too bad for a useless gadget that isn’t instant.

Try this recipe as a starting point for your ham & bean soup - soup recipe.

I have modified this recipe to my own tastes, but it's a good start.

I suggest you don't add any salt until AFTER the soup has completed cooking. My soup is always salty enough for me given the ham.

Remember that online recipes are almost always made for 6-quart Instant Pots (I have an 8-quart model).

Adjust your cooking time based on the type of beans you are using, as they go in dry.

Pulled pork in the Instant Pot is a huge hit in my family! As are mashed potatoes that are insanely awesome, hard boiled eggs that fall out of the shell and a super simple chicken enchilada casserole.

I joined a FB group called "instant pot heads" and found some quick, easy recipes that make dinner time much easier!

I like it for pot roast. Something just tastes off as to chicken cooked in one. Just didn’t care for it after a few chicken meals.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
I like it for pot roast. Something just tastes off as to chicken cooked in one. Just didn’t care for it after a few chicken meals.

One of my favorites recipes