I received an Instant Pot to review and work with over the next year, but I am a DUMMY….hence this first post.
I have a need to be one of the cool kids
When I watched all of the chatter about Instant Pots I needed one. It felt as though everyone on social media was preparing these quick and easy dinners that looked as FABULOUS and they claimed how EASY it was. As you know, I don’t have any great love of cooking (hence marrying a former restauranteur and chef), so if it’s EASY and I can’t screw it up….I wanted one
The claim
Having an Instant Pot in the kitchen can change the way you cook your meals. No matter what kind of a cook you consider yourself, using it can bring you to a different level.
I was ready to be a gourmet chef with skills that formerly involved grilling, boiling water and pressing 3 minutes on the microwave.
I read the instructions (OK, well I skimmed them)
Here are the important tips to remember when learning to use your new appliance
- Use with caution: Because this way of cooking is considered a pressure cooker there is some caution you should take when using. Only place it where it’s out of the way of others while cooking. Treat it like a hot stove, just a lot smaller. Avoid direct contact when steam is being released.
- Safety valve: All will have a safety valve on top of the lid to let you know when it’s okay to open without steam pressure being involved. When the valve is up, don’t open. When the valve is completely down, you can open the lid. No matter what, always remember the steam needs to be released automatically or manually before opening the lid.
But it’s JUNE and why do I need this….isn’t it grill time?
Actually, the Instant Pot is perfect for summer cooking. When the summer heat is making your home warmer than normal this way of cooking is easy and less hassle. It involves very little cooking time and a lot less surrounding heat throughout the kitchen.
And so I began
Supposedly, one of the easiest meals a beginner cook can do in an Instant Pot is chicken. Add some black beans, corn, and some spices to the chicken breast and you’ll have a chicken chili within just a few minutes.
Of course, I ignored that and decided to make my grandmother’s chicken soup recipe. A few hours later I tossed it into the garbage. Maybe my grandmother’s cook all day recipe wasn’t the right recipe. Hmmm
My second attempt
Brisket, that would be easy. Again, using my grandmother’s recipe I browned the meat, sauteed the onions and put them in the Instant Pot…TOO LONG. I now had the making of brisket soup.
My bell curve of cooking
When I want to do something, I rarely give up. So, I figured that I’d gain a little confidence by making a simple pot of rice. With that, I started feeling a little better about my endeavor into cooking with this appliance and quickly learned that the best way to use the Instant Pot depended on how much flavor I wanted. Thankfully, I can use mine to cook quickly or as a slow cooker (that’s how I should have made the soup).
I started looking at recipes on Pinterest and learned
There are just so many other recipes for roasts, rice dishes, vegetables, desserts, etc. that are a perfect fit for the Instant Pot, and while I made mistakes, you don’t have to. It turns out that I needed a good Instant Pot cookbook since this appliance will not only allow you to follow other recipes but once you get the hang of it, you’ll come up with your own….that is if you are a clumsy in the kitchen type like me.
It won’t take long before you’ll become the cook you always wanted to be. No one will be any wiser that you only spent a few minutes in the kitchen making a fabulous meal. It doesn’t take a large, fully equipped kitchen to become a cook. It just takes one Instant Pot and the courage to try.
I’ll bring you more of my Instant Pot adventures soon, including why it’s the perfect cooking appliance for those of us who are empty nesters, have arthritis, etc. (YES, I SAID THAT).
Want to outshine me in the kitchen?
- Learn where you can buy an Instant Pot at InstantPot.com
