What’s the big deal with the Instant Pot, you ask? Why all the hype?
I can tell you why I have learned to appreciate it:
- It’s quick! When I forget to meal plan or thaw meat, it’s a lifesaver at 4:00 p.m. I imagine it has even saved many a meal across the country at 5 p.m. or later.
- It’s hands-free. Once all the ingredients are in the pot, I can walk away and it regulates the high vs. low heat so I don’t have to worry about boiling something over (which I do often), I don’t have to stir, and I don’t have to think. As a mom of 4…that’s kind of important to regaining sanity sometimes. (Funny sidenote: I went to type “retaining” there but apparently my subconscious told my fingers otherwise…I guess I’ll leave it!)
- It doesn’t burn the overnight steel cut oats. Every time I’ve tried oatmeal in a slow cooker, it hasn’t gone well, and the “nest a glass dish in some water inside the slow cooker” strategy would not even feed my hungry people one meal!
- Fewer dishes. Because you can saute right in the Instant Pot, you will never have to have a second pan to sear meat or caramelize onions. Slow cooker recipes always tick me off when they do that…
- Multi-function. It’s a slow cooker, too.
- Safe materials. It’s been a big deal off and on over the years about the safety of crockpot inserts. There have been questions of lead leaching (which I’m looking into for a future post actually), so it’s just doggone nice to have stainless steel as the surface in the IP. I don’t worry about it. Phew!
- More room on the stovetop. When things are really hopping in my kitchen, which can happen even without a big party, I’m pumped to have a “fifth burner” basically, because the Instant Pot can do everything a pot on the stove can do (and more).
There are probably more benefits, and you’ll see some in the post about basic Instant Pot techniques like boiling eggs and cooking rice, but those are the biggies for me.
It’s not without its drawbacks – last night for some weird reason it took 4 tries to get it to have pressure to cook a recipe. I’m still troubleshooting and hoping it was my fault! Answer coming in a future post in the Instant Post series…
Make your Instant Pot work for you!
The Instant Pot has gotten a lot of hype over the last couple years – for good reason. It really can do just about anything.
Although it can seem a bit daunting to use at first, it really becomes quite simple once you give it a try.
Use the techniques, tips and simple recipes from the Instant Pot Guidebook to get started, and before you know it, your Instant Pot will become indispensable!
For today, I have another recipe for you, one that my husband made easily. It’s SUPER quick in the Instant Pot but also can totally be made in a slow cooker or on the stovetop. It’s a simple Mexican soup with a smoky twist that makes it a little more grown-up, in my opinion (and it’s inexpensive too). Enjoy!
Recipe: Smoky Mexican Chicken Soup – make in the Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or Stovetop
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green or red pepper, diced
- 2 c. carrots, chopped/diced/shredded (whatever is easiest for you)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 chicken breasts or thighs
- 4 c. chicken stock
- 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes (or one home-canned quart)
- 1 (7 oz) can tomato paste
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- Fresh limes for juice
- toppings: fresh cilantro, red or green onion, shredded cheese, avocado cubes, sour cream
- Turn the Instant Pot to "Saute" and heat the oil.
- Add the onion, peppers, and carrots and stir around for 5 minutes or so until they're starting to get translucent and fragrant.
- Add the garlic for about a minute, just until you can really smell it, stirring constantly.
- Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the limes.
- Lock the lid in place and make sure the valve is closed.
- Hit "Manual" on high and set it for 5 minutes (it will take about 10 minutes for the pressure to build and then the
5 minute high pressure countdown will begin). If using frozen chicken breasts, add at least 10 minutes to the time. - When the timer goes off, allow the pressure to naturally release for at least 10 minutes before initiating a quick release (flip the lever on the lid from "seal" to "vent" - be careful of the steam!).
- Check chicken for doneness (no pink!). It should be done, but if by chance it isn't, you can go for another 5 minutes on high pressure. It won't take as long to heat up, and then do a quick release and check again.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with two forks. Return to the pot and stir.
- To serve, squeeze lime juice into each bowl or offer lime wedges at the table along with the optional toppings.
- In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil.
- Add the onion, peppers, and carrots and stir around for 5-10 minutes or so until they're starting to get translucent and fragrant.
- Add the garlic for about a minute, just until you can really smell it, stirring constantly.
- Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the limes.
- Turn the heat to high with the lid on.
- Once a rolling boil is reached, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 15-20 minutes with the lid on.
- Check chicken for doneness (no pink!).
- Remove the chicken from the pot and cut into pieces with a knife and fork. Return to the pot and stir.
- To serve, squeeze lime juice into each bowl or offer lime wedges at the table along with the optional toppings.
Adapted from Play Paleo
2 Tools for Real Food Success:
It’s never easy to keep up with real food goals! If my meal isn’t planned ahead and/or I don’t have the right food on hand, it’s SO tempting to give up and grab convenience food!
I have to almost trick myself into getting it right sometimes…like this:
Butcher Box
I love my raw milk farm, and they usually have beef for me too – but not all the cuts. And chicken is hard to come by. And pork is hit or miss.
I’m sure you’ve experienced the same sourcing frustrations!
That’s why I’m always grateful that there’s an online source of incredibly high quality meat that I can always count on. A box from Butcher Box is guaranteed to be grassfed/organic/pastured/free range = all the labels important to your family’s health!
If you live in an area (like my mom) where organic local farms are nowhere to be found or have trouble sourcing certain meats or cuts, Butcher Box has you covered.
(free shipping too!)
Real Plans
But if I forget to plan ahead, all that amazing meat just sits in the freezer! Enter Real Plans, an online meal planning software that is probably smarter than I am.
I can enter that cut of meat along with my food restrictions and find the perfect meal, then generate a shopping list, multiply it by 4 if we have company, and enter my own fav recipes too.
Real Plans takes the stress out of meal planning and puts the nourishing food BACK on your table. There’s a plan for every diet type:
My dear friend Wardee at Traditional Cooking School can do just about anything with her Instant Pot – cakes, bread, main dishes, veggies, even “stacking” multiple kinds of food at once!
She’s offering a free sourdough cornbread Instant Pot recipe!
This cornbread is delicious, nutritious, super easy to make, and it only needs 12 minutes of cook time.
More Instant Pot Treasures
- 10 Basic Instant Pot Techniques (some may surprise you!)
- Apple Cranberry Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot
- Simple Cauli Rice in the Instant Pot (no food processor needed!)
- Instant Pot Italian Lentil One-Pot Dinner
- Instant Pot Curried Lemon Coconut Chicken (can also be made in the slow cooker)
- …and more to come this week and next!
