Instant Pot

Id love if we could all share our pressure cooker/ Instant Pot healthy recipes, recipes we make with food we have grown.. never know ..one day we can put together a cook book from the TGN :) or just a great resource.

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Comments

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    I would love that! I made ribs in the pot for Memorial Day. Turned out fantastic as always!

  • Jens the Beekeeper
    Jens the Beekeeper Posts: 651 admin

    I think this is a great idea. Unfortunately I do not have an instant pot. But I am thinking on getting one.

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    I highly recommend it! It sounds stupid...but, it changed my life! ha!

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    Ill post some recipes this week. As much chicken bone broth I make, I actually made beef broth today (my son has been craving meatloaf and beef gravy) so thats what he got tonight :)

    Happy Healing

    Heather

  • Grammyprepper
    Grammyprepper Posts: 168 ✭✭✭

    I have been reluctant to join the InstantPot train. Since the kids moved out, I have several 'too large' cooking devices that don't get used often enough now, and are on their way to being 'rehomed'. So convince me that I truly need one of these! Because I am torn between that and an air fryer, honestly.

  • Karyn Pennington
    Karyn Pennington Posts: 71 ✭✭✭

    I was late to the InstantPot bandwagon, but it sure comes in handy when I get home from work and there's nothing planned for dinner. My favorite is sauteing chicken cubes (sometimes they're mostly frozen) and then adding a sauce of typically soy sauce/water (to equal 1 cup), sucanat or brown sugar, lots of garlic and crushed red pepper. Let it cook for about 8 minutes and depending on whether or not I'm in a hurry, I'll let it come down in pressure mostly on it's own. Then turn back to saute and add some arrowroot powder (or organic cornstarch) with cold water and stir until it thickens. Serve over rice or noodles.

    It's also a favorite way to make rice -- it steams it nice a fluffy. I soak/rinse my rice really well beforehand and then add equal parts water (or broth) and rice.

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    I got rid of all my other big appliances because this one does the best job! It really makes food taste better!

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    This website has literally made me and IP master and a better cook. I've learned so much about combining ingredients to make a food taste so YUM!

  • gardneto76
    gardneto76 Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭

    We are getting rid of our all to big stuff as well and really starting to use our instant pot. It is great for just the two of us. We can quickly make dinner with just enough left overs for lunch at work the following day. We have been able to make larger meals in there as well. What I love most about it is that it’s like a pressure cooker, but faster & smaller!

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    they have SMALL sizes (3qt I think is the smallest.) which I love too..I use my small one for bulk rice and beans :)

  • Grammyprepper
    Grammyprepper Posts: 168 ✭✭✭

    What size IP are you using? I see @HeatherDuro mentions there are smaller ones, but the most talk I see has to do with the 6 or 8 quart ones. I suppose you could use a larger one for smaller meals, but I want something versatile enough that I can use it for cooking for larger groups/meals as well.

    Thanks for everyones replies!

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    I have a 3 qt one, 6 qt and 8 qt along with my 22 qt pressure cooker/canner...a size for all occasions lol

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    I use a 6 qt ... but, I have a need for all three sizes! I do also have three large pressure canners that I use for food preservation...But, you could totally pressure cook in them too!

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The word "instant" makes one think of like HIGH-heat STEAMing pressure-cooker. - Do we really want to take our own organic Homegrown produce, & kill all water-soluble Vitamins ?

    How do you get around that dilemma ?

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin
    edited May 2019

    Instant Pot is of course the brand name...Electric pressure cooker is the generic term. And, yes...they do create a lot of steam and heat. 240° if I'm not mistaken.

    Generally speaking, I use it to cook bone broths, meats, stews, beans, etc. However, I often do use it to cook veggies. Let's take broccoli for example. I use 0 minutes pressure cook time. So, basically...the cooker reaches pressure/temperature and then is quickly released. Not much different than steaming on the stove top.

    My thought is that since I'm cooking them for A LOT less time, the veggies are actually retaining MORE nutrients. Using the pot, I actually get perfectly cooked veggies every time! I usually screw it up when I attempt to steam them!

    EDIT: I found this study which states “Boiling and steaming caused significant vitamin C losses, 34% and 22%, respectively, while with the other treatments [pressure cooking, microwaving and microwave pressure cooking] more than 90% retention was observed.”

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks Ruth. Yes, for bone broths, meats, stews, beans, etc. 240 degrees pressure cooking makes sense. Wonder where they sell them & for how much?

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    Pressure cooking isn't high heat cooking..thus not as much nutrient loss as one may think..wellness mama wrote a great article..links are within ..

    https://wellnessmama.com/77757/pressure-cooker-nutrients/

  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks Heather. - But even after the article, am still leary, most likely because Pressure cookers mostly scare me to death. On 2nd. thought, maybe I should not have stuck my nose into this discussion. I apologize.

    Now back into the garden where I belong. Have a nice week everyone :)

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    I think its a great conversation, I dont think the science is settled on the matter to be honest.

    Heather

  • Grammyprepper
    Grammyprepper Posts: 168 ✭✭✭

    @ines871 I personally don't find the idea of an instapot as intimidating as I do a pressure canner. I even kinda think using one could potentially make me more comfortable with a pressure canner. With an instapot (and I mean any brand of the 'new' pressure cookers) it's all preprogrammed and most of the decisions are made for you. Pressure canning on the other hand, requires a lot of 'decision making' as far as where you are sea level wise, and watching/maintaining proper pressure depending on your cooking method. Maybe @HeatherDuro could comment on this further.

  • cre8tiv369
    cre8tiv369 Posts: 67 ✭✭✭

    I've been really hesitant to get an instant pot. I don't do toxic non stick and ceramic non stick is just as toxic as all the rest, manufacturers are just taking advantage of the lag in customer awareness/knowledge to hock their poisoned wares. Now that being said, I see they now have stainless inserts for the instant pots, but what I don't know about is the lid, is this still the toxic non stick or is that stainless as well? How hard is it to take it all apart and clean it? Does it actually come apart for cleaning or is it one of those devices that you can never truly clean? Has anyone used the stainless inserts, if so, how sturdy are they, how well to they perform, is there anything you like or don't like about them?

  • H_D
    H_D Posts: 384 ✭✭✭

    @cre8tiv369 you could look at the manufacturer specs and see for yourself, even the . The lids and inserts are made from 18/8 stainless steel, m we chose this one because we also live as clean as possible. Mine have always performed perfectly and everyone loves the food. I like the convenience (even if its for the rice part of a dish) I still use my first one I got 8 years ago daily, still holds pressure only thing you have to do is replace the food grade silicon seal as they tend to absorb the smell of whats cooking.

    @Grammyprepper we have instant pots and pressure canners..(mine is a 22 qt) I find once I mastered pressure/cook for varying kinds of foods, they dont scare me anymore. The IP is made for north America and Canada mostly so I think they considered the sea levels for this. Canning is more of an issue with more questions and variations because you are usually storing the cans long term and are not only making the jars air tight but preserving the food within as well, I have not had to adjust for anything using the electric pressure cooker part of things. I dont even use the presets often, once you master the pressure cooking times for your location (using electric or manual) its just as easy as cooking up some scrambled eggs (i am assuming everyone here can make an egg, unlike my mom lol)

    Happy Healing

    Heather

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    I have a Magic Chef brand and both the insert and the inside of the lid (the part facing the food) are stainless steel. As far as cleaning it, I use two methods -- one is to handwash the lid/silicone seal/etc. and the other is to turn on the pressure cooker with just water and/or water + white vinegar in it so that the steam and vinegar can help me get the internal workings cleaner than I can just by hand....

  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin

    I prefer the stainless steel insert ... It's pretty easy to keep clean!

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    Hey all, just wanted to let you know that if you're an Amazon Prime member, you can snag a good deal on an Instant Pot today. Here's the 8-quart version at a pretty significant discount: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B1VC13K/ref=ppxyodt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin

    @Ruth Reyes-Loiacano sorry, meant to tag you on this in case you want to grab an 8 quart! :)

  • herbantherapy
    herbantherapy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭

    This thread moved out of topic from we want recipes! To is the IP a good idea?

    yes I love my IP! Artichokes in 15 minutes? Yes, please! Also it replaced my rice cooker, my steamer, my yogurt maker and gives me back up when I need two crock pots. Because I’m not giving up my crock pot😉. That being said....

    My Favorite Go-to IP recipe!

    Keto Crack Chicken

    4-6 chicken breasts, 1 cube cream cheese, equivalent of 1 packet ranch dressing (about 4 tbsp of homemade dry ranch dressing mix), 1/2 cup chicken broth.

    Pressure Cook for 20 minutes, add 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice and ENJOY! Add cooked bacon crumbles for additional YUM!

  • Jannajo
    Jannajo Posts: 173 ✭✭✭

    Do I have one for u: super soup, cauliflower soup, sooo easy: In 6 or 8 qt, place: 1 cauliflower, complete, 3 sweet potatoe or yam, 1 large onion, as much garlic as desired, use boiling water of 6 C, manual 15mins. Longer if not boiled water. Add spices after hand blending or in machine: smoked paprika, cayenne, dill, as desired, or mix it up. That's all, keep in fridge or freeze. (Chef AJ)

    Keep IP by all means, and the air fryer is also sooo fine, cut potatoes as for fries, place in AF for 20 mins, stirring up abt 10 mins in, have some sauce on hand.