Post by simplynaturalfarm on Apr 27, 2017 14:15:07 GMT -5
After a discussion a while back where a couple of people mentioned instapots, I decided to look them up. I had determined that slow cooking and instapots were not for meat lovers like me as a lot of what people were making were all Carby and I like a slow roasted meat in the oven. . .Problem is my planning never works right and I forget to thaw something and it is 5 pm and I'm gong uh oh. . .
After throwback saying how much she used it, I decided to look again - and found a bigger one and one that makes yogurt. I took my Christmas and birthday money saved up and decided to get one several weeks ago.
Best investment ever!! We have eaten on time (instead of 10 pm!) And better than ever the last three weeks. I am no better at preparing in advance with thawing, but I can cut up frozen meat for stew and chilli and have a curry or something going and cooked in less than an hour. Easter we decide to have ham at 5 pm, no problem as instapot cooked it in 20 minutes. Squash which takes me 90 minutes in oven, cooked perfectly in 12 in pot. Ham and bean soup with leftovers when I forgot to oak and cool beans? 30 minutes and beans are perfect.
Chicken soup with hard millet made from broth and leftovers? One minute in instapot. And if I forget about it, it just sits in it's own heat til we come and eat, instead of simmering on the stove until something is burned or runs out of liquid (I am the queen of that . . .). Supper is beef stew for 45 minutes. I always remember about 5 pm but now that still means we can eat before seven.
First meal I cooked we made Mongolian beef with some steak and it took 9 minutes. . .I did not believe it would cook that fast, so didn't do veggies and rice right away and 10 minutes later we were waiting on the rice lol.
Forget to make broth and beef for hubby weekend meals? Put in frozen roast with water and seasonings, and falling apart perfection in 90 minutes.
Don't know what to make for fast quick supper? Potatoes done to perfection in 10 minutes - I have no idea why they taste so good in the instapot but it is like eating perogies without the work! We rarely eat potatoes I don't have use a microwave so if we want to bake them I need to remember to out a dozen in the oven at least an hour in advance. And half the time some are overcooked and big ones aren't done.
For someone like my mom who thinks in advance and doesn't have a million distracting things going at once, I can see it not being beneficial. For my sil who does once day freezer meals for a month with low meat and low fat, and everything goes in a slow cooker, she probably wouldn't care.
I have used it every single day and most days twice a day!! And it is so easy to clean and doesn't ever need scrubbing!
Yes it takes 10- 12 minutes to heat up sometimes, but once it is hot I can cook the next project in no time. And I never have to worry about overcooked bcaus when it is done it stays warm for hours without drying or overcooking. Made baked potatoes for supper in the oven and while waiting for dh to show up they will dehydrating to nothing, in instapot they are moist and steaming for hours.
Want perfect yogurt every time? I put 8 quarts in the pot cold from the fridge, set it to yogurt and one hour later add starter, mix 1 minute and put lid on for 8 hours and it maintains at 99 the entire time.
Want to heat up the soup you made yesterday? Has a soup setting.
Want to sear your roast before cooking to seal the juicesin? Has a high and low saute setting. Or cook the onions or mirepoix before making soup? Set to saute (and it gets hot fast!) Cook your stuff, add est and put lid on the pressure cook.
Want to slow cook something instead of pressure cook - yes it will slow cook for hours also.
I still love the flavor of stew, roast chicken and regular beef or pot roast in the oven, and so I try hard to remember to thaw them the day before so they can cook beautifully in the oven, but now IF I forget I can still get supper on time. AND my sides are ready right away. And leftovers are immediately made into something next day. If I kick myself for forgetting to put the butternut squash in oven 90 minutes before, a cut up 8 lb squash will be there in 10 minutes (that is my number one thing I forget in the winter and when you go through 90 big squash a winter, forgetting results in a lot of unused squash come march!)
I love it and no I did not get money for this glowing review!! In fact I paid a ridiculous amount for it (because the 8 quart model is vastly more expensive and I have 3 slow cookers and two ovens . . .), and if it dies in 6 months I will be upset *G*.
After throwback saying how much she used it, I decided to look again - and found a bigger one and one that makes yogurt. I took my Christmas and birthday money saved up and decided to get one several weeks ago.
Best investment ever!! We have eaten on time (instead of 10 pm!) And better than ever the last three weeks. I am no better at preparing in advance with thawing, but I can cut up frozen meat for stew and chilli and have a curry or something going and cooked in less than an hour. Easter we decide to have ham at 5 pm, no problem as instapot cooked it in 20 minutes. Squash which takes me 90 minutes in oven, cooked perfectly in 12 in pot. Ham and bean soup with leftovers when I forgot to oak and cool beans? 30 minutes and beans are perfect.
Chicken soup with hard millet made from broth and leftovers? One minute in instapot. And if I forget about it, it just sits in it's own heat til we come and eat, instead of simmering on the stove until something is burned or runs out of liquid (I am the queen of that . . .). Supper is beef stew for 45 minutes. I always remember about 5 pm but now that still means we can eat before seven.
First meal I cooked we made Mongolian beef with some steak and it took 9 minutes. . .I did not believe it would cook that fast, so didn't do veggies and rice right away and 10 minutes later we were waiting on the rice lol.
Forget to make broth and beef for hubby weekend meals? Put in frozen roast with water and seasonings, and falling apart perfection in 90 minutes.
Don't know what to make for fast quick supper? Potatoes done to perfection in 10 minutes - I have no idea why they taste so good in the instapot but it is like eating perogies without the work! We rarely eat potatoes I don't have use a microwave so if we want to bake them I need to remember to out a dozen in the oven at least an hour in advance. And half the time some are overcooked and big ones aren't done.
For someone like my mom who thinks in advance and doesn't have a million distracting things going at once, I can see it not being beneficial. For my sil who does once day freezer meals for a month with low meat and low fat, and everything goes in a slow cooker, she probably wouldn't care.
I have used it every single day and most days twice a day!! And it is so easy to clean and doesn't ever need scrubbing!
Yes it takes 10- 12 minutes to heat up sometimes, but once it is hot I can cook the next project in no time. And I never have to worry about overcooked bcaus when it is done it stays warm for hours without drying or overcooking. Made baked potatoes for supper in the oven and while waiting for dh to show up they will dehydrating to nothing, in instapot they are moist and steaming for hours.
Want perfect yogurt every time? I put 8 quarts in the pot cold from the fridge, set it to yogurt and one hour later add starter, mix 1 minute and put lid on for 8 hours and it maintains at 99 the entire time.
Want to heat up the soup you made yesterday? Has a soup setting.
Want to sear your roast before cooking to seal the juicesin? Has a high and low saute setting. Or cook the onions or mirepoix before making soup? Set to saute (and it gets hot fast!) Cook your stuff, add est and put lid on the pressure cook.
Want to slow cook something instead of pressure cook - yes it will slow cook for hours also.
I still love the flavor of stew, roast chicken and regular beef or pot roast in the oven, and so I try hard to remember to thaw them the day before so they can cook beautifully in the oven, but now IF I forget I can still get supper on time. AND my sides are ready right away. And leftovers are immediately made into something next day. If I kick myself for forgetting to put the butternut squash in oven 90 minutes before, a cut up 8 lb squash will be there in 10 minutes (that is my number one thing I forget in the winter and when you go through 90 big squash a winter, forgetting results in a lot of unused squash come march!)
I love it and no I did not get money for this glowing review!! In fact I paid a ridiculous amount for it (because the 8 quart model is vastly more expensive and I have 3 slow cookers and two ovens . . .), and if it dies in 6 months I will be upset *G*.