Instant Pot-ting

Yep, we jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon and have been loving every minute of it!

Hubby got me an Instant Pot for Christmas and I have used it almost every day since. Of course, not knowing Hubby bought me one, I had coincidentally bought an Instant Pot for my brother for Christmas. I was so excited to give it to him because I figured he would enjoy using it to simplify his weekly meal prep. Having my brother’s gift in my closet the weeks leading up to Christmas peaked my interest of owning one, but my frugal self justified staying content with my old-fashioned electric stove and oven. So, you can imagine my kid-in-a-candy-box moment when I tore off the wrapping paper of my very own Instant Pot.

The excitement, the curiosity, the possibilities…. the intimidation. The owner’s manual reads like a short novel and there are so many different buttons and features on the device, but I found the best way to tackle this beast of a machine was to put it to work!

I know I haven’t posted any recipes in a while, and that’s another story for another day, but I surely have been busy “Instant Potting” away, neglecting my poor oven range. I’ve made everything from soups and chilis, to chicken and ribs, to rice and potatoes. And they’ve all been fantastic! Most of the recipes I’ve made are not Instant Pot-specific, rather I just adapted my regular routine recipes. Instead of braising my chicken in the oven, I just toss them into the Instant Pot; instead of roasting sweet potatoes in the oven, I toss them into the Instant Pot; instead of cooking chili on the stove, I make it all in the Instant Pot. It truly is a one-pot wonder.

What I love most about my magic, modern pressure cooker is the ability to cook meat or fish directly from a frozen state. No defrosting needed! How cool is that? On the days when I forget to take meat out of the freezer for dinner, I can still rest assured we will be able to eat meat for dinner.

So far, here are some of my favorite ways to use my Instant Pot. For most of these, I prefer to use the natural release method, which does take a bit longer because the pressurized steam releases slowly on its own, but you can certainly use the quick release button to speed up your overall cooking time. Just keep that in mind the quick release may make the texture of your meat a little tough, but this is not always the case. Whichever pressure release method you use, you’ll know your Instant Pot is fully depressurized when the red pin has dropped.

I will be posting many more Instant Pot recipes as I discover new recipes and cooking methods, so stay tuned! I might even try making coconut yogurt!

Soup/Chili

1. Use the sauté function to brown the aromatics (the onions, garlic, etc.) and/or meat with seasonings
2. Add any beans, legumes, root veggies, or other veggies
3. Place the lid on to seal
4. Set the pressure release to steaming
5. Set the pressure cook timer on for 1 hour at high pressure
6. Allow to natural release OR quick release

Chicken

1. Season boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2. Place chicken in Instant Pot bowl with 1 cup liquid (water, stock, wine, etc.)
3. Add aromatics or veggies (onions, garlic, bell peppers, etc.)
4. Place lid on to seal
5. Set pressure release to steaming
6. Set pressure cook timer for 8 minutes at high pressure (12-15 minutes if using frozen chicken)
7. Allow to natural release
8. Use two forks to shred the chicken breasts and mix in with the remaining cooking liquid and any aromatics or veggies

Some of my favorite chicken dishes to make in the Instant Pot are my slow-cooker fajita chicken and slow-cooker chicken cacciatore. Of course, these were originally crock pot recipes, so if you don’t have an Instant Pot, a crock pot will work do the trick! For the chicken cacciatore, I use tomato sauce as the cooking liquid, season the chicken breasts with oregano, salt, and black pepper, toss in sliced bell peppers, and Kalamata or green Sicilian olives. Then I shred the tender meat and mix it all into the sauce. For my fajita chicken, I season the chicken breasts with my homemade taco seasoning (chili powder, chipotle chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, granulated garlic, granulated onion, oregano, and salt), then toss that into the pot with sliced onions and bell peppers and a cup of stock or water. The chicken comes out so moist and perfect for shredding!

Potatoes/Sweet potatoes

1. Place whole potatoes on rack in Instant Pot bowl
2. Pour in 1 cup water or stock
3. Place lid on to seal
4. Set the pressure release to steaming
5. Set pressure cook timer for 30 minutes at high pressure
6. Allow to natural release OR quick release

Ribs

1. Remove silver skin
2. Season and marinate ribs overnight
3. Place ribs standing up on rack around the perimeter of Instant Pot bowl
4. Pour in 1 cup liquid (water, stock, etc.)
5. Place lid on to seal
6. Set the pressure release to steaming
7. Set pressure cook timer for 30 minutes at high pressure
8. Allow to natural release
9. Remove ribs from Instant Pot and glaze with BBQ sauce if desired, then roast in oven for 20 minutes at 425F for that iconic charred exterior

Fish

1. Season fish
2. Place filets on rack in Instant Pot bowl
3. Pour in 1 cup liquid (water, stock, wine, etc)
4. Place lid on to seal
5. Set the pressure release to steaming
6. Set pressure cook timer for 3-4 minutes (5-6 minutes if using frozen fish)
7. Allow to natural release OR quick release

Lately, I have been loving steamed cod or haddock over brown rice and broccoli, all topped with a generous ladleful of Yai’s Thai Green Coconut Curry Sauce. This sauce is hands-down the most delicious, clean jarred sauce I have ever come across, and I hadn’t even liked coconut curry sauce until I tried this brand! It’s 100% vegan, gluten-free, paleo, non-GMO, and Whole30-approved!