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Post by ghislaine on Feb 10, 2016 14:36:37 GMT
We had leftovers last night for dinner. Both reheated items had originally been made in the Instant Pot. 1. Dijon Pork Stew thepressureison.livejournal.com/1246.html Reheated on the stove top as it was kinda soupy. 2. Dad Cooks Dinner Macaroni and Cheese which I reheated in the Instant Pot on the trivet with a cup of water underneath using 3 minutes of steam plus natural pressure release because my husband took forever to finish working! I love how well pasta reheats in this thing. It would replace my microwave if the microwave weren't on over the stovetop vent model that came with the house! Both meals were ones I modified to use ingredients I had on hand or wanted to use up.
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Post by caspad on Feb 10, 2016 15:11:25 GMT
Hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot: What time/pressure are you using? I haven't found the right combo yet. On Monday, I made SkinnyTaste's chicken and lentil soup. It was pretty bland. But I'm eating it anyway because it made a ton. Next time I'd add some cayenne or red pepper flakes or jalapeno and more salt. www.skinnytaste.com/2015/12/instant-pot-pressure-cooker-chicken-and.html
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Deleted
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May 20, 2024 13:12:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2016 15:40:51 GMT
I am really interested in this InstaPot.
It's usually just DB and I. DS stays at his dad's most weeknights.
I like the quick cooking idea and love the one pot idea, but am kind of hesitant at the learning curve.
Keep the info coming!
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Post by caspad on Feb 10, 2016 16:07:34 GMT
Elaine! Fantastic post! Such great info, thank you, thank you.. Well, I got my InstaPot on Saturday, took it out of the box and am scared to use it! IDK why this machine intimidates me. Every time I read a recipe or a message board post (the FB group) it seems so complicated. I know, I just need to do it, so this thread is a big help. I have no idea what to make. My kid only likes plain, steamed rice, so I can't do the specific challenge. I'm reading up on the time it takes to make steamed rice, and I'm thinking it's pretty much the same when it comes down to it, as my Zoshi cooker. The Z takes about 45 minutes, that includes a 15 minute soak. So with the InstaPot, you pre soak your rice 15 minutes, then add the rice to the pot and cook..taking time to allow for the pressurize time, the cook time, and the natural release time, it's probably about the same amount of time to cook? Is that my understanding of it? Do you have to pre soak the rice? If I eliminate that step, then it's quicker I think. I'm trying to see if I can find a chicken and rice dish to make in the pot. I have frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer. I also have really think tenderloin chicken strips that defrost fairly quickly too. I know that I read somewhere you can use the chicken frozen first. I have plenty of bottled sauces/marinades. I have that Trader Joe's Garlic Garlic marinade, and I have some Teriyaki sauce. I have carrots, onion, etc. Help? I just don't know where to start. I totally get being scared of the Instant Pot. I think part of it is the lousy instruction book/recipe book and equally lousy website. I just want some good basic recipes that are foolproof to start with! I didn't presoak my rice. I followed the ratio on the instant pot website: 1 cup of brown rice to 1.25 cups water and hit the rice button and changed the time to 22 minutes. It was perfect. Usually I cook brown rice in the oven following Alton Brown's method. instantpot.com/cooking-time/rice-and-grains/
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Post by elaine on Feb 10, 2016 18:03:40 GMT
Hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot: What time/pressure are you using? I haven't found the right combo yet. On Monday, I made SkinnyTaste's chicken and lentil soup. It was pretty bland. But I'm eating it anyway because it made a ton. Next time I'd add some cayenne or red pepper flakes or jalapeno and more salt. www.skinnytaste.com/2015/12/instant-pot-pressure-cooker-chicken-and.htmlFor whatever reason, I am finding that the vast majority of pressure cooker recipes are *very* bland. I almost always add a few spices. The soup recipe I modified, for instance, only had thyme and little salt and pepper - I doubled the thyme, added lemon juice, garlic powder, more salt and pepper and also cayenne pepper.
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Post by scraplette on Feb 10, 2016 19:57:56 GMT
This thread inspired use of the my Ninja 4-in-1 to turn Super Bowl leftovers into Fried Rice. I used a recipe from blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, as a guide for quantities and seasonings. I had plenty of leftover fresh veggies / crudites and pulled pork to use. When we had to eat dinner earlier than planned, i switched to stovetop setting after one hour. My son told me I finally made decent Fried Rice, it will be made again! Thank you Peas for the challenge, and the enabling to buy the cooker last year! Here's recipe: www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2008/05/crockpot-fried-rice-recipe.html
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Post by caspad on Feb 10, 2016 21:31:25 GMT
That's good to know, Elaine. Usually I make a recipe as written the first time. But I'll bump up the seasonings from now on.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 11, 2016 15:40:41 GMT
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Post by threecs on Feb 11, 2016 16:26:41 GMT
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Feb 11, 2016 16:49:29 GMT
We had leftovers last night for dinner. Both reheated items had originally been made in the Instant Pot. 1. Dijon Pork Stew thepressureison.livejournal.com/1246.html Reheated on the stove top as it was kinda soupy. 2. Dad Cooks Dinner Macaroni and Cheese which I reheated in the Instant Pot on the trivet with a cup of water underneath using 3 minutes of steam plus natural pressure release because my husband took forever to finish working! I love how well pasta reheats in this thing. It would replace my microwave if the microwave weren't on over the stovetop vent model that came with the house! Both meals were ones I modified to use ingredients I had on hand or wanted to use up. When you say 3 minutes of steam...how long total for reheating the mac and cheese? I'm finding between the heat up/pressure time, and the cool off, things take a bit longer than I originally thought they would? Plus, the clean up isn't all that easy, either. You have to clean the pot, pull out the ring, wipe down the entire unit and then let it sit out to dry. And clean the pot you cooked it in. Vs..put the mac and cheese on a plate and microwave on low. Is the taste that much different that its worth that effort?
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Feb 11, 2016 16:56:32 GMT
I used my InstaPot for the first time last night! I was getting overwhelmed with all the recipes on the FB page and all the conflicting advice so I just decided to do my own thing.
I put in frozen chicken tenderloin strips, carrots thinly sliced round and a bit of onion. I seasoned and used a bit of bottled teriyaki sauce over it and then about 1/2 cup of water.
I cooked on Manual for 15 minutes.
It took about 40 minutes total, from heat up to cook to natural release.
THe chicken was cooked and the carrots were over cooked and I put in wayyy too much water. So, it was edible but that's about it.
My kid didn't like it at all. The carrot flavor seemed to absorb too much in the chicken so that was almost all you tasted. I found that odd, but I guess its the steam action going?
I'm thinking its probably best just to cook the chicken w/out any vegetables. And use a lot less water next time. I think I'll try it again tonight with just a little garlic marinade and see what happens.
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Feb 11, 2016 17:19:21 GMT
ON second thought, I think I'm going to try that Cook's Illustrated Ziti past recipe. I have everything in the pantry and I'm sick of chicken, lol. I'm hopeful about that recipe!
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Post by gale w on Feb 11, 2016 18:01:11 GMT
ON second thought, I think I'm going to try that Cook's Illustrated Ziti past recipe. I have everything in the pantry and I'm sick of chicken, lol. I'm hopeful about that recipe! If you use jarred sauce (I rarely do but some recipes are easier with it) I highly recommend Rao's brand. It's pricey but really good. I was using Muir Glen but it's become hard to find. Rao's is about a thousand times better.
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Post by elaine on Feb 11, 2016 18:04:33 GMT
I used my InstaPot for the first time last night! I was getting overwhelmed with all the recipes on the FB page and all the conflicting advice so I just decided to do my own thing. I put in frozen chicken tenderloin strips, carrots thinly sliced round and a bit of onion. I seasoned and used a bit of bottled teriyaki sauce over it and then about 1/2 cup of water. I cooked on Manual for 15 minutes. It took about 40 minutes total, from heat up to cook to natural release. THe chicken was cooked and the carrots were over cooked and I put in wayyy too much water. So, it was edible but that's about it. My kid didn't like it at all. The carrot flavor seemed to absorb too much in the chicken so that was almost all you tasted. I found that odd, but I guess its the steam action going? I'm thinking its probably best just to cook the chicken w/out any vegetables. And use a lot less water next time. I think I'll try it again tonight with just a little garlic marinade and see what happens. I'm glad you jumped in, Yvonne and sorry that you and your daughter didn't like the results. How very frustrating! A couple of thoughts: 1. Most recipes call for you to sauté the onions a couple of minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients, it makes the onions taste better and heats up the cooker, so, when you add the rest of the ingredients, it will come to pressure faster. 2. I almost never use Natural Release. I use it for beans, which tend explode all over your cooker if you use quick release, but otherwise it is a very rare recipe that calls for Natural Release. Quick Release is the way to go for almost everything. If your food is undercooked, you just put the lid back on and set it for pressure for another couple of minutes and then use quick release again. That is why the carrots were so over cooked. 3. If you are going to use veggies in a dish that you will pressure cook with meat/poultry, leave them in larger chunks. I use whole baby carrots for recipes that call for carrots. Veggies will cook more quickly than meat, so you want to have them in larger pieces that cook more slowly than thin slices. 4. A lot of liquid can be an issue, because none of it escapes/is baked off, so a number of recipes have you remove the main contents of the pot and while you are dishing it out, boiling down the liquid in the cooker with the lid off. Are you going to make the Ziti with Sausage recipe? I can't wait to hear how it turns out!
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Feb 11, 2016 18:34:29 GMT
ON second thought, I think I'm going to try that Cook's Illustrated Ziti past recipe. I have everything in the pantry and I'm sick of chicken, lol. I'm hopeful about that recipe! If you use jarred sauce (I rarely do but some recipes are easier with it) I highly recommend Rao's brand. It's pricey but really good. I was using Muir Glen but it's become hard to find. Rao's is about a thousand times better. oh gosh, thank you for that! I've never heard of that brand, I'll look for it. I hope they sell it around here!
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oh yvonne
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Post by oh yvonne on Feb 11, 2016 18:38:15 GMT
Oh Elaine, I just love you...no, YOU ROCK. Yes, I'm going to try the pasta recipe. I have a smaller, 5 qt InstaPot so I'll have to do some recipe adjusting, but it can't be that hard. THANK you for those specific tips, all which make total sense. I'm not going to give up, I appreciate the help and I want to make this pot work for me. Even if I wind up not wanting to make dinner in it as much as others do, I still am happy for the browning/pressure cooker feature being all in one, so when I do make a pot roast, I don't have to use the slow cooker any more. But yes, I will post about how the ziti came out!
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Post by ghislaine on Feb 12, 2016 0:42:23 GMT
We had leftovers last night for dinner. Both reheated items had originally been made in the Instant Pot. 1. Dijon Pork Stew thepressureison.livejournal.com/1246.html Reheated on the stove top as it was kinda soupy. 2. Dad Cooks Dinner Macaroni and Cheese which I reheated in the Instant Pot on the trivet with a cup of water underneath using 3 minutes of steam plus natural pressure release because my husband took forever to finish working! I love how well pasta reheats in this thing. It would replace my microwave if the microwave weren't on over the stovetop vent model that came with the house! Both meals were ones I modified to use ingredients I had on hand or wanted to use up. When you say 3 minutes of steam...how long total for reheating the mac and cheese? I'm finding between the heat up/pressure time, and the cool off, things take a bit longer than I originally thought they would? Plus, the clean up isn't all that easy, either. You have to clean the pot, pull out the ring, wipe down the entire unit and then let it sit out to dry. And clean the pot you cooked it in. Vs..put the mac and cheese on a plate and microwave on low. Is the taste that much different that its worth that effort? Reheating the macaroni and cheese in the Instant Pot might take 10-15 minutes including time to get up to pressure and a quick release. Since I used the glass container I was storing the mac&cheese on the trivet in the IP, there really wasn't a mess in the IP to clean up. I was only basically boiling water in it, no food touched the liner. I find cheese sauces to break in the microwave which results in an oiliness I don't like. I generally prefer to avoid the microwave anyway and I use the time to prepare fresh veggies. Fair warning about quick release when cooking pasta: sometimes the starchy water that remains has bubbled up, kinda like can happen on the stovetop. It can spurt out through the release valve. I have only had it happen once. I just used the handle of a wooden spoon to close the valve and wait another minute before trying again. One way to avoid the problem is to add a teaspoon of oil to your cooking liquid.
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Post by elaine on Feb 12, 2016 0:50:26 GMT
We just finished having Beef Stroganoff from Pressure Cooking Today for dinner. It was SO good! No leftovers and DH said several times how much he liked it. I served it over egg noodles and with roasted cabbage as the side. It wasn't a set-it-and-forget-it meal, but wasn't difficult either, and was better than any slow cooker stroganoff I've ever made.
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Post by elaine on Feb 13, 2016 3:20:05 GMT
Today my Instant Pot got a workout.
As soon as the kids got off to school, I poured a half-gallon of grass-fed 2% milk into the pot and started the boil cycle for yogurt. By 9:00 I had cooled it back down and stirred in the starter and set it on the yogurt cycle. At 5:00 I dumped the warm yogurt into my strainer to make it Greek yogurt, rinsed my pot, and started a batch of basmati rice to go with the General Tso's chicken we were having for dinner. My rice was ready in 20 minutes, including warm up and 10 minutes of natural release pressure.
We got back from our evening out and the yogurt had strained and was ready for the fridge - perfect!
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 15, 2016 1:09:13 GMT
I am not sure if anyone responded to this. Does anyone have tips on making this in the pressure cooker as opposed to the rice cooker?
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Post by elaine on Feb 15, 2016 1:32:47 GMT
I am not sure if anyone responded to this. Does anyone have tips on making this in the pressure cooker as opposed to the rice cooker? I would cut the water to 2 cups - cutting liquid by 25%. And total cooking time would be high pressure at 20 minutes - the time to cook dry lentils.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 15, 2016 1:37:44 GMT
I am not sure if anyone responded to this. Does anyone have tips on making this in the pressure cooker as opposed to the rice cooker? I would cut the water to 2 cups - cutting liquid by 25%. And total cooking time would be high pressure at 20 minutes - the time to cook dry lentils. Thanks!
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Post by caspad on Feb 15, 2016 16:42:38 GMT
I used my InstaPot for the first time last night! I was getting overwhelmed with all the recipes on the FB page and all the conflicting advice so I just decided to do my own thing. I put in frozen chicken tenderloin strips, carrots thinly sliced round and a bit of onion. I seasoned and used a bit of bottled teriyaki sauce over it and then about 1/2 cup of water. I cooked on Manual for 15 minutes. It took about 40 minutes total, from heat up to cook to natural release. The chicken was cooked and the carrots were over cooked and I put in wayyy too much water. So, it was edible but that's about it. My kid didn't like it at all. The carrot flavor seemed to absorb too much in the chicken so that was almost all you tasted. I found that odd, but I guess its the steam action going? I'm thinking its probably best just to cook the chicken w/out any vegetables. And use a lot less water next time. I think I'll try it again tonight with just a little garlic marinade and see what happens. You might want to cook the chicken and then add in the carrots later in the cooking process. Maybe cut them a little chunkier too. You probably didn't need water if you had barbeque sauce. Something similar to this approach to a beef roast with carrots and potatoes: www.hippressurecooking.com/video-pressure-cooker-pot-roast-with-carrots-potatoes/ (sorry there is no recipe, just a lady in a video)
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 15, 2016 17:03:29 GMT
I would cut the water to 2 cups - cutting liquid by 25%. And total cooking time would be high pressure at 20 minutes - the time to cook dry lentils. Thanks! I just made this. The flavor is good but it is runnier than I thought it would be. I hope it is good in a salad. Might try a different recipe next time, or a little less water.
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