My New Love

 I have a confession to make. 

I am head over heels in love...

.........

With my new Instant Pot!

It's fantastic!

Cooking is not easy for me. 

I can't make casseroles without help because I can't lift containers out of the oven. 

It is tiring to use multiple pots and pans on the stove, dish everything up, and clean up the kitchen. 

With the Instant Pot, everything goes into one pot. You saute meat, then add vegetables, pasta, liquid, put the lid on, and the Instant Pot does all the work. 

I've only made a few recipes so far - American goulash, taco pasta, and tuna casserole. 

But I'm excited to find new recipes and try them. 

It's not a perfect system. I burned the tuna casserole. But I know what I did wrong. I didn't use enough liquid. I was able to salvage some of the casserole. In everything you try there will be successes and failures. Just keep going. 

I needed some technical support in the beginning. And it took me a few tries to be able to secure the lid before cooking and get it open after cooking without assistance. 

The independence that the Instant Pot is giving me is invaluable. To be able to cook an entire meal by myself is super exciting. 

While I'm not making the most nutritious recipes yet, I am eating healthier than the convenience / more processed foods that I was eating. No more Hormel meals. No instant mashed potatoes. No cups of instant mac and cheese. 

I've also made dried beans in the Instant Pot a few times. So easy! You don't even have to soak the beans, but I do because they are easier to digest. Soak the beans for at least eight hours. Then put them in the Instant Pot with a ratio of 1 cup of beans to 3 cups water or broth. Add seasonings / spices. Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. Do a natural release of 10 minutes. Done!

I really like comfort food - soups, stews, casseroles, chili, spaghetti, etc. The Instant Pot was made to cook comfort food. I also like to make big batches and freeze leftovers.  

I love you Instant Pot! Thank you so much to the dear friends who gave it to me. 

librarianintx