I've finally ordered an instant pot!

[Carrotcakeforbreakfast]

They're currently £69.99 for Amazon prime day if anyone is interested!

So... now I've ordered it I am thinking did I really need to? Is it really that good?

Please convince me I have done the right thing with tales of how it has changed your life and your favourite recipes?

Here is to hoping I finally become a domestic goddess.

It's wonderful. Boringly I make porridge in mine every day which is useful but not earth shattering. I also make Risotto which is fantastic, excellent curries and really nice yoghurt too (buy a couple of spare silicone rings too though to stop you getting curry flavour yoghurt!)

It’s amazing. Particularly the ability to safely cook things from frozen and it makes a marvellous curry.

Mmmm curry favoured yoghurt ha.
I've just ordered some of the extra bits to avoid that.

I think I'm most excited about the fact that I can cook from frozen as i am so unorganised and always forget to take stuff out of the freezer.

Forgive me if I am being dim but is there a way i can cook veggies at the same time?

I can see there are steamer baskets but obviously they need different cooking times. Can you stop the instant pot and add vegetables etc?

I have never really tried to do veggies at the same time. I have cooked potatoes above mince to do cottage pie. I think some people do stop them and add veg but it would seem to much of a faff to me.

Mine is due today. Hoping it arrives in time to do risotto for tea x

Mine is out for today too. I have bought a chicken in readiness. Starting basic Haha.

Congratulations on the Instant Pot. They are fantastic!

If you have Facebook, then joining the Instant Pot community groups are a must. Lots of recipes and friendly hints and tips! There is an American group and a UK group.

Amy & Jacky are a pair of Instant Pot bloggers who have lots of fantastic recipes. They go through the basics and have lots of lovely Chinese recipes. They also have a cheesecake recipe!

Often I just search the dish I fancy alongside the words Instant Pot and find all manner of recipes and blogs.

You can cook from frozen, which is really handy! I've cooked a whole chicken from frozen which took an hour and a half, leaving me with a lovely tender chicken and lots of stock!

Rice dishes work extremely well: risotto, burrito filling, pilaf

Stews, soups and curries are also fab and steaming veggies. Corn on the cob takes two minutes.

You can make mash potato in the pot with no need to drain: just pressure cook diced potatoes in water or stock, then mash with seasonings, milk, butter.

To cook multiple foods at once, we invested in one of these tiffin style steamer baskets:
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JB82CT7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tXxmDbRN3JPPX

Often I use just one of the inserts and the lid to make plain rice. White rice take four minutes and if you use boiling water from the kettle, it comes to pressure very quickly! I also use the inserts to steam gyoza!

The recipe book that comes with the Instant Pot is super handy for the list of recommended times for meats, pulses, grains, veggies etc.

If the pot is already hot (because you've sautéed or used boiling water / stock) it will come to pressure faster. Always bear in mind the time coming to pressure, which is not part of the cooking time. So a risotto will take 7 minutes but it will still take time to come to pressure. However it beats spending 40 minutes stirring a pan over the hob! It helps massively with time management!

I'm trying my first Instant Pot cheesecake at the weekend, and the Instant Pot community is crazy about making yoghurt, but I haven't got there yet.

It's trial and error at first but once you get used to the pot, you'll adapt recipes and release the pressure (a bit of a novelty) without a second thought!

Apologies for the lack of paragraphs. They were there when I wrote the post!

Mine just arrived yesterday, thanks for all the tips!

Boiled some eggs today and they were perfect.

Have done some soup. It's very tasty and only took 10 minutes and 15 minutes natural release.

There's an app too with recipes

I also caved on Prime day. Haven’t tried it yet but excited about cheesecake and maybe yoghurt. I’m also terrible at cooking rice on the stove so hopeful the IP will be a saviour for that!

Thanks for the replies.

So far I have made a gammon joint and porridge

Gammon good
I burned the porridge but I had forgot to set it to sealing so it was a silly mistake.

I currently have potatoes in there for mash and after they're done I am doing a pot roast.
I love it so far.

@Carrotcakeforbreakfast how did you do your gammon. It's my plan for tomorrow x

Groovee I literally just popped it in with maybe a cup of water for 40 mins.
It was good if a little unadventerous haha.

I did pre soak it to remove some of the salt.

The mash I just made is incredible though.
I used 2kg of Maris piper. Chopped into rounds.
Added 2 measuring cups of boiled water ( probably could have done with less but was okay) set to 10 minutes

It took about 5 to come up to pressure but they are they nicest mash I have ever made. Cooked to perfection and so easy to mash and no watching the pan.
I've transferred them to an oven dish now and the pot roast has gone in.

I bought mine last year but have rarely used it. I need to get some inspiration again as the only thing I tend to do is a whole chicken! Great in the summer as keeps the kitchen cooler and the meat falls off the bone.

I find the Facebook group ok but I hate the, make sure you love your pot, comments whenever anything doesn't work

Ok, I love it!
Made cheesecake yesterday (about to try it as recipe said best refrigerated 12-24hrs) and chicken stock with veg scraps and a few chicken wings, came out great.
Today I made a duck ragu for pasta that normally takes 2-3hrs on stove/oven - probably less than an hour with IP. I was worried about it being watery but the sauté function is more powerful than I expected and reduced it down in about 5 mins. Meat was super tender - I usually roast the legs but they can be tough in the oven.

Another plus for the Instant Pot in this hot weather is that you can cook a full meal without putting on the oven or having the gas rings blazing. The roasting dish, useful though it is, will have have to stay in the cupboard until the temperature drops.

I bought one too. I made my first ever chicken and mushroom risotto with wilted spinach yesterday - 3 minutes!

Did a gammon today yum yum

This is gorgeous. Use extra jam.

www.everynookandcranny.net/instant-pot-bakewell-cheesecake/

This website has some other nice recipes.

If you haven't used it, the 'copy me that' app for saving recipes is really good. Think someone on the Facebook page recommended it.

I use my instant pot a lot. It’s not just that it saves time, I find it so much easier and cleaner than using the hob or oven.

My regular recipes are whole chicken (instead of roast chicken), then stock with the liquid which makes amazing chicken soup. Risotto, any kind of soup, lamb curry, Greek style yoghurt. The sauté function is excellent.

I really want to master porridge and cheesecake so any recipe tips for those would be appreciated!

Ive done a whole chicken, and chicken and rice so far. I love it!

I got mine this week!

Should I buy a steamer? And if so which one does everyone have?