Instapot question

[mommyatty]

DH has kind sorta started making dinners. Mainly this means I leave detailed instructions and he follows them. When I can, for things like crockpot meals, I just handle it. I’m wondering if I could pre-make things that he would just have to plop into an instapot and then hit the right buttons. It takes me about 45 min to get home, so if he started most things when I left Work, they would be ready when I got home? I think?

Anyway ttm about this magic machine.

[2chatter]

There is a crock pot now that is also an instapot. That has me almost on board and that’s all I can contribute...

[traveltheworld]

I'm pretty sure I'm the minority here, but I find that using the Instant Pot doesn't actually save you that much time. You still have to do all the prep work, and the recipes you find where it says it "press high for 5 minutes" is deceiving because while the actual cooking time may be 5 minutes, that 5 minutes only start after the pot has reached pressure - which could take up to 20 minutes. I suppose if you are doing a roast or a whole chicken, it'll save you time. But if you are making normal stuff like pasta, soups, stews - I don't find it that much more efficient. The real advantage is that it is truly a "set it and forget it" type thing. For me, I still end up doing all the prep work AFTER I get home. The difference is that while it's cooking, I can play with the kids without having to pay much attention. But if I'm in a hurry, I generally find using the stove top faster.

[traveltheworld]

Oh sorry, I didn't really answer your question - I think for some recipes, you can do all the prep work ahead of time and just ask your DH to hit the button. But it wouldn't be that different in terms of amount of work for YOU than if you were to prepare something to be baked in the oven or crock pot. I suppose it does give you more recipe options, and they always go on sale on Prime Days, so if you can get it on sale, then I think it can't hurt.

[peachy]

Nov 14, 2017 17:40:44 GMT -5 mommyatty said:

DH has kind sorta started making dinners. Mainly this means I leave detailed instructions and he follows them. When I can, for things like crockpot meals, I just handle it. I’m wondering if I could pre-make things that he would just have to plop into an instapot and then hit the right buttons. It takes me about 45 min to get home, so if he started most things when I left Work, they would be ready when I got home? I think?

Anyway ttm about this magic machine.

Sure.  That would work well for stuff like stews/pot roasts...stuff like chicken breast he could just throw in with salsa for tacos.  

[mommyatty]

traveltheworld, you just confirmed my worst fears. Thank you. That’s really what I needed to know.

[sudokufan]

I've mostly found the InstantPot useful for cooking meat to a "pull apart" state quickly. That said, my H has become a pro at making taco meat and bbq pulled meat. He did a chunk of pork loin in the instantpot last night - he adds lime juice, tequila, onions, cumin, chilis, etc. I picked up tortillas, lettuce, tomato and cheese on the way home, and presto, dinner.

If I were prepping it for him, I'd just mix up the liquids, veg and aromatics in a container and have him pour it over the meat and start the pot.

I know my pot can be used as a crockpot too, but we're not really crockpot people.

[jlaok]

I fee like there's a huge learning curve for the Instant Pot (at least I'm still trying to figure it out) but if your husband is a good enough cook than it might be a good option. Like traveltheworld said it's not always a huge time saver because it takes ~10 minutes for the pot to pressurize before the "cooking" time starts. I do like it because we can have a full dinner and only dirty one pot. There is a group on Facebook called Instant Pot Community that has a bunch of recipe ideas and a few blogs (Once a Month Meals is one I can think of off hand) that has frozen instant pot recipes.

I've had mine four about 6 months and I don't absolutely love it but I do really like it.

[mustardseed2007]

I have an instant pot that I've used about 2 times because of the learning curve jlaok, talked about.

[kimberlybb]

I agree with traveltheworld . I thought it would be a huge time saver and it isn't because of the time it takes to pressurize. I do love making roasts and mashed potatoes in it though so I don't regret buying one.

[sweetptater]

I absolutely love mine. I've already used it 3 times this week.

It's a huge time saver for me, since I never remember to set out meat to thaw. I also like that, even though it will takes time to pressurize before cooking, I'm not standing over the stove stirring it. I'm off doing laundry or cleaning the house.

[sunbutter]

Can’t help with the instapot....
But this week, I discovered root beer slow cooker pulled pork. If my DH can do it, so can yours.
3-4lb bnls pork shoulder, about 3/4 can root beer, Little over a cup of your favorite BBQ sauce. Put in a slow cooker on low all day. Mine was about 10 hours.
I served on whole wheat buns with mixed veggies and the kids loved it.

[sandandsea]

So which one do you recommend? Amazon please. I want the instapot and crock pot combo option for a family of 4.