Joey and I received a lot of great feedback/comments after our recent Instant Pot blog. Here's what you had to say......
- Is an Instant Pot practical for just one person? Even the small one?
-I use mine for just one person, particularly for making a bunch of lunches at once, or cooking up big pots of rice or chicken to have on hand. If you’re a person who likes to cook one meal at a time, at each meal, I’m not sure it would be as practical.
-I am just one person, and I have the six quart (plus an embarrassing number of accessories). It makes it possible for me to prep all of my food for the week in 4 hours or so, plus do things like ferment injera batter (or beer for home brewing), proof bread or pizza dough, make perfect hard boiled eggs, steam just about anything, etc. Imo, the 3 quart is restrictively small unless youre only cooking enough for 1-2 meals at a time. The 6 quart is the same size as your average crock pot, but way more versatile. - Just recently bought an Instant Pot. Not totally on board with it yet. I think I need to buy one of the IP cookbooks. Example, I placed one large potato in there, set timer for 22 mins. The potato was still firm in a few areas and I had to stick it in the microwave. Took half-hour before I was able to have a cooked potato.
-Yeah google or get a cook book as I can make like a full pot of potatoes for 16-17 min. - I bought the 8 qt even though it's just two of us. Ideal for planned leftovers and we go through a lot of food. It took getting used to but it's definitely been helpful!
- Love mine!! Use it at least twice a week! Meats, beans, hard boiled eggs, pasta, potatoes, yogurt! It’s the best! I recommend this website for recipes: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/
- It took some getting used to, but I love mine! I like it for batch cooking and have recently been using it for homemade broth. (it's not as rich as a broth that's been on the stovetop for hours, but it's still good!) The biggest advantage for me, is that you can set it and walk away (similar to a slow-cooker, but "faster") You do have to be there to hit cancel and release the steam, if needed, but other than that - fairly simplistic. I have the 6 quart with the wifi capabilities, but have pretty much used the "pressure cook/manual" button the majority of the time. So many bells and whistles, but so many recipes call for the manual button and adjust the time frame.
- We have 2 and use them several times a week. I do everything from grains, hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes, stews, pulled meats, roasts etc in them. I like the ease of use but I still use a traditional slow cooker because the slow cook setting on the IP doesn’t get hot enough.
- I have the small and the large one. I love them. Use them both 3-4 times weekly.
If you are in need of a new Instant Pot recipe, here you go. Enjoy!
Instant Pot Cream Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup
By Joey Mock, RD, LD, CLT
While the weather is still chilly, break out your Instant Pot for this amazingly delicious and hearty Creamy Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup. Use only straight up wild rice in this recipe (no wild rice blends, brown or white rice, or other rice substitutions) to avoid a potential mushy recipe disaster. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the Instant Pot:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 5 medium carrots, sliced/chopped
- 5 stalks celery, sliced/chopped
- ½ of a medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice (only use straight up wild rice—no blends)
- 8 ounces fresh baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth/stock
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (see recipe below*)
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about ½ to ¾ lb-no need to cut up)
*For the DIY chicken seasoning:
4 teaspoons ground sage
3 teaspoons ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground marjoram
2 teaspoon ground rosemary (Optional)
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
-Combine all ingredients and store in a tightly sealed container.
-Leftovers can be used in a variety of chicken or turkey dishes.
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup flour
- 1 ½ cups milk (I used 1%)
Preparation
Instant Pot:
- Put the olive oil, carrots, celery, and onion in pot and saute until veggies start to soften.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add remaining ingredients in the first list into the Instant Pot and seal.
- Cook for 30 minutes (manual pressure cook, high pressure—takes pot about 15 minutes to come up to pressure before cooking time begins).
- Release steam using the valve on top (quick release).
- Remove the bay leaf and discard.
- Remove the chicken breasts and shred.
- Return shredded chicken to the pot.
- When the soup is nearly done, melt the butter in a saucepan.
- Whisk in the flour.
- Let the mixture cook for a minute and then whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until you have a smooth, thickened sauce.
Serve and enjoy!
Adapted from: Pinch of Yum recipe and Spend With Pennies recipe.