By Nanci Dixon
In a recent poll, 37% of you responded that you have an Instant Pot® but don’t use it very often. Same with me! I love my Instant Pot but don’t use it nearly enough. I am not a great cook – heck, I’m not even a good cook – but almost everything I make in the Instant Pot comes out great. And it even saves on propane and keeps the RV cooler than cooking on the stove. I have read that some folks even plug it in while using the slow cooker setting when they are traveling to have a hot meal ready when they stop.
So why aren’t I using it more? Perhaps it is because it is squirreled away under the sink where it can ride safely and securely when we travel. I have to get down on hands and knees and move the wastebasket, the cleaning products, and lift without shifting the under-sink shelf mat. The other reason is that it requires planning. I have to plan the meal, make a grocery list, go shopping and find a recipe.
I am experimenting. I am going to leave the Instant Pot on the counter, find more recipes, sort them on my iPad or on Pinterest, maybe print a few out and see if I use my Instant Pot more so we can eat better and healthier.
Update: Since I have left the pot on the counter I have used it three times in a row! All soups, mainly because I have vegetables to use up. Also because soups are pretty much no-fail and I will have lots of leftovers. So far I’ve made French onion soup and zucchini soup, and today I’m making sweet potato coconut soup (so I could use up the cauliflower and sweet potatoes languishing in the veg bin). It’s amazing!
Sweet Potato Coconut Soup
1 large onion
3-4 cloves of garlic or 1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp oil (I use olive oil)
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in large cubes
Medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
3/4 cup carrot, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground ginger
Scant 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
6 cups chicken broth (canned, boxed or made with bullion – I like the jarred paste more than bullion)
1 13oz can of coconut milk, available in the Asian grocery section (not lite – there are times to save calories and this is not one of them)
1.) Set Instant Pot to Sauté.
2.) Add oil
3.) When oil is hot add onion and sauté until soft
4.) Add garlic and cook for a minute or two
5.) Turn Instant Pot off
6.) Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT coconut milk. Do not add coconut milk yet!
7.) Cover and set Instant Pot to 7 minutes
8.) Let naturally release pressure for 15 minutes then quick release
9.) Mix with hand blender until smooth
Add coconut milk and stir. Yum, Yum, Yum!
##RVT964
Please include one Instant Pot recipe each week! I just bought one and I do most of of my cooking in it. I have the mini because I’m only cooking for myself but I love it. I mostly cook little pork steaks (forget what they’re called) but there’s a cookbook out called “Healthy Instant Pot Mini” by Nili Barrett that has a bunch of recipes for one or 2 people. I’m going to get it with my next SS check!
I don’t own am IP yet but plan to when I retire and start traveling more. Two of my favorite sites for recipes are Karen with https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/20-instant-pot-casserole-recipes and Six Sisters at https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/food-type/instant-pot/
Why are you waiting until you retire? You can use it in your kitchen too.
During the pandemic I decided to see what I could do with a 3 qt IP. We have a truck camper so space is tight so I wanted to see if it would be worth it to find a place for when we hit the road. For over a month I made every dinner in the IP and so far no losers. Now I use my IP at least half the time at home and I love it. it will definitely make it into the camper.
A great site for recipes is rootitoot.com. Easy and delicious. Someone told me about this site when I first got my pot and it has really helped be become more comfortable with using it and making the most of it. I have since bought another pot and an air fryer.
Thanks for sharing that recipe, I make a similar soup, carrot ginger sweet potatoe soup it is delicious. We fulltime and have a 3 qt instant pot we use almost daily. You can even use to steam vegetables.
Love my instant pot. I also bought a Mealthy Air crisper lid that fits my 8 qt instant pot. Great for leftover French fries, roasting Brussels sprouts, mozzarella sticks, toasted sandwiches…etc. Plus, as said above, it doesn’t heat up the RV as much. IP is great for making boiled eggs, potatoes, and soups. I also like to cook a big thing of chicken (thighs or breast) and then shred/chop and store in freezer for quick meals later on.
Chile, Pasole, lots of different soups, pot roast, stews, Seafood Etoufee, red beans and rice, corned beef and cabbage………….. I could go on and on about what I make in our InstantPot in the RV. I have to say the one thing I most love to make in my InstantPot is ham and navy bean soup. It still amazes me that I can throw all of the ingredients into the pot at one time (dried navy beans) and a little over an hour later the soup is done, the beans are tender and no overnight soaking was required.
My old Crockpot had died so I bought an Insta-pot. I tried but just didn’t like it. I have a friend that uses it often in her RV…. but it just didn’t work for me. I traded my Insta-pot for another Crockpot. My favorite new device is a multi use oven that I use in my full time 5th wheel and I cart it along in our truck camper.
Air fryer/broiler/griller/bake/toast…etc oven. It doesn’t make soup but I use it every day.