8 Solutions to Mealtime Madness With An Instant Pot

Mealtime madness can be a common occurrence in most households.

Knowing what you are going to prepare, finding time to prepare it, making sure you have the ingredients to prepare what you want, and then trying to figure out if it’s healthy and even pleasing to the family?

That’s a lot.

Can I help? I can’t say we don’t have mealtime madness in our home. We do.  However, I have figured out how to cut it down dramatically with the use of the Instant Pot.   I want to share with you some things that I have learned to make meal time not such a drudgery!

My Favorite Black Friday Buy – (Cyber Monday Is also a great time to buy these!)

Three years ago I started hearing more and more about a new kitchen appliance called the Instant Pot. I shrugged it off as another fad. I didn’t need one more thing on my limited counter tops, or did I?

I started hearing things like, “Cook a frozen roast from start to finish in less than 2 hours.”   I decided this was something I needed to know more about. I didn’t need a homemade yogurt maker – but to take frozen meat and cook it to perfection in a fraction of the time it typically would with traditional methods? I had to learn more.

I did my investigations. I read reviews. I studied, wondered, and discussed with others.

Then, I did it. I waited for the Black Friday special – and bought myself an Instant Pot!  Click here to check out this one similar to the one I bought.  

Here is a link to a higher end model that is on sale Cyber Monday – cheaper than this one I have. 

It has been The. Best. Thing. Ever!  

(I even set the lid on a hot burner and melted it a bit – but it still works, and I’m real carful about that now!)

I have met people that have one, but are afraid of using it. If that is you, I hope to help you get more comfortable with it.

If you are already a subscriber – you have access to the FREE E-Book with 17 Meals that even a non cook can whip up in a flash!

Click here to gain access today!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet…you might consider it when I share with you some of the things I love about it, and how it has helped me get delicious, nutritious meals with very little work from me!

 8 solutions to the meal-time madness with the Instant Pot :

1. Frozen! If you forget to take meat out of the freezer and it’s late in the day – it’s ok! You can throw frozen meat into the Instant Pot. Now – before we get too far, let me clarify something. Just because it uses the word “Instant”, does not always mean “instant”. It does mean much, much faster than the traditional method, and much more convenient! Putting frozen meat in a crockpot is not safe…but it is in the IP!
2. One pot!  You can sauté, cook, and boil in the pot. Most of my meals only involve this one pot = easy clean up!
3. No babysitting necessary!  You can put food in and leave it- once it’s done for the set time it will stop cooking and then switch to warm mode. I can take 5 minutes to throw something in the pot – run to a game or event, come home to have supper ready! 
4. Fast! Yes, ok – obviously with the word like “Instant”, you have might already drawn that conclusion – but it truly is much faster than ovens and slow cookers.  Short on time, you can still do it!
5. No plan – it’s ok!   If you’ve come home and are tired and it’s late and you don’t know what you’re having yet, you can still get a meal in the pot in just a few minutes.  Sit back, relax and then come and eat!  Slow cookers mean you need to plan ahead and get it going in the morning – not so with the IP!
6. Dried beans cooked to perfection!  I’ve tried to cook beans on the stove top. It takes way too long, you have to babysit the pot, and it often leaves the beans too hard. You also need to remember to soak them prior to cooking or go through the quick soak method. Ugh. The Instant Pot makes it so easy, so good, and so fast.  Such a cheap addition or replacement to meat!
7. Multiple things can cook together!  Meat loaf,  mashed potatoes and even vegetables in one pot?  Yes!   In my recipe booklet, there is even a recipe for chili – everything from the dried beans to the frozen beef is dumped in and out comes delicious chili in a little more than an hour.
8. Easy to peel hard boiled eggs!  You can put a ton of eggs in the pot – I’ve done 18 at a time before.  Peeling eggs after the IP for some reason makes them super easy to peel!  It is so handy to have hard boiled eggs on hand for salads, quick snack or breakfasts.