We have joined the Instant Pot craze!

What is an Instant Pot?

In case you have been living under a rock for the past few months, the Instant Pot is a ‘revolutionary’ new kitchen device that has taken the US (and parts of the world) by storm.  I put revolutionary in quotes because it is basically an electric pressure cooker combined with a slow cooker.  These devices have been around for years.  That does minimize that fact that we love ours!

Wait how did you get one in Saudi Arabia?

You may have remembered seeing this picture from this post about moving to Saudi Arabia.  What you may not have noticed was the two 18 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck totes at the bottom of the cart.  This is a travel hack that I am very proud of (especially for anyone who will be moving abroad or coming back from the US after the summer!) These specific totes fit the guidelines of airline checked baggage dimensions, and they are much easier to use to transport bulkier items than normal luggage.  In order to secure them for transport, we drilled 6 holes through the lid and tote and then secured them with zip ties.  We also made sure to tape extra zip ties to the underside of the lid just in case TSA (or another country’s customs agents decided to search through them)

These totes made it easy to transport our absolute necessities and some of Simon’s most cherished possessions (basically toys and books). Our two major must-haves that we knew that we couldn’t live without (or knew would be hard to find) were our Instant Pot and Vitamix blender.

Our Instant Pot setup

Those that are astute observers may have noticed something a bit strange in our Instant Pot setup.  That box in the back is our voltage regulator.

Most of the time, when traveling, you will carry with you adapters for your electronic devices.  Here is a link to an example of what we brought.  Anyone who has had their hair dryer or hair curler blow up on them while traveling has learned the valuable lesson about converting voltage.  Also since, the Vitamix cost over $300, we really didn’t want to make a $300 mistake!

As you can see by this Wikipedia article, the US is one of only a handful of countries to use 110V (Saudi Arabia uses 220V).  In order to use our Instant Pot and Vitamix, we would have to ‘step-down’ the voltage so it wouldn’t blow up.  If you are living abroad and wanting to do this, make sure that you also check the wattage as well.  Because of the motors for the Vitamix and Instant Pot, we settled on a 2000W regulator, see a similar one here.

So what have you been making?

Well first of all, with this simple accessory you can turn your Instant Pot into a slow cooker.  Years ago when we got our first slow cooker, we also got the book Slow Cooker Revolution by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen. Some of those recipes have been a staple in our household for years.  We particularly like the Mole Chicken Chili and Chicken Curry.

An Instant Pot specific recipe that has become a favorite is the Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto found at Aileen Cooks.  I have used this recipe at a couple of get-togethers with people from work and they have complemented how good it is and how hard risotto is to make. “You have to stand around and stir”. With this recipe, you just throw the ingredients in, walk away, and about 10 minutes later you have perfect Risotto, every time!

Other recipes currently in the rotation include:

Instant Pot Butter Chicken at Two Sleevers

Panera’s Copycat Broccoli and Cheddar Soup at Adventures of a Nurse

Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew at Copy Kat Recipes

Cheesecake Recipe #17 at Amy+ Jacky

Instant Pot Steak Tidbits at Pressure Luck Cooking (we made this for Christmas Day!)

There is an almost too-involved Facebook group that shares different recipes daily.

So why are you sharing your strange fascination with the Instant Pot?

Americans are bad savers.  A recent report stated that only 39% of Americans have enough to cover a $1000 emergency.  On top of this the Bureau for Labor Statistics reported that the average household spent $3008 dining out in 2015.  Many dine out because of convenience or claiming that they are “too busy” to cook for themselves.  Over three thousand dollars eating out is money that is not being saved.  And usually the food that you get isn’t all that healthy either!

A University of Washington study found that cooking at home was cheaper and healthier. (kind of a no-brainer if you ask me)  We were able to save quite a bit because, at our best, we ate out once per month. (We are not doing as well in Saudi with room service available every day!) .

The Instant Pot takes away the excuse of not having enough time.  I can make risotto in 10 minutes!

Have you joined the Instant Pot craze?  What are your favorite recipes?