Instant Pot!

[GoingNuts]

Good to know Bensmom.  Maybe I'll try my Ropa Vieja in it this weekend.

[BensMom]

Made a whole chicken last night. I'll preface this by saying that we very rarely cook a whole chicken. DH makes one maybe once a year. I think it's hard to get it to be flavorful, so I don't typically love them. So this chicken turned out about as well flavor-wise as dh would make in the oven. I think I could get it to be better, because I forgot to rub stuff under the skin until after I put it on the pot, so I didn't really get under there well. I also seared the breast side on saute function, but I don't think that really did anything. The chicken was falling apart when I took it out. So I'd call it a success because it was good as far as whole chickens go, and it was faster. It was a 5.77 lb chicken and it fit in my 5qt pot. I'll probably use the rest of the meat to make chicken salad.

I also made another pot of steel cut oats. A 1:2.5 ratio of oats to water, cooked for 10 minutes worked great.

I'd like to try beans, but all my bean recipes have a bunch of other stuff, so I'm not sure how to do that. I'll have to look up IP bean recipes to figure it out.

[Stinky10]

I made Mexican chicken chowder

It was good I'll post recipe later

It's very flexible

Here is the link

https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/videos/healthy-mexican-chicken-chowder-instant-pot-recipe?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shp_20171201_video_healthyeating&utm_content=new_food

it was really good and I think healthy

I did all sweet potatoes - the red ones
and 4 large cloves of garlic

You could change the flavor profile very easily - I used a roasted tomatillo and mango salsa - It was the only tomatio one around - I was afraid it would be too sweet but it wasn't

even DS ate it

Oh I did chicken thighs - boneless

[Janelle205]

Bensmom, I don't have an instant pot, but cook a whole chicken at least once a month, usually in the crockpot.

The rub I use, which I also use for turkey/bone in turkey breasts:
2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper (or so, I just guess with fresh from the grinder)

I usually do a really big chicken so that I can use leftovers (7.5-8 pounds) so for a smaller chicken I would use less.  I rub inside and out, and a loosen the breast skin and put a little under that.  I put a whole or half onion in the cavity, depending on what will fit.  You can reduce the salt to a teaspoon if you want - there is some difference, but I am a pretty good taster.  It isn't too spicy for my kids, but I have reduced the cayenne a bit for other people.

I use this so much that I just buy bulk spices at the Amish grocery now and keep a big batch.

[BensMom]

Thanks. I did use a similar rub on the skin, and seared it (or tried to sear it), but then forgot to put more under the skin. I think I'm going to leave whole chickens to DH.

[BensMom]

I'm looking at pasta recipes now. I'll probably make some kind of basic pasta with jar sauce and either ground beef or sausage. I'm thinking if this works, the IP could be a big win on this rather than using a pot for meat and sauce and another for boiling water and cooking pasta.

[SilverLining]

You people talk about left over chicken like it's a normal thing.

I have yet to cook a chicken that doesn't get finished in one sitting. 

[Stinky10]

I don't like pasta in the pot

[BensMom]

I'm determined to like it .

[Stinky10]

I would divide the mins on the box of pasta by 2 and subtract 1

I like the infused flavor of the pasta, but overall it's overcooked and homogenous - not sure that's the right word

[BensMom]

I liked it and so did the family. I used more sauce than usual--a jar and a half based on a combination of recipes. Loved the cleanup. Just put a cover on the pot and put it in the fridge. No washing a big spaghetti pot and a sauce pot and a colander. And it was about 30 minutes from start to finish--cook the meat, then put the pasta, sauce, and water in and let it go. I set it for 6 minutes for penne (box said to cook 12-13 minutes) and it was good. On my gas stove, it takes forever to boil a big pot of water.

Usually, for just basic spaghetti with meat sauce, I serve the spaghetti and sauce separately. But it was fine all together. And I have some other recipes where it all gets mixed together anyway. Some with a cream sauce. I'd have to figure out if those would work and how to do it.

[becca]

If my kids would eat it all saucy like that, that would be a big win for my family.  That and the macaroni and cheese! 

[BensMom]

How do you make mac and cheese? Do you make the sauce, then add macaroni and water?

[hezzier]

The one we did for a swim meet this summer had you cook the pasta and then add the cheese to the pasta and stir as it melted.  We found the simplest/least number ingredients possible.  It was fine, but I'm not a mac and cheese eater.

[becca]

There are lots of recipes, but you basically do the pasta(about 1/2 the time on the box, and as Hezz, said, add the cheese and some milk after, and stir it in.  You can eat is creamy, right from the pot, or them, if you like, put it into a casserole and top with bread crumbs and butter and bake till the top is crunchy.  Most recipes say to use cram, or evaporated milk, but I have used the 1% or 2% milk i have on hand and it works.  It is lighter too.  I think I use less cheese than many recipes too.  Some are very decadent. 

I think I started with this basic recipe, but tweak it by using regular milk, and less cheese. 

https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-macaroni-and-cheese/