Instant Pot Review

I have like 300 other things I really should be doing.  Brady is napping.  I have 40 unanswered e-mails, laundry in the washing machine, laundry to be put away, dishes in the dishwasher, oh and a paper to write....but I feel like it is very important that I write a review on the instant pot.  I have been so up in the air with this thing.  A.  I think it is extremely intimidating.  B.  I think the recipes are very misleading.  C.  Not all instant pots are the same, and there are SO many buttons and SO many settings.  Here are my thoughts:

Things I hate:

1. You can't see inside while it is cooking.  It is a pressure cooker....if it were glass it would explode.  I get that.  BUT I feel like if I could just peak in, I would be able to see if things were going okay in there.  
2. Things stick to the bottom.  Each time I have made rice or any recipes with noodles, they stick. I used olive oil spray to sort of help the problem, but I think the settings vary on each instant pot, so recipes are not perfect with timing, and sometimes it gets too hot.  
3. Weird smell- I have washed the thing 20 times....but there is a weird plastic-y smell that it puts off.  It hasn't really made a difference with the taste of the food EXCEPT for potatoes.  I think the potatoes really took on the plastic smell/taste.  
4. The recipes.  All of the recipes utilize the instant pot for all parts of the instructions.  Which is great if you don't have a stove or oven available.  But actually I think I have sped up the process by making sure to read the recipes before hand and determine what parts need the instant pot and what parts don't.  For example, the instant pot is actually the bomb at cooking potatoes.  I put in a pound to a pound and 1/2 and they are cooked to perfection in 10 minutes.  When I do potato soup, I don't need the instant pot to make the base- I can sauté on the stove.  That means I can literally do the entire soup in 11 minutes.  So that rocks.

Things I love:

1. The instant pot is the jam for soups.  I did a lentil soup from start to finish in 18 minutes.  I love using a crock pot for soups, but this takes some of the pre-planning out.  If you get home from work and want homemade soup, you can have it.  And quickly.  So that is awesome.
2. Potatoes.  I said it above, but 10 minutes for a pound to a pound and 1/2 of cooked potatoes!  
3. Rice.  I am still working on getting the timing just right, but my normal 35-40 minute stove top cooked brown rice takes 18 minutes in the instant pot.  

Overall, I think if you are on the fence, it is worth a try.  If I get used to using the crock pot setting, I might be able to ditch the crock pot and clear out some cabinet space.  It definitely takes some trial and error....so if that is not your thing, than I would stay away!

XoXo,

NaturallyNati
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