Instant Pot Virgin No More!

By : konarheim | 1 Comment | On : August 3, 2017 | Category : Blog

First food blog post – so unedited pictures and no rhyme or reason – just getting it done so I can set a baseline.

An old dog can learn new tricks. 🙂

I have been introduced to WildTree products by Tiffany Vorpagel. Tiffany can get you set up and help you with product choice if you are interested. I can say I have been impressed by the products – they are wonderful. The formats are set up for busy families to eat healthy at home. But while that may be the target audience, there are many advantages for others as well. I am finding as a busy retired professional – having healthy meals and options available are still a great asset.

My daughter Jenny and I went large scale and did 20 freezer meals each! We were able to put the workshop kits together and get them in the freezer in half a day and that included the grocery shopping. So one Saturday of 3-4 hours and we each have 20 meals ready to go and each will make a meal plus lunches or leftovers.

With the workshops you get labels for your bags – what’s inside and what you need to do to get it on the table – ALL DONE FOR YOU!

Many meals can be slow cooked – but others are just all set to saute or put together in a short time to get a meal on the table. I have never had a real slow cooker. A Nesco Roaster I have used for slow cooking. So on Amazon Prime day I purchased an Instant Pot.  – It’s 7 things in one, but mostly it is a pressure cooker. AWESOME! At least it sounded good.

I tried my Instant Pot and first Wildtree freezer meal together.

Hickory Adobo Chicken. The meal suggestion was to have roasted asparagus with it, but I had plenty of fresh beans from the CSA we joined and used those instead with the seasonings.

I just needed to remember to take the bag out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge. With the Instant Pot I do have the option of even putting it in frozen by just adjusting the time a little.

I just dumped the thawed bag of ingriedients into the Instant Pot. Added 1/2 cup cold water.

Set it for Poultry and 12 minutes on High Pressure. Fingers crossed – how could 3 large chicken breasts and veggies cook in 12 minutes?

What I didn’t realize is it is 12 minutes once the Instant Pot has gotten the pressure built. That took about an extra 10 minutes in this case. So going forward I will need to figure in some “pre” time. You can also cook the food and then it goes into keep warm mode and will hold the food without overcooking it for up to 10 hours – still can’t believe that – but will try it.

I couldn’t believe it. In a few minutes the aroma in the kitchen was fabulous. Those WildTree spices and blends were filling the house with wonderful scents. After 12 minutes of cooking the pot beeped.

In this case I could do a QR – Quick Release by turning the venting on. You have to stand back – it is like a tea kettle. It really spouts out a lot of steam. I am going to have to make sure it is not directly under a cabinet when I release.

Once it is fully released the little red button goes down and it is safe to open the cover. Again – opening the cover away from you to prevent getting steamed.

And look at this – 12 minutes and the food is cooked!

The beans were in the oven cooking with the WildTree European Dipping Oil – Garlic and the Ranchers Steak Rub. Ready to serve.

Together they were great! The chicken was so tender! I get my chicken breasts from Costco and lately they have been a little tough – but cooked this way they were just right.

The meal was a hit – and it was easy to get to the table. Now to decide which prepped meal is next!

UPDATE:

Leftover chicken breast sliced and added to a salad of spinach, lettuce, veggies, some cheese and then the cooked veggies and little of the juices. No added dressing. FABULOUS ENTREE SALAD!!

You could use the recipe to feed twice as many as a entree salad. YUMMO!