I come from a line of “hill folk” who believed in living off the land and preserving your own food, and eating at home!

My family comes from the southern Appalachian region, also known to us as the “hollers” of southwestern virginia and parts of west virginia. Believe you me, the lines are so finally drawn and in and out it gets pretty confusing! I know that when I first tried to explain to David where I was from he kept asking me what “town” it was and I kept trying to tell him the closest “town” was at least 20 min away, and more than likely 45!

I have a deep pride of where I am from , and the things that people in my family have had to do to sustain themselves over the years especially when it came to feeding the family! We are picklers, canners, gardners, hunters,etc. If you didn’t have it at home there was a good chance you weren’t going to be running out and getting it when winter had set in, or even in general!

Pressure Cooking, Is pretty popular in my family as well! Even though it scares me!

Another thing that has always been popular in my family is Pressure Cooking, which I always have enjoyed eating when something was prepared this way, but I won’t lie to you- it scares the crap out of me! No matter how many times I have watched my mom, grandma or great grandma use one it just wasn’t something that I felt comfortable with! I have even had my mom come over to my house and make stuff in one before, and she actually has it over in the bottom of my cabinet!

It was several years back when I learned there was such a thing as a electric pressure cooker and I thought WOW that would be awesome, especially watching demos of them on t.v. but my mom quickly knocked them and told me that they weren’t that great, especially being a loyal person when it comes to the old fashioned ones! I had never really forgot that they existed but I just chalked it up that my mom would more than likely be right!

Say Hello To Instant Pot!

Then several weeks ago out of the random blue, I had something pop up on my radar- I still am not sure exactly the particulars-  I think I was just browsing around for recipe ideas when I found something that well.. I had no clue existed, and didn’t know how awesome that it would turn out to be- and of course I sent out an email and crossed my fingers they would let me review one- and they did! What is this item? It is called an Instant Pot! It is not only an electric pressure cooker, but it is a 7 in 1 cooker!

Something I always wished I could get “into” was cooking. Sure I can make edible food and we are all alive still after all these years to tell the tale but- it still hasn’t been something that I was excited about- it felt like a chore and that we have ate the same things so many times who even cares to eat them again!  Oh- and in the summer time I absolutely hate it even worse because of having to heat up a stove in an already hot house- ICK!

Models of Instant Pots

There are 3 current models of instant pot and they are the lux the duo and the bluetooth model. I have the duo 60 one, so you should keep that in mind when it comes to some of the features that I mention!

Basically the Lux is a 6 in 1 that doesn’t have the yogurt feature or the adjustable pressure feature,doesn’t have lid “fins” (where you can rest your lid) and there are a few other differences between them!  The bluetooth model- has the same features of the DUO but can be taken way beyond!

For more information on a comparison especially for the Lux and the Duo you can check out the Instant Pot  Models Page and find out which one may be right for you. Personally I think the bluetooth one would be way too much even for a techy gal such as myself, and I think that the lux I would miss my lid fins and the capability to make yogurt if I wanted,so I am pretty content with my DUO. I have to admit though I am intrigued by the bluetooth one 🙂

Also, a lot of people name their pots and I named mine Thor 🙂 I also happened to have the cute thor like hat to put on it as well 🙂 and he ended up getting his very own spot right there on the counter because I ended up giving up my deep fryer for him as well !(even though you should NEVER TRY PRESSURE FRYING IN YOUR INSTANT POT) I Just never used ours anyways, and Thor is tons more fun and healthy!

The Electric Pressure Cooker Part of the Instant Pot (With 10 Safety Features)!

The instantpot of course has a electric pressure cooker function – which is what I have had the most experience with SO FAR. Now I am sure you have saw the old fashioned sometimes huge, and very scary looking conventional pressure cookers. I am talking with instructions that include after the jiggle and then you have this big hissing pot of steam sitting on your stove and all that kind of thing? The instant pot essentially takes all that away!  No more instructions to “be careful, still or quiet”when you are walking anywhere in the vicinity of the stove!  Oh and that noise like a very loud hissing snake? GONE!

(This is one of my moms scary old fashioned pressure cookers – the one she has at my house! She has ones WAY bigger than this one though!)

Also the Scare factor? Is way lower now, because there are TEN safety features which greatly cut down your risk (a lot of accidents with the old fashioned kind had to do with user error)

Each of these 10 safety features helps prevent something from going crazy and causing chaos!  To find out more about these you can check out the Instant Pot Safety Features page! I know that these have made me feel way more comfortable with using it!

The Other 6 Features of Instant Pot

There are 6 other features that are in the DUO version of the instant pot including the ever popular yogurt maker which I haven’t tried just yet!  My most common used one other than the electric pressure cooker option is the option is the saute’ feature because I have gotten into the habit of searing the meat that I make to help with locking in juices, but it isn’t something you have to do , and you can use frozen meats if you desire! It will not affect your cook time,just the time that it takes to come to pressure!

In addition to these features you also have the option to use it as a slow cooker, a rice maker and a steamer as well!

Ease of Use(Hint, It is so simple I Can do it!) Accessories, and Pre Set Buttons!

Many people are intimidated when they first get their pot!  I know that I was! The first thing that you should do is the water test , which is detailed in your manual that you get with the instant pot! Basically this helps test everything out and make sure that nothing is wrong with your pot, as well as gets you a bit familiar with the different buttons and all that good stuff. Once you have made steam, you will likely have the confidence to continue on!

Someone asked how hard it is to use and I said it was as simple as falling off of a log- meaning pretty simple. Basically you just take your ingredients and put them in the pot, push a few buttons, set your valve and bam you are on your way!  I am making things in as little as about 10 minutes..and the longest I think it has taken was an hour!

You can pretty well find a pre-set button to carry you through anything you want to make, but if you feel the need for time adjustments you have the option as well!  you can find out more information about the instant pot pre-set buttons /cooking programs to find out more

There is a wealth of knowledge that comes with your instant pot including a user manual, a recipe book, an REALLY handy dandy flow chart and a soup spoon, rice cup and a rice spoon. You also get a trivette which is something that I use when making hard boiled eggs and even meatloaf!

Things I have made

I have made MANY things since I got my instant pot including pot roast, hard boiled eggs (easy peel and doesn’t stink up the kitchen! and David has learned to do them himself!) chicken chilli, beef bbq, tips with rice and gravy, beef broccoli, chicken and wild rice soup, beef stew,meatloaf , beef barley soup and more! The longest thing it has taken me to make was the BBQ at an hour but- it was a huge london broil and i wanted it to be tender.

Find out More Information, I’ll be bringing you more in the future too!

There is an AMAZING facebook community for InstantPot that you should join if you are even considering getting one because you can learn a ton of things by just reading through. Honestly it is a very active group and has well taken over my feed but I love sharing there and interacting and asking questions and answering them when I can! Check out The Intantpot Facebook Community for a wealth of resources, recipes and more! You can also find lots of helpful information on their website as well : Instantpot official website ! I want to say there are lots of books out there and other sites where people have converted recipes and what not but BE CAREFUL .. some of them are so poorly done they literally say SUBMERGE POT INTO COOL water to release pressure which is dangerous even on the old timey ones!  You should always use the quick release valve or wait for the pressure to come off NATURALLY!

I do hope to bring you more detailed specs and info on the instant pot in the feature and break down some terms and provide further information related to pressure cooking and the rest of all things associated with the instant pot! I Tried to hit highlights for space sakes and only go into depth where I thought it would be the most appropriate at this time. Believe me I only hit a fraction of a huge iceberg! I Would also like to bring you some of the recipes that I have adapted and all of that good stuff. If you ever have questions comments thoughts etc about the instant pot please feel free to leave them on this post or get in touch with me on social media! I would be glad to converse with you further!

Want your Own? Well, You can WIN ONE or BUY ONE at a discount!

If you would like to buy your own Instant Pot Via their site (and not amazon or walmart site to store which are also AWESOME OPTIONS! ) you can always enter the code “Autumn” and it will save you $50 and  I will make a little bit off of it!  You can do that by checking out the instant pot store.. However, one lucky Autumn-Rain Reader will win their VERY OWN INSTANT POT DUO 60 JUST LIKE MINE!

WINNER ANNOUNCED & NOTIFIED! CONGRATULATIONS TO JEAN!!