This may sound weird…but the “boiling” water in the microwave is weird. In the kettle, it is not. Plus, you can boil enough water in the kettle for a few people in less time than several mugs of water would take in the micro.
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At our house it’s just me that drinks tea, so no need for multiple cups, so would likely be energy inefficient. 2 mins in the microwave uses energy too of course.
I inherit my electric kettle from my daughter, I use it to branch my vegetables like asparagus, they don’t need to cook long, just enough and still have crunch.
My husband is the only tea drinker. He says micro heated water just doesn’t cut it.
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I haven’t really used a crockpot since I got my Instant Pot. It seems more efficient since I’m only cooking for 1 or 2 now. My crockpot was more essential when my 3 boys lived at home. My recent InstantPot frequent use is making applesauce. I still have a stovetop kettle, with a broken whistle even! Putting electric kettle on my Christmas list (should be easy for one of my sons to buy for me). Also put Dash air fryer on my list after a previous thread. I want to try out an air fryer but don’t want to start with a larger or more complicated one.
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We have several friends from Ireland who are horrified that Americans boil tea water in the microwave. We have a kettle because I have a couple of big tea drinkers, and my stove kettles used to get so grimy.
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If you get an electric kettle, I would suggest the glass ones…not the solid plastic.
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Not a great cook like y’all. But DH loves his espresso machine, and uses it 5x a week. It would be daily except he is still addicted to coffeeshop runs as a treat.
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My immersion blender gets used a lot in the summer, I love going to father farmers market and then making gazpacho.
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None of us like gazpacho at all, but for someone who does, I can see how this would be a year round appliance. 
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For me, Instapot was a welcome replacement for crockpots because I just couldn’t leave a plugged in appliance on while I was not at home or while we were sleeping (I know they are safe but my rule is that anything with a heating element gets turned off if we are not monitoring it). So I could only use my crockpot on weekends when we were in the house. With Instapot, the food is ready in 20-30 minutes while I’m doing something else (and keeping an eye on the thing).
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I have them already, I wouldn’t buy a new one today, but I rather not throw them away and buy something else.
I have the instapot I got for Christmas still in the box. Maybe I need to get the cookbook for it that was suggested above. I have never been a big crockpot user. When I make soups or chilis or braised meats I always use my Le Creuset dutch ovens. @BunsenBurner - you said you use the instapot for ribs. How is it better than just boiling the ribs before H puts on the barbecue sauce and grills them? I don’t make many hardboiled eggs and can’t imagine making yogurt. The kids thought since I love to cook I would use the instapot and I feel bad that I haven’t. I’m open to all of your suggestions!
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@showmom858 there are a bunch of instant pot Facebook groups…plus didn’t we have a thread here for instant pot recipes? We do…but they are older…maybe we need a new thread for recipes.
In the comfort food thread, I posted an instant pot stuffed pepper soup that is easy peasy, quick, and delicious!
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When gardening season is over, maybe I’ll get bored and go back to the Instapot threads and have some fun. Although we rarely use it, it does stay out in a corner of the counter (alongside the 3-crocks/stacked crockpot). I keep it because it seems like it would be really helpful when/if we renovate the kitchen.
Takes only 20-25 minutes, no watching required, and can be done on the patio instead of hours on the stove making sure the pot does not boil over. This is a huge plus for me in the summer. Plus, much less icky water to discard afterwards (I even don’t add any water to the Instapot if I rinse the slabs before putting them in or add 1 cup or less just enough to generate steam pressure inside).
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Pretty much anything that requires simple prolonged boiling can be done in a pressure cooker in much less time.
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I had my old Mirro pressure cooker cookbook too…and was very excited to be able to use the instant pot.
On thing I really like…it’s usually one pot cooking. Sauté, then add things, then heat up, then pressurize. Not all steps with all recipes, but all are done in the same pot.
There are tons of “Dump and Run” instant pot recipes that are really good.
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Plus I think they are more tender and flavorful when done in the instant pot because you aren’t losing the juices to the water. Boiling just seems like more harsh?
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I just started a 2022 Instant Pot recipe thread…you know…to convert people.
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