That’s a really easy chicken recipe. I’ll have to try it. So far I’ve just been perusing recipes, but haven’t cooked anything in the IP. I think we’re going to try mushroom risotto first, then work our way up to meat dishes.
@shellfell - the IP is great for risotto! If you want a truly low-cost, trial run, do some hard-boiled eggs!
I bought a 6qt Instant Pot at Costco for a mere $74 when in CT over Thanksgiving. My niece raves about it to me, so I took the plunge.
Yesterday afternoon I took it out of the box and used it for the first time. I cooked a Greekified “pot roast for pasta” recipe of my own that usually takes browning/sauteeing time/mess in a cast iron skillet, plus 4 hours or more in the slow cooker.
Firstly, it did an incredible job of browning the roast on high sautee. Instead of having to stand there hold the piece of meat at weird angles with tongs to get an all-over brown, I could just turn it to a new position and continue chopping the onions, carrots,celery, and garlic. So prep time was probably cut in half, and there were no oil splatters all over the place, yet it didn’t steam the meat at all. Then I took the meat out and sauteed the vegetables, which also went really will. I was able to throw in the cinnamon sticks and lemon rind at the same time. I added the tomatoes and beef stock and thyme, salt, and pepper, and didn’t have to deglaze the skillet, because the fond was right there in the pot. This did cause a bit of a problem later, because the pot briefly gave me the “burn” message. Next time I’ll be more diligent about scraping up the browned bits. Anyway, following the advice of a recipe I found online I cooked the meat for 1 hr 15min at high. It turned out perfectly. I was skeptical about how the sauce would turn out, but you would never know it wasn’t simmered for hours.
I am a convert!
^^ I love the sauté option!!
@Consolation, sounds delicious. Would you mind sharing?
Sure. This is based on the recipe for Pot Roast Pasta in The New Basics cookbook by the SIlver Palate duo, with my own additions. These quantities will work in the Instant Pot and not exceed the 2/3 volume for pressure cooking.
4 lb bottom round roast, exterior fat trimmed off, patted dry
3 medium yellow onions, diced
3 smallish carrots, peeled and diced
2 or 3 stalks of celery, trimmed and diced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
About 2 tsp of dried thyme
4 bay leaves
4 cinnamon sticks
Rind of 1 lemon, removed in strips with peeler
About 1/2 cup of red wine
About 1/2 cup of strong beef broth (you can use Better Than Bouillon or the like)
I large can of good tomatoes (I suggest RedPack), crushed or diced or whole crushed in your hand, plus one small can of diced tomatoes.
Tomato paste, small can. This is optional depending on how thick you want the sauce to be. I would definitely use at least half a can if you are not using crushed tomatoes in thick puree. I left it out this time, but could go either way.
Lots of freshly ground pepper, salt to taste. Normally about 1 1/2 tsp if you use something a like a bouillon base, which is salty. You can always correct it later.
Olive oil
Turn IP to high sautee, and when it is hot at a TBS or so of olive oil and brown the roast on all sides. Remove the meat , add all of the vegetables except the garlic, the bay leaves, and the cinnamon sticks. You may need to add more olive oil. Stir and keep an eye on it. (If you are nervous, turn the sautee heat down.) When the onion is wilted and translucent add the garlic and cook until things are getting slightly golden. Add the lemon rind and the thyme, grind in a lot of black pepper. Now add the wine and broth and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. (Something I failed to do thoroughly! 
) Add the tomatoes and salt, and the paste if you are using it. Stir and add the meat. Ii found that in the IP this much liquid almost completely covered the roast, which is great.
Put the lid on and pressure cook at high for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or maybe a bit more if you want the meat to be more falling apart. (I’m going to cook it a little longer next time.)
When it’s done, remove the meat to a cutting board and slice it roughly. It should be falling apart quite a bit, which is good. If by chance there are any obvious pieces of fat, remove them, but bottom round is a lean cut, especially when trimmed. Return the meat to the sauce. Done!
This is great on penne or ziti. If you want a low carb option, have it over grated zucchini sauteed in olive oil. (I salt the zucchini, let it drain excess liquid in a colander, then rinse, drain, and squeeze it before sauteeing.) You could also have it over broccoli rabe, or greens of your choice. Rice will work. You may or may not wish to sprinkle with grated cheese.
This freezes well in smaller portions, say for two, so it is a great make-ahead dinner option. Believe me, the cinnamon sticks and lemon rind make it wonderful. DO NOT substitute lemon juice and ground cinnamon.
Yum! I have a pot roast just waiting on this recipe. Thanks
Sounds good to DH and I. Thanks.
Hmm…my saffron chicken and rice didn’t turn out as well. Rice is overcooked, although it tastes good. I used the rice setting. Should one greatly decrease the fluid to rice ratio?
Yum. This will be on the Fang table some time this week.
Consolation, I generally decrease the liquid when I cook rice dishes. The reason is the liquid does not evaporate from IP like it would even from a stovetop pot with a closed lid. You will have to experiment with the amount decrease - it can be rice type-specific.
You also need to cut back the liquid, because the chicken will release some - more than in other cooking methods. I agree it will take some trial and error.
When I am trying something I look for similar recipes and modify accordingly. Is this close?https://www.loveandzest.com/instant-pot-chicken-yellow-rice/
Amazon has IP 3qt for 45 dollars.
Tried the mushroom risotto recipe that was linked a few pages back. It turned it very well. Now that I have that under my belt, I’ll try some of the other recipes in this thread.
When I make this in a Le Creuset pot, I start it on the stove and bake it in the oven. I use about 1 1/2 as much liquid as rice, and indeed the chicken juice makes up the difference. (I never use as much liquid as rice dishes call for, no matter what kind of rice.) My niece just gave me an I Pot cookbook for Christmas, and I see that the most similar recipe to mine uses rice:broth 1:1. I’ll try that next time, or maybe even very slightly less.
I just picked up a couple of Instant Pot Kindle edition cookbooks for free on Amazon.
Ohhhh @RandyErika thanks for the tip!
^^Can you share the titles on the free Insta Kindle books?
Go to the Kindle store and search on instant pot…a bunch come up, look for the ones priced at $0.00