My first Instant Pot use: Sweet and Sour Chicken using Campbell's Cooking Sauce

[progree]

https://www.campbells.com/sauces/

https://www.campbells.com/products/sauces/sweet-sour-chicken-sauce/

Unfortunately, it doesn't show the back side with the recipe, but here is what was involved:

For the multicooker (Instant Pot) or slow cooker [1]
1 cup long grain white rice
1 1/4 skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs (I chose the thighs) [2]
1 cup onions [2]
1 cup green or red bell pepper [2]
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
The Campbell Sweet and Sour sauce

[1] There are also recipes for skillets and for ovens

[2] Cut in 1" pieces (for the slow cooker it says leave the chicken whole)

It took more time than I expected to gather all this and cut them into pieces. As for cooking in my Instant Pot, it took 18 minutes for preheating and a cook time of 6 minutes for a total of 24 minutes, at which I did a quick steam release per the instructions. And then it said let it sit for 7 minutes before serving. I left the lid on, was wondering if that was the right decision (was the purpose of the 7 minutes to let it cool down some, or an additional cooking time?).

Anyway, the result was OK plus. It was kind of like a very thick soup. It tasted good but not great [3]. Still, I was ready for a second helping but resisted because the first serving was large enough. I'm looking forward to consuming the leftovers.

I've been on a low-meat diet (what meat I do have is just turkey slices mostly), and, well, not many spices in my cooking, so this was a treat.

I've had the Instant Pot for about a month, and this is the first time I've actually used it.

I'm interested in trying some other Campbell sauce meals, but so far I haven't found a website page that shows the actual recipe (back side), and I can't just look at it in the store because I'm homebound with illness.

---------------------------------
[3] Kind of reminds me of a reporter who interviewed Mitt Romney. He mentioned that when he started in the Senate, Sen. Lisa Murkowski gifted him a lot of frozen salmon. Mitt said he didn't particularly like salmon but discovered that when smothered it with ketchup on a hamburger bun, it made for "an OK sandwich".

The reporter's reaction (paraphrasing from memory): here's someone worth over $100 million, and yet he can't afford to eat something he enjoys.

[fierywoman]

1. I didn't try out my instant pot for a month or two (maybe three!!!) either...

you can google; "recipes instant pot" and you'll get zillions. If you don't eat so much meat, do you eat beans? Instant pots are BRILLIANT for cooking beans. Oh and, you know you can throw frozen meat in the IP and cook it? If you want to save money (and avoid additives) try making your own sauces or spice mixes: very satisfying. (I even made mustard a few months ago: easy peasy!)

[progree]

2. Thanks for the tips. To be honest, I've been intimidated by most of the recipes I've seen

online - too many special ingredients. I know, that's just me. I didn't know about cooking frozen meat (and my lousy manual certainly won't tell me. So its a Google and then I get these long-winded blah blah blah. Some try to sell me a cookbook and I don't know if it will "fit" my particular model.

The manual that came with it is really lousy. So I'm struggling with even the basics.

Beans - I've gotten sick of them, though with the exception of chili beans -- I use a small amount as kind of a gravy or topping. (From a can). I used to slow-cook them all the time from my slow cooker.

[fierywoman]

3. Have you tried making hummus from canned chickpea beans? Very Yummy.

Remember: for recipes and info about ANYTHING, google is your friend -- even for how long to cook pre-soaked beans in an IP! You're gonna love cooking beans in an IP: so fast!

[Callalily]

4. I love my Instant Pot and use it all the time.

Don't limit yourself with Campbell sauce meals. There are so many great recipes for the Instant Pot.

Here's a really good source. Recipes are tested before they add to their list. When I'm looking for a particular recipe, I check out this site first.

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/

Good luck with your Instant Pot. Once you get the hang of it, you too will be using it all the time.

[progree]

6. Thanks much, I will check it out. Meanwhile I will be scrambling for a how-to on hard-boiled eggs

There was a thread on that not too long ago that I'll have to review
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1157133353

[Dave in VA]

7. 5, 5, 5

Place the trivet that came with your instant pot in the bottom of the cooker.

Pour two cups of water into the cooker. Place one or a dozen eggs in the cooker.

Place lid on cooker and make sure the vent is closed for cooking.

Set cooker to steam and set time for 5 minutes.

While the eggs are cooking prepare a bowl large enough to hold the number of eggs you are cooking with water and ice for an ice bath.

When the timer signals end of cooking unplug, or turn off the cooker and let stand without opening the lid for an additional 5 minutes.

After the eggs have been sitting in the closed cooker for the 5 minutes release the remaining pressure and move them to the ice bath for an additional 5 minutes.

You can now peel them or place them back into the egg carton for peeling and using later. Make sure to mark the carton that it contains boiled eggs.

5, 5, 5

Hope this helps.

[progree]

10. Thanks much. i followed your recipe and have just consumed the result (I did 2 eggs)

the only thing is 5 minutes in the ice bath is a long time -- the eggs were room termperature on the inside. I may just cut the ice bath time to near nil if I want to consume hot eggs right away. But as you mentioned, its for using the eggs later --

"You can now peel them or place them back into the egg carton for peeling and using later. Make sure to mark the carton that it contains boiled eggs."

Other than that it worked great.

I don't have a "Steam" button or a "Manual" button like some IP recipes talk about. But anyway the "egg" button worked fine. It's default, BTW, is 5 minutes and high pressure.

It took 8 minutes to preheat (I used 2 cups of water as you suggested), 5 minutes cooking phase, 5 minutes "let it sit" phase for a total of 18 minutes. Additionally there's the ice bath time, which I might reduce to like 30 seconds.

Thanks again.

[Dave in VA]

11. Glad to be of assistance

[Freddie]

8. Hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot

You’ll never make them any other way. I bought an egg rack or you can just put them in the steamer basket. Add 1 cup water to the IP and cook on regular pressure for 5 minutes. I let mine stay in there a while and then put the eggs in a bowl of ice water for about 10 minutes. Shells slip right off no matter how “young” the eggs are.

[Callalily]

12. Actually I'm doing hard boiled eggs in my IP right now.

Here's the "recipe" that I used.

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-hard-boiled-eggs/

[progree]

13. Thanks. i just realized I had a cooked half potato to get rid of (as in eat) ...

and I thought, HMMMM, I can make a potato salad from it, and I wished I had made an extra hard-boiled egg this morning to use as an ingredient. Well, I can make one with very little effort now.

Edit: interesting that your recipe doesn't have a "let it sit" for ___ minutes phase, but i see that your cook time is longer (8 minutes if high pressure, or 12 minutes if low pressure) than the "5 5 5" method.

Edit: done with eggs. I put one (chopped) in my potato salad and it definitely enhances it.

[Redleg]

5. I only read this post because I saw "Pot use" in the title

I did appreciate the actual discussion though. My sister has advised me about all the good stuff she has made in her insta-pot. She still likes to give her little brother advice, even though I am approaching 60 and have been cooking almost every day since I was 25.

The Mitt Romney anecdote gave me a good laugh.

[Wonder Why]

9. The easiest instant pot recipe is to just to roll it in cigarette paper and light it.