If you all get one maybe we can make a newbie thread (since the other one is so long - but very valuable!) and each post our 1-2 BEST Instant Pot recipes. 
Wow, I am sold now too! @conmama , yesterday’s roast was the deciding factor. 9 hours here too and the potatoes were barely done. I have bought several instant pots as gifts but I guess it is my turn now. 6 quarts seems the norm. Any suggestions on what to buy?
I am thinking about this one: https://www.target.com/p/instant-pot-duo-nova-6-quart-7-in-1-one-touch-multi-use-programmable-pressure-cooker-with-new-easy-seal-lid-8211-latest-model/-/A-54643166
I use mine multiple times per week. Not sure it saves me much cooking time, but I love that I can prep the food and then work on a salad or side dish or just enjoy a glass of wine rather than stand over a hot stove. And the quality of the food that comes out… it’s just wonderful and perfectly cooked!!
As an aside, I’m low carb and there are just so many good high fat/ high protein/ low carb recipes you can make in the IP.
@Onward I have an earlier version of that Target model. I’m happy with it.
The only things I have bought “extra” are the glass lid for when I use as a slow cooker and some silicone egg things that I never use. Oh and an extra rubber gasket thingy.
Now I will say if you are used to doing a HUGE roast it might be a little difficult to brown in the Instant Pot or you might need to cut it in two pieces to brown separately (in the pot). I love the saute button - saves pans to wash!
Last night I had a pork tenderloin that was wrapped in bacon. The directions said to brown the tenderloin and finish it on a rack in the oven.
I really wish I had thought about my instant pot. The tenderloin stuck to the pan I was browning in and my entire stove was covered in grease. So I washed a pan, a rack, a cookie sheet and the stovetop. The instant pot would have saved a bunch of cleanup.
I do like a pot roast in it. I do forget about it unfortunately
It is a big piece of equipment. I don’t leave mine out. But it is also a lug to pull out of the cupboard.
My brother and his wife cook from scratch almost always. Their Instant Pot was their main option beside their stove top for at least a couple of months when their high end oven was awaiting repair. They loved it.
I have a 6 qt. that I bought a couple years ago when it was being discussed and bought by several CC members during a good sale.
It really is the silliest thing, but to throw 3 pounds of red potatoes in the bottom and stack a dozen eggs on top, add a cup of water, and set to manual cook for 5 minutes - is priceless! I used to hate peeling eggs. Now I just throw them in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes after cooking and the shells come off easily.
I made a cabinet space for my IP right under the countertop spot it sits on, but I often leave it out most days of the week.
To keep handy recipes, I name Notes on my phone IP (recipe). IP Potato Salad, IP Rice, etc. It’s easy to search IP and get all the recipes pulled up at once.
I don’t have the Instapot—we bought a Fagor, which was what the kitchen shop folks recommended. I like it because there are so many options in one piece of equipment. I think rice is better in it than my rice cooker (gave it to D). Hard boiled eggs cook perfectly. There are so many recipes for everything. I did the Whole30 last January and I was amazed to find so many Whole30 recipes for the Instapot.
Love this idea. To help with the learning curve & not being overwhelmed.
I haven’t been sold on the idea of an instant pot type cooker, but @Bromfield2 's remark about rice has got me wondering. I cook rice in my cheap, horrible rice cooker almost daily, and have been thinking to replace it with a Zojirushi, but would an instant pot be better? I don’t have or want a slow cooker, but a rice cooker is indispensable in my house, and I do cook a lot of dried beans, so a device that sped up that task, or at least eliminated the overnight soaking step, would be a good thing.
@Onward, thanks to your starting this thread, plus the other IP thread I caved and ordered the 6 qt duo today. It was nice as I ordered it with my Mother’s Day Amazon gift card.
Now if I can figure out how to use it when it arrives.
If you’re a newbie -tape above pot: Is ring properly seated in lid? Is stainless steel liner in pot-before filling pot? Is there enough liquid in the pot? Did you close the pressure valve?
Making sure of those each time will eliminate a lot of mistakes. It’s amazing how often one of those can be forgotten until all are a habit.
@Massmomm I’ve only done it once (pinto refried beans) but people LOVE the results with beans it seems!
Stuffed peppers in the IP tonight. 14 minute actual cooking time.
If buy one, join the “dump and push start” group on FB. Recipes are all ones where you just put the ingredients in the Instant Pot, set the time…and that’s it.
These are easy and some really terrific recipes.
Some things I love it for: hard boiled eggs (perfect every time), rice, baby back ribs (finished on the grill or under the broiler), risotto, turkey breast, soups. I also make a batch of plain yogurt every couple of weeks…super easy and costs much less than buying my usual Fage brand - and it’s just as good. One thing that I don’t like as much as making the traditional way is beef stew; I don’t like that in a crockpot either though.
@my2sunz do you get a good caramelization on the beef before doing the rest? I found that improves flavor a lot. I also love chicken stew. I start from frozen boneless chicken breasts.
I would go for the IP. I can’t imagine using a rice cooker daily, or at least my old one anyway. It was such a PITA to clean. The IP cleans easily by hand or in the dishwasher. I do tend to wash mine by hand because it takes up a lot of room. No soaking needed. I cook about four different varieties of rice often and all come out perfect.
If I want the sushi/sticky rice to come out just like that in a Chinese restaurant, I rinse it first before tossing it into the IP. The other rice varieties I do not rinse.
One reason I prefer the IP over a rice cooker is that I can cook smaller amounts of rice in the IP, using the “pot in pot” approach. I put the rice in a bowl with a ratio of 1 part rice : 1 part water. Then I place the bowl on the trivet, with a cup of water in the bottom of the liner. I just follow the preset times on the cooker – I end up with perfect rice, and the only thing I have to clean is the bowl I used to cook the rice. I live alone and also need to limit my carb intake. I use the pot-in-pot for all sorts of cooking. I suppose I might to well with one of those little 3 qt. IP’s, but at the time I bought mine they weren’t available.
^^^ What else do you do pot in pot???