Mine is not the instant pot brand, but I do have an electric pressure cooker. In fact, I have TWO! One is smaller, and perfect for cooking for the three of us. The other is larger so I can make bigger batches of broths and such. I use it of course to make broth, soup, stew, and so on. If you google hip pressure cooking, she has instructions for making pasta dishes that worked out very well for me. The sauce and noodles cook together and they turn out really good, take almost no time. I also use it to make boiled eggs, that peel no matter how fresh (and I am talking straight from the chicken here). 12 eggs on the rack, 1 cup of water, 6 minutes high (or low) pressure. Release pressure when done, then place eggs directly into ice water. I have used both pressures and not found a difference. Cook whole potatoes for mashing through a ricer, don't peel them just scrub them. Dances.

From what I read on the Instant Pot community FB site, you shouldn't have opened it until it released the pressure itself - NPR / natural release. That seems to be especially important for meat. It continues to cook while it is releasing the pressure. on things like pasta, you do a QR / quick release - often in several quick, short releases. pasta that stays under pressure once it beeps, will get mushy. I've been reading on several IP FB sites this past month and there is a wealth of info on them on how (and what) to cook in the IP. I've read on there of numerous users who have cooked a small chicken whole in their pot. It depends on the size of the chicken and the pot. I bought a 3 qt and some have cooked a whole chicken in that size! That's not something I'll ever do. I'd only do 2-4 chicken breasts and most of that would be cut into strips to freeze. There's a recipe for I think it's called Mississippi pot roast that many just rave about and so I'll try that - maybe with a very tiny piece of roast. More so than meat (I don't eat that much meat), I got one for making yogurt and possibly cottage cheese. Many say they use the plain yogurt sometimes in place of sour cream. I also want to be able to cook beans without soaking them and make my own refried beans (no more canned beans). For those who make bread, you can proof it in the IP if it has the yogurt button. I think the LUX is the one that doesn't have it. It can still be used to make yogurt, but not to proof bread. hard boiled eggs usually take 5 min cook time and 5 min of release time and then 5 min in cold water. From what I read, the shells easily slip off of the egg. you can go to the site and read. I think you need to 'join' (which is no big deal to do) in order to ask questions or comment on posts. I had to join on other sites just to read the posts. They also post links to many of the better recipe websites. I'll post a few in a bit if I can find them. It's a fast moving site but most questions are asked frequently by those who have just received their new IP (and answered by those who are seasoned in using it) . You can just scan down the pages and look for things you might want to cook. I skip over a lot of them because they aren't things I'd ever make for myself. In the past week they had a lot of posts on making dog food in the IP - that's something I am interested in for my furgirl. tomato products can easily cause a burn notice as can sugary sauces / liquids. and if you're making something like spaghetti, there's an order to how you layer them in the pot for pressure cooking. Always water on bottom, then any meat (on the trivet), pasta is spread out over that with the sauce poured over that. they often say to then add the water around the edge of the inner post / food so that it reaches the bottom of the pot (which is why I listed it first - it needs to be on bottom in order to heat and create the steam). And do NOT stir it or mix them together. here's one sample on cooking chicken that I copied out (making pages of notes for myself) - Moist, Sliceable chicken breast using a 6 QUART Instant Pot 1 minute per oz This recipe is for a 9 oz breast..Manual 9 minutes with a 10 minute NPR 4 to 6 ounce breasts..1 minute per ounce with a 5 minute NPR 7 to 11 ounces breasts.. 1 minute per ounce with a 10 minute NPR Ingredients Fresh or frozen 9 ounce chicken breast 1 cup of water Steps Add 1 cup of water to your pot Put your trivet in with the breast on top. You'll need to know the weight of the breast Close and seal your pot Set your pot to manual 9 minutes Allow for a 10 minute NPR sites often posted as good and safe recipes are Amy and Jacky, this old gal and pressureluck. and I think all 3 of those have videos for newbies on how to use the IP - things to know before you start cooking. I'll be watching those in the next few days before I even run the water test. there are many more recipe sites listed on it also, I just don't remember them all. it's also a great source for when things go wrong - like the burn notice, steam coming out from under the lid, it won't come to pressure, etc.

I have both a 3 quart and a 6 quart IP Ultra and use at least one every day, if not both. Also have a Gourmia GAF635 air fryer, which I use almost every day. These have been life changers for me. I have a very bad back and could no longer stand for long periods of time cooking, so was not eating healthy meals. These two tools have now made it possible for me to, once again, eat very healthily. I cook nearly everything in it's frozen state; meat, vegetables, fish, poultry. Also cook fresh vegetables and they are wonderful in the IP or AF. Forgot to mention that I make yogurt about every 1 1/2 in the 6 quart IP in cups about the size of the yogurt purchased in grocery stores. I make it plain and unsweetened, so that I can use it in lieu of sour cream. When I want to eat one, I add one or a mixture of: apple butter, Nutella, jam/preserves, KoolAid, frozen fruit, fresh fruit, etc. One day I wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but didn't want or need the bread. So I mixed peanut butter and jam into my serving of yogurt; absolutely delicious.

Greek yogurt in Greece is very thick. That was my first exposure to "Greek" yogurt. It has added fat so is very rich and creamy. 10% milkfat is usual but you can get even 15%. Usually served with honey to drizzle on it. Consistency of sour cream. At the greek bed and breakfast where we stayed 6 years ago, it was large part of breakfast. We would all eat big bowls full with nothing but honey on it. I doubt you can get it with added fat in the US. It's been trendy here for a few years, but bears little resemblance to real Greek yogurt. I laugh when I see a label stating "Non-fat" greek yogurt. I use whole milk Greek yogurt as a starter. You have to experiment with brands. Some are sour. We buy non-national, non-advertised brands we get at an ethnic grocery store. I have a vintage Salton yogurt maker I have had for 40+ years. I didn't use it early on when the only brand you could get was Dannon, which I don't like. Now that I can get good yogurt for a starter, I use mine every week. We use more yogurt than I can make. The thick yogurt as it comes gets used to make Tzaziki sauce and similar. I don't bother to strain my resulting product. Mine is just to eat.