If you’ve made the mistake of asking me, you know I’m really into cooking right now. I thought I would share some of my tips and successes in case I can help anyone learn.

My son and I are moving these tips and our favorite recipes to a new website so stay tuned!

Recipe Boom!

Instant Pot

The Instant Pot is all the rage and deservedly so. My favorite things to make in the Instant Pot are Jambalaya, Bolognese Sauce and Buffalo Chicken Dip. It also makes mashed potatoes, asparagus and other side dishes really easy. My youngest and I love to use it to cook together and he actually can make a couple of my favorites all by himself.

Here is the Instant Pot I bought:

Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker

It goes into the warmer setting when cooking is done so it is perfect if your diners are eating at different times.

Here are some accessories I recommend considering:

Instant Pot Ceramic Non-Stick Interior Coated Inner Cooking Pot – 6 Quart

Non-stick is awesome. Though I’ve read if you let it heat up until readout says “HOT” then a nonstick barrier is created. Still, I burn stuff and this makes cleanup easier.

Instant Pot Silicone Lid 5 and 6 Quart

Easy to pop on and throw in the fridge. (Let it cool down first.)

Instant Pot Tempered Glass Lid, 9 in. (23 cm), 6 Quart, Clear

Nice for keeping saute from messing up the counter and the walls.

Stainless Steel Stackable Steamer Basket Rack Set 3 Pieces Pressure Cooker Steaming Stand For Kitchen Insert Instant Pot

For steaming. I’ve done potatoes and asparagus.

My Sous Vide is the Best Thing Ever

You may have heard of a Sous Vide from a cooking show. When the prices dropped I jumped on getting one.

The benefit of the Sous Vide is it cooks your food an exact temperature all the way through while making your food so tender.

You can knock out juicy burgers in 45 minutes, a tender steak in an hour or longer if you have time, or you can let a tougher protein like baby back ribs go for 12-36 hours and make the best ribs you have ever had.

Sous Vide Tips

To shred meat, put in KitchenSid mixer with paddle attachment.

Here is the one I purchased:

AICOK Sous Vide Precision Cooker, Sturdy Immersion Circulator

Got on an Amazon sale in March 2018 and have used it a ton and still going strong.

Also finally decided to get a vacuum sealer and went with this one because it was cheap.

Gourmia GVS415 – Vacuum Sealer – 7 Function Customizable Vacuum Sealer

I have had since June 2018 and use it a few times a week and it is still going strong. In fact, here is a bunch of stuff my son and I did one afternoon:

And I recommend getting the vacuum sealer bags by the roll to save money and size bags to the size you really need.

Nutri-Lock Vacuum Sealer Bags. 2 Pack 11×50 Commercial Grade Bag Rolls for FoodSaver and Sous Vide

Recipe Apps

I have the Anylist app on my iPhone and I like that it can grab recipes from almost any website and add it to this app. That allows it to spit out a shopping list easily making shopping way easier. Ive read good things about the Paprika app too for you android users.