Dear reader, I have been cooking beans for decades, and by habit I soak them overnight. Recently, I thought I would try something new. Every pressure cooking blog notes that you can cook beans without pre-soaking in an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot). I tried it and it did not go well. My Navy Beans took 80 minutes instead of the suggested 25-40 minutes. What the heck! Food is expensive with inflation and all of the other economic issues that we are dealing with. I wasn’t about to throw out the beans. I needed to do some investigative work, and I used some AI tools. They quickly found my problems:
I used tomato paste when pressure cooking the beans. It would be better to add this after the beans are cooked.
The glazed ham remnants that I used in the soup were fairly high in sugar, which also extended the cooking time.
AI specifically asked me if I bought my beans from Amazon (I did) as apparently their various brands are known to use old beans. Old beans can take twice as long to cook as premium, fresher beans like Rancho Gordo.
Let’s look at AI’s suggestions and the result!
A quick (1 hr) soak in boiling water before pressure cooking speeds up softening for old beans. Adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt to the soaking water helps, too.
In goes the salt and baking soda. AI advised 1 t baking soda and 1T salt. I’m using less water (I’m only soaking 1/2 pound of Navy Beans), so I halved the baking soda and salt.
In goes the boiling water, then a quick mix.
I covered the beans and let them sit for an hour. I drained the beans and rinsed them to remove the salt and baking soda. I added them to my electric pressure cooker with fresh water, and pressure cooked them on high for 40 minutes. Always follow your pressure cookers safety advice (in the manual). I depressurized the pot after the 40 minute cook time. In this experiment I didn’t do a natural release. Since I didn’t use a natural release I initially let out the steam slowly, and then opened up the release valve fully. I didn’t want bean juice spraying about my kitchen.
This electric pressure cooker is pretty cool. It is a Wolfgang Puck brand and it was introduced in 2006, four years before the first Instant Pot hit the market. It uses a simple rotary dial, but it can do all of the basic pressure cooker functions (searing, pressuring cooking, and keep warm). I bought it barely used for a very good price. Pressure cookers make your cooking life easier. If you are interested in buying a new or used one at a bargain price check out my link at the bottom of this post.
Here they are, very soft. Yes, some are broken, but I’m OK with that; I’m just a home cook. I would much rather have them buttery soft than whole and hard. I probably could’ve pressure-cooked them for 30 minutes and gotten a more aesthetically pleasing bean.
I’ll stored them in a jar; it is important to keep them in some of the cooking water. They will stay fresh in the fridge for about 5 days, or you can freeze them for longer storage. However, I decided to use them in yet another soup recipe.
You can rescue old beans with a little effort. I’ll probably keep soaking beans overnight. In the past, when I found old beans in my pantry (that I had forgotten about), I added a pinch of baking soda to the overnight soak. However, the above tests prove you can speed up that process by using a little chemistry and common sense. You certainly could add 1 t of baking soda and 1 T of salt to a cold overnight soak if you were dealing with some ancient legumes.
You don’t know how old a bean is when you buy it. AI suggests that buying them from Amazon is a poor choice, and it is likely better to buy them from your grocer, as they may have a quicker turn around. You can also go with a premium brand like Rancho Gordo, but those beans are pricey.
Interested in buying an electric pressure cooker but on a budget? Check out my September 15, 2026 post (link below).
Dear reader, as we face ever-increasing inflation, incredibly high gas prices, and escalating grocery prices, what’s a retired guy like me to do? I have been moving more and more towards using meat as a condiment to a meal instead of the main attraction. My wife and are are lucky that we like legumes. They are cheap and provide protein, fibers, and a lot of important minerals. Once again I’m making a small batch of soup, this time Navy Bean. Navy Bean Soup, like most soups, has 1000 different recipes. I looked up a couple to get cooking times correct, but (as usual) I’m winging it. Let’s go!
I bought this pressure cooker for almost nothing, but it needed CPR. The handle was busted, so I fabricated a new one. The unique sliding lock system was so corroded that I had to perform pressure-cooker surgery. I’m happy to report the patient has recovered, and is back in service! This pressure cooker is unique in several ways. It runs at a full 15 PSI where most other pots (including the Instant Pot) operate closer to 11-12 PSI. This electric pressure cooker was introduced in 2004, a full six years before the first Instant Pot came to market. It is built like an absolute tank. I enjoyed fixing it and giving it new life. It appeared that it was never used, and it likely spent a lonely life in a garage or damp basement. After all of these years (and a little TLC) it still works flawlessly. Amazing!
Here are the ingredients. Some are optional. Don’t freak out; making Navy Bean Soup is extremely simple and very flexible!
Here is the top-down view. The only essentials are the beans (8 ounces), chicken broth of some kind (4 cups), an onion (you could also use dehyrated), a couple carrots and a single stalk of celery. I’m using some garlic cloves (I spurged), but you could use jarlic or even garlic powder. I’m also using some spices, (1/2 t each oregano, thyme, cumin, a bay leaf, and pepper), plus a little salt. The spices are very flexible, if you don’t have one simply omit it. Salt and pepper are a must, however. You can make a vegetarian version, but we are meat eaters. I’m using the last of the gifted ham scraps from my sister-in-laws Easter Party. Lastly, I’m using some optional tomato paste for richness, a dash or two of hot sauce for interest, and some olive oil/butter for sauté.
I’m heating up a couple of tablespoons of butter and oil using the pressure cooker’s sauté function. I like to wait until the mixture is bubbly.
I’m not messing around, so in goes the ham and onion. I’ll sauté them for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion softens. I’ll stir occasionally.
In goes in about 3 cloves of sliced garlic. I usually use jarlic, but I had a weak moment at the grocery store and bought the real stuff. I’ll cook the garlic until I smell it and then go on to the next step.
Now, the spices. I’ll stir them around for around 30 seconds or until I can smell them. Heating them like this will intensify their flavor.
Now the carrots and celery.
Next, the 4 cups of chicken broth. I’m using Better Than Bouillon, but you could use homemade, boxed, or cube broth. If you are using a very salty product, go easy on the salt and adjust at the end.
Now, the 8 ounces (half of a 16-oz bag) of dry beans. Dear reader, I have been cooking beans for a very long time, but I always soak them overnight. All of the food influencers emphasize that you can cook beans without soaking in an electric pressure cooker. Well, I tried, with mixed results.
Some recipes say to cook dry Navy Beans for 25 minutes, others 40 minutes. I like my beans to be very soft, so I went for 40 minutes. Guess what, they were still hard. It took another 40 minutes (80 minutes total) to get them to the consistency that I like. It turns out that the recommendations are for fairly fresh beans. I had just received my beans from Amazon the day before (their brand) and apparently they are know to use old beans. Who knew? I’ll do my next post on what to do when you have old beans. In this situation I just pressure cooked the heck out of them, but there are other options. Stay tuned.
I let my soup rest for about 15 minutes before slowly releasing the pressure. Always use caution when using any pressure cooker. Read your instructions and follow them.
After the soup was done, I tossed in some greens (optional) and allowed them to wilt. I added a little hot sauce (not too hot for my Eastern European palate) and tasted for salt. The soup didn’t need any extra.
Here it is, served with some cornbread. It took longer than expected to cook, but it still turned out delicious!
Consider having a bean meal once a week. Beans are a healthy and delicious way to stretch your budget.
Runaway inflation got you down? Try cooking at home and let someone else pay those high fast-food and restaurant prices.
One of my daughters was returning home for the day. In the morning, she was seeing old school friends, but in the afternoon and evening, she was spending time with my wife and me.
It was my day to cook, but what to make? I thought I would shop my freezer and found a turkey breast I bought on sale after last year’s Thanksgiving. I popped it in the fridge for a two-day defrost and planned the menu: turkey, stuffing, broccoli, strawberries, and some of my homemade flaxseed bread.
My daughter arrived on time, and we quickly got into a long conversation. I talk with her several times a week, but we always seem to have something to talk about. Suddenly, I realized that it was well past the roasting window for the turkey. What to do? It was time to call on help from my electric pressure cooker (AKA Instant Pot).
Here is a very simple recipe that makes a moist and very delicious turkey breast in less than an hour, from start to finish. The ingredients are very flexible, and you can find the steps in the photos below.
This is today’s subject. She is a 6 1/2 pound bone-in turkey breast completely thawed.
I’m adding a rub and patting it in. Why this rub? Well, it was the quickest thing I could find. You can rub the meat with any seasoning you want. If I had time I would have mixed together salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and perhaps some poultry seasoning. However, I didn’t have time, so I went with this. It worked out in the end.
I set my electric pressure cooker to sauté and let it heat up for a few minutes. Today, I’m using this Instant Pot clone. Its controls are a bit obtuse, but it did the job. If you want to know how to buy an electric pressure cooker cheaply, check out my September 15, 2026 blog post:
I’m using a combination of cooking oil and butter. Butter adds flavor, and the oil helps keep it from burning.
Make sure the fat is hot and bubbling before you go on to the next step.
Place your turkey breast side down and brown it for 3-4 minutes. Do the same on all sides, each for the same amount of time. Your results won’t be perfect, and that is OK.
We are going to pressure-cook the turkey breast, and pressure cookers always need liquid to create steam. I’ll use some Better Than Bouillon to make about 1.5 cups of broth.
Your browned turkey breast should look something like this when you are done. Paprika added to any rub helps the browning process.
Your electric pressure cooker likely came with a trivet. If not, improvise. In a pinch, you can cook the breast without one. This one has handles, which will make it easier to pull out the bird after it is cooked.
I pulled out the browned turkey breast and placed it on the trivet. Then I moved on to the next step.
With the pot still on sauté, I poured in the 1.5 cups of reconstituted Better Than Bouillon.
Using a spatula, I scraped the bottom of the pan to dislodge any crusty bits. If you have a lot of stuff burnt to the bottom of the pot, you will get a burn warning, and the pot will shut off.
I returned the turkey breast (including the trivet) to the pot and wiped off the drips from the edge of the inner pot to ensure a good seal. I canceled the sautésetting.
I closed the lid and made sure that the pressure release valve was in the sealing position.
This cooker doesn’t have a manual setting (I know it says manual in the photo, but trust me it doesn’t have one). I used one of the other programs (Beans) and used the + and – keys to select the correct time. I pressure-cooked the breast for 34 minutes at high pressure. I used the 5 minutes/pound formula. Remember, it will take some time for the pot to build pressure before the 34 minutes start.
After the 34 minutes were completed, I let the turkey breast stay in the pot for an additional 10 minutes to allow a natural pressure release. I then turned the pressure release valve to vent to let any remaining steam out. Never attempt to open a pressure cooker while any steam remains. You will know that it is safe to open the pot when the float valve drops. The float valve on this machine is a bit hidden in the handle. On other machines it is more obvious. When all of the steam has evacuated, slowly open the pot using the cover as a shield. I tend to be cautious when opening any pressure cooker, and in over 50 years of pressure cooking I have never had an adverse event.
You want the turkey breast’s internal temperature to be 165F (74C) for safe eating. Normally, you would want to cover the breast in foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. The temps that I got were all over 200F. The turkey breast was fully cooked, and it was still very moist. However, it would have sliced better if I cooked it a bit less, perhaps a pressure cook time of 30 minutes instead of 34. If you go with a shorter time and the breast is not at 165F, simply return it to the pot for another 5-10 minutes of pressure cooking; time depending on its level of undoneness.
Here it is plated up. I spooned some of the pot’s broth over the turkey. I could have turned some of the broth into a gravy, or saved it for an impromptu soup. The turkey was tender, moist, and delicious.
Earlier in the day, my wife made a cake, which was a great end to a yummy meal.
I was surprised by how moist and tender the turkey breast was after cooking it in the electric pressure cooker. It was actually better than when I baked it. The only downside is that the skin doesn’t crisp in the pot. If that matters, you can always brown it under your oven’s broiler (watch carefully so you don’t burn it) after cooking is complete.
Naturally, there were leftovers for lunch the next day, and even some sandwiches after that.
Soups, stews, and casseroles are great ways to stretch any meat while creating a tasty meal.
Pulses (beans, chickpeas, peas, lentils) are cheap, packed with protein, fiber, and minerals, and filling. As inflation continues to spiral upwards, it may be time to revisit these superfoods.
Canned pulses are cheap, but dry pulses often cost about one-fourth as much. A pressure cooker is ideal for cooking dry pulses, and an electric pressure cooker (AKA Instant Pot) makes doing so as simple as pressing a button.
I have been experimenting with making smaller batches of food now that it is usually just Julie and me for dinner. Today, I made a small batch of split pea soup. Let me share my recipe.
Ingredients
-1T butter
-1T cooking oil
– 1 small onion chopped
-2 stalks celery chopped
-2 carrots chopped
– 3 bay leaves
-1/2t of thyme
-1/4t of basil
-1/2t salt
-1/4t pepper
-6 to 8 ounces cubed ham (or 3 slices bacon, or 1 ham hock)
-heaping spoon of jarlic (jarred garlic)
-3C chicken broth or bouillon or Better Than Bouillon.
-8 oz by weight split peas, sorted and washed (around 1 and 1/4 cup)
Dear reader, I have used some sort of pressure cooker for 50 years, and have used an electric pressure cooker for over 15 years. I love to compare gadgets, so I have been picking up used electric pressure cookers at thrift shops as well as off-brand new ones, like the one that I’m using today.
This unit apparently was made for a different market as it doesn’t have dedicated saute or manual/pressure cook buttons. Additionally, it had a dent in its outer case. I got it at a low-low price, fixed the dent and figured out how coax itto do my bidding. I will be featuring some of my other bargain pressure cookers in future post to illustrate that just about any electric pressure cooker can do the job. I have picked up some for as little as $4.99 (thrifted), so price should not be a barrier. An electric pressure cooker can make the task of preparing dinner as simple as tossing some ingredients in a pot, pressing a button, and walking away.
Here are the simple ingredients that you will need.
Place your electric pressure cooker on sauté. This machine doesn’t have that function, so I left the cover off and placed it on the meat program. Doing so will also heat up the bottom of the pot. Let the pressure cooker heat up for a few minutes.
Add 1T butter and around 1T cooking oil to the pot.
Add the ham (or other smoky meat) and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Then remove it from the pot. This ham was leftover from Easter, and frozen.
Now add your vegetables and let them soften for around 5 minutes. Stir them to prevent burning.
Add the jarlic and cook it for around 30 seconds.
Now add your spices. Stir them until you can smell them. That should take less than 30 seconds.
Return the ham (or other smoky meat) to the pot.
Now add the three cups of chicken broth (I’m using Better Than Bouillon). Scrape the bottom of the pot to dislodge the fond (the stuff stuck to the bottom).
Consider a few squirts of Liquid Smoke; this is totally optional. Only use a little; too much and your soup will taste like a campfire.
Sort your split peas, remove any bad ones (or rocks), then rinse them with water. Add the rinsed split peas to your pot.
Stir it all up!
Lock the cover and make sure that the pressure regulator is on sealing.
Use the manual button and pressure cook for 20 minutes. It will take some time for the pressure cooker to build pressure, then it will start counting down. This photo was taken after 4 minutes of pressure cooking. After 20 minutes let the pot rest for around 10 minutes. Then carefully release any remaining pressure by turning the pressure regulator to vent. Make sure that the float valve has dropped before attempting to open your pressure cooker. Always open the cooker using the cover as a shield.
Note: This pressure cooker does not have a manual/pressure cook button. I used one of the program buttons, then the up and down arrows, to lock in 20 minutes. Do the same if your machine doesn’t have a manual/pressure cook button.
Stir your soup to thicken it. Taste and adjust for salt (I didn’t need any). Optionally, add a few squirts of hot sauce for a little heat.
I’m serving my soup with toast points made from my homemade flaxseed bread. I topped the soup with some oyster crackers and some pumpkin seeds for fun.
The soup was great. There are probably 2 bowls left, which will make a couple of easy lunches. Small-batch cooking can reduce leftover waste. Making this soup was very easy, delicious, and filling.
Let me be honest, I’m feeling the pain of ever rising prices, but I’m a frugal guy who, at the moment, can get by. I believe that my cost-saving habits are the exception rather than the rule, as there is a generation that has been raised on impulse buying, easy credit, and instant gratification. I don’t blame them, they have been trained to spend by advertisers and others. I lack the ability to correct our current economic problems, but I can encourage people to leave their comfort zone as behaviors, like cooking at home, can stretch a dollar.
Inflation, a needless war, every changing tariffs; all are pushing some to their breaking point, do our leaders even care? This week was especially disturbing to me. I just filled my tank with regular gas, and the lowest price I could find (Costco) was $4.40/gallon, with regular gas stations in my area selling gas at around $4.50/gallon. My friend, Tom, drives a diesel powered truck for his business. He takes his truck everywhere, and diesel is now priced at $6.50/gallon in our area. I’m retired and can limit my driving, my friend can not. What about over-the-road truckers? Someone has to pay for these insane fuel prices, and that will be the end user (you). Expect anything that is shipped by truck, which is everything, to go up in price. You may be told in double speak that gas prices are up due to the Russian/Ukraine war. The main reason is the needles Iranian war, and that conflict is only getting worse. Expect gas prices to rise further. Editor’s Note: I just checked our local Costco and 1 gallon of gas is now $4.69, up 19 cents in two days!
Then I saw this!
And later in the day, I saw this!
I just heard the federal government is going to stop the help it was giving to Part D of regular Medicare. This means this supplement will go up in price for those retired folks who can least afford it. Dr. Oz (head of Medicare/Medicaid) says this is to make those services more streamlined, which, in my opinion, is BS. Project 2025 clearly stated that there is a plan to eliminate regular Medicare and switch everyone over to a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage is private insurance, a HMO. It is proven that Medicare is more efficient than Advantage plans, and there is evidence that Advantage plans can be unnecessarily restrictive in what treatments they will permit. Did you know that the CEO’s of major health insurance companies make between $12,000,000.00 and $60,000,000.00 per year in total compensation? That money has to come from somewhere.
A very close loved one had a serious condition diagnosed a few years back. Our medical group has over 900 MDs in it. None, could handle her case, and we were referred to another massive group where she saw their chairman of the department of Neurosurgery. Neither he nor any doctor in his group could handle her problem, and he sent her to a university hospital where she saw a Neurosurgeon who had special fellowship training in her issue. He could not handle her problem, and referred her to the chairman of the university’s Neurosurgery department. Because of her regular health insurance she was able to get top level care, and because of that care she can walk today. Would that have been possible if she had an HMO?? I can’t say, but I know that it would have been incredibly difficult for us to jump through HMO hoops during an unbelievably stressful time in our lives. Remember, Medicare Advantage is private HMO insurance, it is NOT Medicare. Private insurance makes its money by collecting premiums and paying out less than it takes in. Its motivation is profit; regular Medicare’s motivation is care.
I do the majority of my grocery shopping at the least expensive store in my area, Aldi. Last Monday, I went there to do buy my weekly groceries. What I saw at checkout shocked me. No one had a full cart, in fact most carts were not even a quarter full. I saw very few carts with snack food, like potato chips. The cheapest ground beef that I could find was the frozen stuff in tubes, which is a pretty low grade product. A one pound tube at Aldi was an astonishing $6.50! Who would think that tube ground beef would become a luxury purchase? Today’s recipe will use some ground beef, but I’m maximizing every once of it.
Folks, let’s put politics aside and face reality. Anytime you give a single person absolute control of an organization as complex as the USA, it will go badly. Remember, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
With that said, everyone still needs to eat and this soup is filling, nutritious, flexible, and inexpensive. You can modify today’s soup in many ways, depending on what you have. You can use less meat, add more vegetables, or omit or substitute items like starches, beans, and tomato products.
I’ll be using dehydrated onions and garlic, as these are cheap items that don’t go bad, and are easy to have on hand. I’ll also use some basic dried herbs. You can buy spices inexpensively if you go with the house brand at places like Aldi, Walmart, and Dollar Tree. Herbs add a lot of interest to a food, but if you don’t have the cash, salt and pepper alone will do. You can alter your spices to change things up. I’m using traditional herbs to make a soup that has an Italian flavor, but you could turn this dish into a Mexican style soup, or one with an Indian or Asian flair by changing the spices that you use.
Lastly, I’m using frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones. Frozen vegetables have no waste, and they don’t spoil like fresh ones, so they are value leaders. Need to stretch things further? Thicken the concoction with some flour or corn starch and turn it into a stew to serve over rice.
I’m not providing a specific recipe, but you can find a variety of similar dishes from other online creators. There is no real recipe, just guidelines, as this soup is so flexible. When times are tough, this soup can feed a lot of people cheaply, or feed one or two individuals for days.
Lastly, I’m using an electric pressure cooker (AKA an Instant Pot). You can buy new off-brand electric pressure cookers inexpensively (see my post from 9/15/26) , and I have picked up used units while thrifting for as little as $4.99. You can also make this recipe using a pot on the stove (increase cooking time accordingly). However, an Instant Pot type appliance is useful for so many things beyond this soup that I highly recommend purchasing one. Let’s get into the recipe!
Spices can add a lot of interest, and they are fairly inexpensive if you go with the house brand. I had the lovage leaf left over from some “recovery” soup I made for my friend Tom, who had surgery. He is originally from Poland, and they use lovage in their soup. It is a celery substitute.
I’m adding three bags of frozen vegetables to the electric pressure cooker. I’m adding what I had on hand, which included a bag of frozen green beans, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, and a bag of stir-fried vegetables. You can add whatever you wish, but I would avoid bags of predominantly strong vegetables like broccoli, unless you are going for a cabbage like soup. Each bag was between 10-12 ounces.
I’m now adding (roughly) one tablespoon of the lovage leaf. You could also use dehydrated celery, regular celery, or no celery, depending on what you have.
This photo represents the spices that I added. I added roughly 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon each of basil, rosemary, and thyme. Don’t have all of these? Add what you have. Oregano is a good general seasoning too. What to make it more south of the border? try chili powder, cumin and the like. Want more of an Indian flair, go with some curry powder. Or just use salt and pepper.
I also added a couple of bay leaves. This is optional, but bay leaves add a little something.
I added around 1T of onion powder. That’s about the equivalent of a medium onion. You could also use dehydrated onion or real onion. Try to not use onion or garlic salt, since they are mostly salt.
I roughly added about 1/2T of garlic powder. You can use any type of garlic: powdered, jarred, or fresh. I like garlic, but if you hate it, you can leave it out of the recipe.
Now I’m adding one can of Rotel-type tomatoes. Why? Because this is what I could find in my cupboard. You can use any type of tomato product from diced to a couple of tablespoons of paste. Heck, you could even add a can of condensed tomato soup and that would be fine. Don’t have any tomatoes? Then skip this step and move on.
Now a can of beans. I drained mine, but you don’t have to. I’m using Pinto beans, but any canned bean will work. I think the beans are important, as they add more protein to the soup, and canned beans are pretty cheap.
Now, the starch. I’m using three washed and cut-up potatoes. If you use thin-skinned potatoes, you don’t even have to peel them. You could also use pasta or noodles. If you use pasta/noodles, you may need to adjust the cook time slightly. If you decide to use rice, I would make it separately and add it to your bowl of soup. Over time rice breaks down in soup and can become mushy if you eat your soup for a couple of days in a row.
Now I’m adding the salt, only about 1/2 teaspoon, as I’ll adjust the salt at the end. I also added a scant 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
In goes 4 cups of beef broth. I’m using Better Than Bouillon, which is a good product. You can use cubes, boxed broth, or your own. Many of these have a lot of salt, which is why I used so little salt in the previous photo. Need to stretch the soup further? Increase the broth to 5 cups.
I’m using one pound of hamburger, but I could have easily used 1/2 pound. I buy hamburger in bulk and on sale. I then divide it into 1-pound bags and vacuum-seal it. This hamburger was $3 off per pound, a good deal. I flatten the package out before freezing, which allows rapid defrosting when I use it.
I simply broke off chunks and added them to the pot. You can mix them in if you wish.
Close your electric pressure cooker and place the pressure release valve on seal. Set your timer for 5 minutes. It will take time to reach pressure, since many of the ingredients are frozen. I thrifted this pressure cooker for $9.99. It needed a little cleanup, but it works perfectly. I have been picking up thrifted pressure cookers for as little as $4.99, because… of course I am!
Sometimes these used units need a little TLC. Fortunately, I find them to be simple devices that follow similar design patterns and share similar weaknesses. I like giving them new life.
After the pressure cooker finishes its cycle wait around 10 minutes before releasing the pressure. This reduces the possibility of the cooker spraying soup instead of steam. Never try to force a pressure cooker open. If you can’t open it unplug it and leave it alone for 90 minutes before attempting to open it again. Pressure cookers contain many safety features, but you can override them with brute force; don’t do that!
Here is the soup. I didn’t add any thickener, as it was robust on its own. I did have to adjust the salt. I added a dash more garlic powder and a couple of squirts of hot sauce for a mild kick.
Here it is, served with some oyster crackers and my homemade flaxseed bread. It tasted very homemade and even a bit luxurious.
It was just my wife and me, so there is a bunch left over. I’ll have some for lunch and possibly dinner tonight, but I will likely have to freeze the rest.
There you have it, a very inexpensive, yet highly nutritious soup that can be made in an infinite number of ways to stretch your budget.
By now you know that I’m on a mission to help people save money during these incredible inflationary times. One of those tangible ways is to encourage people to cook at home. However, for some, that suggestion may seem impossible as they juggle work and home responsibilities. They are already stretched, exhausted, and hopeless.
There seems to be an appliance for every cooking need, and you may have a favorite. However, when it comes to ease of preparation and clean-up, two appliances are king: the slow cooker and the electric pressure cooker (AKA:Instant Pot). I often suggest one or the other, but for two different reasons. You can buy a new basic slow cooker for $20-$30, a price point that just about anyone can afford. Additionally, many people already have slow cookers. However, truth be known, for my style of cooking I much prefer an electric pressure cooker (EPC). However, many of these units sell for $100 or more, and that price can be too much for someone who is already trying to maximize every penny.
Like many crazes, the Instant Pot fad seems to be losing some steam. This is normal, but it doesn’t reduce the usefulness of these devices. To counter this trend, manufacturers have introduced more elaborate pots that offer new features at even higher prices. However, the other end of the spectrum exists, as there is a glut of electric pressure cookers on both the new and used markets. You can now get electric pressure cookers for a price that’s closer to a slow cooker’s cost.
The concept of pressure cooking is not new; primitive pressure cookers have existed for several hundred years. Home stove-top pressure cookers were introduced in the late 1930s and were an instant hit. They were the microwaves of their time. Pressure cooker production was halted for the war effort in the 1940s, and after the war, manufacturers began making pressure cookers to meet the enormous demand. This led to some shoddy manufacturing and some of those “exploding pressure cookers” stories. Companies like Presto did make good units from those days, and my mother’s late 1940s stove-top unit was constantly used, first by my mother and then by my sister into the late 1990s, at which point operator error destroyed it (the pot ran dry on high heat).
Because my mom made the most delicious meals in a pressure cooker, I had no problem adopting that cooking style in my own kitchen, first with a stove-top unit and then with an electric Nesco pressure cooker that I purchased in the early 2000s. That unit worked well until it suffered a fatal accident (its cover was unintentionally knocked off the kitchen counter). In 2018, I replaced it with my current pressure cooker, a Mealthy brand. That unit cost around $100 ($133 in today’s money) and was similarly priced to the Instant Pot of that time, but it came with a few more accessories. I have used that unit ever since, and it has made my cooking life much easier.
I bought this Nesco electric pressure cooker in the early 2000s, and it served me well until its lid got dropped off the kitchen counter, damaging it. Electric pressure cookers were out in the 1990s long before the Instant Pot was introduced in 2010. The Instant Pot became a hit because it was featured in an Amazon promotion. It also had some pre-programmed times built in, making it less intimidating to new users.Electric pressure cookers are very similar in their pressure cooking abilities. In most cases you can use an Instant Pot recipe unchanged regardless of the brand. This gives you access hundreds if not thousands of recipe possibilities.
I replaced my damaged Nesco in 2018 with this Mealthy unit, which was priced similarly to the Instant Pot, had similar features, but came with a nicer display, and more accessories. It costs around $100, which is $133 to 2026 money.
Electric pressure cookers are safe appliances, but any kitchen tool, from a knife to a blender, can be dangerous if handled improperly. There are a few rules that you have to follow when using any pressure cooker. They will be explained in the product’s manual, or just watch a getting started video on YouTube. They offer many advantages over other methods of cooking.
-They are almost a set-and-forget appliance. However, I’m always home when operating one.
-They are the most energy-efficient electric cooking appliance that I have ever tested. Yes, I test the energy efficiency of appliances. When making foods that require longer cooking times they can be 45% more energy efficient than a slow cooker. After they reach pressure the EPC cycles its heating element on rarely to maintain pressure.
-They can speed cooking times up to 70%. My annual corned beef dinner takes about 90 minutes of pressure cooking in my electric pressure cooker (about 2 hours total cook time), compared to about 4 hours on the stove.
-They can turn a tough piece of meat into a delicious tender dinner.
-You can make dried beans in an EPC without soaking them first.
-You can pressure cook many frozen meats without thawing them first.
-Many EPCs can replace other appliances like a rice cooker or yogurt maker with very good results.
-Many EPCs can replace a slow cooker and, in some cases, a sous vide water bath with fair results.
-EPCs can preserve more vitamins than some other cooking methods.
-EPCs can cook most of the dishes that a slow cooker can, but much more quickly. You don’t have to start the pot in the morning and let it cook for 8 hours. Most foods cook extremely fast, allowing cooks (like me) to toss in a bunch of ingredients, press a button, and have dinner ready a short time later.
-EPCs are the kings of one-pot meals, including pot roast with vegetables, soups, stews, curries, mac and cheese, and spaghetti.
-EPCs can steam bake regular cakes and even a cheesecake with excellent results.
I mentioned earlier that manufacturers have upped the ante on pressure cookers by adding a few extra features. I’ll show you some of those high-end models for completeness. The extra features add some utility, but their basic pressure cooking functions are the same as those of less expensive units.
This Ninja “Hyper Heat” sells for $169 and claims to “Heat up to 2x faster.” However, the devil is in the details. It has a 1200-watt heating element rather than a 1000-watt unit on most other units. This will bring the pot up to pressure a bit faster, but actual pressure cooking times are the same as any other EPC. This unit also features a sous vide function. From what I have read, it will keep the temperature within a few degrees as opposed to a 0.5 degree variation that a real sous vide setup provides. This could be a way to try out sous vide cooking, but the serious sous vide cook will likely want to go with a real sous vide appliance.
This Instant Pot Pro Plus sells for around $229, and it has a lot of extra features, from a dedicated app, to a fancy control panel, to handles for the inner pot, to a cooling top rack for rapid cooling. It can also be adjusted to cook at a slightly higher pressure for canning. However, at the time of this writing it has not been certified for that use, and I would not use it for that purpose. Some of these features are nice, but the results when pressure cooking are no different from using a less expensive pot. These are mostly convenience features, and all of the extras make using the pot slightly more complicated to operate. Are the extras worth the additional complications and price? That is up to you. Editor’s note: When I started to write this article a few weeks ago this Instant Pot was selling for around $170 on Amazon. Now it is almost $50 more! Inflation, or tariffs, or dynamic pricing?
If you have to have an Instant Pot brand, and it has to be new, you may still be able to find the original Instant Pot Duo, which can be found for around $75-$90. It will do everything that most people need an EPC to do.
What do you really need?
Let’s talk about EPC sizes.
They range considerably, from 2 quart to massive units that are used in food service. For most families, a 6-quart pot is ideal. If you have a very large family or batch cook large amounts of food, an 8-quart should do it. If you cook for 1-2 or want a second EPC to make side dishes, consider a 3-4-quart pot. However, you can make smaller quantities in a 6-quart pot; it just won’t be as full. Its larger size will give those users some wiggle room on occasions where they need to make a larger quantity.
There are certain situations where a small EPC rules. A 3-quart EPC uses less power than 6 or 8 quart units, and may be a better choice for settings where power is limited/compromised, such as van life, dorm rooms, hotel rooms, and old buildings. It has smaller capacity, but that means it is smaller in size so it is easier to store.
My sister has a large 8 quart unit for family gatherings, but also purchased a 3 quart unit as she was unintentionally making huge quantities when cooking for her husband and herself with the larger pot. I have always use a 6 quart pot and it is more than sufficient to feed 5 adults, often with leftovers. I do have a 3 quart pot that I can use for side dishes, or when traveling in my adventure van.
Can you follow an Instant Pot recipe’s pressure cook times with a different brand of electric pressure cooker?
In most cases, yes. I have use Instant Pot recipes with my former Nesco, as well as a Mealthy and Ninja machine with no need to adjust pressure cook times. A number of users on the internet who had other brands of EPCs use the same times that Instant Pot recipes recommend with success. Research on this topic suggests slight variations with cooking temps between brands, however, this usually does not significantly impact cook times. You will get to know your pot, and it is simple to add a minute or two to a recipe time if necessary.
Features:
Programmed functions
When the Instant Pot came out its big advertising point was that it had a bunch of pre-programmed times for foods like poultry, stew, beans, and porridge. This sounds like a necessary function, but it really isn’t. Most printed recipes will tell you to manually put in the pressure cook time, so I have rarely used a programmed button because of this. Some Brand-X EPCs made for other markets have been rebranded for the US market, and can be bought at inexpensive prices. Some of these units lack a manual button for setting a pressure cook time. Fear not, just use a program button close to the recipe’s time and then the up and down arrows to get the pressure cooking time that the recipe calls for. For some of these pots the minimum time that you can set with this method is between 3-5 minutes. If you need less time just watch the pot and when it reaches the the appropriate time hit the cancel button and vent the machine. Likewise, some pots will have a maximum cook time of 60 minutes. Sixty minutes of pressure cooking is sufficient for 99% of all foods with the exception of a brisket or corned beef. In those cases cook to 60 minutes, press cancel, and pressure cook for 30 minutes more. It is not a big deal
Manual function
This button may be labeled “Pressure cook” or “Manual.” It is an important button as it allows you to set your pressure cooking time exactly for your recipe. However, if your machine doesn’t have a manual button see the above workaround.
Saute function
This is an important function. You can use your EPC just like a pot on the stove to soften onions or to brown meat prior to pressure cooking. Some EPCs do not have a saute button, but you can still saute by choosing a pressure cook program (like meat or soup) and leaving the lid off. The bottom of the pot will heat up and you can saute.
Keep warm function
All EPCs that I’m aware of will switch to keep warm after the cooking time has elapsed. This function can be switched off if desired.
Pressure levels
Some EPCs will allow you to pick a high or low cooking pressure for cooking. Some cooking programs on some machines may use a low pressure, but you can usually find a work around using high pressure. The vast majority of recipes use high pressure.
Converting from high to low, or low to high pressuretimes
To covert a high pressure time to a low pressure time, multiply the time by 1.5. Eg: If a recipe calls for 10 min at high pressure, 10 x 1.5 = 15 minutes at low pressure.
To convert a low pressure recipe to using high pressure, multiply the time by 0.7. Eg: If a recipe calls for 15 at low pressure, 15 x 0.7 = 10 minutes at high pressure.
Yogurt/Ferment function
This function is on many EPCs and uses the appliance as a low temperature incubator, and typically does a pretty good job at making yogurt. You only need this function if you plan on making your own yogurt. What if you machine doesn’t have a yogurt button? There are many YouTube tutorials on how to make yogurt in a pressure cooker that lacks a formal yogurt function.
Rice function
You can use your EPC as an excellent rice cooker. However, this is just a programmed pressure cooker button, and you can manually set the pressure cooking time to achieve the same results. Some Instant Pot models cook rice on low pressure, but you can also make excellent rice on high pressure. There are many YouTube tutorials that can tell you how.
More or Less buttons
These just adds or subtracts a few minutes from a program’s set cooking time. By using this function the pressure cooker will cooks the food a bit more or less than the pre-programmed setting. However, you can easily do the same thing using the + and – keys, if you machine lacks these buttons.
Slow cooker function
Many EPCs have this function, but most are not very good at slow cooking. There is a workaround if you are desperate (see YouTube), but you are better off using a standard slow cooker when you want to slow cook a dish.
Sous Vide function
Some EPCs have added this feature turning the EPC into a controlled temperature water bath. This function works, but the temperature regulation is not as precise as a dedicated system, and the pot’s size limits the amounts of food.
Canning function
I know of one EPCs that can run at a higher pressure (The Instant Pot Pro Plus). However, it is not certified for canning. When canning, you need to use a proper canning pressure cooker that can maintain 15 PSI. This EPC can reach 15 PSI, but it can’t maintain that pressure. Although you may be able to safely water bath and high acid can, please play it safe and do not use this machine for canning.
Bottom Line
You buy an EPC to pressure cook, so the only two functions that you need are saute and pressure cook. The extras are only benefit you if you are sure that you will use them, but many cooks don’t. Any EPC that can pressure cook and saute will do everything that most need. More expensive ones may have a few unnecessary features, or some convenience features, but they cook no better than any other unit.
OK, let’s now look at some cost-effective options!
Buying used
Many jumped on the EPC bandwagon, but all fads run their course. That is good news for you, as there are quite a few EPCs available on the used market. Naturally, there is some risk in buying a used appliance. In a perfect world, you could test a unit by heating up a cup of water to pressure to see if the unit works. However, in most instances that will not be possible. A second alternative would be to check the unit for anything that could hamper it from reaching pressure, such as a dented lid. Plug it in and make sure that the display lights up and all of the buttons work. Make sure all parts are present and in reasonably good condition. Don’t buy a pot that shows any error codes on start up.
It is not abnormal to see steam coming off an EPC at the start of cooking. For some machines this amount will be minimal. Other machines may appear to vent quite a bit of steam for the first minute after reaching pressure. However, they will then reach equilibrium, and stop venting. If a unit is leaking steam around the lid and won’t reach pressure, the most likely culprit is the sealing ring. That is the silicone gasket that seals the lid onto the pot and allows the unit to pressurize. Sealing rings are not very expensive. They come in several different styles and sizes. EPC sealing rings typically have 4 dimples on their outer edge (stove-top units typically don’t). Some Chinese-marketed (and resold in the US) units may have the Midea-style ring with 4 “buckles” that attach it to the lid. These can be a bit harder to find, but with a little online searching, they usually can be located.
Manufacturers recommend replacing the sealing ring every 6 months to 2 years. However, with proper care, they can last much longer. I never changed the ring on my Nesco, which I had for many years. My Mealthy unit is still using its original sealing ring 8 years after I purchased it. I checked around the internet, and there were other reports of people still using their original sealing ring 4-8 years after purchasing their EPC. You will know to change it if it looks stretched, damaged or is unable to seal the unit (the unit won’t reach pressure and will leak stem around the lid).
What is the secret to my sealing ring longevity? I gently remove it after each use and either wash it on the top rack of my dishwasher, or in hot soapy water. I store it loose in the pot and carefully insert it when I need to use the pot again. If you do decide to store your unit with the ring installed in the lid, never lock the lid to the pot as long-term compression can deform and damage it.
This Midea sealing ring has 4 protruding “buckles” around its edge. This is a different way to attach a ring to the lid from an Instant Pot, which lacks the buckles. To buy a sealing ring, measure the ring’s inner diameter, as the replacement will list this in either centimeters or inches. For many (not all) 6 quart pots the inner diameter of the sealing ring is 22 cm. Note the style of the ring. Ideally, use the manufacturer’s ring, but that is not always possible.
I purchased an Instant Pot 3-quart Mini at a thrift store for $20. It was used, but in like-new condition. New, it sells for over $70. I use it mostly to prepare side dishes and in my camper van.
The following pots were for sale on Marketplace.
I saw this higher-end 6-quart Instant Pot Ultra selling for $35 on Marketplace.
This 3-quart “Go Wise” unit was on Marketplace for $12.
This 6-quart Crock Pot EPC was being sold on Marketplace for $25.
How about buying new but cheap?
There are quite a few Brand-X 6-quart EPCs selling new for under $70, some in the $50 range. Why are they so inexpensive? Are they worth purchasing? I got an offer from eBay for a NEW 6-quart Bluebow unit for $38, including shipping. I decided to purchase it for this post. Would it be any good? What limitations would it have?
This is the unit that I purchased. It looks pretty fancy, but it does have some minor quirks. However, none of them significantly limit the unit’s basic pressure-cooking functionality.
I made this mushroom risotto using the $38 Bluebow EPC and an Instant Pot recipe, and it turned out delicious!
Construction seems on par with my Mealthy unit, which is good. The touch panel uses photos with lights behind them rather than a true digital screen; however, this does not affect the unit’s functionality.
Like many of these brand-X machines, the Bluebow has its own set of eccentricities. To use low pressure click on the Rice button and use the up and down arrows to adjust the minutes. The Pressure Cook button has a range of 1-60 minutes, but you can go up to 80 minutes of pressure cook time if you use the Soup function. To get the most out of these machines it is important to read the manuals that come with them; despite the fact that they are often in a poor English translation.
This cooker uses a standard 22 cm sealing ring, so I’m guessing you can use an Instant Pot 6-quart-compatible ring if you need a replacement. However, I did not test this.
Lastly, the inner pot is stainless steel. That may be a plus or a minus for you. I like stainless for its durability, and non-stick for its ease of cleaning.
This $38 electric pressure cooker will do all the “pressure cooking” functions that a pot costing 5 times as much will. It won’t have as fancy a display, or some niceties like handles on the inner pot. It won’t have a sous vide function, or yogurt function. Honestly, those are not primary functions for a pressure cooker.
The bottom line is that all EPCs are best suited for pressure cooking, and with the exception of yogurt making, it is better to use a separate device for non-pressure cooking functions.
I’m not recommending this unit over some other Brand -X unit. There are many out there, and I have only tested one. If you want new, but don’t have the cash, you could consider one of these. All you really need is a pressure cook function, some way to adjust the cooking time, and a way to saute. As far as I know, all electric pressure cookers can do those things, although some, like the Bluebow that I tested, required a simple workaround to adjust different cooking times, and others have you use a pressure cooking function with the lid off to saute. However, I have not researched every EPCs on the market, so do your due diligence.
If you prefer a brand name, consider the original Instant Pot Duo, which you can find for around $75-$90 with a bit of hunting. The Duo originally sold for $100 when it was introduced in 2013. That is $143 in cash in 2026. The Duo is a known commodity, and replacement parts are available should you ever need them.
During my decades of pressure cooking, EPCs have become my one-and-only “must-have” cooking appliance. They are amazing, and now they are now relatively inexpensive if you do a little hunting. Happy hunting!
Editors Note: When I was researching this topic I went back to the Amazon and Walmart websites multiple times to check on prices and features of various models. The more I went back to each site the greater the prices increased. Models that were selling for $49 jumped to $59, then $69! It is likely that the websites were using some sort of dynamic pricing. I started this post awhile ago and then got involved in other things. I looked back at those websites today, and, lo and behold, many prices had gone down again. Personally, I think such practices are wrong and it is my hope that state governments ban dynamic pricing schemes which seem predatory to me.
Forty-nine dollars is an excellent price for a 6 quart pressure cooker. When I was researching this post I kept on going back to the page and the price went up to $59, then $69! Guess what? It is now back to $49 on Amazon. Dynamic pricing?
Mike
Images are my own or from websites and are used for educational and informational purposes only.
The war continues, and new tariffs have been imposed, so expect prices to rise further. As I have said many times, learn to cook simple meals at home, and you will find it is one of the best ways to save money.
I grew up in a family of 7, with one income. We almost never ate out. In fact, the first time I ever ate in a real restaurant was in 6th or 7th grade. It was a local family restaurant, and my uncle paid. I think I ordered mac and cheese because it was the cheapest thing on the menu, not because my uncle asked me too, but because I didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity.
My mom was such a great cook that I never felt my lack of dining experiences was a loss. She knew how to stretch a dollar, and I learned the same skill by watching her.
She made all of the usuals, but also a lot of foods that seem rare nowadays. Foods like liver and onions, Swiss steak (made from round steak, oxtail stew, beans with ham hock, and so on. My local market doesn’t sell any of these cuts.
I came across a recipe for Osso Buco that uses the very delicious yet super-tough beef shank. The ingredients were simple, and the meat could easily be tenderized in a pressure cooker, but my grocer didn’t carry beef shank. By the way, Osso Boco sounds very fancy, but it translates to bone with a hole.
Fate was with me, and in a strange way. Last week I was camping in the Northwoods on Lake Superior. My wife loves to check out local grocery stores, and there was one in a nearby tiny town. Lo and behold, they were selling beef shanks. I have a fridge in my homemade adventure van, so I bought one! The ideal shank is relatively small and meaty, this one was more of a Let’s make beef soup type. However, it was good enough and cost a reasonable $5.80.
This is more of a soup bone, but it was the best that I could find. Beef shank is a very tough cut of meat, but it is full of flavor, which is enhanced by the marrow and bone. With an electric pressure cooker, meat goes from tough to tender.
Here are the ingredients; they are simple and basic. The recipe is from Cook At Home Mom. There are many variations on the Osso Buco theme; this one uses dry herbs, while others use fresh.
Here is a visual of the ingredients. Ossco Boco, when made in the oven, can take 3 hours. In an electric pressure cooker, it took 45 minutes of pressure time, with a total time of around one hour.
I started by cutting up my vegetables into a relatively small dice.
I wiped my beef shank with a paper towel. This reduces splattering when browning. I seasoned it with seasoning salt, but you could use salt and pepper, or whatever you like.
I put my Instant Pot clone on sauté high and gave it a few minutes to heat up. Then, I added some EVOO, probably around a tablespoon or two.
I browned the shank on both sides, cooking each side for a few minutes. You can see the huge bone on the flip side of the meat. I was just making this for Julie and me, so there was still plenty of meat. However, this meal would not be one of the classic presentations where an entire shank is served, I would need to separate the meat from the bone. Flexibility in cooking is key.
I removed the shank and set it aside.
I sautéed the vegetables for a few minutes. You can see the fond on the bottom of the pot. Fond has a lot of flavor. I got most of it off and into the dish as I sautéed the vegetables. I’ll get the rest when I deglaze the pan with a little wine.
In went the dry spices. I like to cook them for about 20 seconds; when I can smell them, I move on to the next step. You don’t want to burn them; that would be gross.
In goes the salt. I’m using very little salt because the broth I’ll add has quite a bit of salt in it. I will adjust the salt and pepper at the end of my cooking.
In goes the wine. With a little scraping, I removed the rest of the fond. If you leave burnt food on the bottom of the pot, it could trigger a Burn warning and shut the pot off.
Now the tomatoes, juices and all.
Next, the beef broth. As usual, I’m using Better Than Bouillon.
In goes the browned beef shank. If this were a proper Osso Boco, I would have several smaller and meatier shanks, and everyone could get their own.
I closed the lid on my Instant Pot clone, set the regulator to Seal, and set the machine to high pressure for 45 minutes. When the cook was done, I let it sit in the sealed pot for another 10 minutes before I released the pressure. As I was waiting I sipped on a glass of wine and read the news. It seemed like the Italian thing to do.
Towards the end of the cook, I made the gremolota. A spoonful on top of the Osso Buco adds a nice freshness to the dish. Naturally, I mixed it together before serving.
Here it is served up. I’m serving it with the gemolota on a bed of mashed potatoes. You could use rice, polenta, risotto, or whatever suites your fancy as the base for this dish.
The meat was very tender, and the meal was delicious. We have some international markets in town, and I may drive over to one to see if I can get some other meats I used to like, perhaps oxtails or round steak.
Most electric pressure cookers can follow an Instant Pot recipe exactly. Electric pressure cookers are the most versatile cooking appliances that I have ever used. Recently, I have picked up a few at thrift stores for prices ranging from $7.00 to $20. They are fast, and make delicious food. They now have a multitude of safety features, so don’t worry about them exploiding. If you decide to pick one up read the manual (if it came it one) or watch a Getting Started video on YouTube. It is important to follow the simple safety rules.
Peace
Mike
Camping in my homemade adventure van in the Northwoods, on Lake Superior. Who knew I would bring home a beef shank!
Peace
Mike
Photos are used for educational purposes and are my own.
I was rooting around my basement shelves looking for something, and I came across an item that I had forgotten that I bought. It was a 7″ spring form pan. When did I buy this? Then it came to me, I bought it during the pandemic because I was going to try to make a dessert in my electric pressure cooker. However, I never got around to it.
Supposedly, pressure cookers are great for making cheesecakes. Baking a cheesecake in the same high pressure pot where you make a chuck roast? That sounds counter-intuitive. However, cheesecakes are often made in a water bath, and the steam in a pressure cooker provides a similar environment.
My sister’s birthday was coming up and I wanted to make her a cake. Finding the spring form pan had to be fate. She loves cheesecake, and now I had the tool to make it.
Some people change out the sealing ring when going from savory to sweet foods, as they are afraid that the ring, which retains smells, could transfer those smells to the dessert. My ring had a slight savory food smell, but it was the only ring that I had so I had to risk it. Thankfully, it had no impact on the flavor of my cake.
Let’s get into the recipe. It is from the Instant Pot website. My electric pressure cooker is not an Instant Pot, but most electric pressure pots cook very similarly so I’ll follow the recipe with no change in cooking times.
Here is everything that you need. The ingredients are pretty simple and not very expensive, I’m guessing less than $7. This makes a 7″ cheesecake, so I thought I would search for a 7″ cheesecake online. What would one cost?
Holy cow, look at these prices! I’m not saying that my homemade cheesecake will be as deluxe as any of these, but wow!
Let’s start by crushing the graham crackers. I’m using them instead of digestive biscuits, as I already had a package. One hundred and fifty grams is about one of the packages that is in the box (there are usually three). I put them in a zip lock bag and used a can to crush them. You could also use a rolling pin, or just beat the heck out of them with your fists. Pro tip: My crackers were very slightly stale so I fanned them out on a plate and microwaved them for about 30 seconds. I then let them dry out for a minute or two, and they were as good as new.
I melted the butter in my microwave, added the graham crackers, and mixed it all together.
I well-greased my spring form pan with butter, and added the graham cracker mix and flattened it out with the bottom of a glass. It is OK if the crust goes up the side a bit. I then placed the pan in the freezer to harden the mixture. and continued on with making the batter. 450 g of graham crackers = 16 ounces.
The recipe called for softened cream cheese, so I left the bricks out on the counter for an hour or two. It also called for using a food processor, so I brought out my ol’-faithful and very old Cuisinart. I’m sure a hand mixer would also work.
I blended the cream cheese bricks together. This only took a couple of seconds.
I then added the eggs, one at a time, and blended them.
I measured out 60 g of sour cream, and blended it into the mixture. Sixty grams is around 1/4 of a cup.
I then measured out 100 g of white sugar, and blended it into the mixture. One hundred grams of sugar is about 1/2 cup.
I added the zest of one lemon and the juice of 1/2 of the same lemon. This is less than what the recipe called for, but that’s OK, as this is just a flavoring. A Microplane is great for zesting, if you don’t have one you can peel off the lemon skin (avoiding the white part) and finely chop it with a knife. I blended it all together.
I then added a splash of my homemade vanilla extract. I added a bit more than what was called for in the recipe because I’m a big vanilla fan. Lemon and vanilla are flavorings, so altering them to one’s personal preference isn’t a big deal. I added the 1 and 1/2 T of flour, and the 1/2 t of salt, and blended the mixture until it was smooth. This only took a few seconds.
I prepared my electric pressure cooker (AKA Instant Pot) by adding 1.5 cups of water (to make the steam) and inserting a trivet. In my case I’m using this steaming rack, but any type of heat resistant trivet would do. Many electric pressure cookers include a trivet when you buy the unit. If you don’t have one consider getting one. They are both useful and inexpensive.
I took the spring-form pan out of the freezer and filled it with my filling. I then placed it in my electric pressure cooker. There is no need to cover the spring form pan. Many will construct a sling out of aluminum foil to make it easier to remove the hot pan once it is cooked. I didn’t, and manged to remove it, but it was hot!
I closed the lid and made sure that the pressure regulator was on seal. I pressured cooked the cake for 25 minutes on high with the keep warm setting off. I then let the pot naturally release its pressure. That process didn’t take long as I had only added 12 ounces of water. Still, I opened the regulator valve to confirm that there was no more steam and I made sure that the float valve was down before attempting to open the pot.
I let the cheesecake cool on the counter for 15 minutes, and then transferred it to the fridge uncovered for 1 hour. I then covered it and let it chill. You want to refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours, I let my chill overnight.
Here it is out of the spring form pan and ready to celebrate my sister’s birthday. This size cake will make 7-8 slices. It would be delicious with a topping like canned cherry pie filling, but we ate it as is.
A rich and delicious cheese cake that came together in no time, and that was made in a pressure cooker. It was perfectly smooth and crack free. Who knew!
I’m not claiming that this $7 cheesecake is as good as those that selling for $60, but it was still rich, luxurious, and delicious. Inflation, the war, and every changing tariffs are getting many of us down. For very little money you can put a moment of sweetness back in your life.
The separation had to happen, it was our only solution. Julie went her way, and I went mine. We both knew that it would work out in the end.
I think I just wrote a bit of click-bait, so sorry about that. A few months ago we accepted an invitation to go to a nearby family campout from my family, and a few weeks after that we received an invite for my nephew’s baby shower in Minnesota. The kids and Julie went to Minnesota, and I went local to my side’s gathering.
I would be arriving home before noon, and the rest of the family would return around 3 PM. I wasn’t sure which one of my kids would be staying for dinner, but I did know that they would be hungry. I also knew that I didn’t have time to shop, so it was time to shop my freezer. That is the advantage of always having basic staples on hand.
I found a couple of packets of stew meat that I vacuum sealed almost a year ago that I could quickly defrost. I also had some vegetables on hand. Their combination would make a decent stew in my electric pressure cooker.
I’m following a recipe from the Salty Marshmallow loosely. I be using the recipe as a guide, but I will be making adjustments. When it comes to soups and stews there is a lot of leeway.
Here is the recipe
Let’s get started.
I defrosted the meat and then patted it dry using a couple paper towels. This will result in less spattering when I brown it. I also seasoned it with a little Season all. Salt and pepper would also work. Like a lot of stew meat that is precut, these chunks are large. If I cut them into smaller pieces they will pressure cook faster. However, I need to make a quick and easy dinner so I’m leaving them as is.
I placed my pressure cooker (EPC) on saute and I added some cooking oil. I browned the meat in batches. If you crowd the meet too much it will steam and not brown properly. I removed the meat to a plate after it was browned.
While the meat was browning I chopped up some vegetables. This is one onion, 3 stalks of celery, and 4 carrots. You can vary the amounts within reason. I’m cutting the carrots large because I’m leaving the meat chunks large. It will take longer to cook the meat and I don’t want the vegetables to turn to mush. I could also partially pressure cook the meat under pressure, depressurize, and add the vegetables for another round. That is a better idea, but it is also more work. This option works too.
In goes the onion. I’ll cook it until it softens, just a couple of minutes. You may see some burnt food on the bottom of the pan. That is actually call fond and will add flavor to the stew. I will need to scrape it off in a process called de-glazing. Otherwise, it may cause the pot to give me a “burn” warning. A burn warning shuts down the pot, at which point I would have to scrape off the bottom anyway.
I’m now adding a heaping tablespoon of garlic (really jarlic, as it is jarred garlic), as well as approximately one teaspoon (rounded) of Italian seasoning. I’ll cook this just until I can smell the spices and then go on to the next step. As far as spices are concerned, there are many options: thyme, rosemary, oregano to name a few. They could be used singly or in combination. A bay leaf could be added, but I didn’t because I was in a hurry. You can also use just salt and pepper if that is what you have on hand. Bonus tip: you could use dehydrated onion instead of the onion, and garlic powder instead of the jarlic. This will alter the flavor a bit, but the stew would still be delicious. If you were using dehydrated onion and garlic add them when you add the broth.
I’m adding about one-half of a cup of a dry red wine and scrapping off the fond. Acidic liquids are great for de-glazing. If I didn’t want to add the wine I could have use some of the beef broth. That works well enough.
Now a tablespoon or two of Worcestershire Sauce. Worcestershire Sauce adds umami to a dish.
I’m now adding around 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. I’ll also add around the same of salt. I always go light on salt because I use bouillon for broth, and that is already salty. I’ll adjust for salt at the end of cooking.
I added a bit over 3 cups of beef broth that I made from beef bouillon.
The recipe calls for 10 ounces of tomato sauce. I had a 15 oz can, so that is what I added. It is all good. Instead of tomato sauce I could have used a can of diced tomatoes, or even a can of condensed tomato soup. It is fine to be creative if you stay with similar substitutions.
Back in goes the browned stew meat. I had quite a bit of stew meat as I wasn’t sure how hungry everyone would be. I’ll add a bit more broth than what was stated in the recipe to compensate for this increase.
Now the vegetables that I chopped earlier.
I had these baby potatoes around, so I used them. They are prewashed, making my life a bit easier. I did examine them and cut off any dubious parts. I’m keeping them whole for the same reason that I cut the carrots large. It will take them longer to cook this way allowing me to add them at the start of cooking. I could have used regular potatoes cut up and peeled if I wanted to.
This is what we have; it already looks pretty tasty. Note that I’m below the max fill line. Pressure cookers need some space to create steam.
The recipe called for 35 minutes at high pressure. I usually manually put in the pressure cooking time, but this time I used the preset button. If I had cut the meat and vegetables smaller I would have lowered my time to around 25-30 minutes depending on how soft I wanted the vegetables and meat. Remember to put the exhaust valve to “seal.” I had a lot of liquid volume so it took around 15 minutes to reach pressure. After the pressure cook time completed I waited 5 minutes for everything to settle before I moved the exhaust valve to “vent.” I made sure that no more steam was venting and that the float valve was down before I attempted to open the pot.
I tasted and adjust the seasoning. I needed a bit more salt. I put the pot back n saute. I mixed up a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch with the same about of cold water and mixed it into the bubbling stew to thicken it.
Earlier in the day I made a basic white bread in a bread maker. However I added 1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning to turn it into a herb bread.
The herb bread baked up beautifully. I’ll serve it with the stew.
Here is my rustic stew served up with my homemade herb bread. Everyone said it was delicious.
Costs got you down? Feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck? Inflation, war, tariffs, they all combine to shrink you available cash by increasing the costs of necessary items. I don’t have the power to fix those things, but I can pass on tips to make your dollars stretch further.
Bread is the staff of life, and has always been considered an inexpensive meal extended. You can still buy a loaf of bread for around $2, but the quality of that bread is quite literally rubbish. I recently searched the website of a local grocery chain and the average brand name breads cost between $3.50-$6.50 a loaf.
I have made many excellent breads in a bread maker for much less than that, but I wondered how inexpensively I could make a decent loaf of bread now, as prices for basic ingredients have climbed.
Most bread recipes use bread flour due to its higher gluten content. However, bread flour is more expensive than all-purpose flour, and may be harder to find in some locations. AP flour can be found in every grocery store, dollar store and even some gas station grocery sections.
I researched bread recipes that used AP flour and settled on this one from the YouTube channel, “Robyn On The Farm.” I have made other recipes of hers with good results. I’ll be making a 1.5 pound loaf, as that most closely approximates a typical bread. I’m sourcing my prices from Aldi, Walmart, and Amazon websites. I’m rounding up, so it is likely that the actual cost of a loaf will be slightly lower than what I’m calculating. Let’s take a look at the recipe.
This is the recipe screenshot directly from “Robyn On The Farm.” We will be making the 1.5 pound loaf today. I am making one substitution, using cooking oil instead of butter. I’ll also show the price of the bread if you use butter later in this post.
Let’s take a look at the ingredient costs:
We will use 2T of cooking oil instead of 3T of butter. Why the volume reduction? Butter actually has water in it where cooking oil does not. If you need to make a conversion from butter to cooking oil reduce the amount by 1/4th to 1/3rdwhen making bread. Cost of the oil used for this recipe = 8 cents.
We are only using 1/4th cup of milk, which is around 5 cents worth.
The Aldi website had 5 pounds of AP flour for $2.15, but my store sells it for less than $2. At the $2.15 price the amount of flour being used is 30 cents.
Only 2T of sugar are used in this recipe. The cost based on the above is around 4 cents.
I didn’t calculate out the cost of the salt, I’ll generously assume that it cost around 2 cents/loaf.
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You will save a tremendous amount of money by buying yeast in a bulk package instead of those little envelopes. I store my yeast in the freezer, and I am using yeast that I opened almost a year ago. Cost of the yeast is around 4 cents.
Total cost for a loaf of bakery quality bread = 53 Cents
You will also need a bread machine. You can pick one up at a thrift store for pennies on the dollar.
This KBS machine was $20 at a thrift store, but everything is half off on Mondays, so I paid only $10 for it. You may have to do a little hunting, but you will eventually find one. I wrote a whole post on buying used machines, so use my page’s search tool if you need some tips.
Lets get into the recipe!
It is always a good idea to gather your ingredients and equipment. I’m reading the recipe off my computer.To be honest, it would be a much better idea to print it up. Computers and cooking don’t always mix well.
Add the 3/4 C water to you bread maker’s pan. I add all the ingredients with the pan outside of the machine to avoid spilling something into its electricals. We have chlorinated water which can inhibit yeast growth, so I use the filtered water from my fridge which I warm up in the microwave to “baby bottle” warm.You could also use bottled water, and many filtered water pitchers will remove chlorine.
Now add the 1/4 C of milk. You also want this warm. If it burns your hand it will kill the yeast. If it is too cold it will retard the yeast’s growth. A few seconds in the microwave should do it.
In goes the 2T of sugar.
Now the 2T of cooking oil. I’m substituting oil for butter as it is less expensive. I’ll also give the cost of a loaf using butter instead of oil at the end of this post.
I always weight my flour; 314 grams = 2 5/8 C. I’m off by 3 grams, but that is less than a 1% variation, and therefore insignificant.
I’m adding the 1 and 1/8t of salt. Always level off your measuring cups and spoons. Salt can kill yeast if it is too concentrated, so I’ll keep them separated in the pan. I’m using fancy pink salt. However, any salt will do, this is just what I grabbed.
Now the 1 and 1/8t of yeast. I buried the salt in the flour, but I could have also poured it into one corner and the yeast in another.
Place the baking pan in the bread machine and select the “Basic” or “White” bread cycle, 1.5 pound loaf (750 grams), and medium crust (or your choice of crust). Press start.
After the bread has mixed for a short amount of time, I’ll use a spatula to knock down any errant flour towards the dough ball. This isn’t absolutely necessary, and in most cases that flour will eventually mix in. However, I want all of the flour incorporated to check the dough ball consistency.
The dough ball is just about right, but a little slack as it isn’t forming a ball. This is despite weighing the flour. I’ll add 1T of flour, wait around 30 seconds and add more if needed. If the dough was too dry I would do the same with water, 1T at a time.
The dough ball now looks perfect. Round and slightly tacky. Now I can close the lid and go on to another project. The machine will handle the rest, and I’ll have real bakery quality bread in around 3 hours.
Here is the bread out of the bread maker. It looks great, but how does it taste?
Honestly, it tastes great! AP flour has less gluten, so the dough is a bit weaker which yields a more open loaf. It is also a bit softer, and less chewy. Using butter instead of oil would add some additional richness, but it tastes wonderful as it. This bread is definitely bakery quality.
Changes and additions
You can add or substitute some ingredients as below:
The original recipe called for 3T of butter which costs around 30 cents. If you made the loaf with butter instead of oil the loaf’s cost would be 75 cents. Still a bargain!
Adding 1T of instant potato flakes will keep moisture in your bread and it will stay fresh longer. This adds about 3 cents to the cost of a loaf
Other additions
Vital Wheat Gluten can be purchased in most grocery stores, but you will find much better value on-line. Adding around 1T to your bread makes the dough stronger; similar to the results that you get from using bread flour. Adding 1T of VWG adds around 8 cents to the total cost of the loaf.
-You can also dress up your bread by topping it with seeds.
-You can make it an herb bread by adding 1t of Italian seasoning, or turn it into an onion loaf by adding 1t of onion powder.
-I often add 1-2T of ground flax seeds for added taste and health benefits.
-You can choose the dough cycle instead of the bread cycle. When the cycle completes take the dough out and form it into hot dog or hamburger buns on a greased baking sheet. Cover and allow the dough to rise for around 30 minutes and bake at 375F (190C) until done, around 14-18 minutes.
-You can use the dough as a base for a homemade pizza.
The options are as varied as your imagination.
You can have warm bakery quality bread for around 1/4th of the cost of crumby store bread, or 1/12th the cost of a premium store loaf. Think about that. All for about 5 minutes of work!
