topic Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me. in Kitchen

the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

so so — Fri, 31 May 2019 15:36:56 GMT

I was a sucker and thought i needed one of the mini ones. I thought there would be some everyday recipes in the booklet but that was not the case. Now where do I find recipes for such a small instapot?? Have not even unpacked it yet. thinking about returning it... the book looks complicated. anyone own a mini one? I'm going to send Meredith Lawrence an email and see if she has suggestions. miss her so much!

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

fthunt — Fri, 31 May 2019 16:12:31 GMT

Suggestion: Return it.

Even tho Q shows pressure cookers filled to the top of the pot - manufacturer says don't fill with food more than 2/3. (two-thirds).

Hot dogs come to mind to cook in the little cooker. Gotta love hot dogs?

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

depglass — Fri, 31 May 2019 16:20:13 GMT

Hate to be a wet blanket, but I don't think anyone needs one of this size. Hot dogs can be done in boiling water in a regular sauce pan. I can see this for Hotdogs in a camper, however, it would cut down on the number of pans. For home use, smaller amounts can be cooked in a 4 or 6 quart, like maybe a half recipe.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

aroc3435 — Fri, 31 May 2019 16:49:42 GMT

@so so For this size cooker it would mean 7 cup capacity including liquid, to leave head room and the solid food recipe portion you would fill it only to the halfway mark.

So, some ideas off the top of my head: Probably three chops would fit in it, steel cut oats, grits, vegetable sides, 1 cup of rice, which will double to 2 cups in volume, chili con carne, soups from scratch, a small--maybe up to 1 and 1/2 lb. chuck roast, a portion of a pork loin, a couple of cornish hens, maybe halved or quartered to fit.

The main thing is to look at 4 or 6 qt. pressure cooker recipes and reduce ingredient amounts by 1/2 to 2/3rds. When I'm using a pressure cooker recipe for the first itme I set it for a little less time than the recipe states because I can always repressurize the dish again if it needs to go a little longer but can't undo too well done.

Hope this helps.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

Nightowlz — Fri, 31 May 2019 16:47:51 GMT

We have 2 6 qt pressue cookers. I have 2 so I have a backup. LOL!!! My large oval pressure cooker stopped working several years ago. I find the 6 qt large enough for the 2 of us. It's big enough to make extra for leftovers. I don't understand why anything smaller then a 6 qt is needed. You can do everything in it you can do in the smaller one.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

Marp — Fri, 31 May 2019 17:21:43 GMT

@Nightowlz wrote:
We have 2 6 qt pressue cookers. I have 2 so I have a backup. LOL!!! My large oval pressure cooker stopped working several years ago. I find the 6 qt large enough for the 2 of us. It's big enough to make extra for leftovers. I don't understand why anything smaller then a 6 qt is needed. You can do everything in it you can do in the smaller one.

You can also do everything in it that you can do in a larger one, just smaller quantities. Perfect size for one or two adults.

I have a 2 qt, a 4 qt and a 6 qt with the 2 qt getting the most use from hard cooked eggs to vegetables to stews and soups. It is also convenient when doing a recipe that calls for cooking one aspect (a protein) then removing it and adding the next item (vegetables). I do the add ins in the 2 qt and everything is done in one step. No pressurizing, cooking, depressurizing, remove product, add next product(s), repressurize, cook, depressurize then serve.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

Havarti — Fri, 31 May 2019 17:46:34 GMT

I have always liked really simple cooking, so I bought an Insta Pot several years ago...thinking it was simple. It came with a thick book, that started out telling me I needed to season the pot and I was already turned off by the whole thing. It just seemed like too much work it figure it all out. Obviously, it is not that much work because so many people just LOVE their Insta Pots. I found a new home for mine with someone who loved it and I was glad to free up the space. It still seems odd to me that so many dearly love their machine and others are stumped by aspects of it. Fortunately, most of those that seem stumped at times have more patience and determination than I did.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

sidsmom — Fri, 31 May 2019 19:45:58 GMT

@Havarti wrote:
I have always liked really simple cooking, so I bought an Insta Pot several years ago...thinking it was simple. It came with a thick book, that started out telling me I needed to season the pot and I was already turned off by the whole thing. It just seemed like too much work it figure it all out. Obviously, it is not that much work because so many people just LOVE their Insta Pots. I found a new home for mine with someone who loved it and I was glad to free up the space. It still seems odd to me that so many dearly love their machine and others are stumped by aspects of it. Fortunately, most of those that seem stumped at times have more patience and determination than I did.

@Havarti

“...season the pot”

No. It’s stainless steel.

You probably got an off brand and not an authentic Instant Pot.

Instant Pot doesn’t make a 2qt model....3qt, but not 2.

Or maybe a cast iron skillet, which needs seasoning.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

grandma2pkmh — Fri, 31 May 2019 19:44:16 GMT

@so so I have the 2qt pressure and enjoy it. It is so simple to use. I live alone so it's great to make barbeque chicken or pork. Just 1 piece of chicken(even frozen) some sauce and it's ready in 20 min. Takes less time to reach pressure than my 6 quart.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

eddyandme — Fri, 31 May 2019 20:52:18 GMT

Just got my 2qt few minutes ago! It's a nice size to leave out on my counter. Just me and my furbaby: he's the meat-eater, me, not so much. But, think this will come in handy to cook up small amounts of pountry/meats for us.

@grandma2pkmh, I'll have to try your BBQ chicken recipe. How much sauce do you put in; and, do you add a cup of water or broth?

Any other easy recipes would be appreciated.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

grandma2pkmh — Fri, 31 May 2019 21:39:18 GMT

@eddyandme I usually use 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup water. Also a hint my daughter told me is to push the Brown button 1st, let the cooker heat up (maybe 5 min) before you add everything and it will come to pressure quicker.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

eddyandme — Fri, 31 May 2019 21:47:12 GMT

@grandma2pkmh wrote:
@eddyandme I usually use 1/2 cup sauce and 1/2 cup water. Also a hint my daughter told me is to push the Brown button 1st, let the cooker heat up (maybe 5 min) before you add everything and it will come to pressure quicker.

Thanx, @grandma2pkmh , great tip! I never would have thought of that!

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

alicedee — Fri, 31 May 2019 22:09:44 GMT

I live alone, and the 3qt. Instant pot is perfect for me. I’ve made a small beef roast, spaghetti, chicken & pasta, tuna noodle casserole in it....everything tastes better than when I cook on the stovetop or in the oven. I’ve also done hamburger patties wrapped in foil, and hard cooked eggs.

i was nervous first time I used it.,,,then just jumped right in. Probably use it twice a week.

The smaller size size is also easier to store in my tiny apartment kitchen.

i look online for recipes. This weekend I’m using it to make stuffed peppers.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

so so — Fri, 31 May 2019 22:20:20 GMT

Thanks for all the suggestions...... I'm going to send it back. i'll stick with the good old crockpot. easy enough for me.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

Kachina624 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 03:31:35 GMT

I think small PCs are a waste of space and money. You can always cook a small amount in a 4 or 6 qt, but can't cook a lot in a small pot. You can use any PC recipe on the internet; you just adjust the quanity for your small cooker. Using a PC is not rocket science. Once you've used it a couple of times, you'll understand how simple they are. I think it's a lot of fun to experiment with different recipes. Don't be intimidated by a cooking device.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

Marp — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 00:08:20 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
I think small PCs are a waste of space and money. You can always cook a small amount in a 4 or 6 qt, but can't cook a lot in a small pot. You can use any PC recipe on the internet; you just adjust the quanity for your small cooker. Using a PC is not rocket science. Once you've used it a couple of times, you'll understand how simple they are. I think it's a lot of fun to experiment with different recipes. Don't be intimidated by a cooking device.

There is a limit to the how small an amount one can cook in a 6 qt. pressure cooker. One boneless chicken breast or one potato with maybe a couple of carrots barely takes up space in my 6 qt cooker and one cup of water or broth doesn't even cover the bottom.

When I'm cooking for myself the 2 qt is perfect. If I were cooking for family or me and a teenage boy then it would be the 6 qt.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

Ilovetea — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 16:04:41 GMT

I have had multiple sizes of Cooks Essentials pressure cookers over the years including the 2qt. They usually quit working after a year or two but loved them when they did work. . My 2 qt stopped working after about 6 months. While the size was nice it was a bit smaller than I needed. I now have 3 and 6 qt Instant Pots. Just got the 3 qt within the last month and the additional 1 qt does make a difference.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

brandiwine — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 16:37:44 GMT

Have no idea what the point of a 2 quart size is. It would hold very little. Not worth my time.

Re: the mini 2 quart pressure cooker. I don't think its for me.

retiredatlast — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 03:40:43 GMT

I just got the 2 qt. CE mini pressure cooker as an "as is" for $24.50 with free shipping. I have used it now for about a week and I find it to be just great. I have a 3 qt. and a 6 qt Instant Pot which I use quite a bit, but this one is great for cooking a small amount as I live alone. I have made hard boiled eggs, brown rice (1 C rinsed brown rice, 1 1/4 C water, pinch of kosher salt- used the rice setting and adjusted the time for 22 minutes, let it naturally release after turning off the pot. It was the best rice- fluffy and perfectly done) and most recently cooked rotelle pasta and meat sauce in 5 minutes, using dry pasta. I browned the meat with garlic, onion and diced green peppers. Added a small jar of pasta sauce, 3 C of dry rotelle pasta and water to the top of the pasta. Cooked on high pressure for 5 minutes and did a quick release. Stirred and added parmesan cheese to taste. Honestly, it was enough for at least 3 hungry people. Needless to say, so far I am very pleased with this purchase. And the "as is" item appeared to be brand new. I love my Instant Pots, but this serves a purpose because of it's small size and ease of set up and use.