Rick, IPOT or Instant Pot is a pressure cooker and easy and SAFE to use. Cooks food in a short time. I make baked beans in 1:30 min...no soaking the beans. Great for soups any type of meat or vegetable I did a baked custard yesterday in 10 min.. Another great appliance is an Air Fryer. Once you cook bacon  in it you will not go back to frying, same with a grilled cheese.

Phyllis, we had the leftovers of the baked custard today. When I told hubby that this is it he said.............so this is Custards last stand.........

QuoteRick, IPOT or Instant Pot is a pressure cooker and easy and SAFE to use. Cooks food in a short time. I make baked beans in 1:30 min...no soaking the beans. Great for soups any type of meat or vegetable I did a baked custard yesterday in 10 min.. Another great appliance is an Air Fryer. Once you cook bacon  in it you will not go back to frying, same with a grilled cheese.

My Mom had a pressure cooker. An old aluminum Mirro, with a jiggler weight on top.  Often cooked bottom round roasts in it. "The boys" (brother and I) were often left to do the potatoes in it. Made great potatoes for mashing with butter and milk + S&P.  I still have that pot in the attic but not sure the gasket is still good.  However, my wife bought a new stainless steel pressure cooker but never got to use it. It too is in the attic. I still have little to no incentive to do much. Just my son and I here now.

Rick, I  read a lot first before buying one as I was very nervous as I had not  been around them in the past. I have the 6 quart which is fine for the two of
us.

https://www.wayfair.ca/dining/pdp/instant-pot-6qt-duo-nova-7-in-1-electric-pressure-cooker-istp1035.html

You might want to get the new one down and try it...you would be surprised at how tender the food is and tasty too!! Both you and your son need to eat, might as well enjoy the instant pot.

Rick, an IP is an Instapot or some are called Instant Pots.

https://www.instapots.com/


https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/appliances/multi-cooker-reviews/a25653352/best-instant-pot/

QuoteYou might want to get the new one down and try it...you would be surprised at how tender the food is and tasty too!! Both you and your son need to eat, might as well enjoy the instant pot.

This got me to recalling the Pot Roast and potatoes & gravy. Making me hungry,  It was definitely tender, and tasty. Cut on plate with a fork. I think we did carrots in with the potatoes.  I think I'm working myself into a cooking venture.   

Rick , yes cut the meat with a fork. You can also throw in onions,turnip,butternut squash along with your potatoes and carrots if you like. Lots of recipes on line too! If you like spaghetti ,it cooks in 12-15 min. No boil water cooking the pasta, just throw you pasta on top of the sauce with or without meat and cook 12-15 min.there you have your dinner. all in one pot less clean up to do.

Rick, cook the bacon first.  That brings out the flavor better.  Then add all the other ingredients.  BTW, the Instant Pot is not used on top of the stove like the old pressure cooker.  It is electric and doesn't need your attention to regulate the heat.  Just put everything in, put the lid on, set the timer and walk away. So easy and safer, too.

EDIT....... Ignore the above.  Just realized Amy's links told you the IP is electric.

I recently gave away my six-quart slow cooker that I had used for meal prep. Last year I donated my microwave, tabletop grill, and larger stew pots. The microwaved food had a tinny aftertaste, as did the slow-cooker, hard to explain but somehow tinny. I much prefer using my oven or my large convection bake toaster oven.

I use these following two several times a week, a six qt. Dutch oven and a 3.6 cast iron casserole pan. Both have a ceramic inside lining.

Otherwise, I have a large manual wok that cooks almost instantly. I have a 12 inch cast iron skillet, a six-inch cast-iron skillet, and a 12 inch cast iron grill pan. I have one large and one medium anodized saucepan and two commercial-sized baker's half sheets. All my cast iron cookware is from Lodge.

I have a 1.5 qt crockpot/slow cooker that I use for busy days. I simply no longer prep, cook and store as I used to. It's no longer practical, and with my plant-based anti-inflammatory diet, I eat more fresh foods.

I admit I'm having issues with this diet, especially giving up dairy and red meat. However, some of the plant-based meats are good.  And compared to last year; I'm up by six thousand dollars in ER & medical bills.

Tomorrow I might try to venture to the attic to see what I have. But I think it's a stove top pressure cooker. I don't think that matters.

I hope you realize you're reminding me of past food goodies. While looking around the net for pressure cooker stuff I recalled another favorite of mine. We rarely had it after I married because the kids didn't like it---- Pork chops and dried Lima beans (in pressure cooker). A good hardy, stick to your ribs meal.

Rick, I still have that old pressure cooker & replaced that gasket many times before finding & buying a steel one that no longer has the "dinger" on top but does ooze out the steam. Back in the 60s & 70s a lot was said about cooking in aluminum (bad for the kidneys) so I started using the cast iron & stainless steel with copper bottom, remember those? I also found a small electric Presto cooker that was "3 meals in one pot" and except for self timers, pretty much the earliest instapot. I use it still for potatoes & always cook carrots in it.... I use the heart of a stalk of celery in my carrots & gives them a fresh flavor. Only have to bring up the steam, it does have a dinger, carrots are tender that fast. I add a tablespoon or more of brown sugar & let them bubble a tad before serving. My kids would eat a pound or two & still will.

I've bought a few of the newer appliances but they are sitting on a shelf in the basement. Kept going back to the old stuff. I have a cast iron Dutch oven with rack that was my mother's pride & joy, a wedding present about 100 years ago. That comes out for roasts, for sure, or a roasted chicken. The rest of my cast iron is Lodge, Patricia.....  The way I look at it is, a couple times a week I will fix something that tastes good for several days, either freeze half or eat until gone. Got anything better to do?

I've been on a jag of pork steaks, juicier than chops & I make a gravy in the brownings, pour off the grease, add butter & flour to brown, then add water & S&P. Some of my bunch has a problem with soy & it has been added to everything (even Crisco, all the stuff I used to use EXCEPT real butter) so gravy is made with butter.

Time to shut down, just lost a paragraph.... no clue why it disappeared! Sweet dreams & God Bless.

Boy! That discussion made me hungry!  And here it is, time to hit the haystack for the night.  I got a lot done today and I'm ready for the haystack!  So I wish you all a peaceful nights sleep and a happy tomorrow.  And may God bless us, every one!

I gave away a bunch of cast iron cookware that my younger son had. He was a camper and the iron was good for that.  I did keep a few pieces but haven't used them. Have a large Magnalite Roaster (turkey sized) stashed away in attic too. I have all the tools but need the ambition and incentive to do it. 

for MaryPage

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/index.php?topic=11.msg211753#msg211753

Good morning

Overcast here and the temp is ABOVE 0°

A day of rest here..will just do the main chores and sew

Jane ,we really got the ball rolling on cooking and cooking appliances.

Need to scoot...

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning everyone.well I took the pils and usual meds and wen to bed around Mid nighe and justwoke up and tested My blood sugar about 8;15 Am. Nancy hase gone to church and left me a  note as to what she has done. I am going now to watch our preacher on line second service. they do three defernt times three of same services. It is 37ºf now.and clear. see you all later on.

Lloyd

It was 18 deg. when I woke up at 7 a.m. but has warmed up to 33 now.  Some more melting of icy spots on the roads should take place.  Our neighborhood street is clear but some streets had melting from yesterday and re-freezing overnight.

One last comment on cooking appliances...I would cook with cast iron all the time, if I could.  But, when the pans are filled with food they are too heavy to lift in and out of the oven.  David will do that for me, if he is around, but if he is busy elsewhere then I have to do it and I can't.  My strength does definitely not move mountains, as I used to think it could.

I know what you mean, Rammel, about finding the incentive to cook.  Once in awhile the urge to cook will strike but now, most of the time, I only cook because I have to keep us from starving.   

Speaking of that, I need to go get our Sunday brunch on the table.  Fresh fruit and nuts for a starter and blueberry muffins for the main dish.  We don't eat heavy breakfasts here and never have but I usually do a little extra for Sundays because then we won't have the "big" meal of the day until late afternoon.  Only two meals on Sundays gives the cook a little free time.

OK....that's enough from me about cooking.....for now.

Take care, All.

Thank you, Bubble!  Thank you so very, very much!

Well, did I miss Q. Went outside and noticed that yes there is a dance to be had. All cleaned up for now . Turned out to be a beautiful sunny day here, birds are fed and they are not holding their tummies anymore.

Maybe quantity cooking and freezing the rest in meals for two could be the answer.......cook once eat all week. Make many different dishes and you're good to go.

Gloria, is missing...

FRANKIE TESTED FREE OF COVID!!!                

Good morning, a gloomy one with frost on everything. Been reading and remembering those good times in SN. Seemed odd to have a goat named for me but all of us who posted in the Missouri forum had a goat named for us. I remember when Martex got mad and stopped posting. Agnes from NH did a thing for my birthday and Martex got mad because she did one, too, but being on the east coast Agnes posted it earlier because of the time difference. I felt bad for both of them but I never  thought anyone would do anything for me like that and there 2 of them did. Martex stopped emailing me, too, Agnes and Mare lived on opposite sides of a mountain and never met each other.   

PHYLLIS  where my daughter now lives off the grid every one on that old ranch helps each other without being asked. Just the way people lived years ago. We have so many new people in this building now they see someone struggling to do something and walk right by them.

AMY  there is a hospital if Kingman-the biggest town near my family in Az. and my daughter said it is not much more than an emergency room.
For surgery most in the area head to Phoenix to the Mayo Clinic. That is a 3 hour drive one way. Los Vegas is much closer but most have health insurance that is good only in Arizona.

Been thinking what to bring on the trip, how about lasagna? My sauce is always home made,  always made with native tomatoes every year and frozen. I never buy the one in jars.

PHYLLIS  I took a container of 15 bean soup out of the freezer an letting it thaw slowly in the fridge. Will be a few hours before I can eat, had breakfast late.

SHIRLEY  I have thought for years it is a pity those who hack into computers do not use the brains God gave them for good instead of bad. I still miss working with PSP. Until my grand gets the cd player that did not come with this Dell I cannot even install it again. He has been working harder than ever since the company has set up where they can have group lessons on the computers. At least they are not sending him out of the country anymore. Being on salary he is always on call.

AMY  wish I had more counter space in my kitchen, if I did I would have an air fryer and an IP. Before I broke the handle off the cover of my pressure cooker I used to for beans, 1 hour start to finishand they tas ted as good as if they baked in the oven all day.

RICK  your pressure cooker sounds like what I had. One of my brothers gave it to my Mom in 1942. She never used it, afraid of it. She gave it to me when I got married. Even after I could not use the cover anymore I still used the pan for years. After years of cooking for 5 plus some of my family stopped  by at meal time learning how to cook for just me was hard. I did make too much and would put left overs in containers and freeze. Made my own TV dinners. I sure liked not having to cook on Monday working all day. Always go home tired on Mondays, sane job I had all week but maybe because on week ends I could stop and put my feet up if I felt like it. I enjoyed cooking but loved baking, especially pies. I gave all the cast iron pans to my daughter, some are really old, my Mon used them. She uses them and takes care of them, no trace of rust on them last time I was at her home. Every time I see the commercial for the Emeril Lagasse cooker (does/cooks) just about every thing I get the urge to send for it Does not cost anymore than the counter oven I bought several years ago and never liked.

LLOYD  looks like you slept better last night. Glad for you.

PHYLLIS  right now at almost1pm it is 30° and feels like 22°. The reason I gave my cast iron pans my daughter was because even empty I could not pick them up. I am not able to pick up much weight at all anymore

AMY  not missing just very slow getting started. Only 3 hours sleep last night and fighting to stay awake now. son picked up meds ar pharmacy then home and have no idea when he will be here. would most likely I would just fall asleep and the phone would ring.

JANE  wonderful news about Frankie. I can see the 2 of you when you get together for the first time again with big hugs.

Have a good day and stay safe.

JANE  all the cooks in here are getting to me because I cannot  even stand to fry an egg anymore.

Jane.that is great news!!! Weight off of everyone's shoulders too!

Gloria, I have beans cooking in the Instant pot now..I am also tempted to try Rick's lima beans in there , love them with butter! Lasagna sounds perfect.

Ok Patricia, where are you?

Good late morning from the Interior at 9:56 AM. I turned off the alarm this morning as I had a hard time getting to sleep.

Gloria, I feel the same about reading about Jane and Amy's endeavors. I've always been more about the meat and potatoes style than knowledgeable about canning and preserving. Then when I was on my own, I discovered meal prepping and would cook all Sunday to fill up my freezer for the week.

I kept a contents list on the inside freezer door, so I always knew what I had. I only heated it after work, which was lovely as I could come home anytime between three am and three pm and have a homecooked meal after a shift and two taxi or bus rides. There is no reason to meal prep, and I eat more fresh food, so my freezer isn't as full.

Jane, I'm so happy for you and Frankie!

We still have about 1000 new cases daily, and most of the hospitals are doing selective care with nursing staff becoming ill themselves or calling out. We've lost nine that I know of in this building, although they're not publicizing them. The first was a sweet man from one of those seven apts on the first floor. He would constantly stop you to say hello and ask you how you were even if he had just seen you.

He would get so excited about his birthday and tell you his mother said he still looked so young and did you agree? He was easily six foot three with a healthy figure, so everyone always complimented him on how young he looked. Then his mother died, the state took guardianship, and Covid came. I remember being so angry, and he was only 59. Covid also took all of that group of men who gathered all day in the first-floor break room to gossip and play cards all day.

I'm right behind you, Amy. I'm composing my daily book.     I started at 9:56 and finished at 10:25.

Gloria,
Do you know if Agnes is still alive? 

I know that Martex hasn't posted out on
Facebook for a year or so.   

Sandy

Sandy, I saw that someone mentioned Martex in 2020 as still alive. It's been several years, perhaps 2013-2014, since I heard about Agnes.

Not much to say tonight except Tommy has died. I've expected it for days & it has been a nightmare of him not giving up. Andy was over at the time so helped me get him into a comfortable size box with a new white bath towel to wrap around him. He seemed to be unconsious but moaned and moved a little for the whole evening until just now. The other two have been to see him, act like they understand & both went off, Callie back outside & not sure where Tiger went. My youngest son wants to come bury him down by the river in the morning, where his baby sister was buried 12+ years ago. I don't think I will do this again, next time one is dying I will take to the vet & hope that is the right choice. They fear other people so much that no matter how weak they will fight to not have anyone else around.

Jane, happy Frankie is free of Covid. My oldest gr-son that tested positive & had a good case, is okay & back to work. He had all the vacs & boosted.  None of the rest of the family caught it so all are okay. The other gr-son & significant other ended up NOT testing positive so Dr said theirs is a flu bug with sinus infection they "shared". Dare we hope it has reached a peak?

Better post, so far I've lost a paragraph again & the curser keeps popping around. Kids are texting me so brain not up to par~~

(((Shirley))) so difficult losing a furkid..He certainly had a good life with you..eating the best food and curling up in a warm home .

Amy, my kids were texting while I was trying to post while ago so I came back in to see that I didn't say anything TOO off the wall.  I probably could have used some advice about this day, my other pets have never struggled like this so kind of unnerved tonight. I'm not one to go to pieces, always had to be the tough one & have 2 more either same age or older. Have you had to take pets to be put to sleep?  Even when LaurenKat slipped out of the RV in CO, we searched & I even went back a couple months later to check with Humane Society, etc. but knew she would never be taken alive... but I didn't have to watch her struggle to die. Too much, one thing to find a furbaby or feathered baby dead but don't want to stand/sit & listen to their struggle. Except, for MY peace of mind I wanted to be sure he heard kind words as long as he could hear. And maybe you can give me pointers/suggestions before I deal with Tiger & Callie. Thanks...think we are both kind of softies when it comes to pets.

well It Is time for Me to bid you all good night an sweet dreams.  well shirley I am not AMY but My heart goes out for and with you On the lose Of a pet, wherther it Is a cator dog or a horse, I have lived through the los of all three and more than one each of the cats and dogs, onley one horse of my owen. I and afriend when we were teanagers, we were rideing along on the sholder of highway 58 close to plesenthill Mo. and his horse spooked and jumped out in front of a car. it knocked the horse out from under him and broke both front legs of the horse, My friend only got moiner scratches and bruses. we were vere near a house, the ladie seen it hapen and came out to us. she sean the horses legs were broken very bad. she said it is going to have to be put down. she said I can not do it and my husband is not home. I will loand you a rifel to do it. so she brout the rifel , out and sad you can use it. my friend said I know it has to be done but I can not do it. you guessed it I had to and was one of the hardest things I have ever done in My life time.

Lloyd

Good morning..

Got to like these warmer days -13°F at the moment. Errands to do in town this morning then home to work about here.

Gloria, I think there are smaller air fryers and IP.google them and see what is out there. I know I enjoy both of mine.

Patricia, heard on the news last night we lost a 19 yr old to that darn covid. It certainly is weeding out the population all over the world!!

Jane, is Frankie and Cooper coming today?

Shirley..I have to admit I hate that last ride..but our pets give us unconditional love and that is the last loving thing we can do for them.

https://blog.humanegoods.com/rainbow-bridge-poem-printable-version/

We stay with our pets, hold them talk to them and cry like a baby...

Better get

Enjoy your day and stay safe.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  It's cold here this morning and I don't want to know how cold.  We had snow from around 4 in the afternoon until after 11 last night.  It looks like the main road that I can see has been cleared.  That's the one the school bus has to travel.  I haven't looked at the other side yet.  That one is a dead end and I think it's on the bottom of the road crew's list.

SHIRLEY, I understand how hard it is to lose a pet.  My heart is with you.  I still miss my doggies and it's been two years for Annie almost 5 months now for Mickie.  It's still hard not to call them when it's time to go to bed!

Frankie and Cooper came over for supper last night and spent the night.  I didn't even get in here after they came!  We had so much catching up to do and I think we talked constantly until it was time to go to bed.  Cooper pasted himself to me and only left to eat and go out in the yard!  He even slept with me instead of Frankie!  I loved it! 

Frankie has an interview for a job at our local hospital today and it looks pretty good.  She has a friend working there already and she used her for a reference.  She texted Frankie to tell her that they've been talking to her and it looks good.  This would be great if she gets it.  It's right around the corner from my house so she'd be saving a lot of money on gas and the the time to get there would be a lot less then her current job.  A couple prayers might be helpful!

I hope you all have a good day...better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow!