Everybody is all crazy for two things these days: chia seeds and the Instant Pot. I recently started using both! I got the chia seeds at Aldi's (great deal!) and the Instant Pot for my birthday.
My favorite way to use the chia seeds is in my daughter's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It adds protein and fiber and she has no idea they're even in there! I sprinkle them on the jelly side because they blend in with the strawberry seeds then. The peanut butter side makes them a little more obvious and she did ask about them once then. But honestly, she doesn't even taste them but she's getting added nutrition! Isn't that awesome?
I also throw them in my smoothies, oatmeal, or baked goods too. They're very versatile!
Now for the Instant Pot. I've only made a handful of things in it so far. I have never owned a pressure cooker before and this does so much more than that! For those of you who haven't heard of this, it's an electronic pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice maker, saute-er, steamer, yogurt maker! This thing does it all. It can easily replace your microwave and all the appliances listed above.
One thing to keep in mind is when a recipe says it'll take 5 minutes of cook time, if you are using the pressure cooker feature, add in about 10 extra minutes because it'll need to come up to pressure and then you'll have to slowly release the pressure. Both of these things take time. However, even with that extra time, this thing can cook so fast!
For Mother's Day, my husband used it (yes! It'll get your husband to cook for you!!) to make one giant pancake that served our family of 4 plus leftovers. This pancake is huge! It has a slightly crunchy top. I loved it but if you don't, you can easily peel it off. It's about as thick as cornbread or a cake! It tastes a little bit like cornbread too but I'm not sure why. I wouldn't call it a pancake so if you are expecting regular pancakes, you probably won't like this but it is good nonetheless! Start to finish, including gathering ingredients, took about 1 hour.
Now if you're like me you're probably thinking an hour????? Are you nuts?? It's just a pancake! I can make the regular kind in half that time (or less!). But let me ask you this. How much of that 20 minutes is spent slaving over the hot stove top, away from your family? You're totally stuck in the kitchen aren't you? With the instant pot, you measure out ingredients and set the pot. It takes 5 minutes or less and then you are free to go do whatever you want, like keeping an eye on the kids. It beeps and breakfast is done!
Now this isn't the kind of recipe I'd make for breakfast all the time because I don't want to wait an hour to eat ( but since my husband let me sleep in while the pancake cooked, it worked out perfectly). But for dinner?? Set it and forget it? It's great! It doesn't heat up your kitchen on hot summer days, it doesn't have you stuck in the kitchen all afternoon, and when it's all done, it's super easy clean up (the pot part can go in the dishwasher. Spot clean the housing and lid as needed).
I will also definitely be making the pancake again, maybe for brunch!
