Instant Pot Review

Electric pressure cookers were not even on my radar before my mom sent me an Instant Pot  last fall.

Now, it seems like my friends are asking about them almost weekly on Facebook.

What do you do with an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker?

Well, almost everything.

My mom originally bought hers to make homemade yogurt.  Yes, yogurt.  She soon discovered that it did so much more.

Truthfully, I didn't start using mine until my sister started raving about hers and calling it the 'magic pot'. (my mom loved it so much that she sent one to me and my three siblings)

And it is almost like magic.  I don't remember what I cooked first in the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W, but I love how quick and easy it is.

It has multiple functions, so you can use it to saute, slow cook, pressure cook, make yogurt, hold and keep warm.

It is the answer to a busy person's 'what's for dinner' dilemma.

You can have 'tastes like it simmered all day' chili in about 30 minutes, start to finish.

Frozen chicken breasts can be cooked in the Instant Pot 
in 30 minutes.  Just last week, I loaded it up with 4 pounds of chicken breasts (thawed) and seasonings to make shredded chicken for tacos.  Super easy, plus I had leftovers for other recipes. 

Some of my favorite things to cook in the Instant Pot are:
quinoa- makes the fluffiest quinoa ever in one minute
rice- can't mess it up
steel cut oats- ready in about 5 minutes
soups, stews, and chilis

My mom makes cheesecake in her Instant Pot .

This is not your grandma's pressure cooker!  It's not scary to use and it can't blow up.

I love the easy to clean stainless steel interior pot and have noticed that other brands don't have this feature.

It comes with a little cookbook to get you started, but it is so easy to use that you will soon be converting you own recipes.

Whether you love to cook or hate to cook, the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W will become your new best friend.  It makes cooking seem like magic!

What are your thoughts/and or questions about electric pressure cookers?  

*This post contains affiliate links.  That means if you click on a link and choose to buy an Instant Pot, I will get a small commission, at no cost to you.  I have been recommending it to so many people who have consequently bought one, I thought Amazon should give me a little commission! :-)  
  

Book Review: The Water Saving Garden

Every year my husband asks, "What do you want to plant in the garden?  Should we plant a garden?"  

When he asks, I think of all the time he spends planting the garden, watering the garden and weeding the garden.

When I saw this book available for review, I thought it would be a great resource to find plants for our garden that wouldn't be so needy, especially since the author lives in central Texas.

 When I say 'garden', I think of 'vegetable garden'.  

This book has a different definition.

After reading the book, I remembered that there are flower gardens and people in Europe call their yard a 'garden'.

So, if you are looking for help with your vegetable garden, this is not the book for you.

If, however, you would like some ideas for your landscape, this might be a good resource for you.

This book, The Water Saving Garden, by Pam Penick  lists quite a few drought resistant plants as well as covers other ways to conserve water when landscaping.

There are some good ideas that would be fun family projects or experiments whether you homeschool or not.  Perhaps your family could implement some of her rain barrel ideas or plant something that doesn't require much water.

Overall, this book was not what I expected, but there is some good information in it.

I did receive this book free from Blogging for Books for my honest review.

A Reason for Reading: Vocabulary Improvement

Parents always want to know how to help their student improve their standardized test scores.  Whatever the age of your child, read this entire post, because the sooner you implement this advice, the better the score will be.

It's really very simple:  read to them and have them read.

Don't fall into the trap of loading them up on 'mind candy' with the excuse of 'at least they are reading'.  

Reading should stretch them just a bit, not just make them comfortable.

If they are reading (or you are reading to them), they should encounter some words they don't know.  When they do, they should look up the definition.

With that being said, here are some books that are not hard to read, but include some vocabulary stretching words.

The first one, For Two, is a shameless plug for a book written by my 18 year old son.  This book is appropriate for students as young as fifth grade, but even adults will find some vocabulary building words (raising my hand, here).
  





Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold is for high school students and above.  It is classified as sci-fi romance.  Again, there are some good vocabulary words, but not so many as to slow down the reading process.



The Count of Monte Cristo  by Alexandre Dumas is a favorite of mine full of swashbuckling and adventure.  I have taught this in a co-op class and the students loved it.  It is part of a series, so don't stop at just this book.



The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper, is an historical fiction adventure.  Another great story that will painlessly enhance the readers' vocabulary.

 

There are many lists of classics to read and I trust you can use google to find those lists.  I have tried to list books here that will appeal to both males and females, but are often overlooked.  

Read to your children daily.
Require your students to read daily.
 

What books do you recommend?  

karentrina.com is a participant in the Amazon affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commission by linking to amazon. com  This means if you click on a link that goes to Amazon and choose to purchase that product or another product, Amazon will pay me a small percentage for sending you there.  If you shop at Amazon and would like to support my website (no cost to you) you can do so by clicking on one of my affiliate links (easiest to find at book reviews) to get to Amazon.  

  - See more at: http://www.karentrina.com/p/about-me.html#sthash.D9qOcrlc.dpuf

karentrina.com is a participant in the Amazon affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commission by linking to amazon. com  This means if you click on a link that goes to Amazon and choose to purchase that product or another product, Amazon will pay me a small percentage for sending you there.  If you shop at Amazon and would like to support my website (no cost to you) you can do so by clicking on one of my affiliate links (easiest to find at book reviews) to get to Amazon.  
- See more at: http://www.karentrina.com/p/about-me.html#sthash.D9qOcrlc.dpuf

karentrina.com is a participant in the Amazon affiliate program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commission by linking to amazon. com  This means if you click on a link that goes to Amazon and choose to purchase that product or another product, Amazon will pay me a small percentage for sending you there.  If you shop at Amazon and would like to support my website (no cost to you) you can do so by clicking on one of my affiliate links (easiest to find at book reviews) to get to Amazon.  

  - See more at: http://www.karentrina.com/p/about-me.html#sthash.D9qOcrlc.dpuf

Book Review: What Color is Your Parachute for Teens

I have had this book- What Color is Your Parachute for Teens- in my review stack for quite a while now.  I have procrastinated on writing my review because, frankly, I didn't even like the book enough to finish reading it!

HOMESCHOOL GRADUATES: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

We spend a lot of time talking about how to homeschool.

We debate whether parents are qualified to homeschool, especially high school.

We obsess over getting our homeschool graduate into college.  

But there are precious few conversations about homeschoolers once they leave education behind and enter the adult world.

Success is Not a Test Score

Even though I have devoted many blog posts to scoring high on standardized college admission tests, I don't believe that the success of a student hinges on that score.

Obviously, you want your student to do their best on a test and that is why I have recommended test prep in the form of understanding the test and helping a student do their best.  

With that being said, I had a reader ask me what to do when sibling scores are very different.

Homeschooling: What Every Parent Should Know about the NEW SAT & ACT, Part 2

Today is part 2 of Lauren Gaggioli's post about the new SAT and ACT.  If you missed the first part, you can find it here.

The Three Elephants In The Room