IP, NPR, QPR

What the heck is THAT?  I know my fingers are a little stiff, but I don't type THAT bad!!  It must be a secret code ... and in fact, it is!!  I'll get to that in a bit.

Yesterday's breakfast was delicious with a capital D.  I took my leftover slice of corned beef, along with a smidgen of potato, and cooked up some corned beef hash in a cast iron skillet.  It was beyond good.  My egg frying skills aren't the best, especially in a not-so-well-seasoned skillet, but at least the yolk didn't break.  This was breakfast and lunch for me ... you know, that darn diet and all.

My second challenge of the day was to find a dress for the Elks Installation dinner.  It's semi-formal, meaning I require a dress, something you don't put on one leg at a time.  I've told you about the shopping in this town, so don't laugh when I tell you the only dress store is Dress Barn.  Yup ... I'm shopping for a dress in a barn.

You won't believe that the first two I tried on actually fit as well as could be expected.  Since the prices were right, I bought them both.  I cut the tags off before looking at where they were made.  I don't want to know.  If one lasts through the six hour event, I'll be happy.  Now to find shoes ... an even harder task than finding the dress.

When I got home, there was a surprise on my doorstep.  THIS is what all those funny letters are about.  It's another fad hitting the country, an immigrant from Canada.  IP stands for Instant Pot.  It's a pressure cooker that does just about everything else in your kitchen but eat the food.  I figure to give it a try.

I have a HUGE pressure cooker ... two in fact ... one I use for canning and one I use when I need lots of pasta, only because it's the biggest pot in the cupboard.  I haven't used it as a pressure cooker in at least 15 years.  

This contraption however, I think I can use every day.  It's the smaller 5 quart model, since I don't cook for 10.  What's amazing is everything this CAN do.  You can pressure cook anything, including soups and stews, you can sauté, you can steam rice and vegetables, you can do a combination of both, you can slow cook, you can bake cakes and cheesecakes, and believe it or not, you can make your own yogurt.  

The NPR and QPR are terms for releasing the pressure when the food is done.  As you can imagine, when under pressure you cannot open the lid.  NPR is natural pressure relief ... letting the cooker cool down naturally until the pressure releases.  QPR is QUICK pressure relief ... turning the knob and letting the pressure release immediately.  You don't want to do the quick release with meat I can tell you for sure.  It will seize up instantly and you will be eating something akin to a football.

While waiting for it's arrival, I joined the Instant Pot Facebook group.  There are thousands of posts every day about failures and successes.  I thought maybe those successes would rub off on me for when I started using my IP.   They also post recipes ... a BIG plus.

Unfortunately, my phone had tons of updates which I told it to do this morning, and now Facebook won't load.  It said it was too big to download with my phone, I needed WiFi.  Good old Facebook loads two thirds of the way and stops.  I've done it six times now and am getting really frustrated.  If anyone knows how to get that App to download, please let me know!!

Today, in the exciting life of a retired cowgirl, I will try to find some shoes suitable for the dress.  I tried on every pair of cowboy boots, and none work well with the navy blue old lady dress I purchased.   When I get all dolled up, I'll post a picture .... maybe.  In the meantime, I'm going for broke ... Mongolian Beef in my new pot!