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Is the Instant Pot Really Worth It?

October 26, 2022 by Everyday Alaska

Please note that this post contains affiliate links which I may earn commission from. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Commissions from these qualifying purchases help support Everyday Alaska at no extra cost to you. Please follow the instructions on all of the recommended items. All of the information provided is my personal opinion, unless otherwise cited or noted.

Small kitchen appliances. Is it possible to have too many? My head says no, but my shelf space says yes. Read ahead to find out if the Instant Pot is one of those appliances you should make room for on your shelf, or if you should save the money and the shelf space. If you want the final verdict, you can skip to the bottom, otherwise read on to get the whole scoop.

Cons

I figured we might as well start with the downsides and work our way to the pros in this Instant Pot review, so here we go!

The Learning Curve

My husband and I were lucky enough to receive an Instant Pot Duo Nova for Christmas a few years back. I was so excited, but also terrified. Pressure cooking dinner in our kitchen?! Umm, no thank you. I wasn’t too sure about using it for quite awhile, so there it sat. Then, after seeing many good recipes and the benefits of using this cooker, I decided to give it a try.

I throughly read the instructions (a first for me since I usually just wing it), watched how-to videos on YouTube, and built up the confidence to do my test run with it. I would love to say it went swimmingly, but it totally freaked me out. The sound of the pressure being released was much louder than I anticipated, and I thought it was going to blow up. Not fun. But, everything went as it should and I was ready to get cookin’!

After figuring out how to operate it, it was time to learn about cooking times. This was a learning curve, but now I feel like I’ve finally got it figured out. Cook time magnets and stickers really helped me figure out times, but there were a few instances in between where I expected to pull out fully cooked chicken and ended up having it raw in the middle. Time and repetition has helped me get a handle on cooking with the Instant Pot. Now I feel much more comfortable using it, and get more consistent results.

This cook time sticker is a helpful guide to on the Instant Pot.

Space

The downside of the Instant Pot is that it is large. If you have a smaller house like me, then you know space in the kitchen is valuable. This appliance has to be fairly big for what it does and the volume they can hold, but they really take up a hefty amount of counter and shelf space.

Pros

Now that we’ve covered the cons, lets move on to all the positives of the Instant Pot.

Variety

This is really a multifunctional kitchen tool. You can use it for slow cooking, steaming, rice cooking, and more. Plus, there are tons of recipes out there to use (just check Pinterest!), which really gives you a good variety of things to cook.

Stove Top Space

The Instant Pot really shines during holidays. When you’ve got all your burners filled up, you can set up the Instant Pot on your counter and cook a side or main dish there. I think it’s especially useful for cooking mashed potatoes when making a spread for Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Multitasking

In a rush to make dinner for guests but you also have to clean up the kitchen before they get there? No problem! Get your Instant Pot meal started and let it do all the work cooking while you clean.

My most made Instant Pot meal. **Steel cut oats** and raisins, topped with nuts and banana after cooking.

Quick Meals

Instant Pot’s really do make quick work out of cooking. I primarily use mine for four different things: rice, chicken, potatoes, and steel cut oats. Using this handy appliance for steel cut oats every morning makes breakfast a breeze. No waiting for water to boil or making sure it doesn’t boil over, and it’s consistent. It’s just so simple.

The Final Review

So, now that you’ve read about the pros and cons, what do you think? After using my Instant Pot for a few years now, I’d say it’s worth getting. If you can swing the space to squeeze an Instant Pot between your waffle iron and toaster, it’s time to try the Instant Pot for yourself!

Tip: If you’re looking for a great deal on the Instant Pot, check out sales during and around major holidays, including Black Friday!

The Pros and Cons of Cooking with Cast Iron

August 18, 2022 by Everyday Alaska

Please note that this post contains affiliate links which I may earn commission from. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please follow the instructions on all of the recommended items. All of the information provided is my personal opinion, unless otherwise cited or noted.

Cooking with cast iron makes me feel like I’m in Little House on the Prairie, or all cozied up in a little cabin somewhere. I don’t know why, maybe its the old-timey feel or the hearty meals that come from them, but those skillets and dutch ovens have won me over. For a minute, I was a little intimidated to use them, but now I’m hooked, and I’ll tell you why.

There are so many pros to cooking with cast iron, and very few cons. Clearly, in my opinion, the benefits to cast iron cooking heavily outweigh the minute amount of cons. Below, I’ll give you the lowdown and hopefully convince you to grab a skillet and join me in some cast iron cooking!

Cooking with cast iron over charcoal — Camping queso prepped and ready to heat up!

Ease of Cleaning

It doesn’t take anything technical to clean cast iron. A little soap, water, and a quick soak if necessary. If there are any stubborn, stuck on pieces, take your scraper to them after a short soak. Dry it completely, and oil it lightly. You’re good to go!

The only downside is you need to clean this shortly after use; no letting it sit on the stove to wash in the morning or it may begin to rust. On the bright side, if you don’t get to it right away and a bit of rust shows up you can use this handy tool and then re-season it. And if you’re looking for more handy kitchen tools and gadgets, click here!

Less Cleanup

Speaking of cleaning, when you start cooking with cast iron you’ll have less dishes do to! You may be asking yourself how this is possible. Well, let me tell you. You can use cast iron on your stovetop and in your oven, so if you’re frying up hamburger that needs to go in a casserole, you can cook it on the stove top, add the casserole ingredients to the skillet, and then pop it in the oven. So simple, and it saves you a dish!

Space Saving

Although cast iron may be a bit heavy and somewhat larger to store, it can end up saving you space. If you only need one skillet to do the work of a pan and baking dish, that saves you space and even money, too!

Durability

These pans are heavy duty. There’s no warping with this cookware, they seem to be virtually indestructible, and will last generations if well taken care of. Another bonus of this long-lasting durability is less waste. If you’re not going through a few sets of warped, peeling, and broken pots and pans in a lifetime, that’s a little less that gets sent to the landfill. The trade off? They are quite heavy. You’ll need some sturdy shelving or a storage area for them, but I just consider it a good little arm workout!

Even Cooking

From what I’ve experienced, cast iron seems to heat evenly, and retains heat well. This is very helpful, especially when cooking over an open flame or coals.

Cooking bread in a cast iron ditch oven — Savory jalapeño cheddar bread in the Dutch oven.

Classic

Cast iron cooking has been around for quite awhile now. Its classic look really goes with any kitchen decor, so if you store it in the open like I do it acts as both cookware and decor. Plus, Lodge Cast Iron has collections with a variety of cute patterns, such as the Wanderlust and Wildlife Series, which is what I have.

Made in America

There’s definitely no downside to this! My favorite thing about cooking with cast iron is that you can buy made in America cookware! Lodge Cast Iron makes their items in the USA, so not only are you buying some fantastic cookware, you’re supporting American made as well.

I hope these reasons help you decide to give cooking with cast iron a shot. You’ve got nothing to lose, and decades of delicious meals to gain! And speaking of meals, check out these handy cookbooks and magazines below for recipe inspiration.

A tasty apple crisp made while out camping.

10 Reasons Why You Should Start Gardening Today

July 22, 2022 by Everyday Alaska

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re already considering starting your own garden. And if you’re considering starting your own garden, but haven’t done it yet, this post is for you.

Maybe you need that extra boost to get you going (and growing!). Maybe you don’t think you can do it. Maybe you think it’s too expensive. Maybe you don’t think you have the knowledge or skill to grow your own food. Toss out the doubt and plant the seeds of confidence (and carrots, lettuce, peas, onion….and so much more), and lets get growing!

It takes time to learn.

Learning how to garden takes time, which is one the the reasons you should start gardening now. You can get a wealth of valuable information from books, YouTube, Pinterest, and more, but I feel like learning to garden is more of a trial and error process. Don’t get me wrong, many of the ”rules”, guidelines, and suggestions regarding growing are likely the same from one place to another, but some of it is very location, soil, and weather dependent, so not everything is a ”one garden fits all” deal. What works for one may not work for another. This is why it’s great to talk to local gardeners to get better insight into what works for your gardening zone, and begin gardening so you have time to learn. Then, eventually, you may become one of those local gardeners people go to for advice.

A small batch of carrots from the garden. Start gardening today to learn how to grow your own. — In the spirit of learning from mistakes here is an example of one of ours. We ended up with these tiny baby carrots because the soil we thought was good was actually too clay-like and ended up stunting the carrot growth. Choose your soil wisely!

Become more self sufficient.

Self sufficiency builds confidence, and having confidence is key to succeeding in many aspects of life. Taking a tiny seed and growing something that will feed yourself, friends, and family is an amazing thing. You may not expect something so minuscule to produce anything, but with your help, water, and sunshine it will grow. And when you start gardening you’ll not only be growing fruits, veggies, and your confidence, you’ll also be able to begin relying on yourself for food instead of the grocery store. This self sufficiency and self reliance is a great skill to have.

Learn about your food.

When you buy fruit and veggies at your grocery store or market, do you really know where they come from? While there’s nothing wrong with buying things from the grocery store, I do it often, it is much more assuring to get vegetables right from your own garden were you know where and how they were grown and taken care of.

It’s also so interesting to see the growth process for various things. Learning about the different nuances for crops is fascinating. Even just reading seed packets about different varieties of the same vegetable is really eye opening, and shows you just how many things go into growing your food. With that being said, it’s likely still easier than you think!

Start gardening today to learn how to grow your own lettuce. — This year I finally got my lettuce to start looking like an actual head of lettuce! Patience is key.

It’s easier than you think.

You can really make gardening as easy or as complicated as you’d like. If you want to research, do soil testing, compare varieties, and more, that’s great! If you want to plop some carrot seeds into finger-poked holes in the soil, thats great, too! I know that technically there are probably right ways and wrong ways to start gardening, but if it works for you, then it works. And it does’t always need to be hard.

I’m all about the trial and error method. I’m all about what’s simple and easy to figure out. And guess what? I still get veggies to grow! So, if you’re delaying starting your garden because you think it may be too difficult, think again. Yes, research and planning helps, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be difficult or complicated. Just give it a try and see for yourself how simple it can be.

It’s inexpensive to start gardening.

Like any hobby, gardening can be as expensive as you want to make it. You don’t need a massive greenhouse with a self-watering system and temperature controlled fans to start gardening (although that would be awesome). With probably less than $30 you can start planting. All you really need is soil, a container or space for planting, and some seeds. Pretty simple,right? Also, if you grow your own produce you may even save some money in the long run.

You’ll appreciate your food more.

The more food you grow and harvest yourself, the more you’ll appreciate it. It’s so easy to go to the store, pick up a bag of carrots, take them home, and start munching on them without giving much thought to how the carrots got there. It took the process of getting seeds, planting, watering, patiently waiting, harvesting, bagging, and then transporting them to the store for you to get them, not to mention the many other things it takes to put produce on the shelves. Unless you grow it yourself, you’ll likely not appreciate fresh produce as much as it deserves.

It’s green in more ways than one.

Your gained appreciation of how produce is grown will likely encourage you to waste less fruits and veggies. After the time and effort you put in to growing your own, you’ll see just how valuable they are. Is the lettuce you grew starting to wilt? Better make a salad tonight! Are your strawberries getting soft? Time to find a recipe for them! Not only that, but by cutting out some of the transportation and shortening the distance from garden to plate, you’ll be saving fuel as well.

Our peas got so large they were busting at the seams!

Starting a garden is a healthy hobby.

Not only is gardening healthy for the environment, it is great for you as well! The act of gardening is great exercise and the perfect way to get out and grab some fresh air. Not to mention the luxury of all the delicious fresh vegetables you’ll be able to eat! If you’re like me, you reach for the closest and easiest snack to eat. If you have a garden those snacks may become fresh vegetables, berries, and fruits! It’s an all around productive and healthy hobby.

You’ll have the freshest produce.

Living in Alaska makes one really appreciate fresh fruit and vegetables. That short distance from the garden to your kitchen will give you the freshest produce possible. Sometimes you may need to taste test, so it may not even make it to the kitchen!

It’s so convenient.

Talk about fast food, getting fresh food from your own plants is as speedy as it gets! Having the convenience of a backyard grocery store is really a game changer.

Bonus: Gardening is fun!

More importantly, it’s fun! Picking out what we’re going to grow for the year is such a fun time. You can really experiment with different things if you want, and watching those tiny seeds turning to salads, canned veggies, jams, smoothies and more is so exciting.

I hope this has encouraged you to start gardening today. I truly enjoy this hobby, and hope that you will too! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I’ll be happy to answer. Thanks for visiting Everyday Alaska!

25 Useful Kitchen Tools, Gadgets, and Accessories

June 5, 2022 by Everyday Alaska

Kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories. When you think of these, you may think of all the random kitchen items you’ve gathered that have ended up in your junk drawer, but that’s not the case with this list of useful kitchen items below!

Whether you are outfitting your first kitchen, looking for the perfect housewarming, wedding, or other occasion gift idea, or just looking for a handy kitchen gadget for yourself, this list is sure to give you plenty of ideas.

Brown Sugar Keeper

These actually work! My mom had one and told me how well it worked, so i eventually ended up getting one, too. You just follow the directions, plop it in your brown sugar, and voila, no more hard lumps of sugar! Some even come with cute little patterns on them, so it’s an additional little bonus on top of having no hard lumps of brown sugar. Plus, these ones are made in the USA!

Non-stick Baking Mat

These baking mats will save your baking pans, and save you a lot of scrubbing. Non-stick baking mats are simple to clean, easy to use, and save you a lot of clean up time.

Dough Whisk

My mom purchased a dough whisk for me for my birthday, and it is so handy. My favorite use for this is when I’m mixing berries into a recipe. I know it’s for bread making, but when adding a fragile ingredient like berries into a recipe, or when adding them into a mix (This blueberry muffin mix is my favorite!), it works so well, and doesn’t crush up the berries.

Silicon Spatula

All of the silicon kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories I have tried in my kitchen have been so useful. Silicon spatulas are especially helpful since they’re so versatile and are used often. Plus, they can be easily washed in your dishwasher!

Useful kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories. — These kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories are so useful and don’t even take up much space!

Scrub Daddy

These are worth the hype. I have a couple other great dish scrubbers, but needed something with a little more oomph for scrubbing baked on things (when I can’t use my silicon mat). This does the trick. They get stiffer in cold water for harder scrubbing, and softer in warm water for easier messes. It’s amazing! You can even wash these in your dishwasher. I got a four pack of double sided sponges for cleaning multiple areas in our home, but they have a variety of sponges to choose from.

Splatter Screen

Save yourself from those little grease burns and all the grease splatter that gets on everything with a splatter screen. We received one as a wedding gift and use it frequently. This one with the double mesh is very durable, and virtually no grease splashes through.

Pot and Pan Protectors

My husband and I got a set of Scanpan cookware for our wedding. It’s the best cookware I’ve used and we want to keep it in prime condition for as long as possible. The problem is, we have very little storage so all of our pots and pans are nestled precariously close together, which of course leads to scratching. The solution? Pan protectors! They are such a simple and inexpensive solution to effectively keep your stacked pots and pans pristine and relatively scratch free! These are the exact ones I have; I love the cutesy little pattern, too.

Cutting Board

I’m sure you rolled your eyes at this one because everyone knows how useful cutting boards are, but you don’t know how useful they are until you find the perfect one. With added grips to avoid sliding, grooves to catch spills and avoid mess, and American made, this cutting board beats the rest and is a must have.

Foldable Strainer

This handy strainer is great for small spaces. It has handles that can span across your sink, and collapses in for storage once you’re done.

Jar Opener

Nope, not a can opener, but a jar opener. These little grippy pads help grip those hard to open jars and open them easier without needing to call in reinforcements. They’d be very helpful for elderly people, or those with arthritis, too. Honestly, I got the one I use for free at a convention, so I’d check for them at conferences, conventions, and other events, but this one has good reviews if you can’t find a freebie.

BlendJet

I recently splurged and bought myself a BlendJet 2, and it was 100% worth it. The BlendJet is a compact, easy to clean, USB chargeable blender. It’s so simple and convenient to use. I’ve been using it to make smoothies and it blends them up with ease, just make sure any chucks of fruit, ice, or veggies aren’t too large or it may give you an error while attempting to blend those pieces.

Pan Scraper

The intended use for these pan scrapers is primarily for cleaning cast iron, but they work well for baking sheets and glass baking dishes, too. Just soak your dish, and this will scrape it right off. There is even a notched one for grill grates and pans as well.

Pan Handle Holder

Since I just mentioned using cast iron, I should also mention these useful silicon handle holders. These little accessories will save your hands from the heat of a cast iron pan by snugly covering the handle in protective silicon.

Apple Slicer

These dandy little tools make quick work of apple slicing and coring.

Hamburger Chopper

This is such a great kitchen tool. The hamburger chopper makes it even easier to chop up and cook burger to your liking for whatever recipe you are making. It just seems to make browning burger much quicker and easier; I love it!

Frother

Is this necessary? Probably not. Is it fun to have? Yes. You can use this little frother for making fancy coffee at home, or just use it to whip up some cream for topping hot chocolate!

Keurig

I’m not a coffee drinker, but to wean my husband off of energy drinks (or at least cut down on them a bit), years ago I bought him a Keurig. It’s so simple to use, and very convenient. It can be a huge money saver, too, in comparison to buying other drinks. The only problems I’ve encountered with it are lines in our display screen and a developing drip, which I’m not too worried about. Their customer service could use improvement, too, but overall I would still purchase one again and again.

Magnetic Bag Clips

I don’t know why it took so many stale chips and a spilled bag of crackers for me to get these, but it did. Bag clips are very inexpensive and get frequent use in our house. I really should have been using them years ago, but I’ve learned my lesson now. I purchased a whole set, with a couple regular large ones and some smaller magnetic ones. The magnetic ones are super convenient because we don’t have the drawer space to store a bunch of clips, so I just stick them on the fridge and they’re all set.

Fish Spatula

I received two of these from my father in law. Before that, I had never heard of a fish spatula, I just thought a spatula was a spatula. Turns out these things are dandy little tools. Have I used them for fish much? Not really, but they work great for quesadillas, grilled cheese, and many other things due to being thin enough to easily slide under anything.

Instant Pot

We were lucky enough to get an Instant Pot from friends as a Christmas gift. I had heard all the rave reviews about them, but was a little skeptical, and honestly a little scared to use it. Now that I’ve used it many, many times, I can say that it really is worthwhile having. Make sure you follow the instructions 100%, and watch a little YouTube on it if you need to. I mostly use mine for rice, steel cut oats, potatoes, and sometimes chicken, and it really helps you multitask while the Instant Pot does all the work. I’ve had some issues with things not being fully cooked or done how I want, but that has mostly worked itself out with time, and the trial and error process.

Meat Hammer

When recipes called for pounding meat thinner I use to just lay it down between plastic wrap, and hit it with my hand until it got slightly flatter and very uneven. Needless to say, this was not a very convenient or precise method. I ended up purchasing a meat hammer, and now my stuffed chicken marsala turns out just great!

Silicon Basting Brush

Like I said before, I love silicon kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories, including basting brushes. Silicon basting brushes are simple to clean and leave no bristles coming loose onto your food!

Pyrex Glass Nesting Bowls

These glass bowls are one of the most used things in our kitchen. They’re good for mixing, food storage, and even look great as serving dishes. These bowls all have colorful and sturdy lids, they fit within one another, so it saves a ton of space, and they’re made in America.

Small Strainer

Having at least one smaller strainer is useful for macaroni and cheese, washing berries, or for other smaller meals and items.

Fruit Basket with a Hanger

This fruit basket keeps oranges, onions, and other fruits and veggies from going rogue and rolling off the counter. Plus, it has a convenient hook for bananas, and really looks nice, too.

I hope this list of kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories has helped you find the perfect kitchen item for yourself or a gift for others. Happy cooking friends!

A Case for the Clothesline: Why You Should Ditch Your Dryer for this Money Saving Alternative

August 18, 2021 by Everyday Alaska

Please note that this post contains affiliate links which I may earn commission from. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All of the information provided is my personal opinion. Please follow the instructions on all of the recommended items.

Nobody likes to air their dirty laundry, but have you ever tried airing your clean laundry? Nope, I’m not talking gossip column blurbs, I’m talking about using a clothesline. To be honest, I don’t even use a clothesline, so I can’t say I’m the authority on the subject, but my parents use one and that’s what brought about me writing this post and considering using a clothesline as well. And if you’re thinking you don’t have room for a clothesline, keep reading for alternative ideas that will still save you money and be more eco-friendly!

Laundry, clothesline, laundry day — Laundry day at the cabin. Photo credit: My momma.

Money Saving Benefits

I can’t say you’ll be saving hundreds of dollars a year on your electric or gas bill by hang-drying your clothes on the line, but according to “How to Calculate the Cost of Running Your Dryer” by Erin Huffstetler you can save enough to make it worth doing. This will likely save you even more if you typically dry your clothes at a laundromat and switch to using a clothesline. Using a clothesline will also save you the cost many, many dryer sheets as well, which can add up to a fairly good savings.

As for how much it costs to have a clothesline, it can really be as inexpensive as you’d like it to be. Maybe you put a clothesline between trees in your yard using line you already have, maybe you buy some line to hang up between poles, or you could buy a whole set up to put in your yard. Grab a bag of clothespins and you’re good to go! Whatever you choose, you can invest as much or as little as you want into it.

Eco-Friendly Benefits

An additional benefit of using a clothesline is that it is an eco-friendly alternative to tossing your clothes in the dryer. Am I the most “green” and eco-friendly person out there? Sorry to disappoint, but I am definitely not. Air drying laundry, though, is a simple way to change up your housekeeping routine and be more environmentally friendly, along with being more friendly to your wallet!

Alternatives to the Clothesline

At this point you may be thinking “well I have no yard and no room for a clothesline, so I’m out!”. Don’t give up just yet; there are many other options! If your problem is lack of a yard or outdoor space for your clothes to dry, give an indoor clothesline or a folding drying rack a try. If your short on indoor space as well, both of those options take up minimal room. These are also great options when it’s raining out or winter weather doesn’t permit using an outdoor clothesline.

If those don’t interest you, but you still want to save money and be more green while doing your laundry, ditch your dryer sheets for dryer balls. They reduce dryer time and can be used over and over again, unlike single-use dryer sheets. Plus, they even come in some adorable patterns to put some fun into the mundane chore of laundry!

This “old fashioned” housekeeping skill has a plethora of benefits including saving you money and being an eco friendly alternative to using your dryer, so why not give it a try?! Your clothes will smell fresh, you’ll have some more money in your pocket, and you’ll be helping your environment; what’s not to love! If this post has give you the push to switch up your laundry drying method, leave me a comment and let me know what method you’re trying and how it’s working so far!