For those looking to save time in the kitchen, becoming a pothead may be an option — namely an Instant Pot Head.

The Instant Pot is a kitchen appliance that is gaining popularity, especially for those on the go.

Described as a 7-in-1 kitchen appliance, the Instant Pot is designed to consolidate the cooking and preparing of food to one device and is likened to a modern day slow cooker.

Vicksburg resident Tory Sessum received an Instant Pot for Christmas and said, “It is amazing.”

As the mother of three young children, Sessum said not only has it simplified her life, but it has also provided a larger range of meals she can prepare for her family in less time.

“The Instant Pot is super convenient. I have done super easy things that aren’t really difficult in general and it has made cooking a lot less time consuming. I boiled eggs in it the other day and it took like five minutes,” Sessum said. She added that cooking boxed macaroni and cheese took only four minutes, less than half the time it normally takes to prepare.

Sessum was first introduced to the Instant Pot about a year ago, she said, after her godmother received one.

“I hate to say I am a huge procrastinator but I am really bad about planning a crock pot meal and then the day gets away from me and then it is too late to do it,” she said, but with the Instant Pot, Sessum said she could cook a pot roast in less than two hours.

“I made a baked potato soup the other day and just put my potatoes in there for like 10 minutes and they were completely done and ready to mix and finish the meal,” she said.

Carolyn Gent, who is a local hairstylist in Vicksburg, said she has had her Instant Pot for about a year and said it has transformed her life in a “major way.”

“I find that the instant pot has really benefitted my life as far as the ease and speed of cooking and has restored my excitement towards cooking because it is not such a chore — and I am kind of able to do some more creative things with it,” Gent said.

“I work a lot and I normally can’t get off until 6:30 or so and it kind of runs into dinner time, so with it (the Instant Pot) I am now able to do some recipes in little or no time.”

And although Gent said said she loves to cook, there are times when she just does not have time to devote to preparing a meal.

“With the Instant Pot I can do red beans and rice or chili in like 15 to 20 minutes.” Gent said you can also sauté in an Instant Pot, which replaces a skillet or saucepan; therefore there is only one pan for clean up.

The Instant Pot also frees up time for entertaining, Gent said.

“I like to entertain, and the Instant Pot allows me more time to visit with friends and family.”

Some of Gent’s favorite meals to cook in her Instant Pot include Shepherds Pie and White Chili Chicken, which she can cook from start to finish in about 20 minutes.

The Instant Pot was one of the hottest holiday gifts in 2017 with some retailers even selling out.

“They were going on Amazon for crazy high prices — so high that somebody in a Facebook group asked if someone paid like $560 for it,” Sessums said.

Instant Pots, depending on the style, generally sell from $80 to $200.

A cookbook comes with the Instant Pot, and Sessum said she has also found recipes on Pinterest and on Facebook, where there are groups calling themselves “Pot Heads.”

Sessum said these Facebook pages are dedicated to sharing recipes and ideas for the Instant Pot.

“It is a constant group discussion there,” Sessum said.

“Someone is always asking questions or posting things and some of the posts will say, ‘what is in your pot tonight’ and then they will post pictures and recipes.”

Loaded Potato Soup

• 5 Pounds of brown russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)

• 1/2 Small onion (minced)

• 5 Cans chicken broth

• 4 or 5 Tablespoons butter

• 1/3 Cup sour cream

• 1/3 Cup softened cream cheese

• 2 Cups (or more) shredded cheddar cheese

• Salt

• Pepper

• 1/2 Cup crumbled bacon

• Chopped green onion

• 1-2 Cups milk (depending on how “soupy” you want it to be)

  Place potatoes and onion in Instant Pot, then pour your broth in. It should be just enough to cover the potatoes. Set the Instant Pot to manual  — 10 minutes.

  Once finished, do a quick release and open the Instant Pot and mash the potatoes. (Sessum doesn’t like to puree, so she doesn’t use a mixer, but you can if you prefer.)

  Add in the rest of your ingredients, and mix well, adding in the milk slowly until you get your ideal consistency.

Instant Pot Spaghetti & Meat Sauce

• 1pound lean ground beef (the leaner it is the less grease it will create, no need to drain grease that isn’t there.)

• 1 pound of spaghetti noodles

• 1 24-oz. jar of spaghetti sauce

• 36 ounces water (1 1/2 sauce jar)

  Seasoning – Sessum used onion powder, garlic salt, pepper, salt and Italian seasoning. She seasons to personal taste, but 1/2 tsp. of each works well for a general guide.

  Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot, add beef and all seasoning (Sessum also adds some onions she chops up), and brown the beef as you would on a stove top. The leaner the ground beef, the less chance you will need to drain. But using a fatter grade is fine as well, just be sure to drain your excess grease.

  Turn off the Instant Pot (the keep warm/cancel button will do this).

  Break the noodles in half, place them on top of the beef. Sessum likes to use whole-wheat noodles, but any kind will work just fine. Then add sauce and water.  Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it. Now turn the Instant Pot on and set it to manual, be sure to adjust the timer to 8 minutes.

  Once finished, do a quick release (this is when you manually turn the vent to let the steam out instead of allowing to release the pressure naturally) .

  It may look a little more “soupy”, but after stirring the sauce will begin to thicken.

  Your meal is ready to serve.

White Chili Chicken

• 1 to 1 ½  pounds of raw chicken breast

• 1 can of fiesta corn

• 1 can of black beans

• 1 can of great northern or white beans

• 1 can of Rotel

• 8-ounces cream cheese

• Cumin, to taste

• Salt, to taste

• Pepper, to taste

• Chili powder, to taste

  (Gent said she sometimes adds either Ranch dressing mix or Taco seasoning mix to her recipe)

  Place the chicken breast in the Instant Pot and cover with remaining ingredients.

  Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set to the chicken/meat setting.

  After it is done, which takes about 20 minutes; Gent said she takes a hand mixer to shred the chicken while it is still in the pot.

In addition to serving by itself or over rice, Gent said she also used the recipe for  tacos or enchiladas.