It was one of those Murphy’s Law kind of days, where everything that can go wrong will. I was running behind, and noticed around 5 that I had apparently completely forgotten to throw my dinner ingredients in the slow cooker five hours earlier. So while dinner should have been a cinch, I now found myself in a pinch.

I did not feel like cooking. Do we ever on those kinds of days? I had my chicken thawed, but did not want to deal with all the chopping and cooking any other dish would require. I’d planned on making my favorite slow cooker meal, chicken taquitos. That still sounded good, but I did not have five hours to wait for it to cook (unless I wanted to feed the children while they were asleep, which is not ideal!)

Enter the Instant Pot. We’ve had it about a year, and I’ve mostly used it for the slow cook setting. Or occasionally the sauté setting and then the slow cook setting. Clearly you should be dripping with envy over how adventurous I am with small appliances (ha). So for the first time, I used the pressure cook setting. I threw my ingredients in, set it for 6 minutes on normal pressure, and did a quick release. Then I shredded the chicken as usual, added my additional ingredients, and had dinner on the table by six. True story. The Instant Pot saved the day. While the chicken was slightly less tender than the slow cook setting, the taquitos came out tasting the same way they always do. If your family doesn’t notice you nearly destroyed dinner, then does the near-dinner-destruction even count?

Here’s the taquitos recipe in case you’d like to try it:

Chicken Taquitos

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheese (we use Mexican blend)
• Tortillas of your preference
• Rotel Tomatoes (optional)

1. Place two chicken breasts, 1/4 cup taco seasoning, 1/4 cup water, 8 oz cream cheese into Instant Pot. Turn on slow cooker, set for normal, 6 hours. Seal lid (lid nozzle should be on sealed, not venting).
   1. OR, if you’re in a rush, set for Pressure Cook 6 minutes.
2. After cooking time is complete, shred chicken and stir. Add cheese and optional tomatoes, stir. Replace lid for 10 minutes. Leave Instant Pot on keep warm.
3. While cheese melts, preheat oven to 400. Spray baking pan or sheet with nonstick spray.
4. Stir contents of Instant Pot. Spoon chicken onto tortillas and roll tightly, place in baking dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Has the Instant Pot ever saved dinner at your house?