Recently my husband celebrated his five year mark at the hospital where he works--wahoo! We have tended to move around every couple of years throughout our marriage, but he has been with this same organization for the last five years so it was time to celebrate in the best way I know how right now: cook a big delicious meat and potatoes meal at home. Now, it’s pretty cool because in a modern kitchen today you can really pull this off and get all the flavors and textures you want as if it were from a fancy restaurant, but you can do it in the comfort of your own home. If I had my dream meal, the steaks would be juicy, but have a nice crust on the outside--the mashed potatoes would be fluffy, flavorful and not fussy to make, and I’d have a lovely side of crisp, flavorful asparagus. I can happily tell you that somehow I was able to pull this miracle off.


If I think about it, it kind of made me feel like the NBA player Rajon Rondo. He has always been known for being just okay during the normal season games, but he can really shine and bring the heat during the Playoffs. I am an okay cook for regular meals on busy weeknights, but I really brought my Rajon Rondo A-game for this occasion :)

The reason this was all able to happen this way was because within the last couple years all the buzz has been around getting an Instant Pot and air fryer. Everybody has been talking about these two kitchen appliances. Between birthdays and holidays the last couple years I have been able to acquire both of these appliances and I LOVE them both! They have really helped make some delicious and happy meals in our home.

So….about this steak dinner--a few weeks back I talked about making juicy ribeye steaks in the air fryer and they really turned out phenomenal! So I had those going while I was prepping the other food. I made the most delicious mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot with some small golden potatoes, with plenty of skins left on, and plenty of minced garlic, cream cheese and some sour cream. {Let’s not discuss the calories of this meal ;) Totally irrelevant!} The mashed potatoes were perfect! 


And I used my regular oven to broil the most delicious asparagus (recipe will follow) that is the perfect side for any meal. It is simply tossed in olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and some lemon juice. This asparagus recipe turns out so flavorful and cooks perfectly--I highly recommend you try it out and see for yourself.


This meal came together so beautifully and I was so thankful for each of these unique appliances that many kitchens in America have nowadays to achieve the perfect results for the type of dish you are making. Neither my Instant Pot or my oven could crisp and tenderize that ribeye like the air fryer could. While the stove produces perfectly fine results for boiling a pot for mashed potatoes, the Instant Pot does make it much faster and easier for me.

Do you enjoy elaborate meals and using multiple kitchen appliances at once? Or are you more of a one pot meal kind of cook? Do you have one or both of these kitchen appliances and would you deem them essential? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.