Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had this product for about a month now and own two microwave ovens, a 1400 watt Sharp and a 750 watt GE. As one reviewer put it, there's a small leaflet enclosed containing two recipes and suggested times for various foods but that's it. Since there's almost no information provided by the manufacturer, as far as figuring out how to really use this device, you're on your own. First, I tried cooking chicken thighs according to the recipe in the product leaflet. I used the 1440 watt Sharp and carefully adjusted the power level for the higher wattage. To be honest, the recommended time was way, way too short and the outcome wasn't satisfactory. Next, I experimented with a beef stew in the small GE 750 watt microwave. First, I coated the pieces of beef with flour and seasoning and browned them in a skillet. Then I popped them into the pot with a couple of cut up potatoes, carrots and pearl onions, added the recommended measure of water, a dollop of red wine, and let 'er rip for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, while the beef came out perfectly tender, the vegetables turned to an unappetizing mush and there was a lot of liquid. After removing the vegetables, I strained the liquid into the skillet, thickened it with a bit of corn starch, added some fresh mushrooms I had sauteed in the meantime, returned the resulting gravy to the pot and gave it another five minutes at full power. While I was floundering around during the next couple of days, trying this, that and the other in an attempt to figure out what might or might not work, it suddenly occurred to me that I should thinking "crockpot" instead of 'pressure cooker', and voila! Since then, I have used the Handy Gourmet Microwave Pressure Cooker for boneless pork chops and small roasts, chicken thighs, beef stew and turkey breast cutlets and the results have been outstanding. For a change of pace, I cooked the turkey cutlets in tomato sauce and that too was a hit. As with a crockpot, the meat should be browned first and the resulting liquid thickened before serving. My conclusion is this. If you think of the Handy Gourmet Pressure Cooker as a 20 minute "crockpot" and use regular crockpot recipes, it works fine. It also works better in my small, lower wattage microwave than in my higher powered one. I have given the Handy Gourmet Pressure Cooker 5 stars because, once I finally figured out how to use it, it's been doing a marvellous job for me. Instead of messing around with a crockpot in the morning before I go to work then leaving the meat to simmer for six to eight hours, this device allows me to prepare the same dish from scratch in twenty minutes or less after I get home. Also, the food tastes much, much better. The only CON I can think of is the manufacturer's recommended cooking times which are almost meaningless and I wouldn't recommend it for potatoes or fast cooking green vegetables like broccoli.