I am the last person on the planet earth to read the instructions for anything. Why? Because I'm Irish and stubborn and always assume I can just figure things out on my own. And while you can get away with it sometimes (like when you're assembling furniture), you're going to want to read the instructional packet cover to cover. Not only does it have some good recipe ideas, but it's chock-full of ways to use your Instant Pot that might not necessarily be intuitive for Crock-Pot converts.I know more than a few people who've used it without fully understanding how it works, and let's just say it was a disaster.