Instant Pot Alphabet Chicken Soup Recipe

So I broke down and got an Instant Pot for Christmas.  After all of the raving reviews and yummy recipes I see on social media, I had to give it a try.  Without compensation, I give it two thumbs up.  It certainly has its limitations.  It is not as fast as often touted.  You have to give it time for the water to come up to temperature, and water can only come to a boil so fast.  You know the old adage, "a watched pot never boils."  It also has a learning curve on figuring out how to do what you want it to do.  It probably doesn't replace your trusty Crock Pot, but it does seem to create a lot of good recipes and is fairly simple once you get the hang of it.

With the cold weather upon us, I did a tried and true chicken soup.  It was fairly easy and the resulting soup was so good even the kiddos asked for second helpings.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1lb pasta - I selected alphabet pasta, but any noodles will do.
5-6 large carrots optionally add one small diced onion, one minced garlic clove, diced celery
2-3 large chicken breasts
Spices/seasoning to taste - salt and pepper, oregano, bay leaves
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups water optionally substitute chicken stock

Instructions:
Turn on saute function on Instant Pot, add oil and pasta.  Using a wooden spoon, saute pasta in bottom of Instant Pot for about 3-4 minutes with continuous stirring until pasta is slightly translucent and toasted.  Turn off Instant Pot and add remaining ingredients including whole chicken breasts, water, carrots and optional vegetables, and your favorite spices (you can always add additional spices to taste after the soup is finished).  Cook ingredients in Instant Pot on high for 12 minutes and allow for about 8 minutes of natural release or carefully do quick release if you are impatient like me.  Once open, remove chicken and shred.  My favorite hack on shredding chicken is to add the chicken to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low until shredded.  Return shredded chicken to Instant Pot.  Remove bay leaves and add additional spices to taste.  Serve and enjoy!