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Seriously I use my little crock pot 2-3 times a week and being single that means leftovers for the next day. Today I threw in a fajita seasoning packet, 2 lbs of stew meat and veggies (yellow/green peppers & onions). In about an hour I'll be thickening the liquid and tonight I'll have a stew type meal for serving over rice.
It is so easy to cook with I can't believe I didn't start using one a long time ago, heh. That and it is easy to be creative with it. I'm always seeing something and thinking "I bet I could throw that in the crock with a little bit of X and some Y!", lol.
So what appliances can't you live without? What appliances do you use the most and how do you get creative with them?
Oh and speaking of appliances you use a lot... the ice shaver I bought a few years ago for like twenty bucks is due to come out of the closet again.
Love the crock pot, and the little table top oven/broiler gaget works great. and the electric turkey etc cooker, and my wife just bought a rice cooker and it is great..should of had one 10 years ago.
HW oh and the bbq.
Could not live without my VitaMix and my Keurig coffee maker. Those are my deal breakers.
On the "nice to have when I am in the mood" list are my crockpot, bread machine and rotisserie. I do not bake in the bread machine, but it is awesome for mixing and the initial rise of the dough.
On the "see the light of day about twice a year" list: the food processor and KitchenAid mixer. Really don't use them a lot.
That's funny, because I rarely use my crockpot. I don't see the point of trying to guess how long something will take in a crockpot when I can control the time and temperature in the oven or on top of the stove.
I love my garbage disposal. We recyle everything else, but I'm glad we don't have any stinky garbage.
I love my KitchenAid mixer. I use it once or twice a week. Tonight we're having turkey meatloaf, and the mixer is great for that.
I love my crock pot too and use it every week or two. My favorite things to make with it are BBQ chicken (cook breasts or thighs with some broth all day, then drain, shred and add BBQ sauce) and crock pot carnitas. I make this, then drain/shred the meat and add some medium salsa with beans and corn in it. It's great over brown rice and in sandwiches the next day.
Hey, crock pot carnitas and brown rice ... perfect for you!
My crock pot is bigger and has a timer, so I can tell it to cook something for eight hours on low. When the timer goes off, it lowers the heat to "keep warm."
I have a food processor but don't use it very much. It's fast and does a great job, but there are so many pieces that get dirty as a result. My dishwasher already runs at least twice a day. My mixer just uses the bowl and one attachment--usually the paddle. I usually cut up veggies with a knife and cutting board. I don't need to use half my dishwasher to clean them like all the parts of the food processor.
I use my immersion blender once or twice a year. It's good for cream soups, but I don't make those a lot.
I can't remember the last time I used the regular blender. My older daughter drags it out every now and then to make smoothies and invariably makes a giant mess. I am not fond of the blender.
I have a toaster that is way too old and needs to be put out of its misery, but we don't eat enough toast for me to buy a new one. I also have a Hello Kitty waffle maker that my mother gave me. Waffles are already ridiculously labor-intensive, so we stick to pancakes as a treat, but the kids do like eating the ears off little bunnies and kitties.
Two things I can't live without aren't appliances but cookware. I have a big pot with a strainer insert (good for pasta and big pots of soup) and a BIG skillet. The skillet is a pain to store because it doesn't fit in any cupboard, but I use it several times a week.
Oh, another thing! I have a digital food scale, which I love. It has a lot of stored food info, so it will tell you the calories/fat/etc of whatever you are weighing (great for dieting), and it's useful when recipes call for measurements by weight instead of volume.
The crockpot is #1 on my list of kitchen appliances I would be willing to get rid of. Not big on recipes that call for cans of soup and also find that every recipe I've tried sort of smells/tastes the same, and is never as good as doing something similar in the dutch oven.
I bought it partly to warm queso dip for big parties but it doesn't even do a good job at that, it overheats it so the edges burn.
If I had to pick one appliance it would by my blender or my toaster oven.
JustJulia, thank you SO MUCH for the carnitas recipe. My recipe, from Sunset, takes forever. I'll be trying this very soon.
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