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Brava Oven. Warning: This is not cheap and it is good for 1-2 people cooking, though the company is coming up with recipes for 4 portion recipes. This uses pure light to cook and sear food, like steak, potatoes, etc. The big plus here is you can cook an entree and a side at the same time, for instance, chicken sausage and potatoes ( which are crisp and seared on the bottom), steak and veggie, like broccoli and sweet potatoes. There are different zones which cook different food at different temperatures. There is a built in thermometer to make sure your meats are done the way you like them, rare, medium, well done, etc.
10” pizza pie also turns out very well, especially with a TJ ready made pizza crust ( frozen section). I do an easy sausage and mushroom pie with tomato sauce ( crushed tomato sauce) and shredded cheese. No need to order or eat pizza from outside anymore. The recipes provided by the company tend to be very good and some taste really gourmet, like a seared chicken thigh, lemon slice, thyme and olive dish.
A very nice feature is this toaster oven/ small oven preheats in 2 mins approx. instead of my usual 15-20 mins preheating time in regular oven. Also, my regular oven has a terrrible placement flaw being directly under a ceiling smoke detector so every time I open the oven door while baking or cooking the smoke alarm goes off and the security alarm monitoring company inevitably calls. Cooking time appears to be faster than in the regular oven.
This requires upfront $$$ investment and a learning curve but the quality of dishes makes it easy to eat restaurant like meals at home (and have entrees and sides cooking together at the same time), so in the long term the cost of the oven will be recouped with quality of meals enhanced and cooking speeded up/ simplified ( once you learn to use the oven). For instance, consider pizza pies go for $15-28 in major cities. Making comparable quality if not better gourmet like pizza with the Brava Oven costs much less, maybe $5-7 per individual 10” pizza pie. There are many recipes created by their chefs, for all kinds of individual ingredients as well as combination recipes. Recipes are provided and can be bookmarked in the oven itself and with a press of a button, the timing is set and directions provided for the cook. The company offers sale of meal kits with all ingredients prepared and ready to be cooked, but I find these kits are expensive, equivalent to eating out. So I get my own ingredients and follow the portions in the recipes to make the use of this oven more economical.
Customer service is outstanding and Brava company staff spend extensive time explaining use of the oven and answering recipe questions. I am still experimenting and made my own recipe of delicious mini meatloaves and small muffin size frittatas with their egg pan. Portion size tends to be small with the latter so I got an extra pan to make 8 small frittatas in two trays consecutively. I just got started and love the oven. Husband is also convinced we do not have to eat out in restaurants as much with this oven.
Along with the Instant Pot (IP) which I also recommend and cannot do without, just for making great rice, esp. brown rice perfectly and very easily. But ofc, the IP also does a supreme job with shortening time for making main dishes and sides, cooking tender meats, like briskets, short ribs, beef stew, cooking potatoes for potato salad or mashed potatoes, etc. Even a mixed seafood, chicken and sausage paella with bomba rice comes out almost as tasty or equally tasty in the IP as with a paella pan. Perhaps the advantage is the paella pan makes the rice more crispy in the bottom but that is not always the case.
Anyway, these two cooking appliances have added much more good and/ or gourmet food for our enjoyment. Love them both though I am still learning to use both for even more varied recipes.
One of the latest and best home purchases - Bosch GLM 50C. How did I do without it before? Honestly, I do not understand. I choose from three different brands. I read here quite detailed reviews about the device https://geeklah.com/laser-tape-measure-reviews.html You might like another brand. Laser Roulette is a thing!
Automatic light timer! It was about $20 at HD or Lowes and it is programmed to turn the outside lights on at 6 PM and off at 6 AM but you can program to your needs. DH just switched out a regular light switch at the front door and it was done.
It gives a sense of security and if I come home after dark lights are already on.
Automatic light timer! It was about $20 at HD or Lowes and it is programmed to turn the outside lights on at 6 PM and off at 6 AM but you can program to your needs. DH just switched out a regular light switch at the front door and it was done.
It gives a sense of security and if I come home after dark lights are already on.
For people like me who are afraid to mess with wiring:
I left my porch light on 24/7 before I found a timer like this one about 10 years ago.
Told some friends and they bought a couple to easily connect to indoor wall switches to turn ceiling lights on and off when they are on vacation. The rest of the time they just keep them in a drawer somewhere.
Automatic light timer! It was about $20 at HD or Lowes and it is programmed to turn the outside lights on at 6 PM and off at 6 AM but you can program to your needs. DH just switched out a regular light switch at the front door and it was done.
It gives a sense of security and if I come home after dark lights are already on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annie53
For people like me who are afraid to mess with wiring:
I left my porch light on 24/7 before I found a timer like this one about 10 years ago.
Told some friends and they bought a couple to easily connect to indoor wall switches to turn ceiling lights on and off when they are on vacation. The rest of the time they just keep them in a drawer somewhere.
I absolutely hate light pollution and it would be very difficult for me to live next door to someone who kept their lights on all night long.
They make motion detector lights, which turn on at night if/when they detect motion and then go back out after a while. No need to have lights shining all night long.
And to whoever left me the bizarre rep comment about my ceiling light "Are you going to hire someone to clean it when needed?" Not sure why you are concerned about that, but yes, I do hire people to clean for me. No need to hire anyone just to specifically clean that light. They clean everything in my house, do laundry, dishes, iron clothes and sheets and make beds, etc. Why would you care?
I absolutely hate light pollution and it would be very difficult for me to live next door to someone who kept their lights on all night long.
They make motion detector lights, which turn on at night if/when they detect motion and then go back out after a while. No need to have lights shining all night long.
And to whoever left me the bizarre rep comment about my ceiling light "Are you going to hire someone to clean it when needed?" Not sure why you are concerned about that, but yes, I do hire people to clean for me. No need to hire anyone just to specifically clean that light. They clean everything in my house, do laundry, dishes, iron clothes and sheets and make beds, etc. Why would you care?
Had them before.
Too many false "alarms"......on.....off.....on.....off......on... ...off.....all night long. Is there really something out there or is it just the wind or snow setting it off?
Never again.
BTW, my neighbors don't mind, they have lights on too.
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