Recipes

[Tinkrbl44]

I was looking for a recipe & directions for boneless ribs in the oven, and was suprised at what came up .....  Either they say use a crock pot ... or an instant pot .... or an air fryer .... or whatever.

My kitchen is small so adding more appliances is not my first choice.  I get along nicely with an oven, microwave and a toaster oven.  Or take out.

I had a crock pot years ago, but gave it away.  Cooking any meat in the crock pot all day used to drive my poor dog crazy with the smells.   When I got home from work, she was nuts with the house smelling of chicken or whatever.  I felt sorry for her, so I gave it away.

Years have passed, and my cat doesn't pay too much attention to cooking smells.  

So ........   are there any "newfangled" kitchen appliances you have found you simply cannot live without?  

I'm anxious to see what you're using ... and what is just collecting dust in a corner. 

TIA!  

[kaydee50]

For cooking we use the microwave and a George Foreman grill.  Rarely use the oven and I bought a crock pot over 2 years ago and have yet to use it.   Have none of the other appliances you mentioned.  We do eat out a couple of times a week and DH does most of the cooking.  See no need for so many appliances.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Tinkrbl44  I have several crock pots (slow cookers) for a very specific reason - HOLIDAYS! I have a small kitchen, one stove/oven and one microwave. When I'm cooking for 18 to 22 people, I can make the mashed potatoes a good two hours in advance. They will keep perfectly fluffy on warm the whole time. I can use the small one to keep the turkey gravy warm. I use the medium one to keep my corn warm. It clears up my stove for last minute vegetables, like the Brussels sprouts and green beans. Now, my DIL and DD have crazy busy families, and they use their slow cookers on a weekly basis. They throw in some chicken or beef/deer meat and throw in cream of something soup or tomatoes and end up with something edible. Not my taste, but hey! 

We were given an air fryer a few years ago, but we ended up giving it away. My DD loves hers for deer steaks, because she can do bacon wrapped deer meat without breaking out the grill. I had an Instant Pot for a while, but I broke it. It was great for making hard cooked eggs. But, I thought it made everything I made in it taste homogenized. But, my DIL loves hers. She mostly uses it as a slow cooker, but she also does soups.

[ECBG]

Your style of cooking dictates what appliances you might want to get to make your tasks easier.

I like stew beef and chuck roasts with vegetables; both turn out very tender in the crock pot.  I can also cook a moist 9 lb. turkey breast in 5 1/2 hours after cutting out the back to get the top on. 

My oven is for casseroles, items I simmer in a cast iron frying pan, roasting vegetables, and cooking holiday meals.

We grill out a lot also.

There are cookbooks for most appliances. 

[QVCkitty1]

I used my pressure cooker a total of three times, it's just not for me. 

[Tinkrbl44]

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@QVCkitty1 wrote:

I used my pressure cooker a total of three times, it's just not for me. 

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@QVCkitty1 

Thanks for mentioning the pressure cooker!   My sister had one and also gave it away.   

As people weigh in on their preferences, I think I will learn a lot about what I might want to buy some time in the future.  

[Kachina624]

I use my pressure cooker a lot.  The nicer ones like Instant Pot also have a slow cook function so it serves as two appliances.

[RedTop]

I have a coffee maker, toaster, air fryer, microwave, waffle iron and instant pot.  I would replace all of them, but will not buy anything new.   

[justashopper]

There are so many kitchen appliances!  Yesterday, I was at Target looking for a new toaster.  Holy cow.  There are so many toaster, toaster ovens, convection toaster ovens, air fryers, pressure cookers, fryers. Just like you said.  Water appliances-- for tea, coffee, sparkling water.  It is crazy!

I ended up getting a ninja toaster flip.  It's a two slice toaster and then when it's put on its side (flipped) its a very small toaster oven.  I love it.  it's great for pizza rolls, tater tots, a veggie burger etc.  It takes up very little space in my small kitchen.  And no need to turn on the oven for little snacks.  

The other appliances I have are-- fridge, oven, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker (use daily), Vitamix (almost daily use), crockpots (two sizes. that I use almost weekly) waffle iron (yet to use) and a george foreman grill (I might get rid of now that I have the ninja flip).

I have a keurig and two larger coffee pots that I have tucked away in a closet just in case for company.   I wish I had room for all those fancy appliances but some how I make do with just a few things.  

[sabatini]

@Tinkrbl44, occasionally it'll royally annoy me when I happen upon a recipe & it calls for equipment that I don't have - or want!

I'm also lazy and don't want to bother with learning a new appliance.

As far as I'm concerned, the only use for a crockpot is to keep the mashed potatoes warm on holidays. (Lay a kitchen towel across before putting on the lid to catch moisture.)

Other than that, I think crockpots make everything taste the same, regardless of what you put in there in the 1st place.

If anything, I think I'd like to have a little kitchen blow torch to quickly brown some things...but I'd probably just keep using my broiler anyway.