Chef Basket Review and Demo

March 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Ok, so I almost forgot I owned this, and for some reason I always had it in my mind that it was mostly for deep frying and cooking pasta. Sure, you can use it for those things, but it actually has several other uses as well. You can use it to boil, steam, poach, for blanching, it can be used as a colander, for washing fruits and veggies, draining, straining, and you can cook so many other things with it.

So far I tried it for cooking spinach and mozzarella filled ravioli and I have to say I am pretty happy with how easy it is to use. The handles stayed cool as was advertised, and it literally took mere seconds to drain and have it dished up onto my plate. And even more fantastic, after I was finished, I folded it up all nice and flat and it took up no more space in my dishwasher than your average dinner plate.

This morning I decided to try and make hard boiled eggs with the Chef Basket, and as happy as I already was with my results from last nights ravioli, I love this product even more with each use I find for it.

I think the hardest part about using this product will be trying to decide what to cook and learning to try new things. As always, I am going to share a little about myself and reveal a confession or two. The first thing I will admit is that I have owned my Chef Basket since last May….. Nearly 9 ,months ago! And yes, this was the first time I tried using it. The next confession, is that I don’t particularly care to cook. Throughout my adult life I have always been fortunate enough to have a man that did all the cooking. So I never really needed to cook. I suppose there was a short period between age 22 and 23, I was on my own and I had to fend for myself, but still, I never really cooked. This is not to say that I can’t cook, or that I’m a terrible cook, I just choose not to. I guess I just feel like I lack the creativity and inspiration to make amazingly creative dishes. I am definitely creative, just not when it comes to cooking….

So because I forgot all about this product, I wasn’t quite even sure I remembered all the uses until I rewatched the infomercial just now. Let me tell you what, inspiration has definitely hit!

Oh my goodness, I think I have just planned out the next weeks worth of meals! Shrimp, crab, fried Chicken, steamed asparagus, boiled red potatoes, egg salad, steamed artichokes, more of that delish ravioli, and I cant forget my favorite weekend snack attack treats where I might make my amazing homemade onion rings, deep fried breaded zucchini, and everything fatty and delicious. Heck, I have always wanted to try and make my own mozz sticks… I’m on a roll and I might just give it a try. So as soon as the week is over I will be adding to this review.

Update: out of my above mentioned list, I did in fact test it on steaming asparagus, carrots, I boiled potatoes, steamed quite a bit of seafood, and my results yet again, were fantastic. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten around to deep frying all those fatty dlights as I have been on vacation and then shortly after attending the International Home and Housewares show in Chicago this last weekend, but you can rest assured soon enough I will be filming all of those in a supplementary video demo for the Chef Basket. Stay tuned
 

Filed Under: Cooking ·

Big Top Cupcake Review and Demo

February 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Big Top Cupcake

Ok so confession number one is that I don’t actually own this product. I have been meaning to, but I was lucky enough to borrow it from a friend.

I didn’t happen to have the instruction booklet, but I was able to find a PDF file online of the booklet, so that was really awesome! I couldn’t tell you how many times when I have been browsing products online I see people asking where to get replacement books or recipe books for “As Seen on TV” gadgets that they bought and have lost. So this was a huge relief to me.

I had been having a craving for some lemon cake all week since Superbowl, and I finally found the time to make it. So I followed the packaged cake mix, Ninja’d  them all together in mere seconds completely lump free, and started to preheat my oven.

Oven was set for 350 degrees, and I sprayed the BigTop with non stick cooking spray really well. Now, while reading the instructions, it says to divide the batter in half evenly and distribute in the top and bottom half of the Big Top Cupcake. There were a couple lines in the bottom half so I kind of eyeballed my batter while pouring and stopped right at the line.

I did read that if you want a slightly larger Cupcake, you can use two boxes of cake mix and when filling the mold, you only want to use 2/3 of your batter. I will definitely be trying that next time, and had I read the directions before I impulsively decided to fulfill my lemon craving I would have been more prepared and had two boxes on hand.

Actually, maybe I should ALWAYS have several boxes on hand…… Yhea, I think that’s a better idea.

Anyways, so the directions said to have your Big Top on a baking sheet, and at 35-40 minutes to check the top piece of the cupcake mold. I checked mine at 35 to be safe, and it did in fact need to full 40 minutes. After I checked it with a knife ( I was out of toothpicks so I improvised) it was ready to come out of the oven. The bottom part of the mold still had another 10 minutes to cook. It Too came out completely done at exactly the amount of time specified in the instructions.

I let both halves cool for about 10 minutes and I loosened the edges of the mold by bending and wiggling the silicone. It was super easy to remove and both pieces came out perfectly in tact. They looked awesome; I was really impressed. Next, I used my favorite Cutco spatula with the serrated edge to level the top and bottom pieces to my big top cupcake. Both my pieces had slight bulges so they needed to be nice and flat to fit properly together.

I put a little lemon frosting in between the two layers and then put the top on the bottom and frosted it up. It looked AWESOME! I couldn’t have been any happier. My own personal giant cupcake! I’m not saying it makes a personal cupcake by all means, after all I used an entire box of cake mix, but lets just say it fit on MY plate nicely. LOL. Oh and to TOP it off, (get it? I know I’m super funny, right?) I added some pretty pink sprinkles. It looked beautiful. Good enough to eat one might say (there I go again crackin’ jokes).

As if this product wasn't good enough, clean up was a breeze since it was dishwasher safe. So that's another benefit to add to the list.

Ok, so this was last night, and just writing about it today is really making me hungry.

As I mentioned before I don’t currently own this product, but after my amazing results, I will be buying one within the week. I love this product and a can surely expect I will be using it on a pretty frequent basis.
 

Filed Under: Cooking ·

Eggies Review and Video Demo

January 2, 2012 by 1 Comment

This is another one of those concept products I just had to try for myself. It seemed simple enough. I do hate the hassle of cooking hard boiled eggs the traditional way and the way some shells peel away the egg and how hard on my hands peeling the shells can be. So I put Eggies to the test and I have to say I’m slightly disappointed in my results.

I followed the directions exactly as I was supposed to. First, I had to clean all the parts before use. I guess they are dishwasher safe, but since I didn’t want to wait nearly 1 ½ hours for the dishwasher, I decided to hand wash them since it would be faster. Then there was the somewhat tedious paper towel application of the nonstick cooking spray. Next, it was time to assemble my Eggies….

I had a little difficulty getting a good grip on my Eggies because they are so small for my rather large hands. I thought I had secured them as tightly as possible, with one of my Eggies, it seemed to leak the whites. So this was possibly my fault, I’m not 100% certain.

So once I had them mostly assembled, I cracked my eggs and put them into my Eggies. This is when I noticed that one of them didn’t seem securely fastened and that I had some leakage. Next I had to secure the lid. It seemed to me that I might have had an easier time securing the lid if perhaps there were some guide arrows which when lined up would speed up the process.

I loved that I could season my eggs prior to cooking, seems to me they would be more flavorful when they were all ready to eat.

So I cooked my eggs in a pot on the stove for approx 15-17 minutes, removed them from the water and let them cool for about 5 minutes. I thought that since I had used a nonstick spray that my eggs should just glide right out of their Eggie, but alas, that was not the case. I removed the top, and shook and shook and shook. Only one out of six eggs came out of the Eggie by shaking. The other five had to be aided out with a spoon. Using the spoon didn’t damage them, so I suppose that is good.

Once I got all my eggs out and onto my plate, I was pretty disappointed in the shape of my hard boiled egg. They were not oval…. They were oval-esque and completely flat on one side. I love hard boiled eggs and more than that I love to make deviled eggs. So to see half my egg as being flat, this is a problem…. A big problem. When I make my deviled eggs, as I’m sure you do the same, you slice them down the side long ways making for two perfect “egg boats” as we used to call them when I was a kid. Because of the shape, one egg, makes ONE EGG, not two. Deviled eggs are a huge family favorite. If each egg only makes one deviled egg, its going to take a lot more eggs to feed my family and in turn it will cost a lot more.

Perhaps if the Eggies were made just a little bit smaller, I think it might have made for better results in the shape department.

Another thing I noticed was the texture of my hard boiled egg. The outside wasn’t all smooth but more of a soft and spongy bumpy feeling. Texture in my food is just one of those things I cant always get past and this is one of those times I just cant do it. I need my hard boiled eggs to be smooth.

I did decide to preseason my eggs, and sadly it didn’t prove to make as much of a difference as I had hoped.

Pros:

You don’t have to peel any egg shells

You can season eggs before cooking

 

Cons:

Possibly leak

More dishes to wash

Longer preparation time

Each Eggie is made of four pieces, which is more pieces in which could get lost

Eggs do not come out in traditional perfect oval shape If making deviled eggs, you can only make one deviled egg per hard boiled egg ( so it makes less and you will need twice as many eggs)

Texture of the egg is less than favorable in my opinion

Filed Under: Cooking, Food · Tagged With: ,

OrGreenic Cookware Review

December 23, 2011 by 7 Comments

I’m sure many of you out there are like me and have replaced many, many pieces of cookware. I think in the last 5 years alone I have bought at least three sets. It never seems as though they have a long lifespan. Even the last two sets I bought, one was well over $200 and the other around $100, they only lasted a year tops.

Click Here to Visit OrGreenic Site for a Buy One Get One Free Offer

I have seen the infomercial for the OrGreenic cookware probably 3 dozen times over the last few years and I finally decided I needed to try it. It’s also that time again when I start to notice the life of my latest cookware set has just about run it course.

So if you didn’t see my latest video, I highly recommend watching it. During the video you will get to see my genuine 1st time use of the OrGreenic frying pan. Even I was shocked at the results.

Firstly, before use, I had to “season” my pan. So I spread a light coating of vegetable oil on the pan, put it on medium heat and waited for the pan to lightly smoke. After it began smoking I took it off the heat, allowed it to cool, and wiped off all the oil with a paper towel. As per the packaging instructions, this is only necessary to do about 2 times per year. Other than that, I should never need to use oil while cooking again?! Almost seems too good to be true.

The first test I decided to perform was to fry an egg. One thing I hate most about frying eggs is how sometimes the white seems to spread itself so thin that by the time I’m ready to flip over my egg, I have a hard time getting it on the spatula. I was simply amazed at how after cracking the egg into the pan, it looked so neat and almost perfect. It was even a perfect shape. I know that sounds a little bizarre, but it was true. It was the neatest fried egg I had ever made. Now, in case you haven’t seen the infomercial, one of the demonstrations they perform is the fried egg just gliding around on the pan. I tried it a few times without success. But once I used my spatula and loosened the egg from the pan, sure enough my egg started sliding around my pan just like the demonstration I had seen.

The next test I performed was to make an omelet. I used two eggs, and after my test I think the conclusion I came to was that in the commercial the probably used only one egg. The only reason I mention this is because for the omelet demonstration they blew the paper thin omelet out of the pan onto a plate with one simple breath of air. From the beginning, I knew I probably wouldn’t have been able to do that in my own demonstration because my omelet was heavier. Something else I did happen to notice while cooking this “omelet” was that around the edges of my pan where I would normally see dried up, unsuitable for eating, egg. I saw the dried egg curling up, still intact with the rest of the “omelet”. It almost looked as if it was repelling from the pan. I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it before. This egg was not sticking to my pan AT ALL.

The next test I performed was to try and burn oatmeal to my pan. I have never personally cooked oatmeal in a frying pan, so this was another first for me, in minutes my oatmeal was perfectly cooked. I removed a little for my daughter’s breakfast and proceeded to try and burn the rest to the pan. And much like how the edges of the omelet repelled from the pan, this oatmeal residue ( greatly resembling rice paper) was doing the same thing. It was beyond paper thin and barely touching the pan while the steam had it just flapping away. This stuff just wasn’t going to stick to the pan. Finally when I decided I was done trying to burn the oatmeal, I started to lift the edges of the oatmeal with a spatula. The oatmeal remained solid and just rolled right up. I couldn’t believe it. It was an oatmeal burrito! Perfectly intact and nothing was stuck to my pan.

Lastly I decided to slap a slice of cheddar cheese right on the pan. After it melted somewhat, I tilted my pan and let the cheese glide around. It seemed as though some of the cheese had stuck to my pan, while the less melted cheese slid all around. I thought this was quite interesting and surely I figured that if part of the cheese stayed in one place, then it might have actually stuck. Boy was I wrong! After removing the pan from the heat, I took my spatula to it. To my surprise, the cheese did exactly as the oatmeal had done. It came right up and rolled up leaving no remains. After I was all finished my only cleanup was to pour some water on my pan and everything slid right off.

I have never in my life seen a frying pan perform in such a manner, but one thing is for sure. I am an OrGreenic fan for life! I will definitely be completing my set with all the other pieces of this astounding cookware. As it is the holiday season, this it going to be my favorite gift to give as I embark on yet another “as seen on tv” gift giving Christmas.

I think this is a great gift idea for anyone with limited cooking skills (backed by a lifetime warranty, it can’t be ruined!), for the health conscious (cutting out oil and fats), or even the best cook you know. I couldn’t even tell you how excited I am to hear the reactions from my family and friends after they try their new OrGreenic frying pans.

 

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Xpress Redi Set Go Review & Video Demonstration & Results

June 14, 2011 by 2 Comments

This is another one of those kitchen appliances that I just “had to have”. It was another one of those simple little things that might just make me feel more like a Betty in the kitchen. The best part was how fast each of the recipes cooked. I could whip up just about anything in no time flat.

I remember seeing the infomercials for the older model, and I have to say, I love the removable inserts. They are great for making different portion sizes, and it sure makes clean up a lot easier.

Some of my personal favorites I love using my Xpress Redi Set Go for include:

  • Omelets
  • Meatballs
  • Stuffed mushrooms
  • Burritos
  • Grilled sandwiches
  • Homemade pizza
  • Mini orange rolls or cinnamon rolls
  • Cake

We bought our Xpress Redi Set Go about a year and a half ago, and nearly every day for about a month I used it. I even went as far as taking this handy little countertop cooker with me to work! Those double shift graveyards were a killer, but what better way to get through a shift than with the most delicious, home cooked meals. After I started using my Xpress Redi Set Go, I could not bear to eat TV dinners ever again. I still use my cooker on occasion about once or twice every two weeks.

I love the recipe book that came along with it, there were so many delicious new ideas in there I would have never thought of. What a great way to eat such amazing foods while simply using your leftovers and simple food staples almost everyone has lying around.

The removable insert trays are absolutely fabulous, and as I mentioned before how much easier it makes the cleanup. The only thing I wish they had done was make a third insert. The additional insert should be one big round well, just like the cooker looks like when it is by itself without any inserts. That way cleanup would be just as easy, no matter what you are cooking, where as previously cleanup was only the easiest when using the inserts.

I only experienced 2 problems with my Xpress Redi Set Go. The first was that if the outside of my cooker ever got too dirty or greasy the numbers and writing wiped off. So right now my cooker is minus the numbers next to the timer dial… The other problem I experienced was that the new “advanced non stick” cooking surface, flaked off after several uses… So, that’s just another reason that the manufacturers should make one more insertable pan. And I only seem to have this problem when I am using the cooker itself without the insert. Otherwise the inserts are really great and non stick.

I love the portion sizes and they are ideal for individuals or small families of 2 or 3, but for larger families it seems like it would be a little impractical. For example, If you had a family of six and you wanted to use the Xpress Redi Set Go to cook steak for everyone, it would probably take longer to cook 6 steaks ( even if cooking 2 at a time) on the Xpress Redi Set Go than it would to BBQ all 6 at once. Plus by the time all the steaks would be done half of them would be cold or everyone would have to eat in shifts just so they got to eat theirs hot still. Or suppose you are trying to make hors de oeuvres for a party, it only makes 6 at a time… I love stuffed mushrooms, 6 probably would only be enough for me. So unless you want to stand around in your kitchen making batch after batch, after batch, it’s really best for small families.

 I think it would be awesome if they decided to make a larger model, call it the Xpress Redi Set Go XL. And for that model, they could have a big insert with 4 dividers, and the mini rounds divider pan (cini minis or meatball pan) could make at least double the amount. I think I might just want to pitch my idea to the manufacturers….?

Aside from the two problems I had encountered, I still love my Xpress Redi Set Go. And should someone important out there listen to my ideas and act upon them, I can guarantee you I would definitely buy that larger model, or even another of my current model.

Filed Under: Cooking · Tagged With: ,

The Ove Glove Review – Video Demo & Results

May 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

In the past 9 years since I have lived on my own, I have gone through more oven mitts than some people go through shoes. They get burned, singed, cut, torn, ripped, or they just don’t keep the heat away long enough to even take a hot piece of cookware out of the oven. Ever drop a pan of food because it was so hot, even with an oven mitt, before you could transfer it to the counter? That has happened to us more than I would like to admit.

I have to say that the Ove Glove isn’t exactly on the cheap end, but when it is most likely going to be the last mitt you every have to buy it’s a bargain. All the times I had burned myself in the past through old, torn mitts, I only wish I would have owned my Ove Gloves sooner.

I was able to compare my old Kitchenaid oven mitts, to the Ove Gloves, and the results are in! These things are awesome! Not only does it block the heat really well, but if needed I can actually hold a hot piece of Pyrex for about a whole minute longer than the other mitts. Not to mention because the Ove Gloves, are gloves, it was a lot more comfortable and less awkward to hold the hot Pyrex. With my old mitts, no matter what I tried there was just no way to hold the pan that wasn’t awkward. I never felt like I had a good grip on them. With the Ove Gloves, one thing I really loved is that I had good use of all my fingers. I’m also pretty sure everyone out there reading this can agree that our thumb is also the most important finger we have. It is the one limb that has helped the human species develop such accurate fine motor skills. With our hands shoved in a mitt, its becomes a huge hindrance on our ability to do simple tasks.

Make sure you read all the directions that come with the gloves, they ARE NOT meant to be used near steam, as the steam can penetrate the glove, and still cause burns. However, they do make an Anti Steam Ove Glove, if that is something you might need.

When testing out my new Ove Gloves, I actually thought of another use they are great for. I’m actually surprised they don’t include this use on their packaging. Almost every single day I am tossing one of my daughters unfinished bottles in the fridge, but when she decides she wants it again, I have the hardest time trying to get the nipple and the ring back off. I try, and try and try until my hand is sore. I actually can’t even believe it took me a few weeks to figure this out. The super grippers are fantastic at opening all sorts of hard to open jars, and bottles. Opening those stuck bottles is easy as pie, now.

Just for that one simple benefit, I  kinda want to buy some of these for my parents. I actually think my step mom owns about two or three of those weird jar opening gadgets, which anytime I had ever tried using them I just plain couldn’t get them to work at all.
 

Filed Under: Cooking ·

Pasta Boat Review & Demo

May 25, 2011 by 2 Comments

Visit Manufacturer Website: Pasta Boat Official Site
Free Gift: Buy 1 get 1 free + recipe book + chopper

There is nothing I hate more than dirty dishes. Just thinking about touching that stinky sponge makes me feel icky. One of the biggest reasons we eat out a lot is cause I don’t like to dirty a ton of dishes while cooking. The worst are the large pots and pans because they often need to be hand washed as there is never room left in our machine after loading all the plates, bowls and cups. And even if the dishwasher is empty, it’s still a toss up whether or not the large pieces of cookware will even fit in the machine at all. One thing I hate the most, is just when I think I’m done washing dishes and loading the dishwasher, only to turn around and find the stove top still covered with pots and pans.

The first time I tried the Pasta Boat, I was a little disappointed that my pasta came out overcooked. I used the time as recommended by the directions, but since I know all microwaves are different I realized I needed to do some more testing. I happen to have a pretty high powered microwave, so for me, the solution was to reduce the time to only about 15 minutes. After I made that simple adjustment, my results really did come out perfect. 

When comparing the Pasta Boat with traditional stove top cooking and noticed a dramatic time saving difference. It took about 28 minutes to cook my pasta on the stove on medium high, where as the Pasta boat cooked my spaghetti in only 15 minutes. I love that you can also use the Pasta Boat to steam fresh veggies. Just that little insert is another awesome space saver in the dishwasher. I was also impressed that the lid held on really securely, so it did not come off even when straining out the excess water. The portion control handles are such a great idea! We have never had a pasta portioner, so now that we have one and its attached to our Pasta Boat, we never end up cooking too much extra food. We used to always dump an entire package in the pot to cook, letting half of it go uneaten. What a waste?! The Pasta Boat is certainly a product I would recommend to family and friends who hate washing dishes and who are on the go and want to make the most of their time. Always in a rush? Forget to start dinner at a decent hour? All too often we used to go out to eat, not just to save on dishes, but because it ended up too late and no one wanted to cook. Even if its late, we no longer rush out to grab fast food. In the amount of time it takes to zip to the nearest fast food joint, we could have our perfect paste dished and served. This is a space saving, time saving, and money saving product.

I have also started using the Pasta Boat to make my daughters macaroni and cheese lunch. This was especially great when she is hungry and getting fussy. It only takes me 8 minutes to get her lunch ready, and she’s a happy camper.
 

Filed Under: Cooking ·