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You are here: Home / Archives for Reviews / Small Appliances

Small Appliances

Why You Need an Air Fryer (and Why They Make IDEAL Gifts for Cooks)

October 18, 2021 By Joi Sigers

Cosori Air Fryer

Cosori Air Fryer

The air fryer pictured above (nevermind the little Matchbox truck… I have three grandbabies, all boys, so there are little cars, trucks, and dinosaurs everywhere… and I thank God for it daily!) is the latest picture of proof that… well… sometimes I’m wrong.

You see, when air fryers (Amazon link) first became a “thing,” I never thought I’d ever want one, yet alone use one. When it comes to some things, I can be very, very, very old school – this is never more true than in the kitchen. Now, mind you, I still think a cook should stay sharp with all forms and techniques of cooking – that is to say, he/she should regularly make omelets, saute’, make gravy, broil, poach eggs, etc… not only does repetitively using a cooking technique keep your skills sharp, doing so allows you to develop the absolute best way of making something. Relying solely on one small kitchen appliance (at the expense of other styles of cooking) doesn’t serve one well. I know a family member who became SO dependent on her microwave once that she had to go out and buy a new pan to boil water in when her microwave decided it no longer wanted to work for a living.

I didn’t ask if she remembered how to turn the stove on again – I was afraid of the answer.

However, the other end of the spectrum is also very true and can also make you an even better (and more creative) cook: Having a variety of fun kitchen appliances encourages you to cook different meals and experiment with different foods and styles of cooking… both of which make your kitchen a much more delicious place to be.

So, if we’re numbering the reasons you need an Air Fryer, I’d put Creativity at the top of the list. The ones that follow it, however, are just as important.

  1. Creativity. New appliances and gadgets encourage creativity and can, by their very nature, shake you out of the all too common kitchen rut! There are so many wonderful air fryer cookbooks (Amazon link) and even magazines on the newsstand that provide even more channels for creativity and fun.
  2. Crispiness. While I love, love, love experimenting with different techniques and recipes for the air fryer, want to know the one thing I love it for the most? The one thing I’d fight someone for if they came to steal our air fryer? Hold onto your seats, this is a very high brow, food blogger food…. tater tots! Hear me out, fellow foodies, the air fryer will make you fall in love with tater tots all over again. It gives them a crispiness that the oven simply cannot muster. If you want just a little crispiness, you pull them out sooner… if you want a lot more crispiness, you leave them in a little longer. Personally, I think a perfect tater tot is a little crispy on the outside and soft inside. The air fryer gives you that restaurant quality tot you never knew you missed until you make it yourself. Air fryers are also IDEAL for fries, chicken strips, onion rings, and just about anything else you can think of!
  3. Coronary Health! Obviously, anytime you can replace fried foods with “air fried” foods, your heart and arteries will thank you for it. Fried foods are horrific for your heart’s health – something I (as a southerner) am pained to admit, but it’s true. When you air fry the food, it is just as delicious and SO much healthier.
  4. Convenience. Remember the three grandbabies I mentioned earlier? I have a lot of blessings in life (wonderful husband, three beautiful daughters, three beloved sons-in-law, three perfect grandbabies, precious cats…) and one I never take for granted is the BLESSING of watching my grandbabies while their parents are at work during the week. The boys are all under 4, so this is a blessing that keeps MiMi hopping! Needless to say, meal prep and quicker meals are big on my list. The air fryer cuts cooking time in half for many foods – allowing me to fix quick meals for the little guys and quick suppers for me and my big guy! It’s also an excellent way to cook frozen foods such as fries, fish sticks, and chicken strips. They go into the air fryer frozen and come out, minutes later perfectly delicious – often even better than when cooked in the oven. Quicker, always as good/often better, and no preheating is necessary.
  5. Cooler in the Kitchen. In summer, I lose track of the number of times I plan meals around what will keep from “heating up the kitchen.” The air fryer allows the tater tots or crinkle cut fries to accompany the cookout!

I’m not going to list the following “bonus” with the ones above, and not just because it doesn’t start with a C… although I am absolutely anal enough to be bothered by that. Anytime we (any age) can learn something new and take on a new challenge, we do absolute wonders for our brains. The brain loves a challenge and, frankly, most of us don’t offer our brain nearly enough challenging opportunities. When I have a new kitchen gadget or appliance (or a new toy to put together for my little buddies) that I have successfully put together or learned how to use, I can literally feel my brain buzz with excitement. It’s kind of a rush, if we’re being honest.

I love that learning new things like this makes my brain set up and take notice. In the same way we all need to be more mindful of our heart’s health, we absolutely need to be more mindful of our brain’s health.

I just realized, I could have used “Cognitive Benefits” in the list and still kept with the C theme. Sigh.

The air fryer will make an excellent addition to your family, if you don’t already have one. It would also make an excellent gift idea for anyone on your Christmas list (or gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Anniversaries, birthdays, graduates…). It is an extremely thoughtful gift idea and one the recipient will cherish and think of you each time they use it.

If you’re lucky, they may even make you some tater tots.

While our brand is the Cosori Air Fryer, I’m linking you to a newer model. This one has the coveted Amazon Choice label and something I generally find just as lovely – a $20 off coupon!


Filed Under: 2021 Christmas Gift Ideas for Cooks, Christmas Gift Guide, Daily Gift Ideas for Foodies, Gift Ideas for Cooks, Reviews, Small Appliances Tagged With: air fryer, gift ideas for cooks

Have You Invested in a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer Yet?! Here’s Why I Think You Should….

September 26, 2021 By Joi Sigers

Ironically, in spite of ALWAYS saying, “You’ll only be as great a cook as your tools and ingredients allow you to be,” I put off buying a KitchenAid stand mixer for years. And years.

The very person who consistently pays more for most ingredients and who grabs every new kitchen gadget that hits the market put off buying something because it, “… seems so high.”

If I didn’t do a great deal of baking, it’d be more forgivable but with a large family, there are always birthday cakes to make, homemade icing to throw together, candies, pies, and whatnot. And that in’t even counting Thanksgiving and Christmas – my annual grand finales!

I knew Kitchenaid stand mixers were gorgeous and knew the brand had one of the best reputations in the business but I  honestly assumed my handheld mixer could do anything it could and I knew it was far cheaper. More on the faulty assumption in a minute.

Earlier this year, my youngest daughter got a Kitchenaid stand mixer (Amazon link) and immediately began to rave about it. She’s one of the rare humans who does as much baking and cooking as I do, so when she recommends something, I listen. I decided to test her Kitchenaid out with something I make each week – Homemade Whipped Cream. My husband and I love it in our coffee (as well as on ice cream, cakes, cookies… heck, I’ve even seen him eat it right out of the bowl).

(Continued Below the Whipped Cream!)

Homemade Whipped Cream

Homemade Whipped Cream (Recipe) 

First of all, I fell in love with the fact that all I had to do was put all of the ingredients into the bowl and that the Kitchenaid did the rest. My right arm marveled at something being beaten without it feeling the burden.

However, if the results had been the same, I would have stayed loyal to my handheld for the rest of my life.

The results were not even remotely the same. My homemade whipped cream has always been delicious but this time it had a MUCH better consistency – a consistency that made it look better and, somehow, even taste better. I remember picking it up with a spoon and thinking how much it looked like store-bought whipped cream. My handheld never did that.

Then it hit me… if the Kitchenaid stand mixer (Amazon link) makes this big of a difference with something as simple as whipped cream, imagine the difference it can make with cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, divinity, fudge… that was it. I was sold.

Yes, a Kitchenaid stand mixer  is more expensive than hand held mixers and, yes, for most of us, they’re somewhat of an investment. But here’s the thing, if the meals we make for our loved ones aren’t worth it, nothing is.

I would never recommend anything to my readers that I don’t absolutely love and use. I’d never suggest you buy something unless I knew you’d love it – I’m just not built that way.

I’m 100 percent certain you will love a  Kitchenaid stand mixer (Amazon link) as much as I do.  From what I’ve read, other stand mixers do not hold a candle to the Kitchenaid brand, so I wouldn’t get sidetracked there, if I were you. Kitchenaid is a household name and experience has shown me why.

See Also: Recipe for the Best Whipped Cream!

KitchenAid

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Filed Under: 2021 Christmas Gift Ideas for Cooks, Christmas Baking, Daily Gift Ideas for Foodies, Gift Ideas for Cooks, Kitchen Gadget Reviews, Reviews, Small Appliances, Thanksgiving Recipes Tagged With: Kitchenaid Stand Mixer

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Maker Review

February 6, 2013 By Joi Sigers

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Maker

My Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper Review: The pictures speak for themselves!

I’ve always loved popcorn – not only is it delicious, let’s face it, popcorn’s crazy fun to eat.  However, popping it, with all the pan shaking and grease splattering, isn’t even remotely fun.  I don’t know about you, but if I do have any muscles in my body, they certainly aren’t in my arms.  Popeye might enjoy the pan shaking, but I can do without it.

The last time I made popcorn the old fashioned way, it took more time than I wanted to spend and made a bigger mess than I wanted to clean.  I decided, then and there, that my next trip to Target would include buying a popcorn maker.  Since I never tease myself about anything as serious as shopping at Target, I did joyfully add to my kitchen’s small appliances collection.  I chose the West Bend Stir Crazy 6-Quart Electric Popcorn Popper and we’ve been getting along famously.

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn

Whrrrr… it spins one way, then the other way for even distribution and popping.

The West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Popcorn Popper is Very, Very, Very Easy to Use

As I said, I don’t want to spend a lot of time when it comes to popping popcorn.  Usually, if we’re having popcorn, it means something is on television that’s SO important it calls for snacks. If this is the case, the last thing I want to do is to be in the kitchen and away from the fun for very long.  I certainly don’t want a huge mess to have to clean up.  The Stir Crazy Popcorn Maker is a dream come true.  You simply put three tablespoons of oil into the base, add a cup of popcorn, spread it out, put the lid on, plug it in… then watch the fun.

My arms are so happy!

The Stir Crazy takes care of the kernel rotation, and before you know it, you have a heaping bowl full of deliciously and perfectly popped popcorn.  You simply unplug and turn the Stir Crazy upside down, filling the clear bowl (which can double as a serving bowl) with delicious hot popcorn.

There’s even a butter dispenser on top. You can put a few pats of butter into the “well” before popping and watch as the butter deliciously melts over the popcorn as it pops.  I didn’t use butter in the batch of popcorn you see here because I had other plans.  I am WILD about adding M & M’s to popcorn – a habit I first tried at the movie theater.  I had popcorn, a box of M & M’s, and a Coke. I didn’t have a third hand, so before I left the concession stand, I dumped my M & M’s into my popcorn.  Snacker’s ingenuity.  When I got to my seat, I reached in and grabbed a few pieces of popcorn, accompanied by a few M & M’s…

Boom! It was so delicious, I wouldn’t dream of having movie popcorn without M & M’s ever again. It’s equally great with Peanut M & M’s as it is with regular.

I also add M & M’s to my popcorn at home about half the time.  Sometimes I buy peanut, sometimes regular.  This time, I bought M & M Minis because they were so gosh darn cute.

West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper, Mini M&M's, and Amish Popcorn

Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper, M&M’s Minis, and Amish Popcorn… Good things are about to happen.

You can use your favorite popcorn from the store in the West Bend Stir Crazy 6-Quart Electric Popcorn Popper.  My husband regularly picks up bags of AMAZING Amish Country Popcorn when he’s in Rural King.  For this particular batch, I used their Baby White (Extra Small and Tender) variety – a favorite. The small and tender popcorn is a perfect match for the M&M’s Minis.  And, again, so gosh darn cute.

The West Bend Stir Crazy Electric Popcorn Popper is Fast and Clean Up is a BREEZE

Popping time in the Stir Crazy is about 5 minutes – and it seems even quicker than that. Maybe it’s because I enjoy the show so much.

As for clean up, the Nonstick-coated popping surface makes it so easy it’s ridiculous.  It’s almost as if it cleans itself.  If I could only get the rest of my kitchen appliances to master  this trick.

I absolutely positively recommend the West Bend Stir Crazy 6-Quart Electric Popcorn Popper – 100 percent.  If you (like I did) microwave popcorn, you might want to rethink the habit.  Researchers say this practice is actually very unhealthy.  It isn’t the popcorn that poses the danger, but the bags, themselves.

Besides, the Stir Crazy makes popcorn that tastes so fantastic, it puts microwaveable popcorn to shame.

You will use this guy year round…

  • Wintertime with NFL games, NCAA football and basketball.
  • Summertime – Baseball and popcorn are one of my personal favorite combinations.
  • Movie night – what’s a movie without popcorn??!
  • During your favorite shows (Swamp People, Survivor, Justified, Food Network…).
  • Halloween – popcorn balls just became a cinch.
  • Christmas – popcorn for stringing is faster than ever.

Grab a Stir Crazy at your nearest Target or order one on Amazon today by clicking the following link – West Bend Stir Crazy 6-Quart Electric Popcorn Popper.  It actually costs the same both places.  If you’ll notice, on Amazon, there are a lot of different seasonings and special popcorn popping oils to buy along with your Stir Crazy.

Whatever you do, give M & M’s in your popcorn a try.  If you WANT them to melt a little, add them right away – if you want the candies to stay firm, let the popcorn cool off just a little.  Either way, you’ll be blown away!

Popcorn and M & M's Minis

As delicious as it is pretty.

Filed Under: Food Blog, Game Day, Gift Ideas, Kitchen Gadget Reviews, Shop, Small Appliances Tagged With: electric popcorn popper, popcorn popper, review, small kitchen appliance reviews

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Welcome to the Get Cooking Food Blog

My name is Joi (“Joy”) and Get Cooking is where I celebrate some of my greatest passions: Recipes, kitchen gadgets, gluten free food reviews, gluten free recipes, pig collectibles, chocolate, cookbooks, and coffee.

Lots of coffee…

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What’s New on the Food Blog?

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Gluten-Free Lasagna with Explore Cuisine Green Lentil Lasagna Noodles

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Tostadas with Refried Beans and Tomatoes

Fast & Easy Summer Meal: Meatless Tostadas

Gluten-Free White Chocolate and Pecan Cookies

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Instant Vortex Plus 10 Quart Air Fryer, Rotisserie and Convection Oven (Amazon link)

A Reminder for all Cooks…

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If my accident can prevent you, a pet, or a child from being hurt, it will have been worth it to me… read more here!

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T-fal… As Good as Good Gets

The T-Fal Cookware Set (Amazon link), above, is absolutely one of the best cooking sets you’ll ever find. It’s on Amazon and available in several gorgeous colors.

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