July 29th Dinner Post

[livetobake]

Good Morning!

It is overcast with rain predicted and the high of 82 and the low of 62.

I am making a sheet pan meal consisting of pork, green beans, squash, onions and a sweet potato. Fresh pineapple will finish the meal.

What is your dinner this evening?

[muzette7]

My crockpot had an accident this week, as in I dropped it and the lid shattered, one handle broke off, and the crock split. Honestly I didnt love it anyhow, not a fan of all the digital stuff, and it really got way to hot. Anyways, I got a new one, just the cheapest one I could find that was not digital, so I will break it in today. Making stroganoff with the rest of the leftover brisket.

On a side note, I discovered Swedish dish cloths and they are amazing! I was tired of replacing my microfibers every few months because they would stop picking up hair and left lint all over.

[Chayote]

Sorry about your crock pot, muzette. Was it you that received it as a gift from the manufacturers? I remember someone saying that because she had an original crockpot whoever it was had a new one given to them. Maybe I have the wrong person. My memory isn't that good...

Nothing much happened again today. Still in lockdown. Still watching the Olympics.

Dinner tonight: John had sausages, onion and fresh bread rolls. I had a toasted sandwich with ham, tomato, onion and cheese.

[MommaBear]

I plan to dig in the pantry to see if I have all the ingredients for clam chowder, otherwise I will be making Macaroni and tomatoes for my dinner.

[muzette7]

Chayote, yes it was the Crockpot from the company to replace my 70's versions. Who ever thought that putting a lid with a hinge on a Crockpot should be fired. You couldnt open the stinking thing half the time because the lid would hit the cupboards. I was going to just grab one at the thrift store but hubs said since I use it all the time I should get a good one. I still bought a cheapie because I cant decide if I want the Kitchen Aid or Cuisinart one. I am just not a fan of the digital stuff, but both of those get good reviews. I will probably wait until Black Friday and see if they have a sale.

[livetobake]

I am not a fan of the digital products either muz. My microwave is simply turning the dial on the time I want and hit start. Same for my gas stove. Just turn the knob till the flame comes up. I can still cook even if the electric is out and I like especially in the winter as I can also get some heat into the room.

I think not making a snap decision is a good idea. Waiting for a sale is even better.

[Sabine]

Do they still make microwave or anything with a dial knob ?? I figured by now that all appliances are digital, after all you don't have to be a genius to operate a digital menu.

[CharleneG]

Muzette, I totally get how you feel about the non-digital Crock Pot! I’m really careful with my old non-digital model because it’s a workhorse that works flawlessly. I will cry if it breaks! On the other hand, I love the digital microwave I have, it came with the house and it’s the best one I’ve had yet. I’ve had microwaves since the late 70’s.

It’s another very warm day today but not quite as warm as yesterday, thank goodness. I’ve had a headache today so I’m just taking it easy. I think I’ll watch a movie or two this evening, nothing else looks too interesting. I’ve tried watching the Olympics, but I’m really having a hard time being interested.

I’m making imitation crab Caesar salad and garlic bread for dinner.

[Chayote]

Chayote, yes it was the Crockpot from the company to replace my 70's versions.

The one I have was very cheap a long time ago... about $30 from memory. I used to have a smaller one as well but it got left at the last holiday home we had. We left a few things that we would have kept, however it cost about $700 in ferry fares each time we went so it wasn't worth going back for them.

Can you just get by using your original crockpot? Sometimes the older ones are much better than new.

[Chayote]

Do they still make microwave or anything with a dial knob ?? I figured by now that all appliances are digital, after all you don't have to be a genius to operate a digital menu.

I was thinking the same thing, Sabine but then I realised that my air fryer has a dial knob. It used to belong to my daughter and is one of the first air fryers that came out. It would be about 10 or 12 years old now except that the drawer was replaced about 5 years ago because I dropped it and bent it beyond repair.

I've been very impressed with John going from never touching the microwave to being able to work it like a pro...

[Sabine]

I didn't realize that air fryers have been around that long , so I looked it up. Air fryers came out in 2010, who knew . But didn't really make it into peoples homes until about 3 years ago or so , and now almost everybody has one or two air fryers. All that according to the internet. My granddaughter has one and while she used it a lot in the beginning she is not using it as much anymore. I don't have one, not sure I am going to get one. I have a crock pot, only use it once or twice, don't like the way food comes out, everything is mushy. I also had to have a panini grill, used it a few times , gave it to my granddaughter.

[Chayote]

I didn't realize that air fryers have been around that long , so I looked it up. Air fryers came out in 2010, who knew . But didn't really make it into peoples homes until about 3 years ago or so , and now almost everybody has one or two air fryers. All that according to the internet. My granddaughter has one and while she used it a lot in the beginning she is not using it as much anymore. I don't have one, not sure I am going to get one. I have a crock pot, only use it once or twice, don't like the way food comes out, everything is mushy. I also had to have a panini grill, used it a few times , gave it to my granddaughter.

I read the same about Philips Air Fryers being available in 2010 and I remember my daughter bought the first model which is white with a dial and looked like this one:

https://i.imgur.com/cKqW2dF.jpg

...and is the one I have now. My daughter gave it to me shortly after she bought it, while she still lived in Canberra and she left there over 6 years ago. She told me she didn't want it back because she had replaced it with a newer model... a black one. Because they were living in a smaller house in Adelaide, she decided she didn't have room for it and so I had both here for quite a while. She now has a digital one but I'm still happy with the first one I had.

There was another cooking item that I remember from years ago. It was for frying with only a teaspoon of oil which was poured into a central part of the machine. The bowl was made of glass and the TV ad. showed taking a chip out of the bowl and breaking it to show that it was crunchy even with one teaspoon of oil. I think it was the Tefal Actifryer made in 2007 and they also showed roasting a chicken in it without adding oil. I remember thinking at the time that it was possibly difficult to keep clean. I thought it was before then... my bad.

I use my airfryer almost every day. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new one if I needed to. There are cheap ones from KMart that are digital but I think I would get another Philips.

I use my slow cooker about once a fortnight thereabouts. We like cooking curried sausages and I always make my bolognaise sauce in it.