Must have kitchen gadgets

tiff

Well we all know how popular slow cookers are at the moment. Lately I've been thinking about getting a sandwich toaster and a bread maker but I dont have enough worktop space to leave out a breadmaker AND a large slow cooker. If I have to put one away I'm not sure if I will be bothered to lug it out every time I want to use it.

If I do buy a breadmaker or sandwich toaster will these be items that will end up in a car boot sale in a few years or do you use yours loads?

sunnth

I keep both my slow cooker and breadmaker in a cupboard but use both several times a week. They don't get dusty or greasy unlike things on the counter and I have made sure they are at the front of the cupboard so are easy to get out.

The last time I had a sandwich maker was about ten years ago as a student and it was a pain to clean so got chucked fairly quickly even though I love toasted sarnies.

halloweenqueen_2

I use my breadmaker a lot - but why not visit a local car boot and pick one or the other up from there?

pavlovs_dog

i loove my sandwich toaster (might be just a student thing)

nothing nicer than cheese toasties to dunk in tomato soup!


i think if you sit down and look at your meal planner - how much use will you get out of them, if your honest? (after the novelty has worn off, and you're fed up off one or the other?)

i suggest you treat yourself to the one you think you will get the most use of, and take it from there.

(on a side note, most toastie sandwich makers come with removable plates for easier cleaning these days).

Ticklemouse

I don't have a sandwich toaster because I wouldn't use one, even though I love the old ham and cheese toasty. I just make the sarney, micro it to melt the cheese and pop under the grill to toast it. They are much better IMO cos they're not squashed.

I do have a breadmaker, which TBH i could live without. Mr TM has given up eating bread anyway so I just tend to make pizza dough in it or occasionally a fancy bread to go with a soup. Mine isn't a brill breadmaker so the white loaves aren't as good as they could be. If I could find the recipe book that goes with it I might make a start in using it again - the wholemeal loaves are OK.

As for slow cookers - only got 3 now, so it's a good job I have a large understair cupboard.:D

bazzaang

personally we have a sandwich toaster and a slow cooker, the sandwich toaster is used bi-annually and the slow cooker is generally used at least once a week, trying to get it used more often though.

Hope that helps

MATH

Slo-Cooker is used 2-4 times a week in the winter and about once a week in the summer. Sandwich toaster is also used weekly. Bread maker is gathering dust in the garage somewhere along with the soda stream, two deep fat fryers, a pressure cooker which scares me, and an electric knife.

Becles

Breadmaker is used every other day, as I prefer homemade bread to bought bread now. That's stored on an open shelf for easy access.

I've got a slow cooker in the cupboard which is used about once a week, sometimes more.

Have you thought about a George Foreman grill? You can make toasted sandwiches in that, and also use it to grill many other foods like steaks, chicken breasts, burgers and so on. I've got one and we use that quite a lot. All the fat runs out of food too, so it's healthy as well.

tiff

How easy is a breadmaker to use do you just throw in the ingredients and it does the rest?

I'm sure I would get use out of the sandwich toaster, after someone here posted they have toasted sandwiches and soup for a meal it made me think of that as a meal for my kids now and then. Loads of veg in the soup and cheese in the toastie would be a good meal. Also good for Saturday lunchtimes after my son plays football. They arent expensive, Tesco does a value one but not sure how good it is.

Hmm, still thinking about it

suki1964

Becles wrote:

Breadmaker is used every other day, as I prefer homemade bread to bought bread now. That's stored on an open shelf for easy access.

I've got a slow cooker in the cupboard which is used about once a week, sometimes more.

Have you thought about a George Foreman grill? You can make toasted sandwiches in that, and also use it to grill many other foods like steaks, chicken breasts, burgers and so on. I've got one and we use that quite a lot. All the fat runs out of food too, so it's healthy as well.

I was going to suggest the George Forman as well. Thats one gadget that gets used a lot in this house - 3 or 4 times a week and it doesnt make a bad toastie either

Jay-Jay_4

I have a breville sandwich thingie but it's a flat plate one rather than the triangley shapey sealy edgy ones.

I don't use it very much but occasionally Mr JJ likes a cheese and onion toastie, or I make pizza toastie for my daughter by spreading tomato paste on the bread, a few slices of cheese and a sprinkle of dried italian seasoning, easy peasy and quick.

It's sat next to my Kenwood smoothie maker which has been used once in a year :rolleyes: