Small Appliances To The Rescue
Posted by terrepruitt on June 29, 2020
You may know from previous posts here that my oven is out of commission. My husband did all he could . . . the normal things like replacing the elements. He even purchased a thermostat, but the oven has to come out for that. The repairman determined it was the circuit board, something that the company no longer makes so we couldn’t order a new one. But my husband found a company that repairs them so our oven part is off at the electronic hospital :-). The company wanted a whole portion of the unit, but my husband knew that shipping that portion would be more risky for damage so he just sent the actual part that needs fixing. And in doing that he was able to put the stove controls back on. My oven is a stove and oven combination, if he would have shipped the whole thing they wanted I wouldn’t have had a stove. It is nice to have both a stove and an oven, but when you don’t have one, you kinda need the other. But when we were going through the process of elimination as to the issue with the oven, at one point I didn’t have a working stove (in addition to a non-working oven). So, I pulled out some of my other appliances. When we had our kitchen re-done years ago I was without a kitchen for four months. Yes, four months. So I was able to use other things like an electric skillet and an electric grill/panini press.
I don’t use them that often so this was a great opportunity. The electric skillet is amazing with how fast it heats up. I am assuming that if I cooked on it more frequently I would be better at knowing what heat to use, but now when I use it I turn the heat up and down . But it is not like a pan on the stove, it heats up very fast! Something I have to remember when I use it.
It’s lid can also serve as a baking dish, which is kinda cool, but at the same time it makes it somewhat challenging to take the lid off when cooking because it doesn’t have a handle on top.
Also I was reminded I love paninis. I love the grilled bread. It is nicer than just a pan toasted sandwich. The panini I cooked on it recently, I have to say . . . it was perfect. It was delicious. My appliance has changeable plates. I can use the griddle type of flat plate or the grill kind that makes the fancy lines on the food. It can open all the way up and form two griddles or close it like a press.
I am still without an oven for a bit . . . . until the part comes back . . . and hopefully it will work. (Or you will be seeing me post about getting a new oven . . . and possibly a little tiny kitchen work done.) But in the meantime I am looking for “how tos” for my electric skillet.
Do you have a panini press/grill? Do you have an electric skillet? What do you use them for? Do you have any “How tos”/recipes for an electric skillet?
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Frank Hubeny said
We use a toaster oven and haven’t used a real over in perhaps years. We mainly reheat things there and bake sweet potatoes (450 degrees for 50 minutes). Just let them cool and eat them. We use them instead of bread.
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terrepruitt said
I actually cooked pizza in our toaster oven because I didn’t know how to cook it otherwise and I had purchased the dough through our delivery service. I use my oven more than my stove, I think. I like the idea that I can put it (whatever) in the oven and forget about it for the most part. When I was cooking the pizza in the toaster oven I wouldn’t leave the kitchen. I put parchment paper in the toaster oven and after I did it I realized maybe it shouldn’t go in the toaster oven. I am not sure that a loaf pan would fit in my toaster over . . . hence, why I am cooking banana bread in my crock-pot. I roast my sweet potatoes in my oven. (Awww, I miss my oven.) Thanks for sharing, Frank!
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Alien Resort said
I lived in a small apt where I heated frozen pizzas on a hot plate. I used a cast-iron skillet.
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terrepruitt said
Yes, all the recipes that I looked up regarding cooking pizza without an oven did say “cast iron skillet”. And I recently got one, so I could have used it. (But that is another story . . .:-) ) If I were cooking a frozen pizza I would have just used a pan on the stove, but this was pizza dough (and I don’t have a good record with dough!).
Did it come out good on the hot plate?
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Alien Resort said
I put foil on top to help trap heat to melt the cheese, and the overall result was about like heating it in the oven.
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terrepruitt said
Sounds perfect! I have more dough coming Friday and I think I will stick to the toaster oven, it was ok (so much so that my husband said he wouldn’t mind it again). I should probably break out my cast iron pan, but I really got that to USE in the OVEN!
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Correne Sinclair said
I have an oven that is not working. It happened just as the virus came on us, but luckily I have a toaster oven. I’ve used it for macaroni and cheese, pizza and fish. it works pretty good. I cook other things on top of the stove in a fry pan. The one thing I miss is baking. The toaster oven isn’t a large one for that.
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terrepruitt said
So we are kind of in the same situation . . . no oven. YES. Baking doesn’t work in the toaster oven, but the crock-pot works from some things. 🙂 I have used the toaster some other things I usually cook in the oven. We are like you . . . we are making do! It is ok. I just miss the act of putting something in the oven and walking away to let it cook. THAT is why i use my oven (and love it) so much. Well, I do walk away from the crock-pot because that is THREE hours.
Thanks for sharing! Oh, what is up with the oven? Are you able to get it fixed?
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Correne Sinclair said
I’m trying to decide to get it repaired or just get a new stove. It was repaired once before because the oven wouldn’t work. Either way, I’m waiting awhile because I don’t feel comfortable with someone coming in the house to deliver a new one or fix the old.
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terrepruitt said
Ahhh, yes, that common dilemma. At least with you not wanting someone in the house it gives you time to decide. Perhaps shopping to see if there is anything you like/want. Often times, what I find lately, is I don’t want something new because I just want an appliance to do its job . . . I don’t want it to tell me when it needs a new part or contact the company to tell it in needs something. I don’t need it to give me suggestions on what to cook from recipes on the internet. I don’t need it to have cooking/baking parties with friends. Just cook my food and don’t contact anyone. 🙂
We were not happy about having to have a repairman in, but the one time we needed one to come before I was so impressed with his modus operandi that I felt comfortable calling this company again. When he came years ago, he wiped his feet, he locked and unlocked out door every time he went out/in, he used dropped cloths, he cleaned up his mess, and he communicated what he was doing. I figured if he was that good years ago when there wasn’t a virus he probably would be great now. My husband handled it and said he didn’t touch anything but the oven. It really helped that we used the company before.
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Correne Sinclair said
Wow that is great company to call. You don’t find repairmen like that too often. I feel the same as you, as long as the stove cooks my food I’m happy.
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terrepruitt said
Yes, that is why we called them again. I wrote a review on them . . .that helped us find them again.
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Joan meyer said
I have a quite large cooker pot type thing…..sort of like a very big crock pot….but does lots more! I know you can like bake in it….do a chicken, etc…..anyway….you are welcome to borrow it!! Not sure I ever used it!! Bit it’s supposed to do everything!M
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terrepruitt said
Awwww. Thanks, Joan. I am surprised you haven’t used it for soup. I think we should be getting our oven fixed soon – hopefully . . . and in addition to these two appliances, I do have a toaster oven, an indoor grill, and an outdoor grill. So we are not really doing without. I am just used to my oven because of the whole “put it in and leave” it aspect. Thanks again!
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Joan Meyer said
I just never think of taking it out……used to making soup on stove…..actually easier to move pots around, and put into fridge after…..if I made roasts it would be great! But I don’t! Good luck!
Sent from my iPad
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