BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Quick Cooking Timesaving Appliances

As a new editor for the Quick Cooking site, I would like to ask you which appliances you use to save time in your cooking. When I receive feedback, I'll post quick recipes using your favorite timesaving tools.

I'm even hoping that some of you will suggest new appliances or some I haven't used in the past--I always want a good excuse to purchase something new!

Some of my favorite timesaving appliances are slow cookers, indoor grills (like the George Foreman), automatic bread bakers, and rice cookers.

I'd love to hear from you!

Ooh, I just got a plug-in skillet, and I used it today. I love it! It cooked my bacon in less than 7 minutes. And it's immersible, so I can get the whole thing clean! It's made by Presto. It didn't come with a cookbook, but I can order one for $20. I look forward to finding some recipes online.

I also use my rice cooker ALL the time. I've developed lots of recipes for making different side dishes with rice. Yesterday I made spicy Spanish rice, which involves replacing some liquid with salsa and using lots of spices. I would love new recipes with this appliance.

This is cheating, since I haven't used it yet, but I'm very excited to have just purchased an immersion blender. I love making blended soups, but barely every do it because it's such a hassle transferring hot soup to the blender. I hope this appliance is the answer to my prayers, uttered despairingly over a leaky blender full of hot liquid.

I used my rice cooker almost every day too, but just for my husband's favorite, plain old white rice. I'd be interested in recipes for that too.

We use the slow cooker all the time, it is great for delicious stews and roasts

We use a slow cooker all the time. We also use our toaster oven quite a bit. We have a bread maker but it bakes it too dark even on the low setting. I miss my old one.

I've never tried a rice cooker. We just do it in a pot on the stove. What are the benefits of a rice cooker, how much are they?

I reheat in the microwave a lot. I also steam veggies in it. And, will occasionally steam fish in it.

I use the slow cooker a lot, too. There's just a ton of things you can make in it and I love the throw it in & go aspect of the slow cooker. My favorite--one whole chicken, lots of salt & pepper & whatever herbs you like (thyme is one of my favorites) and cook on low all day.

Rice cookers are pretty cheap, Moe, and one of the big benefits is that it doesn't burn the rice--you don't have to worry about a pot boiling dry. I love it for brown rice, especially.

I haven't used my bread maker in ages, but I did like the convenience.

I have never wanted a toaster oven until now--I hate turning on the oven for just toasting an English muffin or something, so that's on my "look at" list.

A slow cooker is a homely, yet time-saving, cooking device consisting of a pot made of fired clay. It is surrounded by a metal housing that contains a thermostatically-controlled electric heating element. Slow cooker is my best because I use slow cooker for many times. I love my slow cooker.

Immersion blender (or boat motor) is great for all kinds of kitchen chores. I use it whip up batches of Hummus with canned chick peas.

Toaster oven is my all time favorite kitchen appliance. Makes reheating food so much easier! (Not a big microwave person).

My mini food processor. Great for chopping up a quick onion, garlic or fresh spices.

Now I did have one of these at one point, but is it useful or lazy?LOL An Elcectric potato peeler!

Several people have mentioned a rice cooker which brings up a problem I am hoping someone can help me with. We have a rice cooker but the directions were misplaced before we ever used it. I have tried several times to make rice in it but I guess I am not getting the water/rice proportions correct because all of the water evaporates before the rice is cooked and when I add more water it seems too mushy. Can someone share the water/rice proportions? Do they vary between rice cookers? Any other hints?

Thank you!