Electric Kettle to Extend Life of Microwave?

[rob62521]

I'm late to this post, but I have an electric kettle. I prefer it to using the microwave to heat water. I don't own a Keurig and don't see the purchase of one in the near future. I do make a lot of iced tea. I also drink hot tea. And I use the electric kettle to heat water when I can. I don't keep it out on the counter, but after I have used it and it cools I put it away. I have an over the stove microwave. We got it as a freebie when we bought the stove a number of years ago. I wanted it to get the microwave off the counter. Other than an occasional heat up of something, we don't use it much. The electric kettle...I use a lot.

[Gailete]

I too am late to this thread, but I know our MW is 10+ years old as we brought it with us to this house that we moved in July 2007. The numbers and instructions haven't shown up on the front for several years, but it keeps working so we don't replace it. I got a convection toaster oven several years back from Amazon to try and to review. I had never been around one in my life so I wasn't that sure what it can or could do. I am at the point if it stops working I would be at WM an hour later to replace it. We use it to make baked potatoes, although hubby prefers them in the MW so if I'm not eating he uses that instead. We make DiGiorgio pizza in it - well at least my son and hubby do, I nearly dropped the pizza on the floor when I tried it. I have made small batches of cookies and they even have those silicon things to lay on the pan to keep the cookies from sticking that are sized for toaster ovens. I make frozen French fries in it, I toast bagels and bread in it, make quesadillas, I discovered its latest use just a few weeks ago when I couldn't pick up my cast iron round pan for heating up tortillas. I can throw a flour tortilla on a rack in the preheated oven and it gets limp enough to wrap around the innards. you can cook small casseroles in the oven (there is usually just the two of us) and the list goes on. I love it and it makes cooking much easier and I think it saves on electric (we have an electric convection stove). One of the things that I really appreciate about it right now is NO bending over to pull things out of the oven which would be a killer for my back right now. It is an essential piece of kitchen equipment.

Someone mentioned getting a regular convection oven. We got ours for half price from Sears years ago at a scratch and dent sale. $1300 marked down to $600. I rarely use the convection as most recipes never have timing and heat requirements. From trying to convert from the instructions that came with the oven I haven't been too successful and in my former life I was considered a good cook, but with the convection I was getting the tops of food burned looking, but not cooked enough inside. However, the one thing that a convection oven shines and that is roasting meat, like an expensive prime rib, when they are on sale and only 2 bones which brings them down to the cost of a McD's meal for two. That meat is yummy with a perfect crust outside and tender inside.

When we first moved in my FIL had done some plumbing installation upside down and backwards. Our water heater bit the dust almost immediately, so we had to heat water on the stove and the MW to get enough to do dishes. If I had thought about it, an electric kettle would have been a perfect solution to the lack of hot water.

[~bs]

I've been messing around with my toaster oven recently. Certain foods does taste better coming out of the toaster oven than the microwave. Especially for fried or oily food. Like fried leftover chicken or pizza or French fries are better out of the toaster. And it's obviously a better option than heating the oven to 350 degrees or heating up my castiron pan on the stovetop just to reheat a few pieces of chicken.

At least I'm kinda putting the thing to use now. lol

[disneysteve]

I've been messing around with my toaster oven recently. Certain foods does taste better coming out of the toaster oven than the microwave. Especially for fried or oily food. Like fried leftover chicken or pizza or French fries are better out of the toaster. And it's obviously a better option than heating the oven to 350 degrees or heating up my castiron pan on the stovetop just to reheat a few pieces of chicken.

We use our toaster oven all the time. We also use our microwave all the time. We also use our oven all the time. But we use them all for different reasons. As you mention, some things reheat better in the microwave, some in the toaster/oven. The toaster oven is good for smaller jobs. The oven is needed for larger jobs. So if I'm reheating one slice of pizza - toaster. If I'm reheating 4 slices - oven. If DW is roasting a few spears of asparagus for herself - toaster. If we're roasting a bowl full of veggies for the 3 of us or guests - oven. Reheating soup? Microwave. Reheating Chinese food? The dumplings, rice, and entree go in the microwave, the Chinese pizza goes in the toaster.

[Gailete]

I've been messing around with my toaster oven recently. Certain foods does taste better coming out of the toaster oven than the microwave. Especially for fried or oily food. Like fried leftover chicken or pizza or French fries are better out of the toaster. And it's obviously a better option than heating the oven to 350 degrees or heating up my castiron pan on the stovetop just to reheat a few pieces of chicken.

At least I'm kinda putting the thing to use now. lol

Exactly! With it being just the two of us, I don't like turning on the oven for something little that can fit in the toaster oven which is actually a fairly big one. I always thought the idea of them was silly until I got one. We use it constantly to the point if it broke I would most likely head for Walmart and get another one that day.

A word about convection ovens, the regular kind. I tried the convection bake for some Pepperidge Farm Turnovers the other day instead of how I usually do them with regular baking. The convection got the top of the turnovers almost burned and the puff pastry didn't rise right. Won't do that again!

[msomnipotent]

This thread made me remember that I have a toaster oven and table top rotisserie in the basement. I should pull them out and start using them again.

Gailette, your oven might be slightly off balance. My tops burn if my oven is off balance. I just stopped using the convection option because it doesn't cook faster and I have to constantly watch for over-browning. Not worth it to me.

[Gailete]

Gailette, your oven might be slightly off balance. My tops burn if my oven is off balance. I just stopped using the convection option because it doesn't cook faster and I have to constantly watch for over-browning. Not worth it to me.

Don't think it is off balance, but like you I generally only use the convection if a have a small prime ribe that I got on sales. Makes such a wonderful 'crust' on the meat. But nothing much has ever worked out well, especially baked goods. I generslly don't even try anymore, I don't know why I bother the other day, but a waste of normally great turnovers. They were edible, but barely.