What's for dinner?

I made roasted chicken and veggies. Quick and easy.

My allergies have been bothering me today so I wanted to fix something easy.

ITRR,

Yes, let us know how it turns out.

I made one pot spaghetti for dinner but all this grilled cheese talk has me craving some of that 🤔

OKay, I just realized that the grill feature may actually be for something like a grilled cheese sammy.

I will update after I test that out. That would be great, easy grilled sandwiches - win-win.

ITRR,

It definitely sounds like a great product. You’re right about knowing how to properly use an appliance.

Easy clean up is always a plus in my book!

Thanks again for the useful information. I appreciate it.

EVA and need, you r welcome and thank you.

Need, I did not think I would like the multifunction but, this is all about cooking things with the right heat source. This will grill but, that means in that preset function the oven, and yes it is an oven, air fryer is just a small convection oven, will automatically set to 500° for 8 minutes, which I have found those settings to be extremely helpful in learning how to use a high powered convection oven, you can bake, broil, dehydrate, roast, or...because it is not your mommas convection oven for certain:-) I won't get into details how I know.

It is Very much like learning to use a microwave correctly, unlike me, who used high setting for everything forever and never used it much because I almost always got poor results, now I know half power is the best way to reheat items and not kill them twice. (In case someone needs to know, half power is the defrost temperature.)

I forgot to mention that the basket, rack and pan that came with it have been perfect for everything I have cooked and the bottom catch tray is super easy to get in and out for quick, easy clean up.

Eva,

Yes, you and I will have to get an air fryer. Everyone seems to rave about them.

I can confirm that air fryer is excellent idea.
I don’t have one yet as we are moving soon but then I buy one.
Friends use it all the time. They had one in Mexico in their condo and we ate often with them and some veggies they did were delicious, so was chicken and fish. They have one here as well and do dinners for 2 or 4 easily. All in one.
And using less energy.
Thanks IIRR, I will take a look at Emeril.

ITRR,

Ahhhhh, thank you! I looked at that one online.

I trust you implicitly, because I know that you are a fabulous cook!

I am still trying to decide whether I want strictly an air fryer. Do you know what I mean?

I find that I don’t always use every feature on products. So, I don’t know what is the stopping point before it is overkill for me.

I want a quality product, good designing. I tend to appreciate simplicity, and user friendly. I don’t mind paying more for something that is worth it.

Need, I bought the Emeril Lagasse French door air fryer 360°.

Multifunction because it works differently for each function, so you can air fry, which turns on all heating elements and the fan or you can cook pizza and it only turns on the heat, it has 23 preset options that basically saves the effort of selecting your own temp, time, and fan or not. You can still do that and you can change whatever the preset functions have to meet your current needs. Not as complicated as I make it sound.

I am loving it though and I use it almost daily for everything from toast to fries to chicken wings, fish, roasted veggies and, and, and :-)

Plus it is a cute appliance!

OOPs, to answer your question about my fave thing to cook in it, so far I love the way it cooks everything, so no fave. Except my new tool in its entirety.

ITRR,

I can grill outside too. So, I don’t think that I will buy a combo fryer. What do you mean by, ‘multifunction’ product?

Can you tell me the brand name and model that you have please? I have researched online, but there are so many different models and designs to choose from.

I know that you like to cook like I do. I cook everything from scratch. Not just for health reasons, it tastes better too. Please tell us your favorite foods that you enjoy cooking in the air fryer.

Thanks!

With all the air fryer discussion I would like to share my experience with the countertop convection oven aka air fryer that I bought. I was a devoted toaster oven user for decades and only went with the "air fryer" multifunction unit because I had no choice.

I am super happy with the unit. I am especially happy that it does NOT generate heat in my kitchen. I have figured out that I save at most 35% cook time, which is huge for oven cooked results.

I will never use the grill feature, I live in the southwest and it is never not nice enough to grill outside, even in the rain :-)

I really recommend this unit, or something similar if you live in the heat, that is the best bonus I could have hoped for with the new technology of air fryers.

Just my experience.

Nacy,

Exactly, we grill outdoors. Don’t think that I need an indoor grill. I can see it being useful for you though.

Bell, oh that sounds delicious 😋 🤤.

Needs, I didn't use the grill for a long time, then tried it this winter. We do a lot of outside grilling in the summer, so the indoor grilling in the winter was nice, but I don't see you needing that being your winters are not like my winters

Grilled cheese on french bread is CRAZY good- slice 1 inch thick crossways, if you angle cut it makes for a bigger sandwich esp. if your loaf is narrow- bread and butter pickles or dills on side- easy clean up

Agree. Lol What’s for dinner is a go-to conversation changer when having a phone convo that’s getting too sad-

Nacy,

Believe it or not, baked potatoes come out amazing in the instant pot! I always did them in the oven but I started making them in my instant pot.

I love looking up recipes online, so I’ll be able to find recipes for the air fryer.

Do you use the grill on yours? I am not sure if I need all of those features. I might just buy a smaller ninja air fryer. We only have two of us here. My daughters have been out of our house for years.

I don’t know what kind of air fryers my daughters bought. They use one too. I have to get on board. I’m out of the loop! My kids say they are great for reheating leftovers too.

Needs I'm going through what I cook in it thinking 🤔 maybe that's why my cholesterol is borderline. Lol

No you won't need the toaster oven any more, it does it all.

Any kind of frozen French fries.
Left over pizza is really good in it
On the grill I'll make toasted sandwich, pork chops came out really good.
I just throw like 6 slices of bacon in the basket, comes out great.

The only thing so far I didn't like was a baked potato. The skin was to tough, and that's my favorite part. But the inside was great.

Stoffers French bread pizza, garlic bread.

Thanks, Nacy. Will look into buying that model.

What do you cook with yours?

Maybe I will get rid of my toaster oven that I hardly ever use. If I don’t, I don’t know where I will put it on my counter.

Huge fan of James Taylor. I saw him several years ago. I started buying his albums back when I was in high school. Love Carole King too.

That era had fabulous music! Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and so many others!

Oh cwillie, James Taylor on sesame Street, Jelly Man Kelly. My kids sang that all the time

Cwillie,
The video I just watched had Carole in the background playing the piano.
James Taylor said she wrote the song, he played guitar.

There are many versions of the song.

Oh, I love James Taylor Send! I love the Carole King version too (Tapestry was such a great album). I think there's also a version where they sing together.

I gain weight just reading this “What’s for dinner?” section.

I think 30 minutes sounds good.I don't really exercise exercise, lol I just keep busy and walk . But haven't been doing a lot of that either. Boccie starts next week that is pretty good exercise.

Needs, ninja AG30, foodi 5-in-1. It's about 170 on Amazon. . It's a bit pricey compared to other but it's the best!

Nacy,

I do exercise. Maybe, not enough, 30 minutes a day.

Can you tell me the model # and size of your air fryer please?

That's good about your bp , my cholesterol is borderline also. Has stayed that way for years. Was a little lower last time.

I have cut portion size of all meat. I'm not huge meat eater anyways. It is very confusing what to eat what not too. I get confused too.

Did your doctor mention walking and exercises.

Cheese and butter are my down fall. Oh and ice cream!

For low cholesterol snacks I like, skinny popcorn, belvita, There good breakfast gram biscuits. And I like nature valley wafer bars. I love pop tarts , can't see them as being healthy but the box says 0 cholesterol.

Needs, the best air fryer is the ninja. It airfries and grills , I actually didn't like are old air fryer, got rid of it was done with them. Then someone bought this for us, it literally stayed in the box for a year and , one day I took it out out of boardom and , I use it constantly.

It's more expensive than others but it's great, couple people I know bought one after I did and they agree.

I went to my doctor yesterday morning. Thankfully, my BP was fine. I am on two meds for it. My weight is about the same but my cholesterol went up.

I get so confused about what is best to eat. I feel like I eat fairly well. High cholesterol can run in families. It has in mine. I cannot take a statin due to having adverse reactions to it.

My doctor was telling me that she loves her air fryer to cook with. I don’t fry foods, but I might go ahead and buy one to try it out.

I am going to start drinking skim milk instead of 2 percent. She asked me to try almond milk.

I don’t eat a lot of red meat. I eat more chicken than beef. I love vegetables and eat those. I guess I should cut back on eating eggs for breakfast too.

Have any of you struggled with high cholesterol? What foods are you avoiding. Please share low cholesterol recipes with me.