Small kitchen appliance

[MYellowRose]

I see George Foreman has a combination rice cooker/steamer out that looks like it can also be used as a slow cooker. Does anyone here have any experience with this? I like the looks of it and since I need to lose about 50#'s it would help me cook healthier food. I know there are other rice cooker/steamer combo's out there but they aren't as big, this one has a 5.5qt. capacity so I could also make my canned soup in it then put it in containers and in the freezer or fridge. It's $39.95 at WalMart so I can easily afford it. I'm also looking into getting a Black & Decker toaster oven for the same price.

[NCLee]

I haven't used that one. Here's what I've been using for the last couple of years. Bought mine just before the "digital" version came out. The main reason that I bought this particular one is that it has separate buttons for white rice and brown rice. When I was shopping for one, most only had one button. Manuals only said it would do brown rice, but it would take longer. (Thus, I'd have to fiddle and guestimate, rather than relying on the cooker.)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aroma-8-Cup-Digital-Rice-Cooker-and-Food-Steamer/5871077

While you can make any quantity of rice, needed up to the max it will hold, if you're only going to make rice in 1 cup dry measure, or so, you may want to consider a smaller one. Here's the list of rice cookers at WalMart. http://www.walmart.com/cp/Slow-Cookers-Rice-Cookers-Steamers/4829

Click on one that may apply and then read the customers reviews before making a decison. Note: Some of these are in the stores, while others are ordered on-line only.

Re-toaster oven... If you have the money, you may want to consider a larger toaster oven, if you're getting what I think you're planning to buy. My sister has a larger version that she can use for baking pies, roasting a chicken, and similar sized projects. From what I understand, every time you can use one of these, instead of the regular oven in your kitchen, you'll save money in fuel costs. The only caution that I can think of is not to overload the circut that it's being used on. Don't plug it in and turn it on along with a microwave, breadmachine, clothes iron, electric heater or frypan, or anything else that pulls a lot of power.

An easy way to check which outlets are on which circuit is to plug in a radio (that doesn't also operate on batteries -- remove the batteries, if it's dual use). Plug in the radio and turn up the sound. Go to your breaker panel and turn off the suspected breaker. That'll kill the sound of the radio. Then, unplug the radio and plug it into another nearby outlet. If the radio plays, it's a separate circuit. If it doesn't those two outlets are on the same circuit. Once you identify all the outlets in your kitchen, on that circuit, turn the breaker back on. Repeat with other circuits and outlets as needed. (Be sure to turn the radio off before pluging and unplugging.)

BTW, this works a lot better than the old steamer/rice cooker that I had. It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r for that to cook a cup of rice. (That's the amount that I make for the 3 of us and lots of leftovers.)

Haven't tried it as a slow cooker, so I don't know how well it'll do dual duty.

Hope this helps, a bit.
Lee

[MYellowRose]

Lee as usual you have come to my rescue! I checked out the reviews for both the Foreman unit I was considering and a couple of tiered steamers and think I'll forgo the Foreman and get just a steamer and toaster oven to begin with. I've got about $100 I can spend next month for the two which is why I'm opting for the smaller toaster oven, at a later date I may get a larger one. Later on I may also get a slow cooker but right now I think the steamer and oven will do what I need. Hoping if I get rid of about 50 #'s I won't have to have either knee or hip replacement surgery any time soon. Rheumatology nurse said I'm too young for knee replacement as they only last 10-15 years.