Fast Food in My Own Kitchen....Comfort Zone W/O

This is an entry in the Comfort Zone Write off hosted by dbcint. Designed to challenge us Epinionators to get out of our "zone" and get challenged. The idea is to pick a category that you do not usually write in and write a quality review. So for me, I picked Home & Garden. So with sweaty palms and shaking fingers.....here I go!

I don't know if I mentioned recently that my husband and I bought a new house. Yes, we did. While we were waiting for the house to be finished we stayed with my mother-in-law. She had a George Foreman Grill which I used quite a bit and really liked. Before we moved into our new house we decided we needed an indoor grill for ourselves. My husband, being an avid user of Consumer Reports, did some research on indoor grills and found the Hamilton Beach Meal Maker Indoor Grill to be the most highly recommended grill so this is the one we purchased.

My husband ordered it online through Wal-Mart for $49.99. The day it arrived I could not wait to try it out. I took it out of the box (the only assembly was putting the non-stick grill surfaces in place and the drip cup.)

~The Grill~

The grill itself is White. The front has a dial type timer with settings for up to 15 minutes. On one side of the timer is a quick list of cooking times:

Beef Strip Steak, Boneless 5 Min

Hamburger 5-7Min

Chicken Breast, Boneless 5-8Min

It has two cooking sides with removable non-stick grills. There is a hinge that allows the grill to open a bit further than other grills for grilling thicker cuts, and it also opens up completely allowing you to grill on both sides at the same time. (There is a support leg to hold up the other side.) When the grill is opened up it measures approximately 15 inches across Of course, if you open it all the way you have to turn the meat during cooking since the other side will not be covering it. Did I mention that the non-stick grills are removable for easy cleaning? A feature the Foreman Grill did not have. You can pop them out and right into your dishwasher (after you scrape them of course!) Making clean up a breeze.

~My Experience

That first night, I decided to cook boneless chicken breast. The instructions recommend that you wash the grill before first use then brush the surfaces with oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Then, pre-heat grill for 5 minutes by turning the timer to 5 minutes. (Pre-heating is required each time you use the grill) After following the instructions, I put my chicken on, closed the lid and prepped the rest of my dinner. The timer dings when the time is up. In about 8 minutes, give or take a few, I had fully cooked juicy and delicious chicken! Cooking times vary depending on how thick things are, but you get to know better after a few times of cooking with this grill. I have not overcooked anything yet.

I have used this to cook chicken, steak and shrimp. Everything always comes out great and the best part is dinner is ready in a matter of minutes which is great for those of us with hectic lives (meaning kids). Also, the grill comes with a drip cup to catch the fat that cooks off, so the meats you cook come out leaner than if you were to cook them other ways.

When you are done cooking, unplug the grill and let it cool off and then remove the grill plates and the drip cup. Scrape them a bit and stick them in the dishwasher. Easy to use, easy to clean! The grills always come out of the dishwasher completely clean and ready to use again.

~Recommendation~

I think this grill would be a welcome addition to anyone's kitchen. You can cook everything from steak and chicken to quesadillas and vegetables in just minutes. Minutes!Healthy fast food in your own kitchen. It even comes with a few recipe ideas for you to try out. It was certainly well worth the money we spent on it and we liked it so much that we gave one to our friends as a housewarming gift!

Thanks to dbcint for challenging me to think outside the "box". It was different for me. My palms are dry now, and my hands aren't shaking.....as much!

Thanks for reading ;o) Reno