A good all in one cooker??

[SandrA9810]

I have a guy friend that's practically afraid of the kitchen. The only things I've seen him make at home is ramen noodles and cereal. He eats out A LOT... and well that doesn't help him save either.

So I was thinking of a george forman kind of thing. Something he can pretty much toss anything on to and cook it all at once. I used to use a george grill in high school almost all the time for making midnight snacks, but I also wasn't afraid to use regular pots for cooking other things with the grilled food.

He likes burritos, omlets, burgers, chicken wings. Almost anything he eats could be cooked on one of these things.

http://www.target.com/GT-Express-101-Countertop-Grill/dp/B001GKGY6W/ref=br_1_2?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=1041760&searchRank=pmrank&searchPage=3&searchSize=30
I was thinking of something like that, so he could make omlets and such, rather than a george that's slanted for draining. Any one have any good reviews?? I don't want to spend more than 25$ and hopefully I can find it at bed bath and beyond to use one of their mailer coupons with it too.

 

[SandrA9810]

Well after one search on Amazon... maybe not that one, but something similar.

 

[merekc]

I would maybe consider getting him a crockpot instead of the grill. IMO anything cooked in the grill could be cooked in a skillet if he wanted to.

With a crockpot he could throw a chunk of meat in there with a cream soup, salsa or spice packet, etc and get tons of different meal choices with no work.

There are lots of easy recipes and even packaged crockpot meals that aren't bad.

 

[SandrA9810]

He's not a patient guy. When he wants food, he wants it. He also works 10hr shifts, from 8:30am to 7pm most days or around that, so when he gets off work, he wants to go home and eat.

I'm trying to curb his qdoba appitite... they know what he wants when he walks in the door it's that bad. And at almost 10$ for one meal... he's spending way too much on food.
So if he had something at home that could take 5 mins to make up, maybe he'd actually try it. And I know you can cook on a skillet, but that generally takes a bit more talent than he has. I even like cooking a grill like that than use the skillet.

 

[allyphoe]

I'm trying to curb his qdoba appitite...

Honestly, if *he* doesn't want to curb his Qdoba appetite, I'd be leaving his eating alone.

All of the things you've listed as food he eats, right down to omelets, can be purchased precooked and frozen for less than they cost at restaurants, and heated reasonably well in the microwave. If he's uninterested in using a microwave to save on food costs, there's no way he's going to buy fresh ingredients, prep them, cook them on a cooker (of any sort), and clean up afterwards. If the magic food fairy did his grocery shopping, and prepped everything into cooking-ready packets, and cleaned up the dishes from prep / cooking / eating, then I can see a cooker being a good first start.

Since he feels competent to make ramen, I suggest something like http://www.amazon.com/Ways-Make-Ramen-Noodles-Cookbook/dp/0962633526 or http://www.amazon.com/101-Things-Do-Ramen-Noodles/dp/1586857355/ref=pd_sim_b_1 or http://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Loves-Ramen-Recipes-Stories/dp/0740733265/ref=pd_sim_b_2 One of those might get him started on the basics of grocery shopping / prep / cleanup, and one that stops being so overwhelming, he might like a cooker next year.

 

[shortbun]

This thread made me laugh. When I first met my husband, he bragged how he could cook a whole meal in one pot. I finally agreed to allow him to cook for me. It was ramen, hot dogs and peas. 1. I do not eat ramen. 2. I do not eat hot dogs. 3. Peas are for mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving and are not really a vegetable. I choked it down. He laughed at me because he knew how miserable I was. I got back at him and made him eat Velveeta grilled sandwiches and Campbell's tomato soup. My other staple back then was popcorn and Coke for dinner. We have progressed and no longer cook one meal in the same pot.

 

[SandrA9810]

Well a few weeks ago he asked me to come up with a budget for him... ( myself might be bad at sticking to one, but I can get the numbers down). And he's mentioned that he needs to eat out less and save more money. So I'm trying to give him that little budge in the direction. And he doesn't like precooked frozen meals, nor is he a fan of deep fried foods.
I'm more than willing to go over to his place to show him how to cook on it. I just know that without getting him something... he won't even try it on his own.

If I had an extra 100$ I'd get him a nuwave oven (I'd get myself one first). My mom got one years ago and I loved cooking with it. But she also only had a double burner thing that sat on the counter top. So it really helped make the meals turn out great. And it was easy.