Confess-what gadget/appliance did you buy but never use?

[lucyanna girl]

A coffee press, here in Louisiana we just make good old Community Coffee.

 

[barkley]

does anyone have one of those things (popular about 5 years ago) that only made the little tart shells?

dh bought me one for christmas back then but i returned it unused (how often would i get the urge to make mini quiche or mini cheese cakes? ).

 

[cheerbop]

My mom loves her pampered chef baking stones.

But she bought that apple peeler/corer machine that looks more like a torture device. We tried it twice and decided it was a huge PITA. It would just make mush while spinning the apple around really fast.

I have one of those apple things and do use it....I found out why it makes that mess... you can't use"soft" apples...use apples like Granny Smith...alot more firm...it works so wonderfully...I use it when I make apple crisp and apple pies. I can do about 5 punds of apples, peeled cored and sliced in about 5 minutes!


The one things I don't use is my George Foreman. I like it but is is a pain to clean! I would like to try his new one with removable plates that go int he dishwasher...anyone have one of these????

 

[jennyl772003]

I would like to try his new one with removable plates that go int he dishwasher...anyone have one of these????

We have that one. The plates come off pretty easily and we toss them in the dishwasher.

I remembered another gadget! My aunt got me a french fry maker for Christmas one year. You push a potato through this grd and fries come out. We've never used it.

 

[TheButlerDiditt]

That vegetable chopper thing where there's a cup beneath a plunger/blade that you can pound on to chop onions or whatnot in seconds. It never did cut the onions or any vegetable for that matter all the way through and was a pain to clean. "Just rinse"... yeah right!!

I'm another one who'll never use my old George Foreman Grill again either.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

A coffee press, here in Louisiana we just make good old Community Coffee.

Amen, Lucyanna! I was born in NO but have never really lived there since early childhood...but I STILL must have my Community Coffee every morning. OMG, here it has gone up from about $3.40/lb. to about $5.50/lb. (I say pound--it's really only about 12 oz., isn't it??)

I had a great burr coffee grinder and purchased Community Dark Roast whole beans for the longest time. But then my grinder broke and I can't find another burr grinder of decent quality. So I guess I'll just try to keep the ground coffee fresh for now...

OK, I digress...

I have a bare floor vacuum. What a PITA!
I have every sort of Swiffer thingy you can imagine. Hate them too. Those filler things are expensive!
I have a Sunbeam Shell Maker that burns everything you put in it...and no directions to the darned thing.
I have a Table Top Convection Oven that works wonderfully but is a PITA to clean.
I have dozens of other things like this around the house.


We really should do some sort of White Elephant exchange for this stuff....

 

[icebrat001]

Lol, i'll happily take these items off your hands.

 

[puffkin]

George Foreman grill- worked great in college, but now that I have a house, it was a pain to clean

Mixer- My mom got one for her wedding almost 30 years ago and only used it a handful of times. Finally yard saled it. When I got married, everyone insisted I needed to register for one, but I didn't. Those are EXPENSIVE. I use a hand mixer if needed, but usually just use a spoon and my own muscles.

A tip for all you yard salers- Make a yard sale pile in your basement or spare room, etc. Throughout the year, as you come across things or replace things or clean out cabinets just toss all your yard sale items in one pile. It makes getting ready for the yard sale so much easier and you won't forget things. Sometimes I don't want to get rid of something because it is too nice to throw or for sentimental reasons or what not. I just throw it on the yard sale pile. Usually I forget about those items and am more than ready to sell by the time Yard Sale season roles around. If I would have left in my closet or cabinet, it probably would get forgotten and stay there.

 

[goodeats]

We gave away the George Foreman since I found it to be a PITA to clean and just dried out most food.

We do use the Cuisinart, but I've found I'd rather just chop stuff with a knife than bother with cleaning the thing.

The Bread Maker was the biggest mistake. We registered for a very nice one at Macy's, and my co-workers got it for us. We used it once and found we just pigged out on the bread. Not the best idea. I'll try it again though.

We do use the Kitchenaid Mixer a lot, including the meat grinder/sausage stuffer attachment. Glad we didn't go for the pasta roller attachment, I don't think we'd use that.

We do love our salad spinner, and I think we'd like a hand held blender for making soups. But the good quality ones I've seen are in the $100 range.

I've kept myself from buying stuff off the TV, but sometimes I get sooo tempted.

 

[goofyforlife]

Ok I have to ask, what is a potato maker?

We never opened it but it was an appliance that you put the potato in and it had a prong that went inside the potato to bake it....

Think George Forman for potatos sorta kinda...

But I always baked my potatoes in a microwave so i literally had no need for the contraption...

 

[becjlek]

pasta maker, too hard to clean
juicer, also a pain to clean

 

[stinkerbelle]

We never opened it but it was an appliance that you put the potato in and it had a prong that went inside the potato to bake it....

Kinda sounds like a science fair experiment! (insert prong, cooks tater)

 

[gr8tpanther]

All of 'em! I have 2 counters full of stuff I don't use! Toaster, blender, can opener, name it, I got it and don't use it!

 

[gradtchr]

I have a George Foreman w/ removable plates and DH and I use it at LEAST twice a week usually more. I absolutely love it and can't imagine cooking without it.

 

[Glynis]

I have one of those apple things and do use it....I found out why it makes that mess... you can't use"soft" apples...use apples like Granny Smith...alot more firm...it works so wonderfully...I use it when I make apple crisp and apple pies. I can do about 5 punds of apples, peeled cored and sliced in about 5 minutes!


The one things I don't use is my George Foreman. I like it but is is a pain to clean! I would like to try his new one with removable plates that go int he dishwasher...anyone have one of these????

I just got one for Christmas and have used it every day since. The plates are so easy to clean! We make pancakes and waffles for breakfast, grilled sandwiches for lunch, hamburgers and chicken breasts, etc. for dinner. You can even make cookies on it. It also comes with a great recipe book, and everything we've tried out of it has been fabulous!

 

[cheerbop]

I just got one for Christmas and have used it every day since. The plates are so easy to clean! We make pancakes and waffles for breakfast, grilled sandwiches for lunch, hamburgers and chicken breasts, etc. for dinner. You can even make cookies on it. It also comes with a great recipe book, and everything we've tried out of it has been fabulous!

Oh yes, now see, that sounds like something I would use.
Is it actually George Foreman's brand or something else? Please inform!!!!
Thanks

 

[Calliaz]

This is a fun thread!

I have a few gadgets that I don't use, but DH thinks I have way too many.

1. Rice/Veggie steamer. I just don't have the time and rice and veggies are fine on the stove (rice in the oven is the best, IMHO).
2. Food processor. I use it 1-2 times per year.

My big problem seems to be with bakeware, serving items, and cooking tools. I have pyrex, baking stones, muffin tins, pie plates, serving platters, spatulas (spatulae?), thermometers, cooling racks, 3 sets of plates, chip and dip trays, cake carriers, etc.

I secretly covet lots of the As Seen on TV things but don't buy them for fear of ridicule by DH. No, I don't know why I need a Chocolate Factory fondue pot thing, but it looks cool!

 

[princess pooh]

I'm surprised that we use most of our stuff on a weekly basis. I thought the rice cooker, coffee grinder, and cuisinart would end up sitting in a box but I use them all the time.

What I never use is my stand mixer. I'm hoping that maybe one day I'll get the hang of baking, but it's been sitting around my kitchen for years. We also got a juicer as a wedding gift...I think it's in a box somewhere in the storage locker. DH felt too guilty to return it because his friend bought it for him. It's huge and impossible to get clean.

 

[icebrat001]

I have a quesadilla maker, it was a gift, I've used it once, I think it's stupid.

We have a toaster oven, hand mixer, george forman grill, rival griddle, crockpot, food processor and blender, I use all of those, in fact I use the blender several times a day.

I want a coffee maker, kitchen aid stand mixer, bread machine, pizza presto, rice cooker, deep fryer.

 

[Kimickey]

I bought a KitchenAide Mixer 4 years ago and have used it maybe 4 times and they are quite expensive, but I had to have one. I'm just not a Better Crocker type person