I'm planning on buying a George Foreman grill, griddle (I think that's what it's called) and a toaster oven soon. I would like to know what others that already have these items think about them. The toaster oven that I'm talking about is made like a microwave and has a rack it in. For those that have one, what all do you cook in it? For those that have a griddle, what all do you cook on it?

By Marcia on Friday, October 24, 2008 - 09:57 pm:

I have both, and use neither.

By Dramamamma on Friday, October 24, 2008 - 10:38 pm:

We LOVE our George forman grill! we cook steaks, pork chops, and chicken on it frequently.

By Vicki on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 07:06 am:

I have both and use neither also Marcia. LOL Once in a blue moon I use the GF, but not the toaster oven.

By Reds9298 on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 08:02 am:

We use our toaster oven daily. I have never owned a regular toaster! We use the toaster oven for toast, dinner rolls, garlic bread, poptarts, cinnamon rolls, small frozen items such as pizza rolls, that sort of thing. Basically anything you would put in a toaster, as well as anything small that you would heat up to probably 425 or so. (I can't remember how high it goes at the moment.)

I had a GF grill several years ago but never used it because I didn't like that it wasn't easily cleaned. There are probably better ones by now. I have a Hamilton Beach that I bought primarily because it has removable grill plates for washing, and I love that one. BUT....I rarely use it.

We use our griddle for pancakes and grilled cheese...so it's used frequently.

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, October 25, 2008 - 08:59 am:

We love our George Foreman grill, but wish we had one that had removable grates. DH keeps saying we will buy one, but we haven't gotten around to it yet.

I love the GF for grilled cheese sandwiches, since it cooks both sides at the same time. It's also nice for burgers. DH usually cleans it and does a good job.

By Amecmom on Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 11:11 pm:

Our George Foreman grill has removable (and interchangeable) plates. I really like it. It does a great job on chicken breasts and shrimp!
Our toaster oven is an Oster and is the work horse of the kitchen. Like Deanna, I use it for everything I can.n And now that we're in our new house and I have a dream gourmet kitchen - I still use the toaster oven all the time!
Good luck with your purchases.
Ame

By Karen~admin on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 10:39 am:

I had a George Foreman grill about 12 years ago. My mom bought it for me when I had back surgery. I used it less than 10 times and then gave it to the neighbor. It was easy enough to clean, I just didn't like the way meat tasted when cooked in it.

By Jackie on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 10:54 am:

We use our George Foreman grill a lot. BUT, it is not as good as cooking on a real outdoors grill. It is good for a quick meal, but I will say, sometimes it is just missing flavor.

By Kaye on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 12:13 pm:

I have a george foreman grill. I have used it twice. It is okay. I really just don't think to use it. I do think I would use it for grilled cheese sandwiches, if it was sitting out. but it isn't, so i don't.

Toaster oven. Okay, well I had one, a small black and decker one. Loved it. Didn't own a regular toaster, made my toast in it, frozen waffles etc. Well it finally broke (actually we had a small fire in it..LOL). So for Christmas I was given a very nice toaster oven. It is huge. It is an oyster. It does convection, baking etc. So now it used a LOT less. I do love it for small things, heating fried cheese, pizzas, etc. I use it as an oven. However it is painfully long to make toast, or heat waffles, or frozen breakfast stuff. I went and bought a cheap toaster and that gets used the most.

So my advice is, think what you want to use it for. If it is quick breakfast stuff, then stay basic. If you want it for a small oven, then get a nice one, but buy a toaster.

By Adilanylkoorb on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 03:33 pm:

I didn't really think about how the food would taste with a George Foreman grill. Does this cook food similiar to an outdoor grill? I personally don't care much for food that is grilled on an outdoor grill. I was just thinking about the convenience of using this.

By Karen~admin on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 04:03 pm:

Similar....?..... Well, it *grills* it on both sides. And as far as removing grease from the meat, it drains away into the pan beneath. Convenient? Yes. However, I did notice a lot of cooking odor in the kitchen after using it. And we prefer food grilled on the Weber grill outside, it's always moist and delicious. I found the meat cooked on the George Foreman grill to be dry and actually tasteless, even with seasong. JMO........

By Amecmom on Monday, October 27, 2008 - 07:40 pm:

You have to finesse the GF grill. Have it high and sear your food for a minute, then reduce the temperature. Also, because it cooks both sides at the same time, food gets done much faster than on an outdoor grill.
As I said, in order to get the grill marks and some grilled flavor it needs to be as hot as possible and then brought down to medium to finish the food.
I am not a fan of it for steaks or anything that cooks really fast, but needs to be rare.
Ame