Kinda the same food, but just as easy to prepare and tasted way better
After our daughter left for college, our motivation to cook dinner took a nosedive. I won't say that we ever really enjoyed cooking overall, but we certainly enjoyed it less when it was just the two of us.
We had been getting by, but with a decided lack of flair. Throwing something in the oven or microwave, or occasionally boiling some water for pasta, was about what we could muster most of the time.
We'd been thinking about getting an air fryer.
We considered getting one for a long time before we purchased one. The last thing we wanted was another cooking appliance that we didn't use. I feel a bit guilty that we don't use our Instant Pot more than we do.
We borrowed an old-ish air fryer from my wife's mom and tried it. I was surprised how crispy the food was coming out of it. Because it was old, it was practically falling apart and a bit unwieldy, but the concept was good.
This past holiday season Costco sold the Gourmia Smokeless Indoor Grill & Air Fryer at a discount (I think we paid $70 for it). It had a low profile compared to the air fryer we borrowed, so we gave it a shot.
A lot of the same foods just tasted better.
We made a great choice on this appliance. Over the past five months we've used the heck out of it.
It's even got me venturing baby steps into preparing dinner more, which is a good thing.
The Gourmia already is worth it to me because the same prepackaged foods taste better coming out of it:
Dino nuggets
Our daughter loved these things. They're chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs. We got them at Costco in a fairly giant bag for not that much.
Putting them in the microwave was middling. They cooked but like most frozen foods put in the microwave they came out soggy.
Not out of the Gourmia. Super crispy and tasted twice as good.
Tyson chicken tenders
This is my wife's go-to. Surprisingly she likes them better out of the microwave! But I loved how crispy they were out of the Gourmia.
Battered fish fillets
Battered (or breaded) fish fillets are acceptable to me compared with the more expensive cuts of fish. Again, these are nice and crispy coming out.
Others
Corn dogs, tater tots, french fries, etc., cook nice on this.
Other foods are just easier to cook.
The bonus value with the Gourmia is that we've found other meals that taste quite good for the amount of effort it takes to prepare them.
Marinated chicken breasts and thighs
Prior to getting the Gourmia we'd either boil the chicken or fry it.
Here's how we've upgraded our chicken prep:
- We buy a family pack of chicken breasts or thighs (two-something a pound).
- We put four or five pieces in a Ziploc bag with some salad dressing as a marinade.
- We freeze the bags.
- A few days before we want chicken, we pull one out to thaw.
- Then we grill them in the Gourmia.
Very easy as far as prep goes.
The cooking time suggested by Gourmia worked well as-is, and the chicken comes out fairly moist, definitely not dry.
The marinade caramelizes on the chicken. Teriyaki is our favorite so far.
Even if eating in isn't always fun, it can be tolerable.
Getting the Gourmia Smokeless Indoor Grill & Air Fryer makes eating in tolerable.
It's easier to prepare halfway-decent, healthy, tasty meals with this appliance.
And for quicker meals, it's way better for me than sticking frozen whatever in a microwave.
In that regard, this gadget has already paid for itself.
Thanks for reading!
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