The Fabulous Air Fryer

Today’s Tuesday Morning Tidy is all about the Air Fryer. If you’re anything like me before I purchased an air fryer, you may be wondering why this warrants its very own post. Trust me and read on!

I know some families are toaster families, and some are toaster oven families. Fortunately for us, my husband and I both come from toaster oven families, so there was no conflict there during our wedding registry process. However, this past January, the toaster oven gifted to us from our wedding registry in 2007 stopped working. I then went in search of a replacement. Well, it turns out toaster ovens are not what they once were, and I couldn’t find an appliance without a horror story review of blown-out glass or scorching metal! So, I stopped searching and we lived without a toaster oven for a few weeks.

Later that month, we spent an evening at some friends’ and they were raving about their new air fryer! I remembered that during my toaster oven research, I had seen several toaster oven/air fryer combos, but had dismissed them as unnecessary. Well, after the delicious chickpea dish they made, I came home that evening and ordered one of these highly rated combo appliances.

Honestly, I cannot say enough about this air fryer! It makes perfect cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts, with nothing but olive oil, salt and paper. We also use it for all of the normal toaster functions--bread, bagels, reheated pizza--and everything cooks evenly. Even our experimental dishes like onion rings and crunchy chickpeas have turned out pretty good!

We’re featuring this as today’s "Tuesday Morning Today" rather than on Friday as a “What I’m Loving” because it really is a time-saving, family-friendly appliance. We can crisp vegetables more quickly and evenly, so we find that we are eating them more frequently. Everyone loves the Alexia’s potato products “fried” in this air fryer, which is a healthier option than take out or fast food, yet doesn't sacrifice on the flavor or texture. In fact, we recently had a great dinner of bbq’d portobello burgers and air fried fries that had all the satisfaction of a restaurant meal without the fats and oils! I can heat up kid-friendly frozen foods like chicken nuggets and pizza bites without waiting for the long pre-heating process of the standard oven.

Other than baking, I turn to my air fryer/toaster oven more often than our big oven for most meals. And I know I’m not the only one out there! I’ve had long Zooms with friends about the virtues of air fryers, and we all wonder how we lived without them!

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