Early Christmas Presents

My slow cooker, which I got when I was pregnant with Sophia, is giving up the ghost. It's been overheating somehow, which means it needs to be stood on the wooden chopping board, to protect the surface underneath, and it doesn't give us confidence to leave it alone cooking when we are out. (Basically it's regressed and turned into a reluctant small child?!)

So I'm been starting to look at other options to replace it, especially since my lovely Mummy offered to buy something for my Christmas present this year. I've looked at slow cookers, and I've looked at instant pot/pressure cooker type cookers, and I haven't been totally convinced about either. And then we went out too look for Christmas presents on Saturday and I spotted the air fryers. I'd thought about one of those too, but having looked up prices for the branded ones, I'd quickly moved that thought on!

However, what we spotted was a generic brand type air fryer, of a decent size, for an ok amount of money (and when it rang up £15 off at the till, that was even better!). I did some on the spot googling (gotta love phones these days!) and checked some of the things you could make in it, we saw it had a three year guarantee, and thought, hey, let's go for it. (And Menard said he'd get it for me for Christmas, so I'll have to come up with another idea for my mummy!)

And y'all, although we said we'd put it away for Christmas, the urge to make chips in it right away was too strong, so we pulled it out and go on with it. We made chips for lunch and they were pretty good. Then later we cooked some pork and veg (Carrots and potatoes) for us, and we did some fish fingers and potato croquettes for the kids (cooking bits and pieces sort of day). And we were impressed.

Today we've cooked a pork joint (rather than the tiny piece we had yesterday) and we were still impressed. I quickly cut up and cooked some roasted veg to go in the fridge and be taken for work lunches, and it cooked in under half an hour, and I can walk away and it stops itself. I didn't burn my veg because I'd walked away to do something else! That is a game changer right there!
And the timings. It's quicker than in the oven! And healthier - less fat.
Although, healthier... well, I have to go. I need to check if the chocolate  brownies are done yet...!!!