I don’t know if you already have one, but getting an air fryer has totally changed my cooking in terms of time savings. I still love to cook big, time consuming meals once in a while, but as one person it’s SO nice to just throw a protein and veggie into the air fryer for 10-15 min and then it’s done. So easy and single serving. Also a great way to heat up anything, like a sandwich, wrap, leftovers, etc. I used to eat a cold wrap or sandwich every day and now I get them toasty and warm and it’s such a luxury!
Mine is an Instant Pot Vortex and I love it!
Oh also I have a regular Instant Pot pressure cooker and also love it for fast cooking. I don’t eat a lot of beans and rice, but if you do it’s definitely a game changer. I love using it for broths, soups, and boiled eggs.
Thank you!!
I do have an air fryer and I’m OBSESSED WITH IT. It’s some bargain shelf Lidl/Aldi $10 air fryer and I’ve used it every single day for 2+ years. I’ve been thinking of getting a bigger one or getting one of those toaster oven air fryer combos.
As a certified beans & rice dude™️ I should invest in creating some counter space and then getting an instant pot. For sure.
Ooooo. So…
Story time: I DO have an automatic cat feeder. I did a bunch of research and found a really well reviewed one that everyone said gave reasonable portions.
However, I have found that it can only be programmed to serve once each day, and the servings are absurd. A mountain of uneaten cat food! In fact, I basically use it for storage at this point, and then serve it manually into the little bowl – I don’t even plug it in because it will overflow and spill all over the floor.
I would love to know what automatic feeder you went with!!!
My kitty Maple needs like… 1/4 cup? Or less (maybe like… 3 tbsp) a few times each day. instead, she gets an absolute mountain, which spills all over the floor and draws gnats.
Ok but like… so you make the rice. Then wash it (will it fit in a small dishwasher?). Then you reload it with the beans and such? And then wash it again?
I think part of what’s been holding me back is not understanding the logistics. Lol.
I cook the beans. They don’t need to be soaked first. Then I add rice, water, spices, and cook it all together. Done in two stages but I don’t have to keep half an eye on it the way I do when I use the stove.
We currently have a PetLibro (wifi but no camera version). It does what it calls 20g portions so like 1-2 tbsp, up to 10? 12? feeds daily. Our cats get 6 or 7. Wifi is higher value than I expected, it will alert us if it’s jammed or empty. I kinda wish I had sprung for the camera, also for when we travel.
Our old one was not smart and this was fine, but it started jamming and we were about to leave for 2 weeks for the holidays. It was petsafe or something, for reference.
I got my sister a wet food feeder with ice packs so they could leave for a weekend, but haven’t heard how it worked out.
I usually batch cook rice and beans and freeze them in meal-sized portions, but agree with @Smacky that you can also cook the beans and then add uncooked rice and the appropriate amount of liquid. Unless you really cooked the shit out of the beans the first time they can survive enough extra time to get your rice cooked.
I kind of wish I had a second liner but I dunno where I would store it. I just can’t hardboil eggs if I have yogurt chilling in the fridge.
I have been known to have a pot with a hammock of cheesecloth strung across it, just sitting in my fridge full of yogurt and whey. I didn’t know there were BAGS, that would probably make it easier.
I just use a colander or mesh strainer over a pot lined with 1 layer of paper towel - works just fine!
@BiblioFeroz if you are wondering if anything is happening to the yogurt once it is in the fridge, it is not. Once fermentation is over you can move it to new containers at any time. You can strain it for Greek yogurt or labneh at any time after that, even if it has been in the fridge for a while.
I got it with my yogurt maker (before I had an IP) and it is GREAT, 100% worth it! I have also used it to strain green juice (I didn’t juice, I blended then strained) when I was on a kick of that, and I think you can do nutmilk/oatmilk, too!
To echo others here, the smart thermostat has been awesome. SO was able to play with it and do things with the furnace fan cycles and all sorts of things. Definitely does save money, and also neat to have - turn it up when you need to when you are an hour from home, or turn it down, whatever you need.
We have exterior lights in a timer, which is nice when we are out in the evenings to have things lit up so we can see. I have had this forever so I’m not sure how much it was.
We also have an exterior camera set up by motion sensor. It turns a light on when it senses something, and sends notifications to your phone when there is movement. You can also save the video footage. We haven’t had anyone try to steal anything yet, but we have seen a racoon family inspect the car, a fox, and various cats and animals. It was $200 CAD from Amazon.