Cooking deliciousness with Dash!

 

The house we are currently living in doesn't have a lot of storage space, so I've always said I wasn't going to be getting anymore big appliances or kitchen clutter. When the air fryer trend really started to take off, my mom picked one up and I decided to borrow it one night. We quickly realized we enjoy using it, so we would swap it back and forth between the houses since we never used it on the same nights. However, when Dash offered to let me review one of their air fryers to have as my own, I couldn't say no! I was sent a 6QT family air fryer in the color grey.

Sweet Potato Fries

We've used this to make a lot of delicious main courses along with plenty of yummy side dishes. The main difference between this one and the one we were using is that it doesn't have specific settings for certain dishes like fish, chicken, potatoes, and so forth so there may be a little bit of a learning curve trying to figure out what amount of time & temp to use when cooking. The only thing I slightly burnt was some broccoli that I left in for a little too long, but it was still edible and tasty. 

Sesame Style Chicken to go on Rice

My two favorite things to make in this is boneless chicken fingers/wings and vegetables. Prior to having the air fryer I would steam our veggies while cooking the main meal, but this air fryer helps cut down cooking time since you don't have to wait for water to boil & steam plus it cooks our veggies how we like them. I like that I can pop open the pan and check on everything as it is cooking so I can flip or mix what I am cooking and add seasonings. I've also made homemade sweet potato fries & carrot fries using this air fryer. Depending on what you are cooking a light spray of cooking oil or wiping it down with a little butter can help combat anything sticking to it.

I have found that it is easy to use and easy to clean after we are done using it, everything comes apart without any issues, and dries quickly. We are a family of four & this cooks the perfect sized amounts for side dishes, when it comes to main dishes depending on what we are cooking we have to split it up into two batches. I like that it isn't super loud when it is on, some air fryer models can be quite noisy when in operation. You can buy the 6QT air fryer in black, aqua, cool grey or red to go with the colors of your kitchen, they sell for $99.99. Along with air fryers Dash offers dozens of awesome & fun products such as waffle makers that are in festive shapes, egg cookers, blenders and more all at affordable prices.

Disclaimer- Dash provided the product above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

Upgrade your kitchen accessories inside & outside your home with Barebones Living! + A Giveaway.

When my husband and I started dating we were both pretty young and didn't really cook a lot, but as we've gotten older and learned new ways to cook it is a lot of fun cooking meals either together or on our own. Part of cooking is having the right tools for the job, so when I was offered the chance to review a very sharp and eye catching chefs knife, I couldn't refuse. A company called BareBones Living and they also have the brand NoBox which sells a range of products for "barebones living" to help those who love camping, living out of their RV's etc and one of the products they sell is a gorgeous chefs knife that comes with a leather sheath. 

The knife arrived in a box that is quite giftable, I was excited to get it open and test out the knife to see if it would live up to how it looks. The sheath it comes with is made from full-grain leather and a metal clip to keep it safely inside of the sheath when not in use. The handle is made from natural rosewood, which gives it a comfortable hold and it allows enough weight to keep the knife balanced. My hands aren't very large, however I have no issues with gripping the handle or having a comfortable hold, I found this knife easy and comfortable to use, plus it was a lot of fun seeing how thinly I could cut a tomato with it.

The blade itself is made from stainless steel and it is sharp enough to cut all types of foods without any issues. I barely touched it to a tomato and it started cutting through it with hardly any pressure at all, it also did a great job cutting through chicken breast that was still semi frozen. I am a little picky with meat when I am cooking it, I usually look for the pack that has the least amount of fat so when I go to cut it off it doesn't take that long. This knife made cutting off the small fatty or ugly looking pieces a breeze, I was able to get dinner prepped just the way I like it in a matter of no time.

Due to the handle being made from rosewood it is not recommended to soak this in your sink with the other dishes, because it can ruin the natural wood handle. To keep this knife in it's best condition I would recommended just washing it right after using it and drying it off with a clean hand towel. The knife is simple to clean and so far this has been one of my favorite knives that I own! You don't have to keep it stored in the sheath, however the sheath itself looks lovely as well so you may want to show off both pieces. 

We haven't gone camping in a while as the heat is starting to rise here in Arizona, but you can bet this will be coming with us the next time we go camping. You can purchase this knife from their website for $110. If you want to see the knife in action I will be putting up a reel over on my Instagram page (@Themoonlitnook) to show you how well it cuts.

Along with the chef knife I was also sent a heavy duty cutting board which I was also excited about because one of our large cutting boards recently broke and we couldn't quite find one we wanted to replace it with. I knew before hand that the knife was being sent, but the cutting board was a complete surprise! 

At the moment I can't find any info on it on their website so I can't link it, however I do have the tag that came with the board. It is a thick maple wood cutting board that has a steel handle. I like that the handle makes this easy to hang off of your grill if you want to, and it is small enough it is portable to take camping. Both of these products are extremely well made and I feel like they will last a long time, especially if they are cared for properly. The company also offers a ton of other awesome products to take along camping or to use at home. 

Prize Alert: One lucky winner is going to win their own Chefs Knife! This prize is retailed at $110

This is open to US Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! 

This giveaway ends on 04/29/2021

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment telling me another product you'd love to try from BareBones Living. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer-  Barebones Living provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

Cave Tools Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. The products mentioned below have been provided by Cave Tools for the review free of charge.****

It is finally getting cool enough out that we can start BBQing again without feeling like we're going to melt in front of the grill. One of my favorite things to make is Kabob Skewers but I don't make them that often because we have those wooden skewer stakes from the store which can splinter and who wants that in their food? I know I don't so I was excited to receive the chance to review the Kabob Skewers Rack by Cave Tools.





This Kabob Skewer Rack comes with a metal rack along with five metal kabob skewers, each skewer has a metal disk which helps push the food off the skewer while you are eating it so you can get every piece on it. The metal rack has a number of notches which make it to where there are multiple positions so your skewers are evenly cooked. The rack and skewers are dish washer safe and the whole thing is easy to store once you are done using it. When the rack is in use it helps not only cook the kabobs evenly but they never touch the grill which prevents them from burning and sticking. It was easy to put the meat and peppers/onion on the skewer and everything cooked perfectly, I also enjoyed the little metal disk to push the food off because then I didn't have to use my fingers, as an added bonus the skewers won't splinter like your traditional wood skewer plus they are re-usable.You can purchase a Kabob Skewer Rack on Amazon or on the Cave Tools website, feel free to use the following code for 15% Off: LHWJZQMZ the Kabob Rack.

Capresso Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Capresso  for the review free of charge.****

I enjoy drinking coffee but the crazy thing is I've never owned a coffee maker before, that is until recently when a brand called Capresso sent me one of their on-the-go personal coffee maker to test out. This coffee maker comes with a 16-oz stainless steel thermal travel mug but it isn't shown above, my fiance had taken off with the mug to work by the time I woke up to make myself a coffee, this maker can use a coffee mug up to 7" tall.





You are able to Brew with ground coffee or soft coffee pods which is nice! It brews a single cup of coffee at a time which is perfect for us because we don't drink coffee everyday and when we do want a coffee we only drink a cup each. This coffee maker heats up quickly to cut your brewing time down, and the removable permanent filter is easy to use and clean I clean it after every use. Having a removable and reusable filter eliminates the need for paper filters which saves you money. Getting the coffee maker set up and ready to brew, you just need to add some water to the back and three to four tablespoons of coffee grounds in the filter.















I did find that the "max" fill level line can be a little difficult to see depending on the lighting of your kitchen because it hides down in the back corner, I would love to see the sign for it a little bigger or a different color to make it easier to see. Over all my coffee was ready in less than three minutes, then all you have to do is add your cream and sugar and you are ready to go. This coffee maker is easy to clean and it doesn't take up a lot of room in your kitchen, so if you are like me on only drink coffee on occasion when you want a cup or two or even if you drink coffee everyday this is perfect for you. The Capresso on-the-go personal coffee maker sells for $49.99 on their website, they also offer a number of other coffee makers, extra travel mugs and bags of coffee.

The Mighty Mug Giveaway & Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. The products mentioned below have been provided by Mighty Mug for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

I do a lot on the computer both at home and at work so I usually have my drink sitting on my desk while I work, sometimes it gets knocked over and spills or simply drops onto the floor if it is in a spill proof container. I recently received a Mighty Mug for a review and now I don't have to worry about spills or my cup getting knocked off of my desk. Developed by a team of industrial designers and mechanical engineers, Mighty Mug, is the world's only Mug that grips to your desk when knocked into, but lifts naturally.





Before I received a mug for review I watched a video showing what The Mighty Mug could do, and I admit I was impressed but I was also skeptical about how well this would work. How can a mug set down on the table not be knocked over when hit but picked up like a regular cup without any hesitation? The Mighty Mug has a Smartgrip base which is shown above in the fourth photo (orange circle), when placed directly down onto the table this grips onto the table keeping the cup into place. Keep in mind the surface needs to be flat as with any suction cup base/item, I placed my Mighty Mug on my kitchen table and gave it a whack. The mug stayed in place was it gave me a jolt of excitement not seeing it fall over when hit with my hand, I even made my fiance come into the kitchen to have a look while I used my hand to try and knock over the mud. Knowing that some cups end up falling off the table because the table is moved I shook the kitchen table a bunch to see if that would make the mug fall and it still stayed in place, but lifted up without any issue when you pick it straight up off the table. The Might Mug is easy to clean, and works just as described my fiance will be taking this to work with him to the construction sites he works at.

PRIZE ALERT:
One lucky winner is going to receive a $30 Gift card to The Mighty Mug to pick out a mug of their own, they offer several different colors and sizes. Giveaway ends on Tuesday September 8th, 2015

Enter the contest by entering Here!

*Note: Entries for this giveaway are being collected through a landing page on the Might Mug Website, after you have entered PLEASE come back here and comment on my blog post letting me know you entered and what color mug you would get if you win. (Silver,Red,Black,Steel Blue,Aqua,Purple,Lilac,Pink,Cream or Orange). This is not required to enter the giveaway but I would appreciate it. Thank You!

World Kitchen Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others. The products mentioned below have been provided by World Kitchen for the review free of charge.****

To me cooking not only requires great ingredients but good tools that are dependable and work well. Finding the tools that work best for you can sometimes be a bummer because of the price tag, but World Kitchen has you covered by offering wonderful cooking tools at affordable prices.

 

 I recently received a small package which contained a Silicone Whisk, Medium Spatula and a Silicone spatula to try out. The whisk is pretty handy to have not only because some dishes taste better when whisked vs beaten with a fork, but because when it is time to be washed it can be washed easier then a metal spatula. If you apply a little pressure to the whisk it will smoosh essentially allowing all the food to slide right out and you don't have to worry about getting a sponge in there to get something you missed. Since it bends a bit it also helps you reach more places in your mixing bowl that a traditional whisk may have missed. The Silicone spatula is made from the same materials and it really helps you reach every inch of the bowl or dish you are mixing and pouring into the baking pan. I enjoyed all three products sent to me and look forward to using them more often! All three of these products can be purchased on their website for less than $10 each, the whisk is only $4.99 they also offer a number of other kitchen tools, gadgets and more.