Monday, September 30, 2013

Nesco 18 Quart Roaster Review & GIVEAWAY!!

No matter how much I try to diet, one of my biggest passions has always been and will always be food. I just love food. Not only eating, but also cooking. Unfortunately, what was once a very cathartic hobby for me, has now become much more stressful.

Cooking is fun for me, but trying to cook while also cleaning the house, chasing a 2 year old, fetching drinks for my 6 year old, answering the phone(just to be annoyed by a recording trying to sell me something) and juggling 132,406 things in my hands at one is not the same thing.

With a million other things going on, there are so many times when I literally cannot stop to prepare a meal, and many others when I certainly do not feel like it. Of course, it still has to get done, and I still want to have great tasting, nutritious, REAL food prepared for dinner.

Although my son is autistic and pretty much never eats the family dinner, it seems that a good meal is more important than ever before. My daughter is getting older. She already loved to ea anything she could, but now she can eat more, and I want to feed her something good.

Also, my dear husband recently got a new job. It is better pay but it is also much more work. He used to get home by 3pm at the latest every day, now that is the earliest(and only once a week). His usual arrival time is around 6pm(if not later).

He does not eat at work except for maybe a small snack, and by the time he gets home, it is too late for lunch, so a hearty dinner is vital. In fact, I like to have dinner almost ready by the time he gets home, so he can eat right away. That is often hard with the kids though. I like to cook meals that I can kind of put on and go about other things, but my daughter has begun trying to touch anything cooking all the time.

The oven does not get hot enough to burn her(if she touches the outside), but she tries to open it now too(she can't yet, but I don't want to find out when she can). She grabs for the burners, pots and pans always too. I use the back ones and keep the hand;es turned in, but that is also too nerve racking.

Many times, I would wait until she went t bed to cook, but that was taking too long for my poor starving hubby. I just needed a better way. So I turned to a company that I trust for amazing kitchen essentials, and found a solution. The 18 Quart(porcelain cookwell) Roaster from Nesco is exactly what I needed to make cooking fun and easy again.
First of all, this roaster is gorgeous. I know that really has no impact on cooking ability, but come on, the glossy red body and the beautiful black porcelain cookwell. This baby is sleek.
The cookwell on this roaster is huge. 18 quarts is a lot. You could feed an army with this. That is very good, because after a 12 hour work day, my hubby has a healthy appetite.

What I really love about this is that you can cook directly in the cookwell like you would in a slow cooker, but you can also use the included rack to make it more of a roaster.
I tend to use the rack almost every time I cook in this. I love that it lifts the food up helping the heat circulate even more evenly and that the fan can drip of making the food healthier. Plus, the food can get crispier if desired since it will not be sitting in juice getting soggy.

This comes with a booklet that has charts of cooking times and temperatures for most every kind of meat which is very helpful. The knob itself is also very clear in letting you know which temperatures are best for which types of cooking.
How foolproof is that? Even with a screaming 2 year old I can figure that out. I love that you can slow cook, cook, roast, bake and steam all with this one product, but my favorite thing to do with it is roast. The first thing I made in his was a roasted chicken.
It came out PERFECT! It was the best chicken I have ever made (and I made cook chicken before too). I thought it was better than store-bought rotisserie chicken. My husband loved it. It was so flavorful and juicy. The skin was crispy and delicious.

I also made pork roasts.
They too came out perfect.
They were tender, juicy, full of flavor and had the perfect texture on the outside. Simply delicious.

I have made numerous other dishes in here as well, but was in a rush and forgot to take photos. Some of the fabulous meals include roasted turkey breast, pot roast and meatloaf.

As much as I love how phenomenal everything tastes, which it really really does, even more I love how simply it is and how quickly it cooks everything. I mean, it is not speed cooking, but it roasts faster than trying to use the oven, and with much more favorable results. The "Circle Of Heat" design cooks the food from the sides instead of the bottom, that is why everything is so moist and juicy.

Better still, the rack has handles for easy transport of cooked food. The cookwell is also removable for easy serving and cleanup. The super nonstick coating makes cleanup effortless, which is wonderful. The last thing you want after a hard day is a huge cleanup job.

And if that isn't awesome enough, the whole roaster is portable so you can easily use it anywhere. If you are low on space, this is a great feature. You can use this anywhere, even on the porch. I use mine in the laundry room.

It fits beautifully on my counter, but my daughter can reach it(and always tries to) there, so I can keep it in the other(locked) room away from both kids. Since it basically does its own thing, I never need to tend to the food(until I am taking it out) anyway, so it is great.

Not only that, but even if you use this in your kitchen, it will not heat up the room like the oven does. With the scorching heat here in Florida anyway, that is a lifesaver, especially for hubby. As I said I like to have dinner cooking (nearly ready) when he gets home. If I was to have a roast or something in the over for 3 hours when he comes home(after being in the heat all day long already since he works outside), he would probably die of heat stroke.

I am not too fond of baking myself or the kids for hour a day trying to use the regular oven either. This is just so much smarter. I have always loved the expression, "work smart, not hard", and that fits this roaster perfectly. This is the smart way to make delicious meals without all the hassle, heat and headaches that cooking can often cause.

This amazing roaster does it all. It can even hold up to a 22 pound turkey. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I know how I will be making my meal less hectic and even more delicious. If it was that good on a chicken, I can only imagine how great my turkey will be.

Nesco and their fabulous 18 Quart Roaster Oven have brought the joy back to cooking (and eating) for me. They will do the same for you. In fact, Nesco has been kind enough to allow me to offer you all the chance to win an 18 Quart Roaster of your own. One lucky winner will change the way the cook forever. Enter below for your chance. Good luck.

*Although I received this at no cost to facilitate a review, all opinions are 100% my own.* a Rafflecopter giveaway

18 comments :

  1. I love that it looks like it roasts some really tasty chicken. Yum!

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  2. I love this Nesco Roaster because it is very big and I can easily roast chicken and Pork Roast! It looks so easy to use and my meat will come out moist and not dry! Also I love the color of this product.

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  3. I like that the cookwell is rmoveable and non stick for easy clean up.
    Dawn Monroe

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  4. I like how you can shove a chicken in there! The non stick is a plus for easy cleaning

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  5. 22 lbs of turkey goodness, here I come!

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  6. I love that it holds a large bird, making it perfect for Thanksgiving

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  7. Honestly, I like that it's red, and it matches my other kitchen appliances.

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  8. I love that it hold a whole turkey and stuffing. How great for large family gatherings.

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  9. I like that it locks in the moisture so meats come out juicy.
    kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom

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  10. i love the size of it! and the color!

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  11. I like that you can cook so many different things in it!

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  12. I love the color and I love how it keeps heat down by not having to use an oven!
    Kelli Avery

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  13. I like the large size and the looks of it

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  14. I love cooking without heating up my whole house.

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  15. I would love to use this in the summertime when it's too hot to do anything!

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