One of my absolute tastiest ways to cook meals comes in the form of an electric pressure cooker. The biggest benefit of using an electric pressure cooker is the substantially shorter cooking times it produces – up to 70%! The basic idea behind an electric pressure cooker is that it takes a small amount of water and heats it up inside a pressurized chamber at around 15psi. This method of cooking simulates the cooking process of braising or roasting with a much shorter cooking time. In my opinion the meat actually comes out juicier and with more flavor than say the usual over baking methods!

Recently KFC had released information that they were using a dual cooking method of electric pressure cooker and deep fryers to create their famous fried chicken. While we can recommend an electric pressure cooker for most things you have to make sure you are not trying to create some crispy breading or anything like that. Using an electric pressure cooker does tend to keep some of the moisture in the food you are cooking so breaded dishes will unfortunately end up a bit softer than you might want.

The beauty of an electric pressure cooker is the simplicity and speed at which it cooks which makes meal time a piece of cake. Just throw everything inside the pressure cooker and viola you will have a quick cooked meal that was not microwaved in more than half the time of traditional cooking methods. When buying a electric pressure cooker look for one that comes with recipe guides and a timer since it is a new method of cooking for you it will come in especially handy.

When I tell people that my favorite gadget in my kitchen is my Black and Decker vegetable steamer I often get the strangest look from people. You see i'm a gadget guy and a foodie so I love cooking good food with unique methods. Steaming food is probably one of my most favorite things to do for a number of different reasons but probably most importantly is the nutritional aspect.

What a large number of people do not realize when cooking in the kitchen is that the majority of cooking methods actually destroy a large amount of the nutritional value of the food. For instance, using a microwave to cook say frozen vegetables can actually really eliminate almost all the vitamins and minerals they provide than if say you had used a Black and Decker vegetable steamer. Steaming food helps to keep the vitamins and minerals inside the actual vegetables themselves.

Furthermore I really enjoy the simplicity of my Black and Decker vegetable steamer because I can quite literally come home after a hard day of work and pop in some vegetables and meat (I prefer some fresh salmon), add a little water and then within 30 minutes or less I have a healthy fresh meal prepared. The benefits here of a good vegetable steamer extend to all the members of your family and could possibly even change the way you approach food altogether. Personally I have had my Black and Decker vegetable steamer for a couple of years now and really do not think I could do a weeks worth of meal planning without it.

If you are looking for the quintessential gadget for your kitchen then you really need to look no further than a Cuisinart rice cooker to do the job. The beauty of these units and the models they make is the flexibility and use in your kitchen they provide. Even though the name “Cuisinart rice cooker” conjures up thoughts that this is only a rice cooker you would be very much mistaken. Using a rice cooker solely for cooking rice would be potentially a waste of money considering it can be used for my favorite use – steam cooking!

Most Cuisinart rice cookers include optional added features that allow you to steam cook food at the same time you are cooking the rice! This is a tremendous time saver and also produces fantastic results with regards to the quality of your food! The Cuisinart rice cooker I have at my house includes a built in timer function to simplify the cooking process and help guide you through making great rice.

Making great rice is a fairly simple task assuming you have the correct ratio of water to rice and you don't over cook it which can be very easy if you are simply making rice over the stove. Cuisinart rice cookers with their built in timers assure quality cooking each and every time. Even if you are not cooking rice with a particular meal (and let's face it we don't eat rice with every meal in the US) you can use the steaming function anyway to make great vegetables!

When purchasing an electric vegetable steamer you should always take into the consideration about how often you are going to be using the product. Just like any other electrical kitchen appliance, the electric vegetable steamers tend to work more efficiently to cook more vegetables (or other foods like chicken and steamed fruits) when they have more compartments. One of the best electric vegetable steamers I have seen on any sales website would have to be the Richard Simmons EST7 Steam-Heat Electronic Food Steamer because of it's wonderful reviews. This electronic vegetable steamer comes with 3 individual compartments where you can steam all of your vegetables, meats, and fruits simultaneously. With the middle heater being more powerful than the left and right heaters, your food will turn out exactly how you want it. Being controlled by you, you can set the timer so that all 3 types of food are finished at different times! Now thats cool! There is also a signal for when the food is ready so you won't have to worry about walking away and coming back to mush. This electronic vegetable steamer is on sale now for $59.88 that's $20.11 (25%) off the original price!

Another electric vegetable steamer I highly recommend would have to be the Dr. Weil 9817 The Healthy Kitchen 2-Tier Electronic Food Steamer because of its amazing appearance. This electric vegetable steamer is unique because of its outperforming style. After you purchase this steamer you won't need one of those rice vegetable steamers or microwave vegetable steamers because this beauty can do almost anything. It comes with a wonderful LCD screen that will certainly lighten up your experience in the kitchen. With this LCD screen you can control almost anything the vegetable steamer offers. Of these you can find 6 pre-programmed steaming options, an automatic timer, and indicator lights to tell you if the steamer is on or off. Also another cool feature about this electric vegetable steamer would have to be the dishwasher-safe parts! Yes, that's right, you can even wash the removable in the dishwasher! Don't wait though! This vegetable steamer is on sale now for $79.99 that's $20.01 (20%) off the original price & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping!