i LOVE my foodsaver...
it all started many years ago. i would do laundry way into the wee hours of the night, and i would iron, fold, sort, etc.. all the laundry downstairs in the living room, so i could watch tv to keep me up. (i couldn't drink coffee much back then, because for about nine years, 1994 to 2003, i was either prego(with child, not the spaghetti sauce) or nursing)
i don't remember when i first saw the infomercial/program for the foodsaver, but i wasn't really intrigued until i had seen the whole demonstration over x amount of months because i could never manage to watch the entire program, since i was always going back and forth throughout the house. to the garage for loading clothes into and out of the washer and dryer. and then transporting folded or clothes on hangers to their appropriate rooms/drawers/closets.. or taking one of my youngin's to the bathroom or consoling a baby (whichever decided to wake up that night, and believe me, someone usually does, even to this day.), etc.
anyhoo, i loved the idea, but at the time, was under mucho financial and time constraints. several years later, i decided to get myself a gift and bought it at my local costco. have i ever mentioned that i love costco? you can return anything there and they will give you your money back. once i took back 2 dvd players that were over 2 years old, and they gave me my money back. it was cool. having the receipt helped, worn as it was... (bet no one thought that i was orgamized (yes, i spelled it wrong on poipose!) enough to have kept my receipts, huh? i'm just overflowing with surprises...)
So! i bought my precious foodsaver. only problem now was that it sat in my garage for about 2-3 months before i finally opened it up. and then it sat in my garage for about another 2-3 months because i couldn't find the time to thoroughly look it over. and i have another problem(s). even when i have the time to go over manuals, i rarely do because i have this thing with manuals. they are so boring, and difficult to read, and frustrating! i just want to know how to (basic) start the damn thing, and then, when i get comfortable with using it, i would love to know how to do all this other fancy schmancy crap! come ON!
ok, so, finally after having it sit around for 4-6 months, i finally took it out one day when i had a lot of RAW/RARE meat to store, i decided to take out my new(ish) foodsaver and try it out.
to this day, i have not fully read the manual, but am proud to say that i have skimmed through the instructions for the things that "apply" to me and pretty much know how to use it... and i love it! i've recently become obsessed with making my own trail mix and sealing it into packages for snacking purposes. i had the kids help me make trail mix and we also roasted almonds with honey and brown sugar, and another batch with maple syrup and cinnamon. they were so excited, they brought them to school to share with friends.
when corn was in season last year, i blanched some cobs of fresh sweet corn and vacuum sealed them with my foodsaver. for those of you who don't know what "blanching" means, it is when one scald veggies or fruits to stop the ripening process prior to freezing. this is much like the process that takes place in taking a piece of RAW meat and renaming it to RARE meat... ok, the outside of the item in question has been heated only briefly, changing the outer layer (that layer is singular, btw...) of the item, but the REST (99%) of the MEAT or veggie remains RAW. that means, if you want to eat it, you must properly cook it... (luv ya' screg!)
back to my story.. about 2 months later i took out the frozen corn and put the whole bag, sealed, into a pot of boiling water, and my oh my, was the corn sooo good. couldn't tell that it had been frozen at all.
i even used my foodsaver for my trip to europe. yeah, i have to admit, that this is a little silly, but i was so excited to use my foodsaver to make myself a homemade tube of toothpaste. totu found it rather amusing and mentioned that i could've bought the same thing at a store and wouldn't have had to have gone through the trouble of making my own toothpaste thingy. that wasn't the point! the point was that i had the option, the power of making my own toothpaste thingy on my own! i even cut a little snip on the side of the plastic so that when i needed to, i could simply tear off the plastic tip...
i love my foodsaver, my foodsaver loves me.
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3 comments:
Here I am reading on your topic gaining a brilliant idea of what to mention and then you go and ruin it with your last paragraph. I know you did it on poipose.
I have a question. Once your toothpaste thingy was opened, how did you keep its contents from leaking during travel?
Also, wouldn't it have been eaier to throw the tube of toothpaste in the bag than to create a tube from scratch, fill it, and seal it?
Or, perhaps, if size is of concern, buy one in Europe (yeah, they actually have toothpaste there, and soap, and other sundry items; people act like if they forget to pack it, they're screwed) and toss it when travelling back home?
The food saver is great for buying in bulk, cooking, then freezing for later use. In fact, when I borrowed yours I made and cooked
1)meatloaf, without the sauce of course
2) Shrimp. It was on sale so I bought a bunch, boiled it and packed it into smaller protions. I had some last night. A bed of brown rice topped with shrimp, then topped with some lemon piccata sauce. Yum. Dinner only took 5 minutes.
3) Some leftover salami from New Years Eve.
4) Some salmon that was on sale. I've already defrosted some. I'm going to chop some zuchinnis, onions and seasonings, nestle in the salmon and bake. Serve with brown rice.
Making homemade toothpaste tubes....I don't know.
I've seen it in action. It is most impressive.
Technically, does frozen food also have a "shelf-life"? Food that's been freezer burned, I stay away from. Does using the food saver extend shelf-life"?
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