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Jamie Oliver HomeCooker by Philips. Louise's Review.

  • Creamy Pasta Sauce

    So today I decided to test the Jamie Olive Homecooker to cook a creamy pasta sauce.
    Usually cooking a pasta sauce that involves fresh cream requires constant stirring to prevent the cream from sticking to the bottom of the pan as well as prevent it from separating.
    The stirring arm played a good part in this recipe.
    First it browned the chicken well without sticking and burning. While it was doing this I had time to sit with my kids and look at their homework. i had set the time to 20 minutes and the machine beeped when the time was up. Secondly when I added the freah cream cheese to my pasta sauce the stirring arm helped to combine the sauce together into creamy goodness.
    I tried out the steamer basket to steam pasta ravioli, this was a hit and miss as it required a lot of time to steam the ravioli then I had anticipated. I learnt that in order to cook pasta ii really neededtoboil it rathe than steam.
    i learnt that food such as pasta reauires a lot of time so it is best to boil pasta using the pasta insert ove hot boilling wate in the homecooker.
    The steamer basket worked perfectly fine to steam vegetables ove a hot simmering curry though..
    I loved the results and would definately reccomend the homecooker to anyone.
    I have uploaded a video of my cooking experience on youtube which you can view by copying andpasting the url below onto your browser.
    Cheers
    http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_m9Y4BCNIfA

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Chicken Cacciatore with Garlic Mash

    This recipe is one of my favourites. Its so easy to do & follow even the teenagers could do it! Did contemplate that……only for a minute……..but it was cleaning day today & the kitchen is sparkling so I didn’t want mess every where (party on weekend so wanted to try & keep things in order). To spice things up a little I added a few chilli flakes – just enough to give it a little kick. Tasted delicious with the mash – did make it a little chunky & drier than normal so the sauce could be mixed in! All that I can say is YUM YUM YUM! Now while teenagers slave @ part time job, I’m sitting back with a cider waiting for my creamy rice to cook.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Beef Goulash oooh la la!!!!

    I knew I had a busy day today with teenager no2 so I thought I’d better cook dinner in advance! Tonight was going to be Beef Goulash! Everything seem to flow like clockwork. I think I might be getting the hang of the Home Cooker & what it can do! The chopping tower sliced the onions in seconds, I added the spices & oil & I was off with 20mins to prepare the meat & other ingredients. After adding the final ingredients I had plenty of time for something else before I had to reset the timer for the next stage. Arghhh- I had left 5 loads of washing to do. The Home Cooker gave me some time to hang, reload & hang again (hmmm is that what my “another set of hands” has done – more time for housework).
    Recipe was very easy to follow. The best thing was coming home knowing dinner was done. The vote from the contented family was 5 stars for the recipe (no leftovers). The process of cooking was very simple! Its time to clean the pan & cook the beetroots for salads this week 🙂

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • No more creamed rice in a can

    Creamed rice is one of my favourite childhood memories. My Mum made it as it was a relatively easy desert to make but required one of the 6 kids to stand and stir so the milk /rice didn’t stick or burn on the base. It was a job that I quite often got lumped with being the youngest. The older siblings just made it sound so exciting. We always had stewed rhubarb & apple with our rice.
    Jamie’s recipe is delicious! Very creamy & full of flavour! I did add a little extra sugar as I wanted sweet rice. Topped it with a little drizzle of maple syrup. I had never used vanilla beans so was excited to taste & see how much they flavoured the rice. Never will I buy creamed rice again. I will be using the HC for this.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Mastered!

    Well we have mastered the rosemary potatoes! they are so easy & delicious to make that the boys have suggested we make them every night! LOL……have to say that a good hard waxy potato is the best to use to hold its shape & doesn’t get shaved by the stirring arm. Just love to add the ingredients & walk away, come back later to delicious crunchy roasted potatoes. All smiles in this household.

    Have been using the HC to make our Japanese curry. Its so easy now as I’m not constantly running back to stir the sauce & ingredients. No more sticking to the base of the saucepan because I’ve forgotten to stir. Love that I have a “little helper”.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Spaghetti

    The process was very easy to make this sauce. In the past, I would normally be watching & stirring every now & again just so my sauce wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan. Not today – just walked away & let the Home Cooker do its thing.
    Our sauce just didn’t turn out as rich & full of flavour as I would’ve liked. Not sure why – I did however use Pork mince for the first time ever. Normally only ever use beef mince but someone told me to try the pork. Thats OK – I’ll just use my favourite recipe in future. Teenager 1 has enough sauce for Wednesday school lunch!

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Is it dinner time yet???

    I have just put my crispy potatoes on and the house is smelling so amazing that I am salivating. I am planning on adding in some carrots, sweet potato & parsnip with 30 mins to go so hopefully they turn out ok! I love the fact that having the vegies in the home cooker has freed up the space in the oven for my chicken and fish and I don’t have to worry about having different temperatures. Can’t wait for dinner, will fill you in on how it goes 🙂

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Perfect Risotto

    Wow weeee! Have just finished eating the most delicious risotto ever! I was so impressed by the Home Cooker tonight – 5 stars from me. Have never tempted to make a risotto as I thought it was so time consuming standing there stirring the rice. So just thought “Too hard basket”.
    The Home Cooker along with Jamie’s recipe made life so much simpler. The stirring arm of the Home Cooker fascinates my family (&me). Its quite mesmerising watching it.
    Tonight I spent a bit more time, probably because i was quite nervous tackling a risotto. I did use quite a few extra pieces – saucepan, baking dish & fry pan. I didn’t mind as we have a rule in our house – if you cook you don’t clean up! So I just sat back while the family cleaned.
    The thing I love the most is the cutting tower which I used for the onions, celery & cheese. The celery was a little awkward but I quickly worked out the best way to grate it. It makes less mess with no more little pieces flying around the kitchen (this is usually the kids job). Love the design of the cutting tower, fitting nice & snug against the pan.
    Great recipe! Look forward to making this one again.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Broad Bean & Asparagus Risotto & Chorizo Sausage

    Well I must say I am really loving these 2 appliances. I was going to put them in the cupboard when not in use but I am using them most days especially the chopping tower! I think I have used the chopping tower every night since I received it. Very easy to assemble blades that just click into place & click to remove!
    Tonight was the Broad Bean & Asparagus Risotto (didn’t have the peas so just deleted them). Very simple & easy recipe to follow. I was feeling confident as had used the Home Cooker to create a previous Risotto. Last time I nervously watched & hoped it was going to work. Tonight I just followed the recipe and walked away confidently. The Chorizo Sausage was for teenager No 1 who is not quite sure about the “risotto” meal. I thought if I added the chopped sausage it would appeal to him more. But still had no success in winning him over. Teenager No 2 however enjoyed it thoroughly – which is surprising as he is normally the fussy one. Husband loved the whole minty, zesty lemon flavour.
    Have found the clean up to be easy as have had plenty of “spare” time during the cooking phase to clean up before dinner, just leaving the pan to clean.
    Have found a recipe for some steamed ginger cakes so am thinking I might try that tomorrow night when teenagers are at work :).

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Being brave - Chilli Garlic Chicken & Chorizo Sausage

    Teenager no 1 has always been a big eater! To combat the lunch time appetite has been making a large salad with chicken strips. I thought I might try & cook the strips in the Home Cooker. After infusing the oil with chilli, garlic, thyme & rosemary for about 15mins, I added a chopped chorizo sausage (I didn’t realise how much oil these would release) & fried them for about 10mins, turned the heat down & added the chicken for about 15mins. Probably need to experiment some more but the chicken taste tested by the teenager has got the thumbs up! Teenager cant wait to have his turn on Wednesday for some more experimenting chicken strips. It was much easier than standing by the BBQ and turning the strips. Chicken has remained moist. Lately teenager had been overcooking his chicken. Now with the help of the Home Cooker he will have moist chicken strips with his salad.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • My Homecooker has arrived. Wow, I’m impressed. Have opened the box and already found the appliance easy to put together. Instructions really clear and now all I have to do is try out a recipe…..maybe tonight i’ll start with one of the risotto recipes in Jamies book.
    Cheers for now

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Hi all. I was so excited about winning this comp. I love to cook and am really excited about reviewing Jamie’s Home cooker. Hopefully it will arrive today and I can start practicing. All my friends are expecting something special over next few weeks and with my anniversary today and birthday just around the corner, I have no excuses. Watch this space

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • First impressions

    How exciting, my HomeCooker arrived today! I’ve used it twice already!

    Tonight for dinner I made a risotto, based very closely on a recipe in the lovely cookbook by Jamie that accompanied the HomeCooker, “Risotto Primavera with asparagus, broad beans and peas” although I didn’t have broad beans and my husband is philosophically opposed to vegetarian food so I substituted some bacon for the broad beans! Apart from a slight hiccup on the cook’s side (didn’t check that I actually had enough arborio rice or stock before I started – hubby dashed to the shops while the HomeCooker was stirring the veggies and bacon!) it was very easy to cook and tasted absolutely delicious! I fed the whole family (hubby, 4 year old son and 8 month old baby girl) with the same meal, just taking the bacon out of my baby’s portion and substituting it with some chopped up left over chicken. She LOVED it! My husband thought it was delicious, son reluctantly ate it, saying it was “spicy” (I’m guessing that was either the lemon or the mint).

    Once the kids were in bed I also made the “Homemade Toasted Granola” out of Jamie’s book. Haven’t tasted it yet but it smelled divine when it was cooking! Was fantastic as I put it on to cook while I was cleaning up the kitchen and making some sausage rolls for my son’s birthday party on the weekend and I didn’t have to stand by it or even keep an eye on it while I was busy with the other stuff, I just waited for it to beep to add the next lot of ingredients or turn it off!

    So, what do I think so far? Well, the HomeCooker itself is very well designed. It is quite simple to use and put together and it really didn’t take long at all to learn to use it. The stirring arm works really well and food really doesn’t catch on the bottom. It heats up very quickly to the precise temperature you need and the timer function is excellent as you just leave it and it stops as soon as it gets to the time you have set ( you can also leave it to cook without setting the timer, for up to 99 mins). The buzzer sounds once it reaches the time you have set and keeps sounding until you attend to it so you can leave the room and be doing other things and not miss it. I was able to actually go and play with my kids while the risotto was stirring – how fantastic is that?!

    One slight negative so far is the cutting tower. It may be a user error so I’ll reserve my judgement until I have used it a bit more but I couldn’t get it to grate the onion and celery as Jamie instructed me to in the recipe. The celery sort of grated but the hole was really too big so when it got to the end it didn’t really work, and the onion just clogged up the grater.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • Excited about receiving the homecooker!!!

    I just got an email from Mouths Of Mums stating that the Phillips Homecooker is on its way to me Yay!!!! So excited to know that I will be receiving it soon.
    Meanwhile I am preparing my kitchen for its arrival. I am putting away all my kitchen gadgets away to make room for the Homecooker.
    I am planning on cooking Spaghetti Boloignaise on the first night of its arrival. it is one of my kids’ favourite dish and so far I have always bought ready made pasta sauce bottles from the supermarket. I am keen on whipping up a fresh batch of bolognaise sauce on the Homecooker with fresh tomatoes and herbs from my herb garden. I just cant wait to get creative.
    I will keep everyone updated on the whole process so look out for fun times.

    Would you recommend to other mums?
    Versatile & suitable for lots of recipes
    Saves time & makes my life easier
    Simple to understand & easy to use

  • I can’t wait for my Jamie Oliver HomeCooker to arrive and I am looking forward to hearing my doorbell tomorrow! I have been watching a variety of videos from the MOM site, which has only made my drool.

    What to cook first? Well I look forward to reading the Jamie Oliver cookbook that comes with it. Hubby would love a curry on Saturday night, so we are hoping for a lovely jubbly recipe.

    Stay tuned for more fun updates:)

  • MoM just sent me an email saying the the Jamie Oliver Home Cooker is on its way. I hope it is here in time for the weekend so I can start testing it out and cooking up some great tasting food. I am even thinking that I may be able to make small batches of my Home Made Tomato Table Sauce.

  • I’m very excited to be getting my new Jamie Oliver home cooker soon. Everytime I cook something that needs lots of stiring and chopping, I can’t wait to get started. Last week it was my meat sauce for lasagne with lots of veges in it. Tonight a chicken, bacon and mushroom sauce for pasta. The onion and chicken stuck to the bottom of the pan while I was chopping the veges and rosemary – I’ll bet the extra arm in the cooker will be a huge advantage. Stay posted.

  • Just got word from MoM that the Jamie Oliver Homecooker is in transit!!!! On it’s way to MY HOUSE!!!! Watch this space as I plan to tell everyone about the fabulous meals it will cook for me…..I might even invite my chef friends over for dinner as they are very curious to know more about this cooker that ‘does it all’ !!!

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Article ‘They Taste Amazing, I’ll Definitely Be Stocking Up Again’

‘They Taste Amazing, I’ll Definitely Be Stocking Up Again’

Having three young kids, juggling their commitments and her own as a school teacher means Kristie Young’s days revolve around snacking on-the-go. And she admits she’s not always reaching for the best options! So she was thrilled to try out new Nice & Natural Deluxe Protein Bars and says she’ll be restocking next time she’s shopping.

Kristie is right in the middle of one her busiest seasons of life – juggling three kids (two at school), a job, partner and household. But this year, she’s made a commitment to herself.

“I’m always running around. Always a million things on my to do list, but wouldn’t have it any other way.” Kristie told Mouths of Mums.

“But I’m turning 40 this year and I thought I really need to start prioritising myself, because for the last seven years, I’ve been pregnant, breastfeeding, busy with the kids, I have not looked after myself at all.

“So this year, I’m really starting to get back into my own fitness journey, health journey, and eating a lot better and starting to eat more regularly and eat more protein filled meals and snacks that will fill me up. So I’m not just reaching for sugary snacks, especially around that afternoon, where I’m getting tired from being awake with the baby all night and just finding myself reaching for junk in the cupboard.”

A self-confessed snacker, Kristie says her snacking habit is worse during school holidays when she’s constantly making in-between meals for the kids. So she decided to give Nice & Natural Deluxe Protein Bars a try, as part of the Mouths of Mums review team.

“They were actually filling. I like that they had eight grams of protein, because that’s something that I’m really trying to increase this year, having more protein. And they taste amazing, which is obviously great and I like that they have chocolate, because normally in the afternoon, I’m reaching for something sugary, something chocolatey, and this way I know I’m getting that protein hit as well. So they’re a bit more filling.

“They help me last until dinner time without reaching for all these other little snacks in between.”

“I also like that they’re easy to take out and about. So when I’m doing kinder drop off, dancing. I always pack snacks and food for the kids and forget myself. It’s been good put myself first and have something in the bag and on the go for me too.”

Nice & Natural Deluxe Protein Bars not only satisfy those constant cravings throughout the day, they’re temptingly tasty. With layers of nuts and soy crisps and enveloped in milk or dark chocolate, it’s every sweet-tooth’s dream.

“I’ve tried quite a few different protein bars, and some of them I don’t like the aftertaste or the textures too hard. Whereas I found this had a nice amount of crunch, the flavour was really nice, and the perfect amount of chocolate too.”

With three delectable flavours to choose from, Nice & Natural Deluxe Protein Bars make mum me-time an indulgent treat, with no artificial flavours or colours:

Salted Caramel, Cashew & Choc: Crunchy cashews, peanuts and soy crisps, topped with a delicious caramel layer and coated in rich milk choc.

Cookies & Cream Dark Choc: Crunchy peanuts and soy crisps, topped with a delicious cream layer and coated in rich dark choc.

Almond & Double Choc: Crunchy almonds, peanuts and soy crisps, topped with a delicious white choc layer and coated in rich milk choc.

How amazing do these flavours sound?! Kristie tried a couple of the flavours, and for her the Salted Caramel, Cashew & Choc was an absolute standout!

“I’ve got the Almond & Double Choc, which I love and Salted Caramel, Cashew & Choc. And at first I thought this one might be too sweet with the salted caramel, but it’s actually not. It’s perfect, the perfect balance. Probably my favourite!’

nice and natural deluxe protein bars salted caramel, cashew and choc

“They’re so good for having the desk draw at work, those little snacks. I’m not just reaching for sugary rubbish. I know they’ve got protein, especially in the afternoon, when I am running low on energy from being kept awake all night. It’s good to have these in the drawer and just have one each day, which I’m enjoying, something to look forward to at work.

“I’m putting them on the shopping list, so when I run out of these, I’m off to get some more for myself. My partner tried them, and he’s approved them. He wants some too. I said he can’t have my stash, so I know I’ll definitely be stocking up again at the supermarket. I’m recommending them and really enjoying them.”

Purchase Nice & Natural Deluxe Protein Bars from Woolworths and Coles.

This Real Story was provided as part of a paid sponsorship opportunity. Kristie was chosen to share her story because she was sent out and tried Nice & Natural Deluxe Protein Bars and genuinely loved them!

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