- What do you like to eat?
- What were you planning to cook in it?

I'm not necessarily knocking it because it might suit some people.

I'm on low carb and like omlets and anything with eggs. He's on low fat due to heart problems.
Their recipes looked good on advertisement but we all know how that goes & that's why I wanted to see if someone owned one and if they liked it and if it really worked the way they showed it to.
Thanks.

Hey, my sister gave me one for Christmas. I wasn't all that thrilled at the time, as it is a frigging GADGET and I don't have extra space to keep it and I didn't think it would be something I'd use...BUT then I happened to catch the infomercial and it looked really good!

It's different because you can put wet ingredients in like cake mix and I think it'll come in handy since I'm only cooking for two now and I like to make dessert but not have any leftovers.

My sister likes hers, she usually just cooks for one. She likes it because it heats from the top as well as the bottom so it cooks twice as fast, actually faster since the food is surrounded by the heat. I've got an apple frittata recipe that would be perfect cooked in it.

Unfortunately I've sprained my ankle and haven't had a chance to use it but I will in a couple days and let you know how I like it. I'm looking forward to making some cakes in it and the stuffing/soup combo looks good too!

rosieo: Thanks so much. I'm also cooking for two now and sometimes one so it sounds like something I would like to have. I think I'll invest in one. So sorry to hear about your ankle. Hope all goes fine for you. Thanks for the advice and have a nice week.

Hi - I got a chance to use it today. I made the pineapple upside down cake.

What I didn't like about it FOR ME: I don't like to use boxed mixes, I like organic ingredients, real butter and oils etc. Most of the recipes call for boxed cake mixes, canned soup mixes, which I don't use. This thing calls for a quarter of a cake box. If I'm going to use a quarter of a box of mix I'd just go buy a couple of twinkies. If I have to go to the trouble of mixing cake ingredients I might as well make the whole thing and freeze half or make half a batch. (The problem with that is it calls me from the freezer, so it's not a perfect system!) Then too, I can't see opening a can of pineapple and only using a quarter of it.

It said to put the cake mix in first and then put the pineapple chunks on top. The problem with that is that you lose the best part of the pineapple "topping," the buttery, brown sugary part. Also, the pineapple hit the top and some pieces browned which I didn't care for, but the top of the cake mix didn't hit the top so it didn't brown properly.

The next batch I put the pineapple in first with a bit of butter and syrup and then added the mix. That was a mistake since the juices boiled up and ran out all over the sides. You can't clean it very well till it cools down and by then it's pretty stuck on. Overall, I wish I'd just made a half batch in a real pan. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to just for two pieces of cake. If I was going to make two pieces out of a box, I'd just go to the store and buy two pieces of cake.

Good points: it's nonstick and easy to clean the plates, and the plastic spatula is fun. If you add exactly the right amount of ingredients so that it hits the top it's like cooking both sides without having to turn over. And it cooks fast: 9 minutes for the cake.

Bad points: you can't put it in the dishwasher and when stuff oozes out it's tough to clean. If the food doesn't hit the top plates it's about like cooking in a skillet which would be a lot easier. You have to store it, and it's a unitasker. I can't really see how it would be any easier than a pan for making eggs. Whatever solid things you cook needs to be the right size and shape to fit it AND the right height to cook on the top. For wet things like the cakes that I wanted to make in small portions I think I'd rather use ramekins or even muffin tins in my cuisinart toaster/convection oven which is REALLY worth the money! Or hey, if I could find some easy bake pans...

I'm going to try something else in it and if I don't like it any better it's going off to school with my son next week.

I bought this machine. I have to two teen aged sons and I bought this PRIMARILY for breakfast muffin type things. I used to have to get up 30 minutes earlier than them to preheat the oven and bake the boys some muffins. The xpress is SO GOOD FOR THIS!! The wells will accomodate an entire muffin mix and is the perfect size for the boys to eat and take with them.

I have also taken a 99 cent box of yellow cake mix and followed the recipe for 2 cakes. It worked great! I just folded up the rest of the cake mix and taped it up, put it back in the box for another day.

Okay, now for the "pie batter". I found it to be very thin. I tried to use it as directed for the traditional pizza pies. I found them difficult to get out of the machine in one piece. I'm thinking maybe I should have cooked longer?? The taste was good, but could tell that they were a little gummy.

This week, I do plan to try the machine out for some of the chicken and seafood recipes and will report.

I DO RECOMMEND that you ALWAYS spray with a non stick spray as it makes everything a LOT easier to clean up. And if you fold up a paper towel to about an inch wide...you can use it to cover the hinged area when you spray the non stick to keep it from getting all gooyed up.

Hope this all helps you and PLEASE share your ideas and recipes with me as I plan to do the same. I am a recipe 'adventurer', but just didn't have ANY time the past few weeks to 'get at it'.

Thanks for reading!! and have a great weekend!

Tamara

I've got an omelette maker which seems to be about the same size as the 101.
It cost half the price and I'm wondering what advantage the 101 would have.
Even the upper element is useful only if the chamber is filled ... and then some ingredients seem to spill over.
Any thoughts?

sacerdos06 - keep your omelette maker. The express 101 is a pain to clean and doesn't work very well. I gave mine away.

I have made a couple of things in it: Stuffed soup (wonderful!!! But, it does take longer than the 7 or 9 minutes that it suggests). And I tried making a panini, but that one didn't turn out so great.
I cannot wait to try more stuff in it.