Mr. Coffee 12-Cup AD Series Coffeemaker: Coffee in a Cup or on the Countertop

My husband and I are both coffee addicts. When our under-the-cabinet coffeemaker broke about 18 months ago, I didn't research what to buy. A coffeemaker is a coffeemaker, right? Knowing I didn't want the under-the-cabinet model again, I just went out and bought the most inexpensive coffeemaker I could find. 

The main appeal to me of the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup AD Series Coffeemaker - besides the price - was that it brewed 12 cups. There is also a 2 hour automatic shutoff, so I didn't have to worry about going out and forgetting to turn off the pot. Also, if I wanted a cup while the coffee was still brewing, pulling out the glass decanter would automatically stop the process. No more holding a cup underneath the drip while I tried to pour at the same time! 

For a while it worked great and made a great cup of coffee. I would measure the water by filling the glass decanter to the metal band, then pour it into the water reservoir. A paper basket-type filter is placed into the funnel and then the ground coffee placed in the filter. Turn the coffeemaker on and violá - a perfect cup of coffee every time. 

I never used it, but the machine also had the capability of setting up the coffee ahead the night before to brew in the morning. Simply fill as directed above, check to make sure the clock is correct, then set the time that you wish for the coffee to brew. When you wake up, your coffee will be waiting for you. 

The shut-off worked perfectly also. Any time I'd forget I would always come home to find the coffeemaker off. I became so spoiled by this, it is a feature I will need from now on with coffeemakers! 

The coffeemaker even looked attractive on my counter. Since all of my appliances were black, the black coffeemaker fit in perfectly and did not seem out of place. Some decanters I have come across don't pour correctly, but I never had that problem with this one. 

It sounds great, doesn't it? Great price, makes a good cup of coffee, easy to work... 

About six months into using the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup AD Series Coffeemaker it leaked out all over the counter. The first time it was no problem. I cleaned up the mess, then cleaned the coffeemaker by flushing it with a solution of vinegar. 

Unfortunately, the problem did not solve as easily as this. We never knew when we brewed a pot if we would end up with coffee all over the counter. Since there were other appliances on the counter, it meant pulling everything out and cleaning up. We tried to figure out where it was coming from: Was the decanter cracked? Did it overflow somehow? Was the drip squirting instead of dripping? Was there a hose that was disconnected? 

We never figured out what exactly was making the coffeemaker leak. No matter how many times we cleaned it, we could not stop this from happening. In the end, we were keeping a paper towel underneath it to prevent the counter from being soaked. After we'd finally had enough, we threw it away and purchased a new coffeemaker. 

Deni Scoop Factory Review: Home-Made Ice Cream Can Be Easy

I can remember growing up making home-made ice cream. Rock salt, crushed ice... you get the picture. It was not an easy thing to do. The ice cream was delicious, but it was a lot of work. 

When I first heard about ice cream makers that didn't use salt or ice, I was a skeptic. They couldn't possibly work, and if they did, not nearly as well as the old-fashioned way. To make real home-made ice cream required work... pain... suffering... 

One day I was at Target armed with a $50 certificate I'd gotten from Mypoints. I came across the Deni Scoop Factory ice cream maker and was tempted. I figured what the heck. If it didn't work I hadn't paid for it really anyway. 

There are only four parts to this ice cream maker: the motorized base, the stir paddle, a lid, and the canister. The canister needs to be placed in the freezer for aminimum of 24 hours before using. Armed with the recipe for vanilla ice cream which came in the directions, I went at it. 

First mistake. I tried putting the ice cream mixture in the canister before turning the unit on. When frozen and just out of the freezer, the canister is cold enough that the mix began freezing right away and the paddle couldn't turn. The mixture had frozen to the sides. 

Okay, I cleaned everything up, scooped out the remaining mixture which hadn't frozen and put that in the refrigerator, cleaned everything up, and re-froze the canister. 

When I tried it again, I made sure to assemble the Deni Scoop Factory and turn it on. I then added the ice cream mixture through the hole in the lid. 

For my first try, the ice cream did not turn out bad at all. It only took about a half hour, and the ice cream was done. I had screwed up a bit, but the ice cream was smooth, not the least bit grainy, and delicious. 

The second time I tried it, the mixture ended up coming out a bit soupy. The difference was that after my disastrous first attempt, I had placed the ice cream mix in the refrigerator. This time I'd just mixed it and added it. The ice cream comes out much better if the mixture is refrigerated for an hour or two before you actually use the Deni Scoop Factory. 

Any extras added to the ice cream can be added just before the ice cream is done. The hole in the top of the lid makes this easy. The main drawback is that theDeni Scoop Factory will only make about a quart of ice cream, which for some reason tends to disappear very quickly ;-) You may have to adjust other recipes you have to fit this machine. 

Clean up is relatively simple compared to the old way of making ice cream. The lid and stir paddle can both go in the dishwasher. The base can be wiped off with a damp cloth. The hardest part of cleaning up is the canister. Even after being out for a half-hour to make the ice cream, the canister was still cold enough that even when I rinsed it with hot water, the water began freezing to the sides. I tried using a towel, sponge or paper towels, and they all began to freeze to the sides as well. I finally ended up leaving it out for a few hours to defrost enough that I could clean it without everything freezing to it. 

A big bonus for us is the ability to use this unit to make frozen drinks. We've used it for margaritas and TGI Friday's Mudslides. The Mudslides come out as good as the ones from the restaurants. 

My favorite recipe for Chocolate Ice Cream: 

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 large eggs 
1 cup sugar 
1 cup whipping or heavy cream 
1 tsp. vanilla 

Melt the unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. Gradually whisk in the cocoa and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. (The chocolate may seize or clump together. Don't worry, the milk will dissolve it.) Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and vanilla and whisk to blend. 

Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours until cold. 

Pour the mixture into the Deni Scoop Factory and freeze for 1/2 hour. 

Just before the ice cream is done, you can add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, bananas, nuts, or crushed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. To makechocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream, before pouring the mixture into the Deni Scoop Factory take 1 cup of the chocolate mixture and mix with 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter. Add this just before ice cream is done so the peanut butter mixture gets swirled through but not completely blended. 

GE Profile Microwave Review: Bells, Whistles, Buttons & Messages!

For six years we had a regular countertop microwave. I had wanted an over-the-stove model, but I'd heard horror stories from people who had them and had problems. After doing a little research, I found out that if the mounting guidelines are followed, there should be no problem. 

I actually wanted to buy a model that was cheaper than the JVM1660BB003, but there was a $50 rebate on anything over $400 promotion going on. That brought the price of this model down to the same as the cheaper oven I'd been intent on buying. 

The cabinet that you are going to mount the microwave under must be at least 66 inches from the floor of your kitchen. This will allow enough space between the top of the stove and the bottom of the microwave so the heat from the stove will not damage it. Since we were taking out a hood and fan, we had a friend who's an electrician come and install it for us. We didn't have to worry about a vent connection since we vent it inside the house. The exhaust comes out of vents at the top of the microwave. 

There is nothing to press to open the door, a slight tug pulls it open. There are two shelves in the unit, so theoretically you could heat up to five plates of food. I took out one of the shelves and only kept one in the oven. On the bottom is a heavy glass turntable that removes and cleans up easily. 

Along the bottom of the door opening is a quick instruction sheet letting you know how to use the microwave. For more complex use, there is the instruction book. This way, though, you don't have to pull out the instruction book every time you want to do something. This is really handy when you first get the microwave. 

I like the ability to quickly cook a variety of foods. Just press any one of the touch-pad buttons numbered 1-6 and the microwave automatically cooks on HIGH for that number of minutes. There is a ADD 30 SECONDS button as well when you just want to add a little more cooking time. I can reheat a cup of coffee by just pressing the 1 and ADD 30 SECONDS buttons. 

Now, some might be puzzled by this since the microwave has a BEVERAGEbutton under SENSOR COOKING. I have found that the sensor cooking does not work that well unless the food is covered. It is easier to press 1 and ADD 30 SECONDS than to get a piece of plastic to cover my coffee mug. 

Also under SENSOR COOKING is POPCORN, VEGETABLE, CHICKEN PIECES, REHEAT, POTATO, GROUND MEATS and FISH. The sensor cooking is great for reheating a dinner plate covered in plastic since there is no guesswork or checking to see if it is heated through. The POPCORN button works the best of any microwave I've had. No matter which brand of popcorn I've tried, it's popped just about the whole bag with very few unpopped kernels left behind. 

For normal cooking, there are the TIME/COOK and POWER LEVEL buttons which enable you to adjust the time and power level as needed. There is a probe included if you want to use that in conjunction with the TEMP COOK/ROASTbutton, but I have never used my microwave for cooking roasts and the like, so I haven't tried that. 

DEFROST AUTO/TIME is what I use to defrost foods. On Auto, I just key in the approximate weight of the food and the microwave lets me know when to turn it over. The same thing applies to the Time feature, but this is somewhat less accurate since the oven doesn't know exactly what it is trying to defrost. Still, I have used both settings and they work very well. 

At 1000 watts, this is easily the most powerful microwave that I've ever owned. Usually, it cooks or reheats foods at the low end of the time range on the package instructions. 

On the non-cooking end, the microwave has a clock with the ability to put in your schedule and have an alarm go off to remind you of events. I use it to remind me to call in the ice cream order for our school every Monday. I can also record a message which is great when I want to leave a reminder for my husband when I go to bed and he isn't home yet. There is also a light for over the stove which can also be set on a timer. If you go out, you can have it turn on so you don't come home to a dark kitchen. The vent fan is great for cooking as well since it pulls away from the surface of the stove. 

As far as service goes, when we first put it up and used it, the oven would work for about a minute, then quit. We called GE Service and they came out. The problem was that the fan connection had loosened in transit and wasn't drawing the heat out of the oven. They fixed it and gave us new bulbs for the light at no charge. 

Kitchen Aid Hand Mixer Review: Even It's Lowest Speed Is High

I can remember sending my husband out for a hand-mixer. Big mistake. I hadn't gotten one for our wedding shower, and I needed a hand-mixer just to use on the occasions when I didn't want to lug the big Kitchen-Aid mixer out of the closet. 

Well, Marc's idea of buying a mixer is to buy the most expensive - it must be the best. 

He was wrong. 

I've had a love/hate relationship with this mixer since he brought it home. At over $50, it was way too expensive. I just wanted something cheap for like $20. Still, I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I kept it. Unlike now, 7 years later, when I would ask him if he was nuts and send him back to the store. 

In the spirit of Tim "The Tool-Man" Taylor, the Kitchen Aid 5 Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer lives up to it's name: POWER. There is nothing this mixer can't mix. Butter right out of the refrigerator turns to mush. Creaming together any type of shortening is quick work. Pie crust dough comes out great using this mixer. It also is great for making whipped cream or any type of meringue. 

However, even at it's lowest speed, I've found that this mixer splatters dough out of the bowl. Some people might just say to use a bowl with a shield or the splatter guard on the mixer, but it's not that easy for me. I use my mixer a lot with my pots and pans, so trying to cook something in the top of a double-boiler while it's splattering all over the place is a problem. I like to use my Tupperware Thatsa-Bowl for my cakes and cookies, and this can even cause stuff to splatter out of that! 

As I said, I've had this mixer for 7 years, and it's held up well. I have actually been praying for it to die so I could get a new one that has a decent lower speed. Cleaning it is easy with a damp cloth and the beaters disengage to clean in your dishpan or dishwasher. 

I also wish there were more different attachments that came with the mixer. Most come with a few different sets now, but this just has one set of wire beaters. At times, I've thought these beaters were locked in, only to find when I've turned it on that they weren't. 

While this may be a good mixer for some, I think it is way overpriced and not useful if you will ever have to use it with an unshielded bowl.