Take Saladmaster on Vacation or to the Office

By "Chef" Pete Updike, Authorized Saladmaster Dealer

When you are on the vacation track or lunching at work, how much does fast food cost you? And how do you feel when loading up with that high fat, calorie laden food that contains very little nutritional value? There is an answer with Saladmaster!

Most of you own both the Electric Oil Core Skillet (EOC) as well as the 1 Qt. (.9L) Sauce Pan. That’s all you need along with a little creativity. Keep in mind that the EOC has a capacity of 4 quarts (3.8L), and the 1 Qt. (.9L) Sauce Pan placed inside the EOC will displace one of those quarts. I’m going to tell you how you can cook a main dish and a vegetable or fruit dish at the same time using these two pans. 

To start, place your uncovered sauce pan, with the handles removed, into the EOC. Cook your fruits or vegetables in the sauce pan. Because you don’t need to add water, you can use two 10-ounce (283g) boxes or bags of your choice of fruit or vegetable cooked side by side.

You will then be left with three quarts of room in the EOC and the possibilities are endless as it relates to casserole or lasagna type of options to cook in this space. Here’s an example: simply layer up your casserole by starting with a layer of chopped onions, then potatoes, then green beans and keep layering until you get to the final top layer, which could be a cheese of your choice. Then pour a can of cream of mushroom (or similar) over this. Place the EOC cover on the skillet and over the sauce pan (remember: you are not using the sauce pan cover). You then turn the digital probe to 250°F/120°C until the Vapo-Valve™ clicks; reduce heat to low.

If you have the new digital probe, you can turn to RIC1 or RIC2 (by clicking on the temperature button and then the down arrow) and forget it. The RIC settings simply turn the skillet to 250°F/120°C or 265°F/130°C respectively; it then steps the heat to 200°F/95°C for 20 minutes; and then it reduces the temperature to low (150°F/65°C). The RIC1 or RIC2 does this automatically- very cool!

If you want meat in the dish, buy very lean hamburger meat and place on bottom of skillet; then layer up as described above. This will provide a meal of 3 quarts (2.8L) of a tasty main dish and 20 ounces (566g) of vegetables, fruit or whatever you’ve chosen. You could even cook a "Chili Con Queso" (the less healthy option ha-ha) for dipping or spooning over your main dish! 

If you don’t like the idea of the food inside the skillet touching the outside of the sauce pan, simply wrap the outer part of the one quart with parchment paper before placing in the EOC; this will also help facilitate cleaning at the end of your meal. Caution: condensation formed on the outside of the sauce pan during cooking may drip onto the food in the skillet when removing sauce pan. 

Another reason this is so wonderful is that, if you have leftovers, you just leave it in the covered skillet and put in the fridge until you are ready to eat it again. A lot of work break rooms have a fridge and many hotel rooms have a little fridge.

Staying focused on a good balanced mid-day meal makes a huge difference over a period of a year. If that only makes a 2 pound (907g) difference a month by not eating junk food or eating out, that makes a sensible 24 pounds (11kg) of weight loss over a year!

Saladmaster’s company slogan is We Change Lives, and this idea to taking Saladmaster on the road is indeed a life changer. So, instead of going out for expensive fast food that will have you drowsy in the afternoon, simply stop by a grocery store and pick up your ingredients. All you have to bring with you from home is your EOC with cover and your 1 Qt. (.9L) Sauce Pan without the cover; add a knife, some paper-goods and plastic-ware for eating and you’re good to go to the office or on vacation.