Now, I finally understand why everyone loves the Betty Crocker. “Bulky, Hard To Clean, And Takes Up Too Much Space.” That’s what I thought of the Betty Crocker Pizza Maker.
That’s what I thought until I found myself pulling it out, time and again.
What is it about the Betty? Somehow, it’s always making its way to my kitchen counter, even though I was positive, even while buying it, that I would never use it. Not more than once.
But I was wrong. I find myself looking at that machine on my counter on most days. Sigh, did it really have to be so red? I say an update is in order. If an appliance is going be spending that much time on display, I demand for it to blend in, somewhat. But, that is not what this post is about, so, my apologies. (Edited: Courant makes a pizza maker in black – which is great if you want one for dairy/meat.)
Back to why we love the Betty:
Being that it is my kids’ most favorite appliance, that somewhat explains why we use it so often. It’s just easy to use, and so much safer than handling a frying pan or an oven. So, children get to experiment in the kitchen and moms get to relax a bit. My kids love to make pancakes (did you notice? Pancakes come out way better in the Betty, and, faster too – you can fry a bunch at a time!) They like to use the ready-made batters that you find in the freezer section of your grocery, or, our really popular recipe in Dinner Done called Kids Favorite Pancakes on page 185.
Eggs work really well in the Betty: scrambled, sunny-side, any way you want it. They cook fast! And they like to have fun with recipes like this one here, you know, for a snack.
But, my real surprise came when I was traveling and had NO KITCHEN. Guess what, news flash: You can go anywhere with a Betty Crocker. You do not need a kitchen. Ta-da! We had a week long of breakfast, lunch, and supper, right there. I should have invested in a second Betty and do some fleishig dinners but, that’s for next time. I’m sure grilled chicken and meat bolognese would work out really well. But, this was a spur of the moment situation, and we made do beautifully.
Back to our adventure: We packed the Betty, and got to work.
Here are some dinner ideas while traveling with the Betty. You will see, some are breakfast ideas too, but nobody said you can’t serve breakfast for dinner, right?
Dinner #1: Turns out that pasta cooked in the Betty Crocker tastes better. Who knew? Here is how you cook pasta, super quick! once the pasta was cooked we added some ketchup, milk and cheese and had ourselves the creamiest mac and cheese with some crunchy bits… so good.
Dinner #2: Salmon cooks so fast! and is super flavorful. We added some frozen broccoli and cauliflower for a nicely rounded meal. Here is how we cooked it.
Dinner #3: French Toast. Cooks, you guessed it, faster and with less of a mess. Use this recipe for reference.
Dinner #4: Potato kugel in the Betty is so amazing! At first we were skeptical, was it gonna be worth the hassle? But, yes, it was. You could grate your potatoes with a hand grater and it’s not that hard. Recipe here. Add a nice fresh salad for a yummy satisfying meal.
Dinner #5: Grilled cheese sandwiches. Smear the outside of your sandwiches with mayonnaise for an exceptional crust.
More ideas: Bring along frozen blintzes. Heat with some butter. Same with pancake batter. We used the frozen pancake batter to keep our cooler cold! Obviously, pizza is always a good dinner idea. Some companies have ready to bake pies that are the size of a Betty.
And now for the question you will all be asking: how do you clean the Betty Crocker? It’s really not that hard. For bigger messes, I recommend letting it soak with some water, to soften any hardened cheese and such. It’s really just bulky. Use a sponge and soap and clean it just the way you would clean a pot. Don’t worry about water getting into the crevices, it’s fine. Rinse and let dry.
Wherever possible, use parchment paper to line. When using parchment paper you will most likely not need to clean it up at all. (Be sure to buy parchment rounds with kosher certification.). These liners here are made especially for the Betty. Many groceries sell them.
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sara says
I have one for fleishigs and literally make everything in there! From frozen chicken to meat patties to grilled chicken cutlets etc… I hardly use my oven anymore.
plan on taking 2 on vacation!
R says
I don’t have the storage problem. It goes onto my counter on Motzei Shabbos and stays there until Friday afternoon. I pretty much use it every single day. (Over Shabbos it gets stored in the spot that I keep my Shabbos urn during the week.)
Best small appliance ever!!!!!!!!!
Sarah says
Is the Courant as good as the Betty? Any differences? Sure is great to have another color option for fleishigs/milchigs
SL says
You can always ‘paint’ the top with nail polish to differentiate
MD says
I ordered a non Betty because I wanted a different color for fleishig but it was not the same at all! The brand you mentioned looks exactly like the Betty but the one I bought was different and the food came out very soggy in it! I will return it and label the Betty heavily.
Rochel says
What about fried chicken cutlet, can I do it in the betty too, does anyone know? And also meatballs, anyway to cook it in the betty?
sara says
Fried cutlets you spray the paper with oil plug in the betty while you’re breading the cutlets. Once breaded carefully place in the betty as it will be hot. Spray the top with oil and close. After a few minutes (depending on how thick they are) turn over till done and enjoy!
EC says
If you have your kids make food in it warn them to be careful when opening it, usually a blast of boiling hot steam comes out.
I like to use a towel or oven mitt when opening it.
Suri W says
Very simple solution to avoid that blast of steam when you open the Betty… first lift the lid just a bit, leave go, and then open it. Enough heat will be released to make it safe to open. Always works for us!
boro park betty fan says
storage is not such a problem because it can stand nicely, I even found a spot for it in my boro park apartment kitchen cabinet lol. I even got another one for pesach for the scrambled eggs in the morning. so convenient!!
N says
Is there an off brand Parchment liner that you can recommend that has a hechsher?
Esther says
Is it better to get the one with the variable temperature control, or the standard one without the temperature control?
Ck says
I purchased another one with temperature control and this one said you need to toivel so I returned and purchased the regular one with the notice that tevilah is not required. Some at bingo have white out over tevila not required and you do need to toivel
Rinat says
Suitable for electricity in Israel?
Hadassa says
How are the ones made differently that say you don’t need to toivel? I live in Canada so I assume those are only available in stores in Lakewood or the such ? I got the Betty Crocker I have from Amazon.com (not .ca!) and someone bring it in for me.
Also, you can easily get the parchment rounds – 12 inch – on Amazon even in Canada – katbite brand I believe it is. Best product to use with Betty Crocker. There are others avail too. I was told by our local hashgacha COR that Silicone coated parchment paper doesn’t need a hechsher. Quilion coated parchment paper needs a hechsher.
Happy cooking !
Sue pepper says
I love mine but it just started on fire smoke and sparks.
Miriam Sheril says
I just made frozen ravioli on my trip. First add water and heat up till it’s boiling. Add the frozen ravioli and stir every few minutes for roughly ten minutes. Worked like a charm! Use a slotted spoon or plastic spoon to get it out. Let it cool and then spill into sink
R Raz says
I toiveled mine in lake Erie – I dipped the entire appliance in the water.
Then I waited a couple of days for it to dry out before using. It works just fine 🙂
Chaya Hoffman says
I bought one in Israel to use in seminary, best thing ever!! Seminary food isn’t the greatest, so girls just go out and buy food all the time. I did that for half a year, and then stopped. 1. it’s too expensive, buying lunch and dinner every day, 2. I gained weight. Now I only use the Betty! I advise seminaries to have one in every appartment, I always use parchment paper, unless I need to boil water, and clean it with paper towels when needed. But buy spray oil and spray the parchment paper or else the food will stick. I got eggs, pasta, frozen packets of food like sausages, pitas, wraps (great alternative for pizza dough!!), pizza sauce, cheese, frozen shnitzel, or ravioli, or french fries, literally anything!! Gonna try the potato kugel recipe!
Sara C. says
Obsessed with our Betty we use it on the daily ! So figured no brainer !we would def be bringing it along on our 2 day trip . But when we plugged it into the outlet in hotel it broke ! Apparently when hotels see so much power being used in one room they lower it which causes it to break – be careful ! We have to get a new one now because life isn’t as simple with out our betty ! We actually had to take out a pan to make eggs today ! Haven’t done that since pre betty days !