I have a microwave at my office space rental, but I'm on the road a lot with my job, so I've looked into many different solutions. There are a variety of options available.

Non-electronic storage:

They make a squattier version of the Thermos you have from RTIC, which is what I sometimes use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DRP86T1

Spoon for size comparison:

https://i.imgur.com/AR4itKB.jpg

It's not so deep that I can't get a spoon in. It'd be nice if it were a little wider, but it does the job. A bit smaller than your Thermos at 17 ounces. Pinnacle Thermoware sells insulated a pretty nice insulated bowl set, if you specifically want a bowl shape:

https://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Serving-Salad-Soup-Dish/dp/B07RT1X47C/

If you need more food than just one bowl can hold, Ailijin makes a 2-bowl, single-tote insulated solution: (kind of a round bento-style)

https://www.amazon.com/AILIJIN-Leakproof-Insulated-Stainless-Portable/dp/B07QQ9JYG3/

If you need to heat up a soup before you go to put into an insulated storage container, I use one of these vented microwave mugs, so it doesn't explode all over the inside of my microwave when heating up:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F5IC478/

Electronic storage:

Beyond that, there are 3 common electronic options, depending on what power you have available: (12V in a car or an A/C wall plug)

1. Crockpot Lunch Crock (A/C power)
   
2. RoadPro 300F lunchbox oven (12V car power)
   
3. HotLogic lunchbox oven (A/C power, car-compatible A/C, or 75w+ inverter for car power)
   
   The Crockpot unit is basically like your Thermos, except you plug it in to heat it, and it has a pretty nice wide bowl size. My buddy has one & it's pretty dang handy! My brother has the RoadPro, as he's on the road all day long, and it's super nice because it does a pretty decent job (heats up to 300F, basically like a mini oven), so you can heat up burritos, melt cheesy stuff like lasagna, etc.
   
   The HotLogic is nice because instead of just being a mini portable crockpot, it's also a mini oven, and can be used from a wall plug, a newer-vehicle 2-prong car plug, or with a 75-watt (minimum) inverter. There's a good Facebook group available as well! It heats up to 218F & then holds the food at 180F, so it's more for reheating food than cooking food, like the RoadPro can do (HotLogic says you can cook chicken breast in it in about 2 hours, but ehhh...), but it's also a bit more versatile as you can plug it directly into the wall an hour before lunch & have your food ready to go without needing a microwave or toaster oven.
   
   Homemade soup:
   
   If you're into soup & haven't heard of Souper Cubes, it's basically a silicone ice cube tray with 1/2-cup & 1-cup markings (4 per tray) & lids, plus a wire frame around the top to hold it together, which makes portioning out bulk soup cooks super easy:
   
   https://www.soupercubes.com/
   
   I mean, just look at this insanity:
   
   https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cU_UFBSQp/
   
   Also, if you're into making soups at home, the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) is my BFF...it makes cooking soup a lot faster & more automated (aka easier overall!). Poaching from another one of my posts, here are some soup ideas: (I use the IP for soups, stews, bisques, broths, stocks, etc.)
   
   

• Ham & bean
  
• Vegetable beef
  
• Chili con carne (chili is just thick soup...lol)
  
• Olive Garden's creamy chicken gnocchi
  
• Broccoli cheddar potato soup
  
• Asian chicken noodle
  
  Some ideas for soup toppings & easy no-knead breads:
  
  
• Ranch oyster crackers
  
• Cheese & onion roasted chickpeas
  
• Homemade flavored croutons
  
• Crusty rolls
  
• Ciabatta bread
  
  Also if you're trying to get more veggies in your diet, check out this master guide on making blended soups in the Instant Pot, definitely worth a read:
  
  https://allthenourishingthings.com/make-blended-soup-instant-pot/
  
  I tend to make soup about once a week in my Instant Pot at home, then freeze it in my Souper Cube containers, and keep a stash of different varieties in my freezer so I can just grab one & go. When you have a solid storage system setup (electronic or non-electronic), it makes the whole process pretty dang easy:
  
  

1. Store a variety of soup flavors at home (Souper Cubes or canned soup)
   
2. Heat it up in the vented mug if you need it hot before you leave
   
3. Put it into your container of choice
   
4. Heat up your container (if needed) & enjoy!
   
   For me, it's really about nailing down a solid process & taking care of all of the little annoying details. Like you said, the tall insulated mugs are too small to get a spoon into & eat out of, so you have to find something better that meets the needs of your individual situation better. Then, setting up a system to support convenience means you can always have a variety of soups to grab before you leave the house, whether it's a can that you heat up in a vented mug & store in a food thermos or a frozen Souper Cube that you toss in a Crockpot Lunch Crock & plug in before lunch!

Well, there are a lot of ways to do it, depending on your budget. It's pretty simple if you buy the right equipment, but "the right equipment" is expensive and improvising is fiddly.

I'd recommend looking this site over some, they have a lot of introductory guides and such. /r/roasting is also an awesome sub in general.

The biggest issue with home roasting is that the beans need to move continuously, for the entire roast, or else they get burned. There are some ways to do this with improvised equipment though:

-Using an air (popcorn) popper. Assuming you have the right model, it does get hot enough to roast coffee, and the beans are light enough to blow around in the interior chamber nonstop. It gets pretty messy though, and you don't have much control. You also can't do huge batches of coffee all at once.

You should have a dedicated popper just for coffee, since you don't want the different oils mixing. Also, some poppers aren't powerful enough, and many modern ones have safety features that'll automatically shut off before it gets hot enough. Some people have fun with disabling those features and/or modding their poppers to give them more control.

"The Poppery II" is a commonly-suggested model for air roasting like this. They don't make them anymore, but they were made like tanks and so you can often find them in thrift stores.

This is a good, cheap, intro way to do it, though the lack of control is annoying. The flavor develops in part based on how long it's kept at each temperature point, and an air popper gives you very few options for adjusting temperature.

Alternatively,

-Using a stovetop popcorn roaster, like this. It has a handle that allows you to stir the coffee continuously, and it can work pretty well. The main drawback is monitoring/nailing the temperature, which is tricky. It's easier with a gas stove.

There are other methods as well, like using a heat gun, but I've never tried them and can't comment. I should also point out that everything I've just explained is a fire hazard, as is coffee roasting in general - the beans need to get quite hot, and they give off a thin, paperlike substance called chaff. I've never had a fire, but it's something you need to be aware of and plan for accordingly.

-If all of that sounds like too much of a hassle, you can just buy an actual coffee roaster. They make it way easier, and you can generally roast much larger batches at once. Sadly, they tend to be pretty expensive.

I'd recommend this one, which is actually on the very inexpensive end for a roaster. It's good quality though, and I've had one for over 1.5 years now without issue. Also note that the site I linked includes 8 pounds of free coffee when you buy from them, and (at least when I bought mine) they charge the same price for the unit as everyone else. So that's nice.

I really like roasting my own coffee. It can be a pain at times, but it means I always have fresh-roasted coffee available. Unless you buy from a local roaster, you've probably never had fresh coffee before. Whole bean coffee goes stale in like a week, and grocery store coffee is much older than a week. Pre-ground coffee goes stale in like minutes or hours.

They cover the stale taste up by burning the shit out of their beans, and so almost everything you see in a grocery store is only 1-2 stages removed from being charcoal. This page shows you what the beans look like at every stage, and you can see how "french roast" actually means "burnt to hell."

Man, long post! At any rate, roasting your own coffee can be quite nice. Green coffee beans run around $4-6/pound normally and you can sometimes find it for even cheaper. At least where I live, even burnt grocery store coffee is often much more expensive than that. So you're paying less for better quality -- as long as you don't mind improvising, or a big up-front investment.

Edited tl;dr: It's a good way to save money and get better coffee, though it can be either annoying or require a big upfront investment. This page has a lot of good introductory info on the whole process.

If I had to give some advice on this then I would recommend:

• Focus on your needs before your wants.
  
  Just because you make that much doesn't mean you should spend that much. Be kind to yourself and to your wallet. Everyone wants nice things but you should be nice to yourself first.
  
  
• Focus on Happiness itself.
  
  You already do what you love. So, why not focus on what makes you happy outside of that. Life is about happiness. This is different to everyone so it's hard for me to talk about. If you love snowboarding and bike riding and they make you feel great then awesome. Shop around first.
  
  
• Credit Cards are your worst enemy.
  
  We need them for some bigger purchases but Credit Cards are your enemy. Always remember that those companies make it seem like it's just some plastic card but it's not. You're not handing over that money, that's not money in your hand, you're handing over a plastic card. Would you still be as willing to do it if you were holding $500 in cash? what about $2,500? Don't nickel and dime yourself over these quick fast food purchases. Please never, ever just say to yourself, "YOLO" and impulse buy. Buyer's Remorse from Impulse Buying, yeah it really upsets me.
  
  
• Be in the business of saving money.
  
  I won't go into details about myself but, I'm 30 from California and I'm very happy and I love saving money. I love jogging / running, riding my bike and being a huge computer nerd. Anyways, I save money by:
  
  A) Thrift Stores. They are an absolute gold mine, I just got some pants, jogging pants/shirt and my Sandwich Maker for $21 the other day. Talk about a lucky find. :)
  
  B) I don't eat out a lot, and I drink water/eat before I go grocery shopping because it makes me buy less junk food. I buy lots of 'filler' foods like fruits/vegetables, things with fiber (granola bars <3), Rice, etc. Go to the 99 cent store!
  
  C) I rent from a place that's below my means because I save money. I don't like the town I live in but I can't do much about that right now.
  
  D) I don't drive both because I have a fear of driving and some problems with my depth perception. If I did drive, then I definitely would never buy a brand new car/truck. So, I save money by working on my health and having a bus pass.
  
  E) I don't have a smart phone and I don't have any desires to have the internet on my phone when I have it right in front of me. There is no way I'm paying like $40 / month for some stupid smart phone plan (IMO).
  
  
• Take a visit on over to /r/personalfinance
  
  Because it's a pretty sweet subreddit, don't be intimidated.

There are a lot of really cool camping things! I'll be back to edit this post on my computer with some things that we like / are unique /cool

EDIT - these are things that we use that we love. These things all range in price, so hopefully you can find one or two to fit whatever budget you have.

• Collapsible Coffee Dripper : They can use this to make REAL coffee on the trail. They just have to heat water!
  
• Portable camping grill : This takes a little time to set up, but it's a very compact grill and makes it easy to cook food or even just balance your mess kit
  
• Nonstick camping mess kit : A nonstick kit is much easier to clean than a stainless steel one IMO. this set has a kettle, utensil, and scrubber which is awesome.
  
• Camp Suds : An environmentally safe soap so they can clean their gear but preserve the trail!
  
• Dry sacks : Dry sacks are just what they sound like... waterproof bags that keep your stuff dry. They can also double as a pillow if you stuff clothes in them!
  
• Portable camping stove : This little guy connects to a small fuel canister and gives you a nice little stove. These are great for heating water / soup as they provide a better heat source than a fire you'd build.
  
• Food dehydrator : This is not something they'd take camping, but it can really help them to save money on meals. If they are backpacking, they likely won't want to carry around cans of food and won't be able to carry around ingredients that would go bad. The dehydrator allows them to make their own backpacking meals that they will reconstitute with water.
  
• Pocket bellows : allows you to stoke the fire without having to get your face super close. Also this lets you target a small area.
  
• LED light bulb ; This does require a portable battery but it's really great to have this little guy. We use it in the tent at night or when we're hanging out but need a little light to chop food/etc.
  
• Pocket chain saw : Cut big pieces of wood! It takes some muscle, but it really does work and it's a lot smaller than a hatchet or actual chain saw..
  
• Literally the best backpacking chair : when you're backpacking, you have to carry EVERYTHING with you. So that means that stuff has to be light and small. These chairs are great, because (for chairs) they tick off both of those boxes. They have a back! And they are big enough to actually sit on!
  
  Other general items that are useful: Climbing/heavy duty carabiners (to clip stuff to other stuff. you can even get locking ones); water filters (if you get a Lifestraw, I recommend the water bottle. The actual Lifestraw is an interesting idea, but we've found in practice it's a little awkward); hammocks with nice straps; base layers; battery-operated lights of any kind (especially ones that clip or are hands-free); a set of waterproof cards (to pass the time on a break); nice, wicking socks; hiking poles; a camping knife.
  
  I haven't tried Cairn (the camping sub box) but they always look interesting.
  

Do you work in an office? Or are you out in the field all day? Or drive for a living? If you narrow down the environment you'll be eating in & what sort of meal prep resources you have, we might be able to give you better advice.

That said, most things can be eaten at room temperature. I worked in restaurants /catering for years, where I got a meal every shift but rarely had time to eat it while it was hot. I got used to eating room temperature food to the extent that I preferred it. I've been out of the industry for a couple of years, it actually took me about a year to get used to hot food again. For a long time I would just bring my leftovers from dinner to work & take them out of the fridge an hour or two before lunch to take the chill off.

Last year I bought a [soup warmer] (https://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCCPLC200-PK-20-Ounce-Lunch-Warmer/dp/B006H5V7ZY). It works fairly fast & also works for more solid food, like pasta & casseroles - I add a splash of water to the food before heating so it doesn't dry out (I have celiac and the microwaves at work are always covered in bread crumbs, so I prefer not to use them.)

Lots of sandwiches can be frozen, tuna, egg salad, even PB&J (though you can always just keep a small jar of each, a plastic knife & a loaf of bread on your lunch bag. You could also make a meatloaf, cool & slice then freeze the slices individually. Make sandwiches with the slices & bbq sauce, ketchup or chili sauce (probably not a good idea to make the sandwiches then freeze - between the sauce and the meat it would get really soggy after thawing.) Same thing goes for meatballs, make a big batch, freeze in portion sizes & make meatball subs with BBQ sauce.

Chilies and stews are usually OK eating straight from thawing (but will always be tastier warm.)

Are you wanting to pre-make everything & freeze so you can just grab lunch & go, or do you have a few minutes to put stuff together in the morning? You'll almost always get better results prepping portions of the meal & combining them on the day of. You can freeze pasta, but the texture will be much nicer if you cook some fresh the day of, or the night before, and then grab pre-prepped sauce & meat from the freezer. Gnocchi is even faster to cook (about 2 minutes after the water boils.)

Any drier casserole would also work for grab & go meals - nothing too wet, so maybe not Mac and cheese, but lasagna, any kind of layered casserole that holds together well, you could make a big batch once a week, cool, slice, wrap in wax or parchment paper then put them all in a large freezer bag (and label the bag!) Grab one or two for lunch. Just make sure you've followed proper food safety rules when cooking and freeze them promptly.

Burritos & filled buns could also be a good option. Breakfast burritos are not at their tastiest cold, but they aren't gross. There are many, many recipes for filled buns of all sorts in cuisines around the world - calzones, pierogi, perishke, katchapuri, samosas, pasties, empanadas, etc. Most were invented for the express purpose of going in a worker's lunchbox, and most will freeze very well. You can make most quite easily using purchased pizza or bread dough. Cornmeal based dumplings are extremely easy to make - Colombian areas are basically corn meal mush with cheese added, patted in a disc & fried. They freeze extremely well (better before flying, but are just fine fried then frozen.)

You could also put a little bit of work once a week into prepping things that keep well in the fridge for a week - like boiled eggs (don't peel until you are ready to eat, and mark the date of cooking on the shell with a sharpie), sliced cheese, chopped veggies like carrots & peppers and hearty dips like hummus in individual portion baggies or containers, and keep fruits like bananas, apple & oranges in a bowl on the counter. That way you can grab one of each, pull something out of the freezer, grab a fruit and you have a hearty lunch plus snacks in the time it takes to make coffee.

If cost is a factor, definitely consider getting a dehydrator. I have this one.

The case:

1. It's easy. There are recipes all over the Internet, and many are slightly intimidating, but it basically comes down to "Get food without big chunks, spread it out on the tray, and turn the dehydrator on."
   
   
2. It's cheap. Check out the cost on dehydrated bulk items. Compare with the cost of fresh items (a little tricky because of water weight, but compare per calories). Grocery store food is inexpensive and your dinner leftovers are practically free. Dried bulk items cost a fortune.
   
   
3. You can make more calorically dense foods by including fat. Dehydrated meals tend not to have much fat, because it goes rancid over a period of weeks or months rather than the years that people expect backpacking food to last. If you dehydrate your own food, though, you can make your stuff a few days before your trip and have it be fattier and tastier. Yeah, you can also just add oil during rehydration, but that does mean you'll have to carry a dreaded extra container. (And it's not as tasty in many recipes.)
   
   
4. Better food, straight up. Food I've prepared at home and then dehydrated is delicious. It's way better than anything made from pre-dehydrated ingredients. You can get all the spices and sauces perfectly adjusted BEFORE dehydration instead of tossing raw ingredients together and hoping that they come together in beautiful symphonic unity when you rehydrate them. Meat that's been simmered or slowcooked with herbs is waaaay yummier than meat that's been rehydrated with herbs.
   
   
5. There's a lot to be said for dehydrating fruits and vegetables at the absolute peak of their ripeness. I'm currently obsessed with banana jerky (banana slices dried to a leathery texture). When I do our weekly grocery shopping, I buy several bunches for about $2, all in, and watch them patiently. On the day that they're first lightly speckled, I toss them into the dehydrator. I cannot describe accurately how good this shit is. I'm not kidding. It's fucking up my diet.
   
   
6. More options. This is somewhat addressed in point 1, but doing your own dehydrating frees you from the tyranny of foods that rehydrate easily. I can have normal spaghetti if I want it -- I'm not stuck with ramen because it'll rehydrate without simmering.
   
   
7. Healthier food on trail. This is a knock on from everything else, but after getting the dehydrator, I found my food choices drifting away from candy and toward healthy, real food. Well-made mango leather is way tastier than Skittles. I'm sure there's no meaningful health benefit over the course of a short trip, but it just feels pleasant and right to be eating real, natural foods on trail. It's a wrinkle I hadn't expected. I still like Snickers bars here and there, but it's become a treat rather than a staple.
   
   
   

I can totally relate to your situation, I myself have no ability to clean my house, do anything hygienic, and have no job. So I am highly dependent on many, if not all of the services that you are looking for.

I first just did a simple Google search for "home care based services colorado", and came up with quite a few results that might work for you, including what's called "Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)" and "Aging & Disability Resources for Colorado". Here is a link to A List of Colorado Programs. If Colorado's ADRC is anything like Washington's, call up your local Social Security office and ask about starting the process for an ADRC social worker, and to have them come out to your house to assess you for home care services. Because your boyfriend is on actual disability, he might have an easier time going through the process. I do know of people with schizophrenia and other such mental illnesses like depression, that have been able to receive this service as well. After you are approved, they will assign you with a care company that sends out a caregiver for a preapproved set of hours a week to help you with cleaning around the house, cooking meals, etc. An added bonus is that you can get a doctor's note to pronounce your pets as medical necessity, like Seeing Eye dogs are, but these would be "emotional service" cats. Then after that your caregiver would then be able to clean the litter boxes for you as well from then on.

Since you both are not married, you both will have to go through this process separately and I'm assuming would be assigned a separate social worker. Meaning one person may be eligible for more things than the other, and I'm sure the social worker will be more than willing to help you through all this.

As for the food, I too really hate reheating food in the microwave and get tired of processed foods. I invested in a FoodSaver | non, which vacuum seals food and extends their shelflife by months. I'm sure you can easily find a used one on craigslist or goodwill. The bags are a little spendy, but you can reuse them quite a few times if you wash them well. Just pull a preprepared meal or vegetable from the freezer and warm it up in a pot of boiling water. I'm sure there's a bunch of YouTube videos with good "How to" guides for getting the most out of a FoodSaver.

As for finding work as a person with a disability, I can totally relate to this, and have a few blog posts floating around in this sub getting into the different things that I do to make a little money to survive. Like using referral links – as I did above – to make a percentage off Whatever purchase is made from that link. I also make designs and post it to my RedBubble store for people to buy them on T-shirts, posters, pillows, etc. Totally not trying to link bait everyone. It can be really slow or really good passive income, depends on how much time you put into it. A good subreddit for making money online is /r/WorkOnline.

I hope all this helps, sorry I don't know Colorado law and there couldn't be more helpful with that. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Yea I didn't really know anything about it until I got it home and researched it. The people that owned it before were grinding flavored beans (i.e. coated in syrup) so it was kinda gross, but cleaned up easily. This is the grinder. I guess it's up to $100 bucks haha. STEAL!

Popcorn popper roasting is pretty easy. You have to do fairly small batches (about 1/3 cup per ~5 minutes), but it's not a big deal. It's kind of relaxing and I enjoy the experience. This is the one I have. I found it on sale for around $14. Totally worth it. The only details I had to get down were blocking the exit chute with a piece of foil and cutting some vent holes in the side. You have to do it outside since the chaff goes EVERYWHERE, and it's hot here, so the machine kept overheating and shutting off. Other than that, you just put the beans in, plug it in, stir them around a little (I just use a long stick I found outside..still going strong) until they get light enough to auto-stir, then listen for the crack and watch the color.

It's immensely satisfying roasting your own coffee, and places like Sweet Marias are very knowledgeable and have great selection. I usually order their sampler packs of 3-4 pounds. I save one cups worth of roasted beans from each sample then when I'm done with all of them I do a taste test. With an AeroPress it's super easy to brew multiple cups of coffee at once.

.223 is the first caliber I loaded on my 550 and got 1/2" groups almost immediately out of a Model 70, only slightly changed the powder charge.

Case Prep

• I'd suggest the Dillon trimmer, but it is pricey. People rave about World's Finest Trimmer, so check that out. You will need to trim if you're going for consistent accuracy.
  
  
• For swaging, I will say get the Dillon Super Swage. It is the fastest way to do it and is very consistent.
  
  
• You can get a case prep center that includes a cutter for primer pockets but it is a lot of work doing many cases that way. I use the Lyman one for chamfering/deburring and primer pocket squaring if needed.
  
  Press
  
  
• If you REALLY want to do this, I'd advise getting at least a Dillon 550, and preferably the 650 with case feeder. Buy once and you'll never have to again. I know you said you don't want a progressive, but you do.
  
  
• Since you're loading pistol ammo but trying to keep cost down, the 550 might be the better choice for you. I can crank out 600 rounds/hour of .45 ACP if I have all my supplies sitting there.
  
  
• The powder measure on Dillon presses is the most accurate of press mounted powder throws, even better than some dedicated powder measures. It is plenty accurate enough to make good groups. If you go other than that, the RCBS Chargemaster seems to be the king of the hill, but it is expensive.
  
  Priming
  
  
• I've never used hand primer. The priming system on the 550 is great, with plenty of feel, which is one of the reasons people get them.
  
  Edit: Re-ordered and organized.
  
  Edit 2: Overall, I think you'll be cheaper if you get a 550, since you won't need a separate powder system or primer, and be much happier in the end.
  
  Edit 3: Forgot tumbling:
  
  
• I'd suggest the Harbor Freight Dual-Drum tumbler and SS media. It is cheap, quick and gives good results.
  
• Drying: Dehydrator, Extra trays, Screens to prevent brass falling through

Personally, I'd skip the very expensive Excalibur units at this time. Stick with a cheaper and more basic ones at first to see if it's something you'll continue to do over time.

I have only had 1 dehydrator; the Nesco FD-75. I bought it about 1.5 years ago and I absolutely love it. It comes with 5 trays but can be expanded to 12 trays. I bought 2 extra trays because I need 7 trays to make a 5lb (beginning weight) jerky batch. I use is probably twice a month for jerky, dried fruits, or to dehydrate meals for backpacking. I think the biggest surprise was a backpacking Ratatouille. I made this for backpacking but I've used it more for pot lucks and dips for guests.

It has a temperature control but not a timer which, for me, isn't an issue. If I need a timer then I use one of these timers because I already have 3 of them for other uses. Clean up is easy since the heating and fan are on top. Everything below can be either hand washed or go through the dishwasher.

The best thing about this unit is the price; less than $70. This made it a reasonable investment at the time so I could see if I would use the dehydrator like I planned. I didn't want to spend a couple of hundred dollars for something and end up not using it. So far I've used this dehydrator for about 20 months and it looks like it's going to last for a while longer. I haven't had the first issue.

I bought a dehydrator from Amazon, not the best but not the worst. I usually get the flavored Great Value bacons like peppered or maple smoked. Or you can make your own "sauce" to leave it in overnight...but a lot of the recipes I've found on the internet are pretty sugary. Sometimes I'll add garlic salt or what not. Then, I cook it on a draining pan in the oven. Afterwards I toss it in my dehydrator. It's definitely a trial and error process. But it's nice to bring it with me on hikes or road trips.

Thanks for the heads up on the burgers; I hadn't thought about fillers... I need to retrain my brain to see outside the nutrition box. I usually just crunch numbers and see if it fits. I haven't been to KFC in forever, so I will swing by and taste the non-breaded varieties. And buffets are also a great choice since they are usually close to interstate exits. Thanks for the tips!

I just posted this comment elsewhere, I have had a good experience with this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-Snackmaster-Food-Dehydrator-FD-75A/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418357260&sr=8-1&keywords=nesco+snackmaster
It can be used to many so many different cool snacks, and the best part is that YOU made them!
it works very well for making beef jerky. It dries evenly.
If anyone is interested, heres a quick list of useful things:

1.) The beef jerky you make should cost about 35% of store bought beef jerky.

2.) Use large freezer bags to marinade the beef jerky.

3.) Try to time your day out when you make jerky, put the jerky in marinade overnight and then right when you get home put it into the dehydrator, that way you can stay up a little bit late if it takes too long, or take it out when it's ready so it doesn't overdehydrate and get brittle. You don't want to be away from home with it running in the dehydrator, because sometimes it will go quicker and then it may get overdried. It seems like it would take a LOT for that to happen though, a few hours past the correct time.

4.) Make sure to cut the meat across the grain, it will be super tough if you cut it with the grain. My best results are having the meat cut at 1/2 inch thick, across the grain, with "eye round roast" beef.

5.) Make sure to clean the dehydrator well when you are done. Be careful that you don't deform or melt the plastic trays in the dishwasher.

6.) Follow this recipe for jerky, it worked great for me http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Docs-Best-Beef-Jerky/

Yep, it is nice to get one with a magnetic lid so that it doesn't spill, and you just put your herb on the grinder thingies and put the lid on and twist it. then when you open up the middle chamber you have nice fluffy buds to smoke.

You can do it with your fingers but I just really prefer having a grinder. It's cleaner and I feel like with doing it manually I end up losing more on my fingers or by dropping it.

Also, you can collect kief with a grinder, which is awesome. I actually just cleaned mine and got a ton of good stuff out of it.

I have a chromium crusher that I bought off of amazon at a great price and it has been great. http://www.amazon.com/Chromium-Crusher-Premium-Quality-non-aluminum/dp/B000KVBAAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290456196&sr=8-1

I see you are in the Midwest; I'm from Michigan and always looking for other cool stoner chicks :)

A Sous Vide cooker will decarb for your perfectly every time as well, and will have a million other uses in the kitchen as well.
Anova Sous Vide Cooker
Case (Optional but nice)
Reuseable Vacuum Bag Kit

So for a couple bucks less than a "unitasker," you can decarb perfectly as cited by Drama_Derp's link; You can take that decarb and do a perfect butter immersion with the same device, and you'll also be able to make perfectly cooked steaks, salmon, vegetables, perfectly poached eggs right out of the shell, etc.
Serious Eats has a lot of great material for Sous Vide cooking if you wanna browse how much more you could do on top of decarbing with the same device. :)

If you're a regular backpacker, a dehydrator is a worthwhile purchase. My personal favorite is homemade, dehydrated chili but it's also nice to dehydrate a bunch of veggies to have on-hand to beef up ramen (I get nice stuff from an international grocer) or couscous for impromptu trips. Bagels with avocado or cream cheese packets are great for breakfast and I also like granola and instant milk. I love salty snacks and pretzels (especially peanut-butter filled ones) are bae. Fresh fruit and avocados are pretty much always worth the weight, although on longer trips I may dehydrate my fruit instead.

You know, I initially thought to go with small batches, but I decided against it and went with a monotub. I'm so so glad I did.

I would HIGHLY recommend getting a pressure cooker especially if you decide to do a monotub- and a good one at that. This is the one I purchased and it has done wonders for me. You really don't want to start everything up, use spores, and find out that your pressure cooker didn't reach high enough temperature for long enough, and all your jars get contaminated, and you have to throw all of them away wasting nearly a month and a half of time (me, three times in a row).

I recommend ordering spores or syringes (You can purchase a spore syringe for like five to ten bucks, but I prefer spores because 1 spore print makes 5-10 syringes for the same price) from r/SporeSwap. I store all of my syringes in the fridge, and all of the prints in the fridge as well.

Here is what I followed in regards to things for beginners:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I also want to make the case one more time for doing monotubs if you have the space. You will be much happier with your yield I think, and as long as you properly store them (use a dehydrator on fresh mushrooms at about 115 F until they are cracker dry, store with a desiccant in a vacuum sealed bag. The nice thing is when properly treated, they stay good for a loooong time. Plus, it's super easy to make some cash on the side if you're into that kind of thing because you will have so so much left over.


This is pretty much everything you need to know, besides how to inoculate. That's an easy step though, ask google. Shoot me a pm if you're having trouble with anything related to monotubs.

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Random ramblings:

I recommend IKEA. Most of their stuff is decent quality, and very good for the price. Don't try for the cheapest they have; go a bit up in price. As an example, their SLITBAR Chef's Knife ($50) is made in VG-10, one of the best steels there is. I believe this knife is better than the one I have, which cost me about $250.

Consider non-stick skillets to be semi-disposable. I've stopped buying expensive non-stick skillets; I've tried the absolute top end, and even when I really baby it, it stops working in a year or two. Non-stick pans I've not had the same problem with - I bought some nice TEFAL ones (not the "professional" ones, one step up from that, I unfortunately can't remember the names), and they've so far lasted for over five years.

For cast iron pans, I've not found a difference in quality - anything I've bought has lasted a long time.

For mixing bowls, I recommend getting a bunch of cheap metal ones. I got ten bowls at two euro each about five years ago; one of them has gotten discolored, apart from that they're working fine still. Having lots works wonders. In the US, these are easy to buy at Vietnamese stores.

For plastic stuff, it's hard. IKEA has it, but it's sometimes expensive. I've had some luck with cheap stuff, but you have to look at it really carefully. Quality don't really go with price, but the very cheapest stuff is usually crap. A simple rule of thumb is to go to a cheap place, then look at what the cheapest you can buy is, and then buy something that costs twice that (at the same place). This will usually get you good quality; buying something that costs 10x more somewhere else don't give you any guarantee.

Thermometers are all over the map; go for a digital one, and read reviews. And you DO want a thermometer - it makes all kinds of things easier.

The chef's way of filling a kitchen is buying relatively cheap stuff, and having lots of it. I've copied that - for everything I care about, I buy ten of it. Things usually stack, so they don't take that much space, and having ten of everything means I can work without having to try to wash things in the middle.

You don't want "any" single use tools; they take space, and are a waste. I've got only two single use tools: I've got a garlic press and a WhirleyPop. The former is because it is way faster; the latter is because it is the only way I've found to make Kettle Corn without burning it.

For appliances, garage sales can be great. I paid $20 for my high end KitchenAid (battered but perfectly functional); and I only paid $20 because I didn't have the conscience to take it for the $10 they suggested.

Minimize the stuff you get at first; it's so easy to get lots of stuff, but most of it you hardly ever use.

Instead of a big spiralizer I got a Vagetti - it's got fewer options, but it's small and quick and easy to use. It's nice to be able to have noodly things again. Zuchiini noodles fried in butter and a couple tablespoons of salsa is fantastic, and my kids love it too!

My husband got a breakfast sandwich maker for Christmas, and I've discovered it's a quick and easy way to make eggs. I just use the top well section, lay in a slice of ham on the bottom and crack a couple of eggs into it, close and walk away. It's quicker and easier than getting out the frying pan and takes 2 seconds to clean.

A lot of my meals are meat of some sort + veg of some sort + fat (dressing, butter, cheese), so it's easy to get the right serving sizes just by putting my plate on the scale and zerioing it out after I put each thing on. Measuring out soups and such is a lot harder, but I figure if I'm accurate 80% of the time then the 20% I might be off isn't a huge deal. When in doubt, over estimate ;)

Your link doesn't work for me but were you pointing to the Dash Go Rapid Egg Cooker by chance? If so, then I whole-heartedly agree with you. I love mine and use it everyday. Even the rest of my family are eating more eggs due to how easy and consistent they cook. I've used the poacher and personal omelette parts as well and they are great. Best $20 I ever spent.

Stovetop roasting was probably the thing that got me into roasting my own coffee. I bought a whirleypop for $20 and got an aeropress to brew with. For about $120 I was making coffee that (I thought) was better than most local offerings and (for sure) better than grocery store brand coffee. Not to mention I was theoretically saving a lot of money because of how cheap greens were.

However, if you are willing to commit a bit more startup cash, I recommend the freshroast series of roasters as a much better method for controlling your roast profile.

As someone who is starting out, I'd say happy mug is the best supplier for greens. HM has nice coffees at good prices but Sweet Marias has a lot of unqiue vareitals and there's a number of really good coffees on there. The thing is that as a new roaster (and I am still in this category), you probably won't have the cupping skills or the roasting skills to appreciate all of the nuance that SM's beans offer, so HM is a better deal for $4.00/lb and 3-day flat rate shipping.

What are you brewing with?

Business Costco is Costco geared towards businesses. Their bulk meat comes in 50lbs or more. A LOT of stuff is individually packaged items which makes it easier to take on the go. I have one about 20 mins from my house but they may not be everywhere.

As for the sous vide. I have one made by Anova.

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker | WI-FI + Bluetooth | 900W | Anova App Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wEh1Cb9SQZQMV

There are other ones that work fine but I really like the WiFi, as I can turn it on while at work, come home and it's ready. I love this thing.

I got the food Saver vacuum sealer from Costco and it's paid for itself in the amount of food it's saved me.

But for the sous vide you can use a zip lock bag or they even have reusable bags that you can wash out the inside. You put that in a stock pot or heat safe water container you have laying around.

I hope this helps!

Grinder

I actually bought that grinder...works well. Better than my old one for sure.

Badass Grinder

Not sure if this one is any good but its pretty sweet looking and its got a good rating.

Scale

I can't find the actual scale I bought from amazon but this one looks pretty good for about the same price.

There are just two of us, and I end up freezing often. If I've made a large batch of soup/stew kinds of things, I usually freeze in these freezer containers or quart-sized ziplocs, so they are in batches of one or two servings each. To reheat, it is easiest to put in a pot on the stove (run under hot water to loosen it from the edge of the container or bag), but you could leave in the fridge for a day to thaw then spoon into a bowl or mug and microwave.

When I made a big pork shoulder, after shredding I added bbq sauce to about 1/4 and we ate that for a few days. The rest I froze in three FoodSaver bags - unseasoned except for the rub I put on before cooking. Used one bag to make carnitas, the other two are still in the freezer...little blank canvases. =) For thawing the FoodSaver bags or Ziploc bags, I put them in a big bowl of cold water. Once they are soft (half hour or so?) you can reheat however you want.

Pasta is OK to put in the freezer, but its texture will be a little different once you reheat it. If you're going to eat it soon or if you aren't feeling like taking the extra steps, it would be OK to freeze it with the chicken/stew. I personally would prefer to make just enough pasta to eat for now, then just freeze the extra stew/meat and, when you decide to reheat and eat it, take the ten minutes to make some fresh pasta. It's worth it. Good luck!

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008H2OEKK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That is what I bought earlier this summer for making jerky, and I have loved it so far. It is a little annoying to clean it, but not that bad. At your price range, I think you could get to the lower end of the price range on the Excalibur ones with the back mounted fans which are supposed to be better and more even than the ones like I got which have a bottom mounted fan. I still love mine, though. Good luck with your jerky making.

I know people laugh at them but the dedicated Breakfast Sandwhich makers do a fantastic job, the muffin is toasted perfectly, the cheese melts all over the meat and the egg doneness can be adjusted pretty easily in a 1 minute window. 4 minutes for a bit runny and 5 minutes for fully cooked (like McDonalds)
http://www.amazon.ca/Hamilton-Beach-25475A-Breakfast-Sandwich/dp/B00EI7DPOO

I have no idea what you ate, but what you are describing is now easily achievable with sous vide. For chicken beer cooler sous vide works until you decide you want a rig. A few years ago I decided to get an Anova and am glad I did. In the summer I use it about once a month; in the winter about once a week; around the holidays, it never gets put away. The cooking style is totally different, so I recommend a slow start with things like the beer cooler method to see if the results are the ones you like, but if you do, the timing freedom for busy folks is a game changer.

I copied my reply to another post but still holds up

I borrowed a dehydrator from a friend and it had an on/off switch and that was it. I had no idea how warm the thing got or anything. I tried dehydrating a few different things with it but the results always varied and sometimes cooked/burned more than dehydrated. So I would definitely recommend one with adjustable temperatures.

One temp definitely doesn't fit all purposes. I ended up getting a Nesco off Amazon. I got this one. It's a little pricy than a thrifted one but I haven't regretted it and have made perfectly dehydrated mushrooms, fruit leather, and herbs. I still want to try an onion (outdoors!) and jerky.

In my actual article, under the "egg salad" I have way more details such as how I soft-boil the eggs. Here I'll copy paste it:

There are MANY ways to soft boil eggs but this is what I do:

• Put water and eggs in small pot.
  
• Turn heat on high.
  
• When it starts boiling vigorously (takes about 5-6 minutes), I turn off the heat and cover the pot and set a timer for 3 minutes.
  
• When the timer is up, I pour the water out and pour in cold water to halt the cooking process. It’s best to just transfer them to a bowl with cold water.
  
  If you’re on the go or don’t have much time to make sure it's perfect, some people use an electric egg cooker like this one which makes it a brainless activity to cook the eggs to the desired setting (soft, med, hard) without having to tend to it if you’re getting ready for work.

I don't know if anyone suggested this or not (my phone is not liking the Reddit app at the moment) but crock pot makes a little tiny lunch crock pot. It's my favorite way of eating all my leftovers, and solves the what should i bring to lunch issue since i just throw some leftovers from the previous night's dinner in it. This might also solve your microwave issue (i dislike them for texture reasons and find the food is a lot better this way, and evenly heated even with soup!)

I also really have been loving cold quinoa bowls with various toppings. I take it out of the fridge about an hour before i want to eat it so it's not super cold, just slightly. I pack my grains in one container and then toppings like greens, nuts, seeds, whatever in another, and a last container with a sauce of choice. It's super easy to prep a bunch at once and then in the morning just grab one Tupperware from each category and throw it in my lunch box.

Edited to add link for crockpot thing i mentioned. https://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCCPLC200-PK-20-Ounce-Lunch-Warmer/dp/B006H5V7ZY

[This is for you] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OICLVBI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ba90Ab25AP3XJ) because I read in your comments that you have a new guy that you're excited about. I have found that keeping a mate happy is MUCH easier if you know their love language. 😍

[This is for me] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DDXWFY0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Ud90Ab86J7VHE) because I have been doing Keto diet to lose weight and EGGS ARE LIFE on this diet. 🤓

[This is for /u/Miss-omnibus to read when she has insomnia] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596433973/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cp90AbX8407XZ) because she was sweet enough to summon me to introduce herself in another thread and we had a good conversation. 😘

AND I think there is still money left over for you to get a little something extra for yourself or save it for another contest! 🤩

You can cook them in shell. Set the water bath to 170f, drop eggs directly into water. Remove after 14min or so, and you have perfect poached eggs. Crack to serve.

Sous Vide is slow cooking done perfect. It will give you an exact result, each time. Its consistent, which is a rare feat in most cooking, and makes amazing dishes. Chef steps has some great tutorials and recipes.

I use the Anova in a 10Qt soup pot. Works great. Note that the price does drop to about $130 at times, so if you want to save a bit of money, wait it out. If you want to save a lot of money, you can DIY a sous vide cooker yourself.

I bought a ton of hops and have no idea how I will ever get through them unless I make a ton of big IPAs. On hand, I have 1 pound of centennial, columbus, and belma. About 14 ounces of cascade. Maybe 2 ounces of citra, and 4 of simcoe. They take up a lot of room, but not THAT much room. In my side-by-side fridge, they take up maybe a shelf. The centennial are whole hops and are like 2x the size, so you have to take that into consideration.

For storing, they go in the freezer, vacuum sealed. I didn't want to buy a big vacuum sealer, so I bought one of these ziploc hand vacuum pumps as well as a jar vacuum pump valve thing and that way I can do a kind of quick ghetto vacuum seal on bigger hops bags and store the smaller amounts of things in vacuum sealed jars. It's not amazing or as great surely as a regular foodsaver type vacuum, but it's way smaller and cheap, even compared to the foodsaver version of the hand pump.

I bought this one for myself over a year ago. Cheapest, most basic basic model I found that had decent reviews. It works well and airflow is good but lacks a couple nice features: temperature control and fruit screens / fruit roll up trays.


So for my mom for Christmas I ended up getting her a slightly better model which has a temperature control dial and came with a screen tray, roll up tray, and a jerky gun.


The item you linked to looks great (better wattage than the 2nd Nesco dehydrator I linked to). I might be tempted to buy the slightly less powerful model with the extras for the same price. BUT the one you linked to has the TWO screens and roll up trays, and only lacks the jerky gun. So really I think either one would be a great choice.


The "musts" I would list for a dehydrator are 1) good air flow so you don't have to rotate trays a lot and 2) a temperature control.

EDIT: In regards to making jerky: if you are slicing the jerky from a cut of meat, you can do it raw. But if you're using ground beef or poultry, cooking it first is the safest way to go.

Gainz or also this. I don't have the first but Ive heard its pretty amazing. I do have the second and I can attest to rice cookers being fucking awesome. I use mine for cooking noodles, rice, soups, wontons, etc.

Alternatively if you want it to be purely lifting related I hear that Donnie thompsons recently started selling his bowtie and formal bowtie. Which are for people who bench a lot and have ache-y shoulders and ive heard its good.

Failing that maybe think of lifting clothes that are comfy that they might want? Ive heard a few pots talk about wool socks being amazing (though i dont know if you wear those to lift in or just in boots?). Also some companies like strideline let you put your own logo onto the socks themselves. So maybe get the weak elephant logo and put it on socks?

Ehhhhhh I see what you area saying but you have to take into account that amazon is a conglomeration of things amazon has is in its warehouses and what other companies sell THROUGH amazon. A lot of the stuff that is shooting/hunting related is sold through amazon by someone else. I think this why, when we all look for shooting stuff there aren't crazy deals. Because outside sellers aren't motivated by prime day to drop prices. All that said you just have to know what to look for, amazon more deeply discounts things that are close under their umbrella. I was able score:

A second echo dot which was $15 off already then another $10 credit for voice ordering(with my current echo dot) = $25 Echo dot.

I took a CHANCE on the new amazon fire OS powered Element 55"4K tv for $399 (now OOS) saw it on slick deal slated for sale at 6pm PST sat at my computer and mashed refresh button at 6pm until price dropped from $649 to $399. I say took a "chance" because a number of crappy reviews have come out about this product, but for such a small price I'm willing to bet on amazons return policy and the extended warranty protection of the credit card that I used for purchase.

Link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XDC9RBJ/ref=twister_B0711HCF25?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Then there was/is an Amex promo "amex17prime" with some loop holes (google it) but effectively $30 off $60 = 50% off I bought
-9mm collet for my hornady bullet puller
-Lee load all II 16 ga conversion
-Lee 7/8oz slug mold
For 471 Amex meme era hip rewards points and $30


details in link below

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/07/06/amazon-discount-amex/

Then I bought the Anova gen 2 wifi 900w sous vide for $129 regular was like $179 a couple days before. Just wanted to screw around with sous vide and this is a palatable price for me given the feature set. I'm going to try and make back my $130 in food prep savings vs buying lunch out at work.

link:

https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Bluetooth-Precision-Cooker/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_79_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=CC3C1TYDD17HKNDPWP0Z&th=1

If you all are curious about the "Alexa deals" you can ask you echo dot "what are your deals?"


Or Visit

https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16924218011


TL;DR Buying shit that amazon is likely to make more money off of reaps better deals


EDIT: formatting, added links, TL;DR

So there are two main types of vacuum sealers; External sealers and chamber sealers. External sealers are like your garden variety food saver. The bag stays outside the machine and the machine draws air from the open end of the bag. Upsides are they are inexpensive and quite effective for sealing dry or frozen goods and they are small. Down sides are that they use corrugated bags (which are pricey) and don't work well with moist food (or at all with liquids) because the suction draws the liquids from the food and prevents the bag from sealing. Chamber sealers have a chamber that the whole bag/food combo sits inside of and the chamber is evacuated. Since the vacuum is on the inside and the outside of the bag there is no pressure differential so you can vacuum pack anything including a bag of liquid. The bags are also much cheaper because they are simple smooth plastic. Downsides are that the machines are MUCH more expensive, require maintenance (oiling) of the pump, and they are quite large in comparison to external sealers.

Now, the quality difference between a <$100 external and a $200-300 external are going to be things like durability, vacuum pressure, and sealing bar width. More expensive units usually have dual piston pumps that evacuate faster and to a higher level of vacuum, wider sealer bars for a better seal (for instance I always do two seals with my food saver to be safe), can seal more bags continuously without over heating, and have more features like adjustable vacuum pressure, marinating modes, and various sealing options.

You can get over priced externals that sell on points like built in roll storage, various (usually useless) accessories, and fancy looks but you are wasting your money. This is an excellent entry level external. It is a single piston pump with no fancy features, but it works perfectly fine on most things. You'll generally have to let wetter meats set up a bit in the freezer first so they don't leak liquid, but that's true for most externals without a "wet" or "low vacuum" setting. This would be a higher end external with dual piston pump, cooling fan and a bunch of settings. This guy here is about as cheap as you will find for a dual piston, but it will not be nearly as durable or versatile as the Pro350.

Chamber sealers, you can spend $500-15,000 on but for most home users this is the gold standard. Inexpensive (for a chamber sealer at least) and has a well proven track record. Come see us over at /r/sousvide we have a ton of threads discussing sealers.

Whirley-Pop all the way! It has a thin aluminum bottom that distributes heat evenly but doesn't retain heat so that as soon as it's done popping, you can take it off heat and the popcorn on the bottom won't burn. The swirling arms also make sure that you get pretty much 100% poppage and that everything pops at the same time. It's amazing because normally in a pot or a wok, there's a gap of maybe a minute or so between when the first kernel pops and the last one does. With the whirley-pop, it all shoots off at once. Like, a five second interval start to finish. It also makes distributing melted butter very easy.

Pro-tip: clarify your butter. The water content is what will turn popcorn soggy.

I buy bay leaves, yeast, and an assortment of dried chilies in bulk and freeze. They are always in my freezer.

The best way to make popcorn is with oil. You can use a covered pot you shake, or better yet something like a Whirley Pop. Unfortunately, using a tablespoon or two of oil doesn't exactly make it a low-calorie snack you want to eat regularly on a reduced intake.

The lowest-calorie method is to use an air popper, then apply a measured amount of whatever toppings or seasonings you prefer. My go-to recipe is to weigh out 20 g of popped popcorn, then carefully apply 3 g of melted butter, stirring constantly to distribute it well. I then sprinkle on sea salt that was ground to a fine powder. This gives a nice 100 calorie snack with just enough buttery flavour to be satisfying.

Unless you are specifically using large crystal salt for the crunchy texture, you probably want to use fine "popcorn salt" to avoid the gritty feeling of regular table salt. You can buy this pre-made, or grind it at home in a blade grinder or mortar and pestle. It has the side benefit that you use less salt because there is more exposed surface area.

There are many, many ways to season popcorn. Sriracha is pretty popular, but you can also use any combination of spices and herbs, or even stuff like nutritional yeast. You will probably get some great suggestions here, but a quick Google will get you a tonne of recipes you can modify to your heart's content.

I have the basic model found at target. I got it about a month ago, dont remember the exact cost but I think it was somewhere around $55-65. Also got the [jar sealer] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005TN7H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_9WXjyb40EXJ9H) attachment and about 4 dozen jars divided amongst quart, pint & half, and pint sized.

I loaded up on these bags: [Commercial Bargains 2 Pack 11" x 50' and 8" x 50'] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GG5I5AK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ASXjybDZAJ08T)

The 8" perfectly fit my burritos. I'd say I'm using about 6 inches per burrito so if I'm careful I'll get at least 100 burritos out of a $12 roll. Also you can use regular ziploc freezer if you trim off their zip lock seal. The vacuum doesn't agree with the thin ziploc bags every time but it's surely good enough for freezer burritos.

It is actually incredibly easy! Although some people will tell you to season the meat, we haven't found any dog that doesn't like it as just chicken.

We slice chicken breast as thin as possible. My dad works at a meat counter so he's got super sharp knives, but if you pop them in the freezer for ~20 minutes you can slice them more easily. Place them on the dehydrator trays, turn it to 160 and let it be for 6-10 hours (or longer depending on how thin you got your slices). The jerky is done when it..you know..looks like jerky. We make ours really dried out because it lasts my dog longer when eating it. We also keep it in the fridge, because we don't salt it and don't use other preservatives it can mold on a counter top with any kind of humidity, it has never molded in the fridge.

We have given the chicken jerky as gifts to other people that frequent the dog park and haven't had a dog turn up their nose yet and they are good for dogs that have sensitivities to additives in other kinds of treats. The chicken we buy is hormone and antibiotic free.

This is the dehydrator I use.

I honestly don't remember. My dad used to work maintenance in a retail store and picked it up for me one day for my meat adventures.

It seems they're on Amazon for a decent price. I'm not sure if that's the exact model I have, but it's the same brand and it looks identical.

It really is worth having. It's the only way to get sandwich meat as thin as I like (pastrami specifically is supposed to be cut very thin) and it's great for slicing for jerky as well. If you have anyone who cooks bread in your house it's great for pre-slicing it evenly.

• A standing mat because standing in the kitchen cooking/cleaning is hard on the back and these mats make it so much more comfortable. It's really amazing and makes life a million times better, especially if you have to stand a lot.
  
• A dehydrator to make dried fruit, fruit leather, jerky, dried herbs... so many possibilities, and everyone will be really impressed when you pull out some homemade jerky. (Can you tell I like making food?)
  
• Record players are coming back into style. Music records won't get lost when your computer crashes, and they'll outlive the singularity. And you can listen to music... while you make food!
  
  All of these are on my Over $30 wishlist.
  
  Thank you for the contest!

This is a good starter dehydrator.

I've been making jerky for about two years now and have been making that keto jerky for about a year or so.

There's some research and learning to be done, as well as trial an error, since you'll want to go for good lean meat and learn how to make 2-3mm thick pieces but def worth it. London broil or bottom round if you see it on sale but with great power comes great responsibility. I've had some jerky binges when starting out just because of how much you end up with in comparison to buying premade jerky. Lastly, its something like 1lb of steak turns into .5-.6 lbs of jerky. Keep it up man, you're looking fierce :D

Every night I have a base of either quinoa or rice, prepared in my rice cooker with various vegetables and spices. If rice, I'll roll it up with nori for homemade veggie rolls.

With dinner I have a 12 ounce glass of water with two tablespoons of flax and one tablespoon of chia.

I buy my pinto beans and black beans loose in bulk at the local grocery store when picking up my vegetables, usually around 5 or 6 pounds of each at a time.

Cumin, garlic powder, tahini, and dry garbanzo beans go for a good homemade hummus in a food processor. Needs a fresh lemon or two squeezed into the tahini. Original recipe had olive oil and salt, I leave out the oil entirely and either cut the salt down to a dash or none at all.

I keep oats and almond meal on hand to make pdb cookies with the same food processor, just add a banana or two, cinnamon, nutmeg, almond butter, and raisins if you like. The original recipe called for dates and I said eat me I'm doing raisins.

I got peppermint in bulk to make tea with, both by itself as well as mixing with chamomile, mugwort, etc.

I keep almost all of the above in these convenient cereal containers to both extend shelf life, shelf space, and remove any branding or advertising. Mason jars are also awesome!

Don't forget you can dehydrate your own food as well!

Edit: I don't work for Amazon, I just live no-car and order like this to survive!

I find smaller bags usually work better if you use the grocery stuff. One minor tip is I usually nuke the bag for ~20-25 seconds (just before any start to pop, whatever that time is for your popcorn / microwave) and then I shake / massage the bag so the heat / oil / salt is well distributed. I find it makes a minor to moderate difference in evenness, although I haven't exactly done a comparison so it could be a placebo.

Personally I've always felt the microwave does a better and easier job than either a stove top or air popper. If you want to try something better than the bags, I'd recommend something cheap like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-60120-Microwaver-Popcorn/dp/B00004W4UP/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1368250102&sr=8-4&keywords=popcorn+popper) which allows you to use better popcorn and however much salt / fat you want to.

http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-Farms-25008-Whirley-Pop/dp/B00004SU35

this is my best friend, i can make IMMENSELY healthy popcorn (sorry non-carbers :( ) and completely control the oil and salt in it, it's not calorie-free but it is an awesome easy (and CHEAP) munchy that won't totally break your diet.
munch on my friend (but only reasonable portions!)

If you're cheap like me, or have no more space for appliances, like me, you can get the vaccuum lid sealer for Mason Jars, and a small hand pump that will attach to the lid. I'm sure they don't do as good a job as the electric model, but they work fine for me. I also store them in a freezer.

Interestingly, my hand pump came with the jar sealer, but I cannot find a listing like that on Amazon anymore. I only see the jar sealer with the hose attachment for the electric appliance. Just don't get the Mason lids with the nozzles built in. The attachment I listed will do it on standard Mason lids.

> Which ever model you buy, make sure it has a separate vacuum and seal button.

This is a good point. I just got my first vacuum sealer, a Crenova VS-1, I paid $40 on Amazon (it's $70 now, but will hopefully drop again at some point).

It has a button that will just seal, and a button that will vacuum to a certain level, then seal automatically. It has Dry and Moist modes, the Moist mode pulls less vacuum before sealing, to try and avoid sucking liquid into the seal area.

If the bag seems like it's going to crease, I click one end of the sealer bar down, then pull on the other end of the bag, and click that side down. That helps pull out any possible creases.

There is an inexpensive one on Amazon with good reviews, Seal-A-Meal, $36:
https://www.amazon.com/Seal-Meal-hands-free-indicator-FSSMSL0160-000/dp/B008HMWC4A/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

But it seems to only have a single button, which starts/runs the entire process. It sounds to just seal a bag, you slide the bag only onto the seal area, but not the vacucum area. It probably vacuums nothing, then seals the bag. But I'm not sure if you have many other options.

I can start vacuuming a bag that has some liquid. But before the liquid gets pulled to the seal area, I can hit Cancel on mine to stop the vacuum pump, then immediately press the Seal button to seal the bag. I'm not sure if you'd be able to do that with this Seal-A-Meal. I don't know if its Cancel button will cause it to actually seal the bag, or just stop the process entirely. If Cancel makes it seal, that would be OK.

This Nesco has nice features, at least, for $50:
https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-VS-02-Vacuum-Sealing-Starter/dp/B00IUAK39A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484093198&sr=8-1

A Seal button, a Vacuum/Seal button, and a button for vacuuming external things like jars (using an attachment). It also lets you specify a short or long seal time.

Mine is not fancy, but it seems OK to me so far. It has a 3-year warranty, which doesn't hurt. Some people suggest just buying an inexpensive one (in the ~$50 range), and replacing it when it eventually fails, since it sounds like even the $200 ones aren't going to last forever.

I mean yes.

But really, something like this is fine. Some things to look for are a temperature control and a timer. They help with getting various foods dehydrated perfectly. Mine has neither, I just keep an eye on my foods a little more. At this point I know how it runs so I know what food I can set and leave for 8 hours and what foods I need to rotate trays every 2 hours.

I will say, I borrowed and Excalibur when I was prepping for a long distance backpacking trip and it was AMAZING. It dehydrates much quicker and much more evenly than my cheapo unit. But I would probably never buy one myself. For that particular trip I was running both machines pretty much around the clock for months making meals. For the occasional use, my cheap machine is fine.

I'd also recommend trying PLA+. I can't reliably compare it to PLA since mine has hydrated recently, but it prints like putty. I get my filament at Microcenter, which may or may not exist where you live. In the end it's all up to your experimentation, we can only recommend potential options. However, I'd be careful of the pricing. Just to give you a range: 1kg spool of PLA costed me around $12.99 and 1kg of PLA+ costed me around $13.99 at Microcenter. Meanwhile a 250g spool of PLA at Tinkersphere costs $23.99. Also, bonus tip: If your filament gets hydrated and you don't want to use your oven: Get a dehydrator like this one. and there are plenty of videos showing them using it.

I posted this in your LPT thread, I think it is worth reading so here.

A few years back, and even some today, I set out to find out how to make popcorn like at the movie theaters. Alton's recipe does not sound terrible and uses items most people will have on hand. However to make it better (read: more like movie theater popcorn) You will need to buy a few items for this.

1. Gold Medal Flavacol popcorn salt
   
2. Coconut oil for popcorn
   
3. Whirley-Pop
   
   All total the items are under $40 (excluding popcorn) and all but the coconut oil will last a long time. Flavacol is a must have for this to work. I have not been able to find it locally near me. the 35oz carton will last you just about forever.
   
   The coconut oil is a bit on the messy side just because of the container, you can get different amounts which will come in a different container. I have noticed some differences in taste of some coconut oils and the one linked is the brand I am currently using.(note: Coconut oil solidifies at about 76F)
   
   If you are just toying with the idea of better popcorn, try Alton's method of popping. It cuts the total price in half and for a test run\proof of concept it should work. I have tested several poppers and settled with the whirley pop or similar design. Some outdoors shops sell these but charges about $10 more for them. Note: Yes it has a turn handle, but the gears are made of plastic, so do not hulk smash it.
   
   As for popcorn, not all popcorn is created equal. The artisan fancy colored stuff generally does not pop well in my experience. I have experimented with many different kinds and have mostly settled with Orville Redenbacher. This can be purchased off the shelf at most grocery stores or from Amazon. You can try others to find one you like better.
   
   
   
   
   **
   As a note
   I do not have a set amount for any 1 ingredient. I just eyeball it, maybe one of these days I will get this down to a science with numbers and such. When starting out follow Alton's recipe but substitute the above items in it.
   
   

Lipavia Sous Vide Container - 26 Qt works perfectly for me. It's too big for 90% of what I do but when I want to do several racks of ribs or steaks for the extended family, the extra size is great. I also use it to hold all my sous vide stuff (vacuum sealer, Joule, bags, etc) when I'm not cooking in it.

https://www.amazon.com/LIPAVI-Sous-Vide-Container-Polycarbonate/dp/B014U596GO?ref=ast_p_ep

This foodsaver works perfectly for me.
https://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-Vacuum-Sealing-System-Starter/dp/B0044XDA3S/ref=sr_1_9?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1518471516&sr=1-9&keywords=food+saver

I tried using an electric bucket heater to assist boiling 6 gallons on my electric stovetop, but wasn't able to get quite enough juice to get a heavy rolling boil. YMMV depending on your stovetop power and boil volume and other such parameters, obviously. But I'd imagine with a temp controller hooked up it'd work well for mash temps, probably even on it's own without the stove power.


That said, what I did after the bucket heater failed to hit a rolling boil was buy one of these purpose-built Hot Rods. I got the 1500w stainless element + cable and plug from them, and paid the labor charge they offer to put it all together for me. Works great, boiling 6+ gallons in combo with my stovetop in under an hour.


For the mashing end, what I recently did for my mash that worked really well was to use a Sous Vide cooker (like this one) in place of my Hot Rod. A Sous Vide cooker is basically a heating element + temp control + water circulator all in one. It's meant to be used for precision temperature cooking of food immersed in water in vacuum-sealed bags...so it seemed like a perfect fit for a mash. And it really was! I do BIAB, so the grain stayed separated from the Sous Vide device to not clog the circulator. In my open-topped kettle I was able to maintain a mash temp of 151.5 degrees +/- 1 degree for the full 60 minute mash. And the bonus is I can still use it for it's intended food cooking purpose!

Don't know if you're bringing your meal anywhere but I have two of these, one at work and one at home. comes with a removable liner so easily dishwasher safe. I love this thing. I make a huge dinner on sunday and I have lunch for the week. highly recommend.

lunch crock

Mine takes up less than 3 sq ft. Probably less than 2. Here's a link:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002WSQHU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought the maximum number of trays I could along with the tray inserts for sauces and fruit leathers and drying herbs, when not in use they all sit inside the dehydrator which sits in the bottom of my pantry or on top of the fridge if it's running. I've had it since 2013 and while I don't see it saving space on food much it's been a worthwhile investment. I think it would be just fine in that amount of space, I pulled it off in mine with 2 people, 3 cats, too much furniture and 150 sq feet of that being a studio space. Also! They are super light so they can stack pretty much anywhere. I can carry the whole thing stacked up with all the trays with one hand when it's ready to store it.

Just to add, you can get a really good dehydrator for about $65 that will do virtually anything you want. I've done jerky, fruit leathers, veggies, etc but you can also dehydrate cooked meals with great success. It's crazy how easy it is, you literally pat stuff dry, cut it into small/thin pieces, and plug it in. It's really that easy.

This is what I do, but it's not really cost efficient, I think I get about a lb of jerky for 3lbs of flank steak, or about $23-$24 per lb of jerky. I need to experiment with other / cheaper cuts.

Buy a dehydrator (I have this one with some extra trays: https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75A-Snackmaster-Dehydrator-White/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1484277570&sr=1-5&keywords=Dehydrator)

I think I spent $75 on the dehydrator plus extra trays.

After that, it's $7/lb flank steak from costco for me.

Trim the flank steak
Freeze it for a while to make it easier to slice
Slice it and experiment with slicing against / with the grain. Against gives you soft, crumbly jerky that chews easy, with the grain gives you hard jerky. Also experiment with thickness. I've found I like a thicker cut that is sort of diagonal across the grain a bit. You can also try using a mandolin but I've found it doesn't slice nicely.

There's a giant vein in the flank steak that you'll want to work around and remove, although the smaller veins of fat you can leave in.

Experiment with marinades, but a pretty simple one is 1 part soy sauce, 1 part worcestershire sauce, black and red pepper. They key is really to make sure you've got plenty of salt.

Marinade for 12-24 hours.

Dehydrate on the highest setting, mine has the minimum for beef jerky marked on it.

You can't over-dehydrate it so let it really dry out. I've run it for up to 24 hours before.

Blot the pooled oil off the dried meat before storing in an air tight bag, as it will make it go rancid faster (plus its greasy).

This makes easily some of hte best jerky I've ever had and is price competitive with some of the really nice jerkies I've had but like it doesn't compete price-wise with pemmican or jack links or whatever the hell basic jerky you might be eating.

You might be interested in the Dash Go Rapid Egg Cooker then. It was the best $20 that I've spent in a while and the whole family has been eating more eggs because of how easy and consistent it is.
 
Thanks for sharing the recipe and tips. I'm definitely going to try this out.

For small DIYs, I use that setup: hot plate with some sort of pot/tub holding water, silicon trivet, and beaker. I use a digital thermometer to check it every few minutes and adjust the temp that way.

For larger DIYs, I use a sous vide machine. I just get a big plastic tub (I like the Rubbermaid Commercial ones), fill it with water, and let the sous vide do its thing. It's the BEST - it holds an exact temperature indefinitely, it pairs with an app so you can adjust it remotely, and it keeps water circulating so you don't have to worry about different temps in different places. It's maybe overkill for small personal projects, but I super duper love it.

well, I agree with the sous vide if you have a vacuum sealer. you can get a foodsaver one on amazon for the price of a couple ribeyes. This is the model that I have and it's suited me very well. It's also great if you like to buy in bulk. I've found that I've saved a lot of money using this thing. However, I'd say put it somewhere where you'd see it or else you're easy to forget about it. /end mini commercial

The sous vide makes the meat really tender and you can add your marinade right in there when you vacuum it in, saving yourself a ton of time. I usually finish it off using a cast iron pan or under the broiler.

How about selecting what he will eat off of the healthy list and have a contingency plan for hot food? I think I can help you out here. There are several devices to heat food even on the go. The Mini Crockpot Lunch Warmer is about $15-$20 (depending on color choice) and is great for soups, stews, (turkey?) chili, and pasta with sauce. There is also the Hot Logic Mini Oven ($30-$40 watch for sales!), which is a hot plate inside an insulated, zippered bag. You can put a frozen dinner still in the box, cooked leftovers or raw chicken or fish and it cooks/reheats slowly at a low heat. Plug either of them into the car's lighter with an AC Car Converter ($17) in the morning/beginning of his work day and it will slowly come to temperature and hold it until he's ready to eat!
They took away our microwave at work and I've had to adapt. I love them both!

Oh I live downtown but willing to make a drive. Sure I use this and this, minus the sweetener/honey. Comes out really tasty! I like new mexico style jerky. Pretty simple, not too many ingredients, and comes out pretty dry which I like.. And this recipe sorta fits that. There's other recipes if you google too, but this is the one I use the most. The guy in the video uses his oven, but I use this. Yum.

you can, but you're right it's just a hassle. before i got my anova i used to use a lobster pot and a candy thermometer and just tinker with the flame until it maintained a certain temperature.

i'm sure there are tons of videos online about doing sous vide without any special equipment.

it does take about twice as long to get to the meat to desired temperature without the water-circulation, however.

by the way anyone interested the anova sous vide thingy is great and costs way less than gaben's

Absolutely. There are some caveats though. My wife and I have this vacuum sealer (Amazon link) and we also have a smoker so we'll do 30 pounds of pulled pork at a time and that sort of thing. Here's the catch though. There can't be any moisture when you vacuum seal or it just pulls the liquid out and won't seal. So, you end up having to slightly freeze everything (about an hour or so) and then seal it. It isn't a big deal but it does take a bit of time.

The other thing though is that it does give us the freedom to buy in bulk when stuff goes on sale and really helps pay for itself very quickly. Costco sells the freezer bags and Amazon does as well. Those seem to be the two cheapest places to get them.

Like /u/skwibby said, it's an essential kitchen item.

I am really happy that you are super happy. Did something special happen or are you just in a really good mood?

I really want to get this for my daughter because she LOVES popcorn, but I just learned that it's really not healthy to eat the microwave popcorn all of the time because of some chemical in the bags.

Here is a really cute picture!

I know this isn't what you asked, but the Crock-Pot Lunch Crock is one of the best purchases I've ever made. I often bring in cold or frozen lunches, in the interior container, then plug in once ready to eat, and it heats up in no time. If being able to plug in a super tiny and portable crock is an option for your SO, it may be worth purchasing! Link

Real talk? A whirlipop popcorn maker, it makes the best damn popcorn I've ever tasted! I make a bowl or two a week and its amazing how consistently good it is. If you like your popcorn a bit saltier there's this stuff on Amazon called Flavacol which is the seasoning they add in theatre popcorn, I put about a teaspoon in with the oil & corn usually.

https://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-Farms-Whirley-Pop-Stovetop/dp/B00004SU35

https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Medal-Prod-Flavacol-Seasoning/dp/B004W8LT10/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1479915964&sr=1-1&keywords=Flavacol

This is of course not factoring in the price of oil and kernels, let me just say that coconut oil will make the popcorn taste x10 better than any other kind of cooking oil.

I do a better job at eating healthy at the office compared to my work from home days. When I WFH, I am able to graze all day and truly cave when the afternoon munchies strike. At work, I can only eat what I pack. I focus on protein since it is filling and keeps me from getting too hungry.

I stock up on Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice frozen meals when they are one sale. Not the healthiest choice, but decent calorie control and many of them have 20g+ of protein. Works great when you are in a pinch. And even though they are supposed to be frozen, they survive quite well in the fridge or insulated lunch bag from morning until lunch time.

I buy large packs of chicken breast, grill it, divide it into 4 oz quantities and freeze. Pull out a bag, mix with salad greens and a little bit of dressing, and I have a salad for lunch. I use a Rubbermaid Lunch Blox Salad Container.

I also have a lot of Greek yogurt, string cheese (6g of protein for 70 calories), and baby carrots.

I also bring my breakfast to work and eat it while checking my morning emails (and Reddit haha). For breakfast I will make an omelet (using this or a breakfast sandwich with this

And for those of you who see time as money: this popcorn maker is a good investment. Occasionally it will go on sale for $10 (which is how much I paid for mine). It's nice because you can basically put the popcorn in, go do something else, and just listen.


I completely agree with OP, popcorn is the best frugal snack ever. You can pay $3 for a bag of potato chips or you can pay $2 for a huge bag of popcorn kernels that, when popped, basically equals... Idk, like 25 bags of chips? Just add butter and salt (or whatever seasoning you like, but with an air popper you can't use oil, so I like to melt a bit of butter for mine), and it's a great snack! (Not to mention a much healthier alternative to chips).

You can use a fan but it takes FOREVER. Even then, it's still tough to get them cracker dry that way. Oven works - couple hours at 170 degrees, but it's a big energy waster. If/when you order a dehydrator, I can recommend this one. It's wide, has good vertical space between the stacked layers, is expandable [you can add additional trays], and it's affordable. It only has one heat setting [dries at approx 165 degrees] but that's perfect for drying mushrooms.

Not many comments about grinders yet so I'll do one. Honestly if you're looking for 'bang for your buck,' you can't beat amazon.com. You'll pay 80 bucks at a head shop for something that you can get for 20-30 on amazon and it'll perform just as well.

I was astounded that my Chromium Crusher survived my first 3 years in college (I'm not sure even any piece of furniture lasted that long), still works just as well as the day I got it.

Somethin like this: http://www.amazon.com/CRUSHER-Quality-Tobacco-Grinder-non-aluminum/product-reviews/B000KVBAAI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Or there's one for a Sharpstone if you want the more reliable brand name:
http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Sharpstone-Herb-Grinder-G2-B/dp/B003U5IXVK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1345403826&sr=8-5&keywords=chromium+crusher+black

I make my own dehydrated boil in bag meals. I use THIS SITE as a template and just modify things as needed. I use a lot of powdered heavy cream, powdered eggs, powdered coconut milk, powdered cheese (all purchasable off amazon), instead of rice I dehdyrate cauliflower rice in my dehydrator.

It requires a bit of experimentation on your part since they don't translate 100% but I've made some good meals, bag tacos, butter chicken, fajitas, pizza casserole, buffalo chicken casserole, breakfast scrambles, cheeseburger casserole, etc. I've been playing around with the idea of trying to make a few keto cobblers.

Portion them out into quart freezer bags with smaller bags for spices/seasonings, when time comes to eat boil a bit of water, dump it in the bag and seal it up, let it sit for 10 minutes or so wrapped in a handkerchief or something then enjoy.

If you are dehydrating yourself you want to use LOW FAT meats. I know that's counter-intuitive for keto but high fat content foods won't dehydrate right, so use lean cuts, then add fat later (heavy cream powder, etc)

here's the DEHYDRATOR I use

Here is the HEAVY CREAM POWDER

COCONUT MILK POWDER

CHEESE POWDER

EGG POWDER


I've priced everything out and for a day's worth of meals I'm around 10 bucks or so, vs Mountain House which are 5-8 bucks a meal and the Next Mile meals keto offerings which can be 15 bucks PER meal


EDIT:

You can also bring mayo packets with you and I like bringing Individual Justin's Peanut Butter Packs also, great way to up the fat and to eat "quickly" between meals.

I dehydrate my own jerky as a snack, also you can hit Walmart and get single serve individual foil packs of tuna and spam, they work good as a quick meal without having to boil water.

Secrets to theatre style popcorn:

• Stovetop "Whirly-Pop" style contraption.
  
  
• Coconut Oil
  
  
• As far as butter flavoring. I've tried "theatre oils' but its hard to find a good one. I've had the best luck with getting "butter salt" a name brand is "Flavacol" but its all the same stuff.

I pulled a PR yesterday with 2 reps at 185#.

​

I started taking Magnesium twice a day a couple of weeks ago and I really feel like it's helping my sleep quality and my soreness. Ironically, I have lower back DOMS today, which I'm actually quite proud of.

​

I have been so excited about my midmorning snack this week. It's an everything Smart Bagel with neufchatel (like cream cheese but better macros), turkey bacon and an egg and I make it in this at work so it's fresh and delicious.

There's supposed to be a 'useful stuff' link in the sidebar, but it looks like it's blank to me. /u/revolution486 is there still a wiki type thing for products?

OP, I bought a cheapo food sealer on amazon that's worked great for me. Ziplocks always leaked. This is the one I have, but I paid $17.59 on 10/31/18:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've used stock pots for the most part, but they're clunky and waste a lot of heat (which wears your SV device a lot) I'm looking at upgrading to the plastic bins now, but if you don't have a ton of funds right this second, it's a good component to hold off on to make sure you'll use enough to justify.

Searing in an oven is going to be possible but difficult. You need to keep applying heat while you're searing so you can't just take the pan out and toss the meat in, but you often want to baste or flip, so you also can't just drop the meat in and close the oven. The general advice I've heard is that enameled cast iron is "approved" for use on glass tops but (and I'm quoting someone else here):

>I wonder whether this whole issue is real at all. I've been using my heavy Le Creuset stuff for five years now with not a hint of a scratch anywhere (yes, I know it's coated but it's still darn heavy). So I just did a google search on the subject and found dozens of similar threads on all sorts of other chat sites, and you know what they all had in common? Despite the manufacturers' recommendations against using cast iron on glass cooktops, I was unable to find a single report of anyone ever actually getting any scratches! On the contrary, there were LOTS of postings from people saying they'd been using cast iron on glass for years and years with no problems at all.
>
> I'm starting to think that warning is just the manufacturers' lawyers playing CYA.

You can also buy a butane burner for ~$20 if you have the urge.

Another common tool is a straight up blow torch. If you have trouble with evenness, a searzall attachment helps spread the heat.

You can buy a pretty cheap stove top popcorn maker. The kernels are super inexpensive at the store. It takes about two minutes from thinking "gee I'd like some popcorn" to having a full pot of it: you add a cup of kernels with a spoonful of coconut oil, heat it up and spin it around, then apply butter and salt as necessary when you're done.

I got this one for my birthday six months ago and honestly now when I go to the movies I have zero desire to buy their ridiculously expensive popcorn.

I have a Nesco dehydrator ($70)

http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-FD-61WHC-Snackmaster-Dehydrator/dp/B0002WSQHU/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416021159&sr=1-4&keywords=dehydrator

It's super easy to use and clean. I make kale chips in it all the times and love having it.

Welcome back and congrats on the new place!

Ooo you should look into Dehydrators!

They're super fun and of course pump out all the delicious things!

Also, I'm concerned. You say you paint with all the colors of the wind, but what I'd like to know is do you also sing with all the voices of the mountains?

Thanks for all the feedback. Has anyone ever heard of a Chronium Crusher (http://www.amazon.com/CHROMIUM-CRUSHER-Premium-Quality-non-aluminum/dp/B000KVBAAI). My friend says they're good and they are reasonably priced. Everything else seems expensive, but the Sharpstone does look sweet for the cost. Hotkarl, do you know what the difference is between the regular Sharpstone and the clear top one?

Here's Alton Brown's recipe in text form.


His recipe is a great starting point. You can modify it to your own liking after you've made a few batches.


As for meat choices, top round or flank works out for me. Ideally, the leaner, the better. Here's a chart for meat cuts


I currently use this Nesco dehydrator that I got for $20 from a garage sale. So if you have the time to do some garage sale hunting, hit them up!

Hey, I love popcorn, it's awesome. Maybe you love it too? Got a stove? If you do, get yoself one of these - http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-Farms-25008-Whirley-Pop/dp/B00004SU35

If you put it on medium high (electric stove), put in the oil and add three kernels, wait for them to pop then dump the rest of the kernels in, you will have popcorn that pops nearly all of the kernels. The Orville Redenbacher kernels pop the best IMO (I was buying bulk from sprouts, but they weren't popping as well). Also, get this - http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Medal-Prod-Flavacol-Seasoning/dp/B004W8LT10. You now can make movie theater style popcorn in less than five minutes.


Enjoy!

I really appreciate my vacuum sealer when meal prepping. It's super helpful to freeze food for longer storage.


what I use

Also, I've found a simple kitchen scale is very useful for portion control.

this one

I just got into roasting a few weeks ago!

I roast with one of these and am super happy with the results. I especially love that it's cheap and isn't a unitasker.

That one just looks like a typical air popper. They're around $15-$30. I got this one(#2 Best Seller on Amazon) from Fred Meyer, and have owned it for about a year. It's great, no complaints, and the little cup on top for butter is even the perfect size to measure out how much popcorn you're supposed to put in it. My dad has an older model by the same company, and after around 7 years, it still works almost as good as when he got it.

As for seasoning it, ignore what /u/JustGreg said about using oil to pop if he likes the buttery flavoring. Oil popped popcorn is awesome(I have one of these too), and coconut oil that's been artificially colored and flavored for popcorn is what you should get if you want movie theater style popcorn, but if he likes the flavor of butter, just put butter on it. Take 1/4 to 1/2 a stick of butter, and either microwave it(AFTER you pop the popcorn, unless you have a 25 amp circuit in your kitchen!), or leave it on the the cup on top of the popper while it pops, and drizzle it on the popcorn after it pops. As for salts, I like Flavacol, which is what a lot of theaters use, Paragon Butter Flavored Seasoning Salt, or Jolly Time Buttery Popcorn Seasoning. Or if you're as lazy as I am, you can just pour some of all three into one of these.

Just remember with the air poppers, the only thing that ever goes into the area where it pops is popcorn, never put butter, oil, or seasonings in while it pops!

I bought one of these but don't remember paying $35 for it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002FWIVCA/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?qid=1421944018&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&dpPl=1&dpID=31ho5XmCDHL&ref=plSrch

I use it on a mason jar sealer like this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00005TN7H/ref=pd_aw_sims_6?pi=SS115&simLd=1

It says you need the tube but the soft rubber on the vacuum makes a good seal on top of the sealer, the only issue I have with this setup is that you open all the hops to the air every time you weigh some out, a proper vacuum sealer is definitely going to be purchased in the future.

I used the cheap seal a meal on amazon here for my homegrown hops this year and really liked it. Grab a 50' roll of bags and you're set for awhile.

Can't comment on its usefulness for food, but seems like it would work great to seal up meat bought in bulk to freeze.

This has been covered before, but I just bought a food dehydrator and love it. Make you some awesome paleo beef jerky and dried fruit. Make sue to pack along some nuts as well.

I sound like your girlfriend, as I made basically the same things for myself and my boyfriend :)

Best of all, however, I've made our own beef jerky, which is absurdly delicious and cheaper than store bought. I would buy an eye round roast at Costco, slightly freeze it so it's easier to slice, and then slice, marinate, and dehydrate the slices of meat. It takes a bit of time, but it's worth it for gourmet jerky.

I bought Presto 06301 Dehydro Digital Electric Food Dehydrator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H2OEKK/ and it has worked fantastically. It's less than the cost of one weekend of mountain house meals for two and is well worth the money.

Nope. I paid less for my entire setup than what I normally spent on movie tickets (at the time).

Projectors can last a very long time. To give you an idea, I bought my HD projector at a Circuit City before it went bankrupt, about 9 years ago. All you need is a wall that's big enough for the image. I don't need a custom dedicated home theater. A normal living room, bedroom or den is fine. I also got a portable projector with built-in DVD, an Epson Moviemate, on sale for under $600.

Presto Air popper for $22.45. I got 2 Primo Flavorstation carbonators for about $25/each on clearance at a Big Lots.

When you add up the cost of tickets, popcorn, soda, etc., you'll be surprised how quickly it will buy everything needed to equip your own affordable home theater experience. You want great sound for cheap? The Logitech THX rated gear is a great value.

Try one of these McMuffin Makers: https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-25475A-Breakfast-Sandwich/dp/B00EI7DPOO

I have one, super easy to use and clean. Takes two minutes, just toss in the ingredients, cook, open up the separater and enjoy!

Honestly, instead of putting together a cookbook, why not buy him some outdoor cooking equipment like a campfire grill or some pie irons. Or a dehydrator to make jerky or trial mix or other things that will keep while camping. If you still want to go the recipe route, then pick up a few recipes specific to that equipment.

Like /u/apocalypso points out, I just don't see it being incredibly useful to put together a cookbook like that without a really clear theme or something that would make it more than just a lesser version of what they could find on their own online.

I bought this dehydrator after reading through several "which dehydrator should I buy" threads on reddit. I'm in Australia so I had to get a step down transformer (that's 2000w, you only need 800w to run the dehydrator).

The first thing I watched was Good Eats season 9, episode 03 - youtube linkie here. The recipe he uses can be modified pretty easily. I sort of cheat a little bit for my 'boutique' marinades; I use Nandos Peri-Peri marinade to make peri-peri jerky (just left it for 2 days in the fridge) and this weird terayki sauce I found in a korean store :P

For the super spicy one I used Alton's recipe and just added a bugger-ton of chilli. Really helps with keto, on nibble and you feel like drinking 600ml of water!

Sauce and heaviest foods on botton, lightest or bruisable things or things that could get soggy (strawberries, lettuce, etc.) on top.

Pack as tightly as possible without squishing/ruining food.

Set out and let it get to room tempterature (about an hour or so), then seal the jar and put in fridge. This will allow the mason jar to "vaccuum seal", and stay sealed until you pull it back out of the fridge -- so leave it refrigerated until you grab it for work in the morning or are ready to eat it that day in general. **TIP: this works best with salads. if you're going for more complex foods, like dairy based sauces, you may want to invest in a jar sealer and seal right away!

DONE.

Easiest thing. I do it with salads all the time, and they last about 9 days in the fridge.

Tip: keep things like dairy on the side, and grab with the jar.

I don't know the answer re: density but I'll bet you'd find out more by researching why, as it says in the sidebar, the NCHFP and USDA have not approved any method for canning large amounts of fat (which pb would fall under). Canning fats is not for the faint of heart. I mean some people do so for lard and tallow. But picture pulling boiling jars of pure fat out of a giant bubbling pot of scalding water using canning tongs and you get the idea.. It can go so wrong if something tips, cracks etc.

Is preserving pb something you are trying to do? I suspect the heat and pressure required to safely do so at home would change the taste from what most people would enjoy. You could probably make a natural one with a longer fridge shelf life by taking the air out with one of these to slow down oxidization. The commercial producers use preservatives to achieve the same thing. But really, what makes the most sense is to use a jar sealer to take the oxygen out of your jars of nuts (so they don't go rancid on the shelf) and then make small batches of pb as you need it.

I've seen hot water bath recipes for canned boiled peanuts and for a nutella type spread but that's it.

This may be a bit of an investment, but I use the sous vide method. I have an Anova One immersion circulator cooker that I use as a general kitchen appliance for cooking meat and veggies, etc. I found a method to mash grains using it, here. I've only done this once for my last batch of cream ale, which is fermenting right now, but it appears to be have worked well! It's great at maintaining a temperature without any insulation. I do it right in my brew pot, with the grains in the bag, 3 gallon boil volume. I do 5 gallon batches and add water after the boil. Anova says the volume limit is 4-5 gallons.

Like I said, it's a bit of an investment with a sous vide device costing $150-$200, but you can use it for a lot of other cooking tasks, and it's cheaper than a store-bought 2-cooler mash and sparge setup.

If you love popcorn, get one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-Farms-Whirley-Pop-Stovetop/dp/B00004SU35

Cooks popcorn amazing and you don't have to use much oil at all! I use coconut oil and sprinkle on some nutritional yeast after cooking, very good popcorn!

TheWirecutter.com is a pretty nifty review site. They pretty much aggregate reviews and information from the web and try to provide information on good buys. Here is the sealer they recommended. I bought it off Amazon yesterday and it should arrive today. I'm looking forward to it.

I use this thing to boil the eggs:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DDXWFY0/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523762820&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=go+dash+egg+cooker

Makes perfect eggs every time. Super easy.

And I make them very simply: just mix up 12 egg yolks, 1 tbsp of yellow mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and however much mayonnaise you like in a bowl, spoon them in the egg whites, and pepper them to all hell.

I use Hellman’s with added olive oil.

More mayonnaise or mustard if you like. The first time I used too much mustard, which just makes them zippy. One time I didn’t use enough mayo, and they were very plain. I just eyeball the mayonnaise, making it nice and creamy.

If you have the money, Excalibur dehydrators are incredibly nice. Otherwise, the nesco dehydrators like this one work great. Make sure you go through Amazon or someone who will handle warranty issues for you, though.

If you want the best tasting popcorn, get yourself a Whirly Pop

Just pour in a little bit of oil, some popcorn, and a good amount of salt, and you will have the best tasting popcorn.

I like popcorn.

Buy a microwaveable popcorn bowl for $15 and a big jug of popcorn for $15 at Sam's or Costco. The bowl is a one-time purchase and the popcorn comes out to 20 cents per bowl.

I add a touch of oil to the popcorn before microwaving, but it's not needed (and makes it a little tougher to clean). Otherwise add salt and/or seasoning and you're good to go.

It's the perfect "I'm hungry but don't want a whole meal" option or "It's 11pm and I need a snack to get me through the next few hours of studying" option.

First, while wearing gloves, pack that shit into a motherfuggin ziploc baggy. Then, dispose of the gloves and grab another pair. Throw those babies on and get yourself one of these handy dandy Vacuum Sealers and throw your baggy in there and seal it on up. Then, grab yourself some petroleum jelly, completely coat the outside of the first sealed package, swap out your disposable gloves and re-seal that baby a second time. Repeat once more with another layer of petroleum jelly, re-re-seal it in a third vac layer and sneaker express your way on down to your nearest USPS office cause you're ready to ship some weed. Key things to note are that if you have any trace amounts of particles on your fingers and touch the outside of one of the vac seals, you basically just nullified that layer (on the off chance a dog smells your package). Be very, very careful about contact transfers. Never try and pack while high. Also, make sure to package it discretely and in such a way that none of the layers will rupture. I'm also pretty sure that using the mail to ship across state lines probably makes it a federal crime, so don't be dumb kids.

Edit: that really neat bot below me linked the price history for that vac sealer but you don't have to buy an expensive one like that. I bought a ~$60 one like five years ago for sealing meat and shit and it still works great

I'd ask for a piece of exercise equipment second hand is usually pretty cheap. Or maybe ask for something that will allow you to cook something healthy for yourself easily. I've had my eye on this lately http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UKPBXM4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1450105470&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=suvee+cooker&dpPl=1&dpID=31qzlpLHQcL&ref=plSrch

Thanks! I was having trouble sleeping and my thoughts were kind of jumbled.

I forgot to mention, if you don't have a traditional kettle popper, a whirlypop-style stovetop popper makes great popcorn. This is also the best choice if it's for only you or for a small group because the kettle style are a pain to clean.

There are lots of knockoff whirlypops but I've heard the the crank/gearing on some are very cheap and break after not too long. I think even whirlypop had QC issues for awhile. There are some good copycat brands, though.

Find the right heat/gas setting on your stove through trial and error and always stick to it for a consistent result. Also, you will get the best result with slow, even stirring as opposed to fast, occasional stirring. Anyway, once the test kernel pops it only takes a few minutes to pop a batch, so you're not handcuffed to the popper for very long.

You need a popping machine :)

It's special purpose hair dryer that's fun to watch in action. It's easy and doesn't make a mess.

If price is the biggest factor, and he doesn't mind a hands-on approach, buy green beans + a popcorn popper and have him roast his own beans. It's a very easy way to roast and will taste better than Starbucks beans with a little effort. It also comes out to about ~$6/lb of coffee after you buy the popper.


Other options roasted beans:

• Happy Mug Coffee ~$11/lb, freshly roasted
  
  
• SW Roasting ~$14/lb, freshly roasted, members of /r/coffee
  
  
• Costco Coffee ~$7.5/lb but YMMV, not freshly roasted however but some have said it's decent quality
  
  Keep in mind that different blends/origins will affect price of the beans. If you need help with suggestions, feel free to ask!

Thanks, that's good to know. I'll put this thing on my Amazon wish list: https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Precision-Cooker-WIFI-Watts/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=pd_cart_wl_2_3?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=GV0X6QSRBDV9PR0CQV8C&th=1

Just a matter of hinting to the wife :)

These are all very niche products. While each will work to some degree, the scope of its usefulness is very narrow (OK, I may actually be a bit skeptical of the degree to which any of these can work in 10 minutes, but that's besides the point). If you are serious about wanting to help your wife make easy, consistent edibles, skip these overpriced specialty items and get an Anova/Joule sous vide cooker, a bunch of Ziploc bags, and some cheesecloth. Follow the guides at sousweed.com and you will get efficient decarb and infusion every time without the smell. The sous vide cookers are cheaper and do an incredible job at actually cooking normal food too!

This one is way cheaper than the costco one. Ive had mine for almost 2 years and it has been great. Certainly saved me money on cheeses and meats that I can buy in bulk.

The bags are safe for immersion cooking, according to the package.

I heard that all vacuum sealers eventually go, so buy a cheap one.

Seal-a-Meal FSSMSL0160-000 Vacuum Sealer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HMWC4A/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_FJSIwbD17PJER

Yay happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday dear shercock! Happy birthday to you. (I signed that in ASL , but you couldn't see it...)

But this nifty vacuum sealer would make my life so much easier when it comes to sending my baked goods! thissssss

Ok so this is ridiculous but my mother bought one of these in the 80's. A microwave popcorn bowl it just uses bulk popcorn. We never used the microwave bags.

I don't understand why but whenever one of my friends sees it for the first time they think it is amazing.
http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Microwaver-Popcorn-Popper/dp/B00004W4UP

This sounds like it'd be perfect for you! As long as you have an outlet nearby? (Sorry for the ugly link)

http://smile.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCCPLC200-R-20-Ounce-Lunch-Warmer/dp/B006H5V8US/ref=sr_1_19?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1409593533&sr=1-19&keywords=slow+cooker

My best friend sent me this and despite having a microwave, I'm really considering buying it.

Anova listed here for 150$. I personally don't have this one, but there is also the Joule for 200$ as well as the Sansaire as the other commenter mentioned. They are all pretty good and will get the job done without taking up too much space.

1 best keto device ever:

Anova Sous Vide immersion circulator. perfect, easy, restaurant-quality food every time at a fraction of the cost.
https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-PCB-120US-K1-Bluetooth-Precision/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1479609493&sr=1-1&keywords=anova+sous+vide

Don't microwave it, too many risks. You absolutely must develop patience right now if you don't already have it.

I have had this happen to me before however not toilet water thank god. You need to separate them form each other best you can without screwing them up too much and set the aside somewhere kinda warm where there is no breeze at all and just wait and keep waiting if you want to salvage everything. Let it sit like 24 hours before you bather checking. If you can apply passive hear with no blower go for it, just keep it very low. Like a portable radiator based heater on low.

Only other option I can think of is if you happen to have or can borrow a home food dehydrator, that would work wonders. Something like this or similar would do awesome:


https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75A-Snackmaster-Dehydrator-White/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1482719518&sr=1-5&keywords=food+dehydrator

Jerky is kinda time-consuming, but ridiculously easy.

I use a meat slicer and a fairly expensive dehydrator, but a sharp knife and warm oven will do the job, too.
(The oven is a bit of a hassle, though, so I would recommend a reasonably-priced dehydrator. The square-shaped models are more useful than round.)

I used Alton Brown's box fan & furnace filter method for a while, but it just takes sooo long. Even in my hot garage, it could take four or five days of drying, and I simply do not have that kind of patience where jerky is concerned.

I don't have any experience with either, but I have had a "Seal A Meal" since August of 2016 that I've had good luck with (and it's cheaper than both of the listed units). ;)

Oh, and here are the bags I use with it....

ummmm....

IP is not meant for certain cuts.

(unless you just want to sautee it)

cuts with lots of fat are best. lean cuts will dry and toughen.

https://www.hippressurecooking.com/meat-cuts-pcs/

i'd slather it in olive oil and garlic, maybe tyme or oregano then broil it for ~6 minutes on each side..


but if you must..

add ~5 mins for frozen meat


you want perfect steaks and pork chops get a sous vide cooker. -

hang this thing on the side of a pot, and cook your food in a water bath.. (food is in baggies) https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Precision-Adjustment-Circulator/dp/B00UKPBXM4

NOT quick, the opposite, the secret is low temperature for long time, so you CANT overcook.. I'll never make steaks any other way now.. but it takes about 2 hours but the meat is perfectly (rare, med, well)

https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html

Also as an alternative...

I got one of these mini crockpot lunch warmers as a christmas gift and its great to bring to work! you just plug it in 20 minutes before lunch with your meal already prepped inside and then you have a warm meal without the need for a microwave!

http://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCCPLC200-PK-20-Ounce-Lunch-Warmer/dp/B006H5V7ZY

Make your own!! Here's a recipe. Just take the honey out of his marinade recipe. I use a marinade of soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, fresh ground pepper, and curing salt, and I also got a dehydrator to make it easier. I only marinated the meat for 2 hours, and it came out great!

You're going to get a lot of Nesco suggestions, for good reason. I have this one and love it. I make jerky like once a week. This one has adjustable temp and element on top and plenty of power to do jerky in a just few hours. That's all you really need.

I use the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker WIFI http://amzn.to/2CpjW6A . That and a pot of water and you are good to go.

My picking my favorite Nomad is like picking a favorite child. That said, lately is has been a tie between the Fin de los Mundos. Esteli Lot 8613, and the Martial Law.

Nice, thanks! I've been thinking about getting another, and that looks like a good one. Mine was similar, I had the round nesco.

Gahhh looks like I got it on sale for 50 bucks off! But this is the one. Super easy, the blue dial just scrolls up or down to change temp and the play button starts and stops it.

In order to get the best bang for your buck, I highly recommend getting a dedicated herb grinder. Something like this, while it may be a tad bit expensive, is definitely worth it. Most cheap grinders are made from plastic, wood, or aluminum, have only a single chamber, and are very low quality generally.
There are also concerns with plastic or aluminum grinders of the possibility of getting shavings or particles into your bud. This can be very unhealthy.
Another reason to get a high-quality grinder is that many of them come with multiple chambers, many also include mesh screens to use for getting kief.

Not OP but I will give you a couple of mine

Boiled potatoes
Popcorn - My wife bought this. Then she puts coconut oil and TJ vegan butter on it. I've never cared for pop corn until she started making it like that.
Chips and salsa and/or hummus - I like to do a chip in spicy salsa then the next chip in hummus for the compliment.
Chips and Guac - if making guac isnt considered cooking
Pasta and marinara
Trader Joe's Spring Rolls - Just bake

I have the same wet tumbler you do. I use this media separator to spin around the cases to remove any pins I missed from shaking out the tumbler into a big bucket. Works very well. I fill it with water and do one run through water and then another run in open air.

Also, GET THE MAGNET those little bastard pins get everywhere and your life will be 100 times easier with the magnet to pick them up quickly.

As for drying them after, I got THIS food dehydrator. works like a charm. It's got a good price point and it has temp and timer controls so you can set it and forget it. I usually run it for 1.5 hours at 130 degrees to dry out my brass. I'd also recommend additional mesh nets as smaller cases like 9mm want to fall through the outer spokes. The nets prevent this and also let you put more on there completely horizontal to get any remaining water to drip out.

I got this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0090WOCN0/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (hopefully that actually brings you to the dehydrator). It was pretty simple to use, although I think I would’ve bought a more powerful one, since I had to run it more than 24 hours straight to dehydrate the peppers. I did some whole and some cut, if I cut them, I did it in half and put the dehydrator in my basement with an oscillating fan blowing on high on it since I didn’t want to pepper spray my entire family. The one I posted you just plug it in and set the temp and let it run, you put the peppers on the trays and stack them all up, the manufacturer recommends using 4-5 trays at all times even if they don’t have anything on them. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll try to help.

These flashlights are awesome: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y1VZR6J/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Have you heard of sous vide? https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Precision-Bluetooth-Included/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1542952053&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=sous+vide&psc=1

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This is the world's coolest drill: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015XBO2E0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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This dash cam is a great deal for the price: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0742DD36K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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You can roast your own pretty easily and cheaply. I bought a 5 lb bag of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe green coffee beans from Etsy for $30 shipped and then I bought this hot air popcorn popper. Put a scoop of beans into the popper, place a bowl under the shoot to collect the chaff so it doesn't go everywhere, angle the popper so the chaff shoots out but the beans stay in, and plug it in. Roast to desired doneness then pour the beans in a mesh colander and shake it until it cools. Let it sit for a few days and then you can grind and drink.

It's really simple and once you've done it a few times you get the hang of it. Just watch a few videos first. Roasting it myself has yielded the best coffee I've ever tasted at roughly the same cost as the cheaper brands.

Joule or Anova WiFi, keep in mind Joule can only be used with a phone or other WiFi device that supports the app - but its ease of use can't be beaten.

Anova Nano might also be a good option but I've heard mixed reviews. I personally use the Anova WiFi and couldn't be more satisfied.

Anova WiFi (I bought mine for $119): https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Precision-Bluetooth-Included/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1550594863&sr=8-3&keywords=anova+wifi

Joule: https://www.amazon.com/ChefSteps-Joule-Sous-Watts-White/dp/B0727R431B/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1550594863&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=anova+wifi&psc=1

Edit: updated with Amazon links

So, after hours spent on internet I decided to get myself a 28 quart insulated cooler for my new Anova. I didn't expect it to have "can space" on top but it's a perfect fit. Right now I have 12 New York strip cooking in there for 2.5h.

links

cooler : https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000MQ63C6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
cooker : https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00UKPBXM4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

note : prices are CDN $

I have this one - https://www.amazon.com/Nesco-FD-75A-Snackmaster-Dehydrator-White/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3D3E3AUIUH2CI&keywords=nesco+dehydrator&qid=1562617572&s=gateway&sprefix=nesco+%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-3

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I like it. I put the trays in the dishwasher and they come pretty clean, sometimes I have to use a little scrub brush. But it makes tasty jerky and kale chips (the only two things I have tried to make) really easily and fits quite a bit of food. I wasn't sure how much I would use it, so didn't want to spend a bunch of money on one. You can also buy additional trays if you are making a lot of jerky at once.

I have the FoodSaver V2244 which is as close to standard issue consumer grade as I'm aware of. I've only had it since October but have used it almost every single day since then and have been very happy with its performance, especially for its price. I'd recommend it!

You can also use pretty much any microwaveable bowl with a lid. Melt the butter, add the kernels and salt, listen, wait, and enjoy. The bowl gets really hot but you don't have to worry about having paper bags around whenever you want popcorn.

I bought a "popcorn bowl" at Target for 8 bucks (you can get one on Amazon here. You can make it without oil or butter (but why?) and it works really well.

Yeah I actually bought a different sous vide with the Instant Pot because it was on sale but i'm returning it tomorrow.

I'll probably end up getting the new Anova with WiFi at some point as the only complaint with sous vide in the instant pot is the space (You can't do giant roasts like you can with the Anova where you don't have to worry about the container size).

But as a starter, or if it's just smaller stuff you're cooking, the Instant Pot Ultra is absolutely great for Sous Vide.

I bought this one recently. No timer, but works great. Good reviews and price.

Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HMWC4A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 this one is cheap and works great. You can use amazon brand bags that also work great and make it so much cheaper

These popcorn poppers are amazing!! You can even buy the oil/ butter flavor stuff! I use a ton of regular butter because IDGAF and it's delicious but for me, this whole set up is better than movie theater popcorn. Just sayin!

Sorry I wouldn't use a no heat method - too much of a chance of pathogenic contamination.

I just purchased a nice NESCO FD75-A Dehydrator off the recommendation of Jerkyholic.

I've used it a couple of times already and it works great. Top round has been finishing in about 5 hours at 160F.

Try this thing. I don't know how but they peel way easier and cook perfect every time.

Dash Go Rapid Egg Cooker, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DDXWFY0/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_K8ENxbF6Y21M0

Obviously not all of them do, but check out the reviews for this one on Amazon

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker | Bluetooth | 800W | Anova App Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VOmnDb4KZ662E

Even if they did walk it back, several people at that company thought it was a great idea to integrate FB. No thanks.

The annova is currently $100 on Amazon

Edit: here's the link to the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Bluetooth-Precision-Cooker/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1494436147&sr=1-3&keywords=sous+vide it seems to be the most popular one. I'm sure there are other products that're a better value but I was kind of impulsive and just wanted to finally have one. :)

If you like hard boiled eggs a lot, this is one of the best things you can buy under $20. I get perfect hard boiled eggs every time with 0 effort. It also has trays for poaching and omelets, they don't make anything amazing but they will make decent eggs with a bonus that it was steamed and not fried.


https://www.amazon.com/Dash-Rapid-Egg-Cooker-Scrambled/dp/B00DDXWFY0/ref=sr_1_1_sspa

This is the model I have: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_27ABybM378CRH

Pros are it's cheap to get into, expandable up to 12 trays, and easy to clean.

Cons are the heat comes from one end, so you will have to rotate trays part way through.

An alternative is something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017HX1966/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_F.ABybB9VDQGT

Pros are it heats evenly, so no need to rotate.

Cons are you're stuck at the amount of trays it came with (anywhere from 6-12 usually), and it's a little harder to clean.

Edit - Either way, you'll need to be careful of the smell, it'll get into everything. My dad bought one. I tried to warn him, he didn't believe me (although he did use his balcony). Thought I was exaggerating. Until his neighbor two doors down asked him what he was cooking (jerky). I recommend doing it in a shed or garage.

Yes, get the basic 7 gallon brew bucket. Drill a hole in the lid with their drill bit. Add the bulkhead. Add a TC to ball lock gas post. Now you can do closed transfers.

I also love my Tilt and TiltPi running on a Pi Zero.

With all that cash you won't mind a large grain storage bin perfect for 50 pound grain sacks.

You can break down your pound bags of hops into smaller bags with a vacuum sealer.

Try an RO system and upgrade it with a 14 gallon pressure tank (can't find the link).

If you're going to do this, make sure you're using good quality freezer bags, otherwise air will just get in again.

Honestly though, an inexpensive vacuum sealer and bags run about $40. I bought both of these about a year and a half ago, and the vacuum sealer is still working great, and I've used less than half of each roll of bags.

Also if you're looking to meal prep, things like chili or soups can be frozen pretty effectively. This sauce also freezes beautifully, but freeze just the sauce, not the sauce already mixed with the pasta. You could also do mini lasagnas in disposable aluminum loaf pans, which would provide 2-4 servings each depending on your hunger levels and the size of pan you use.

Do you have or know anyone who owns a vacuum food saver?

If not, you can try those Space Bags you attach your home vacuum to. I tried the Space Bags for some extra pillows but, it seemed to slowly leak and expand with air again. It could've been because I over stuffed it though.

Whatever you end up doing, try and make sure they're clean, dry and coated all over with oil. Wouldn't hurt to toss in those little Silica Gel packets, either.

Just sealed two bags of this recipe with a lower end foodsaver: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S

It has a drip tray in the sealing chamber so some liquid is ok. Only issue I had was the first seal was not 100% so I just closed the lid and sealed again on the same spot, no issues. Granted, it's not 100% air tight but it's pretty close and I imagine will ultimately be fine.

There was also a suggestion on here to freeze the unsealed bag for an hour or so (to get the liquid mostly solid) then seal. I'd imagine that works well.

I'll see him tomorrow so I'll ask but pretty sureeee its this one

Edit: As for the bucket.. he just uses honestly a plastic bucket most of the time

115 isn't bad for showers, you aren't being submerged in the water for long term. Cells start to die around 106 degrees when you start dehydrating. Just a quick google search so I don't seem like I'm talking out my ass

But when I was talking getting steak to medium rare I was talking about Sous Vide Cooking, which you effectively shrink wrap food and put it in preheated water and it effectively can't over cook. So if you want a medium rare steak, you have a water bath set to around 125-130 degrees (Anova sous vide heater from amazon) . Bag up your steak with spices/whatever you want. Toss is it in the water for 1-4 hours, and it'll come out medium rare all the way through. Sear both sides of it for Maillard effect/flavors, and enjoy a perfect steak.

Cooking on a grill gets you medium rare a lot faster (5-7 minutes a side depending on thickness) but you are working with the center of the steak being 125-130 degrees when done, while the gradient of the steak from center to outside is much more done than the inside since you are effectively scorching the outside with 400 degrees + temperature.

My buddy and I bought the Nesco FD-75PR 700-watt specifically for dehydrating meals for backpacking. We are currently prepping for 6 days on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Anyways, definitely get a dehydrator and definitely experiment with seasoning because it will be a lot different than you are use to. From our first chili experiment with the dehydrator we found it was best to season when reconstituting the chili. Someone told me that most spices are fat soluble (could be completely wrong on this) so while we are reconstituting the chili we threw a pad of butter in. Get a dehydrator, you will love it and soon start dehydrating everything. If you go to the link posted above look into the freezerbag cooking. I have not used it but it seems nifty.

I plan on storing my seeds for years. Here's how I do it:

1. Drill a 3/4" hole in the lid of a 2 or 4 oz. baby food jar, using a Forstner bit. Tape over the hole with micropore tape on both sides. Fill the jar half-way with Damprid (calcium chloride). Silica gel only gets RH down to 40%, whereas CaCl2 lowers it to <25%. Stuff the rest of the jar with cotton and screw the lid on. I stick the baby food jar to the bottom of a pint- or quart-sized wide-mouth mason jar using these from Wallyworld.
   
   
2. Put the seeds in small ziploc baggies or breeder's packs inside the mason jar. Make sure they're slightly open and not airtight.
   
   
3. Put some oxygen absorber packets in there.
   
   
4. Put the lid on and vacuum seal the jar with one of these and a vacuum pump. You can use a Food Saver pump if you have one but I went with a cheaper option. I squirt some silicone in a ring around the lip for a better seal to the jar sealer.
   
   
5. Screw the jar ring on and store the mason jar in the fridge.
   
   This method takes care of the 3 things that lower seed viability--humidity, oxidation (with the oxygen absorbers and vacuum seal), and temperature. I also plan on saving herb for the long haul like this, but with 62% Boveda packs instead of the CaCl2.

Spend $60 once on a good quality Dehydrator and there after make your own jerky an many flavors at about 1/4 the price or less...

For example:

Ingredients

2 pounds beef round steak, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons liquid smoke

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon meat tenderizer

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika


Directions

Place beef strips in the bottom of a large bowl. Pour soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, brown sugar, salt, pepper, meat tenderizer, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika over beef. Mix to assure all the meat is evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove meat from bowl and place between two pieces of plastic wrap; pound to 1/8-inch thickness.

Arrange the meat strips on the tray of a dehydrator and dry at your dehydrator's highest setting until done to your liking, at least 4 hours. Store in an airtight container or resealable bags.

I've got this one and it's pretty good. I'd recommend buying a few extra solid trays (I think they call them fruit-roll-up trays) Presto 06301 Dehydro Digital Electric Food Dehydrator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H2OEKK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_IJVQwbM5ZV98K

I have a Anova sous vide machine and it is great and it is 30 bucks cheaper then the joule and does the exact same thing. I highly suggest it, I use it with a 5 gallon bucket and it works great.

best bet is to get a food dehydrator, find a marinade you like and make your own jerky. I used to make shitloads of the stuff and it was as good as, if not better than the stuff you get in the bags at the store.

you can also get something that looks like a caulking gun and the spices to mix into ground beef to make your own slim jim type things too.

edit: here it is for you.

I do this, only I vacuum pack my salads using one of those canning attachments and a brake bleeder.

I actually get a pretty good vacuum and my salad stays crisp in the fridge for a week. Just remember to layer your ingredients as to not get anything soggy.

As enterstip mentioned, they're easy to eat out of and readily washable in the dishwasher. I reuse the caps (lids?), too. As long as I don't damage/bend them while trying to break the vacuum.

Wide Mouth Jar Sealer

Wide Mouth Mason Jars

Edit: The advantage of doing this using mason jars as opposed to Tupperware would be evacuating near all the air as opposed to lazily squeezing it out using one of those cheap bowls.

Oh, and not to mention people at work'll think you're awful crafty bringing in vacuum-packed mason jars full of salad.

Lol i know right? Though my newest, best kitchen toy isthis dehydratorand it's brilliant for when your garden gives you 3824720 tomatoes all on the same day and you have no idea wtf to do with all that (or when you find strawberries on sale...)! I've been eating soooo many dried kiwi slices and apple chips :)

I bought this one back in 2014. Works just fine for what I use it for; mainly bacon and ham. I caught it on sale for ~$70-80. You just need to go slow when slicing, and it helps to have your meat cold. Easy to clean.

Never tried that and honestly if you have the money and want something to do the job right the link below is for a dehydrator. It’s 40 dollars.

Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H2OELY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EnLTAbACW6SYE

This will do the trick. I personally have this one, and I love it. Just take a look through amazon and read some reviews.

Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, White - MADE IN USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MpLTAbKDGTP1D

I don't have one, but at just $51, it might be a good option to look into. Thanks!

For one, it's popped the "regular way" and the butter flavor is likely different. Even though it's super unhealthy, buy microwave popcorn with "movie theater butter flavor", and that should taste more similar.

On a related note, I use an air-popper (I use the #1 Best-Seller on Amazon) and I love it. It is much cheaper in the long run. The downside though is you have to apply butter/olive oil/coconut oil/peanut oil and salt after the fact, which takes some added time. Stove popping is also good, but I don't want to deal with cleaning a pot every time I make popcorn. I use extra virgin olive oil because it's healthier and it still tastes good (different type of taste than movie theater butter flavor, but still good). If you want to air-pop and want "movie theater flavor", you can buy Orville Redenbacher's Buttery Popping/Topping Oil.

Go for it.

I'm using the standard air popper set up, works great.

Just pour the beans in, tip it back a bit, turn on the popper, and starting checking the color after the first audible crack (~3-5minutes). When the roast is just before where you want it, turn the popper off and dump the beans into a pan.

There's a bit of smoke and chaff involved, so do the roasting outside or at least pointing out a window.

You save money, time (I buy my green beans in bulk from sweet maria's so I never have to make weekly bean runs again), and you get some truly incredible coffee.

The Nordic Ware microwave Popcorn popper, and Flavacol is what we use. Excellent results every time, and SO easy.

Well, from what I've found, you *can* use the polish without a spinner, but it is better to do it on a spinner. This is Storm's product designed for people to use at home, I don't think as many people are going to be picking up quarts of Step Two. That's why I would (personally and hypothetically) do it myself until the ball needs a resurface.

If you're willing to drop the money on a spinner, absolutely do that. They're not difficult to use, and as long as you're not too aggressive with super-coarse Abralon, you aren't going to irreparably damage anything. Given that my PSO charges something like $30 for a full resurface, it was a no-brainer.

People have also built their own ball ovens for much less than the $200. If you look at the Nuball and Vertex rejuvenators, you will see it looks suspiciously like the Nesco FD-61. I stuck one on top of a rubbermaid tote so I can bake two at once, if you're curious I can dredge up the post. I've seen hair dryer boxes as well, but don't know if you need any modifications to keep it at safe temperatures.

Yessir.

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker | WI-FI + Bluetooth | 900W | Anova App Included https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HHWSV1S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_2XoWDb5WDTB60

This us the one I have. But you can get them for far cheaper. A friend got one for like $50 and it works as well as mine. Just doesn't have the wireless abilities.

Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090WOCN0/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_xP-zybA94HKTR

It is pretty big, one tray of chili is enough to feed two people comfortably. It came with a fruit tray, which is required for the more liquid foods like chili. You can get extra fruit trays for about $3 each.

Something like this would pair nice with the food saver! Would also go good with the grilled food!

Anova Culinary Bluetooth Sous Vide Precision Cooker, 800 Watts, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_WwVmzbSPXPQ10

Thanks too. I've read that some use popcorn poppers but didn't realise they were much of a thing here ... some searches on amazon found the one you recommend, at $150!!!! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wabash-Valley-Farms-25008-Whirley-Pop/dp/B00004SU35/ref=sr_1_79?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1420919362&sr=1-79&keywords=popcorn+maker

But there is a cheaper one by another maker - it's smaller but the same design and seems decent quality. There are also electric ones, starting at around $40 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beneo-CinemaTaste-Popcorn-Maker-Stainless/dp/B00LX5PX7G/ref=sr_1_69?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1420919619&sr=1-69&keywords=popcorn+maker

To anyone looking for a cheaper alternative, i bought my mom this slicer Works great! My favorite thing to make so far is philly cheesesteaks by thinly slicing sirloin roast. Also, have you tried making potato chips with your slicer yet Jeffrey?

I think you need to make your own popcorn with a popcorn popper. Imagine the warm, buttery, salty goodness of fresh popped popcorn 😀

I think it is pretty close to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IUWA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have been using that for 5 years to roast. A minor mod that I did was open it up and twist the bimetal overtemp protection closed so I could roast as many batches as I want in succession. Works great. Just don't rely on the air pushing up to circulate the beans. I use a shaking motion to rotate the beans around and you can roast up to 1/3 lb with this.

I know Crockpot make a warmer which you can take to work, but I'm not sure if you power it in your car, however I found an alternative on Amazon which might be good! The first one needs the food to be cooked first, so do some research on the second one too, personally I'd cook in advance just to make sure regardless though.

I keep mine in pint-size canning jars with the air sucked out. Then they live in the freezer. One pound of pellets splits between two pint jars pretty cleanly. A canning jar vacuum adapter is pretty inexpensive and I use a Harbor Freight hand-operated brake bleeder pump to evacuate them.

I've got few ounces left of some 2014-crop hops that were still making good beer as of a few weeks ago. Probably a little less potent than fresh, but still good.

I have this one, and I got it for like $20 on a meh.com deal, and I've seen them on sale there a few times. It works perfectly fine for all my purposes (hops and sous vide steaks).

Well, I actually bought this one-- used, amazon warehouse deals because it comes with fruit leather trays which I use a lot of. The higher the wattage the faster things dry. The Snackmaster is their entry-level version.

I haven't tried drying high water-content stuff like stone fruit or grapes because I'm a little afraid of spoilage if they don't dry evenly and I don't want to spare the freezer space. But for those I puree them and make fruit leather instead. Hope this helps.

I use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Microwaver-Popcorn-Popper/dp/B00004W4UP

I used to put butter / salt in but recently I don't want to bother with cleanup. Straight popcorn is good enough for me.

$52, free shipping: Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator

I have this dehydrator and it is awesome, in fact, its actually drying some stuff as I write this lol.