I am very excited (okay, I know, SHOCKED would probably have been a better descriptive word to use) to have partnered with Mom Central as one of their Fridgidaire Test Drive Moms - Team Everything!
Why?
Well, as I mentioned in my inaugural post, 'cawse nobody breaks stuff, like I do! We survived THE BIG INSTALL and my attempts at burning down the house, not to mention, nearly snapping the wheels off the dishwasher!
Seriously, if there was an Olympic event specifically for "breaking and/or making appliances smoke" well, our walls would be covered with gold, instead of fingerprints and dog snot (you're welcome!)
This is the brand new Frigidaire over-the-range microwave we got.
This is where the Frigidaire over-the-range microwave SHOULD go, really, but we ARE talking about my house and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, stuff just doesn't go right, right?
NOTE: Oh, the microwave would have fit -- in the space originally planned for, over the range -- however, the installer and I agreed that there wasn't enough of "comfortable" or "usable" clearance IN-BETWEEN the range top and the bottom of the microwave.
What now?
Well, my friends, based on passed experience, the best thing to do is, go to plan J and...you know...just make it work, DAMMIT!
So, on our kitchen counter it sits and we're using it to only reheat (cooked with it only once) for now. I apologize, in advance, for the grainy pictures -- looks very unprofessional, I know -- but, I am sort of attached to my little point and shoot camera.
Moving on.
KEY FEATURES: [listed below, along with TFH comments]
Effortless Reheat - reheat almost anything at the touch of a button [TFH: there's a little cheat label inside the microwave, set up according to type of food, like chicken nuggets, soften ice cream, melt butter and multiple snack options and all you have to do is find the corresponding number and push. We use Sensor-Reheating a lot -- you don't have to enter an amount or number!]
More
SpaceWise Rack - creates more room so you can cook multiple dishes at once. [TFH: we haven't used this function as of yet, however, as you can tell, the inside of this microwave is HUGE and makes for a terrific bread box, when not in use and yes, my husband brought 2 (two) cakes, home for dessert, the other day, the besterd!]
Real Stainless Steel - a protective coating that reduces fingerprints and smudges so it's easy to clean. [TFH: seriously, all of our Frigidaire appliances are coated with real stainless steel and I haven't had to break out the Windex, yet, which, I am told, is probably not a good thing to do, anyway, on stuff like this.]
Keep Warm Setting - keep food warm until everything - and everyone - is ready. [TFH: haven't used this, either, since food doesn't stick around long enough, in the house, or people, for that matter, for it to matter, anyway, sheesh, however, nice to have, so I've heard!]
Sensor Cooking Microwave - automatically adjusts power levels and cooking times to perfectly cook a variety of items, effortlessly. [TFH: we did cook pork, using the "chopped meat" selection -- see final verdict, below.]
FINAL VERDICT - ON THE UPSIDE: The Sensor Cooking and Sensor Re-heating function on this unit, in my opinion, is invaluable (in a house, like mine) and just helps make it real easy to figure out how long to cook and/or reheat food, by not having to figure it out, at all. We've cooked pork, using our favorite deep covered dish from Pampered Chef, under the "ground meat" setting with satisfactory results (i.e. the kids ate it AND loved it) and our re-heated food comes out hot, every blessed time!
ON THE DOWNSIDE: We are still waiting to be able to shorten the cabinet above the range (i.e. save up enough milk money to buy something new that will work) and hope to do this, very soon!
Looking Ahead to Week 5: I haven't written anything about the fridge, yet. Half of us love it, but the jury is STILL out, for the other half of the family -- more on this next week!
In the meantime, if anyone needs me, I'll be upstairs...asleep...wake me up when Ty Pennington calls!
© 2010 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.
“I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and will receive a Frigidaire Refrigerator, Range/Microwave, Washer/Dryer set, and a Dishwasher to facilitate my review.”
