As Seen On TV: Does ANY of this crap work?

[Silver Raven]

Quote

I know this is scandalous, but we use margarine, not butter.

I really don't like most dairy products, don't eat cheese or sour cream and only tolerate milk if it's in cereal, so I don't like the taste of butter.  To me, it tastes rancid no matter how fresh it is.  I prefer margarine.

[Jamoche]

7 hours ago, Jaded said:

I grew up in the south on the coast in the US and am still here. Never thought to leave butter for long periods outside of the fridge. How long can it stay like that? I threw almost a whole tub away because the fridge door popped open during the middle of the night because the shelves were overfilled.

The website for one of those butter products cited the FDA claiming a week. I hit Google and the first hit said "2 weeks at room temperature" but also "when room temperature rises above 70° F, all butter should be refrigerated". So, always?

[ennui]

12 hours ago, Jaded said:

Never thought to leave butter for long periods outside of the fridge. How long can it stay like that? 

People were eating butter for centuries before refrigeration. I doubt they made a fresh batch every day. 

Have y'all heard of a French butter keeper?

Quote

 A French butter dish is a container used to maintain the freshness and spreadable consistency of butter without refrigeration. This late 19th century French-designed pottery crock has two parts: a base that holds water, and a cup to hold the packed butter which also serves as a lid. The cup containing butter is placed into the base, where water creates an airtight seal that keeps the air (and thus oxygen) away from the butter so that refrigeration is not needed, and the butter can be used in its soft form. This method will keep butter for around a month provided it is kept at temperatures below 80 °F (27 °C) and the water is changed regularly.

I just use a butter dish with a lid; never had any problems.

[Jamoche]

2 hours ago, ennui said:

People were eating butter for centuries before refrigeration. I doubt they made a fresh batch every day. 

Have y'all heard of a French butter keeper?

I just use a butter dish with a lid; never had any problems.

80 degrees is still cooler than you'd get in a Texas summer. Isn't that why southern Europe used olive oil instead?

[xaxat]

Hi guys. We really need to bring this back on topic.

Feel free to continue the Great Butter Debate in Small Talk.

[peacheslatour]

22 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I really don't like most dairy products, don't eat cheese or sour cream and only tolerate milk if it's in cereal, so I don't like the taste of butter.  To me, it tastes rancid no matter how fresh it is.  I prefer margarine.

Taking to Small Talk.

[Jaded]

Posted an article about butter expiration in Small Talk.

[ennui]

Hover Cover is a splatter guard that fastens to ceiling of your microwave with special polymer magnets. ... My question, they show food splattered all over the microwave, but sort of ignore that the food would also splatter on the cover ... 

[friendperidot]

Today, I was standing outside Walmart, waiting for my ride. There was a big motorcycle parked there, it had a trailer so it was double big! I'm in OK, it had Ohio plates, they were a little way from home. It's been really hot here, until the last few days, low 90s as opposed to low 100s, and there really is a huge difference in those temps! Middle aged couple came out to get ready to go. They had a couple of bags, stuffed several things in the trailer, but they took out some blue cloths, I glimpsed a plastic bottle that had "so cool" printed on the side. The woman opened the cooler and put the blue cloth inside it, then next thing I saw, she was wrapping it around her neck. The he was opening another package, and I just had to ask, they said it was as seen on tv and that they worked well, just get them wet and put them around your neck. I hadn't heard of this as seen on tv, but it did look like a good idea. And they have a long ride back to Ohio! I don't even know if they've got more exploring before heading to Ohio, but there's still a lot of hot summer left in the south central US!

[Prevailing Wind]

I bought 3 of something like those back in 96 when the Olympics came to Atlanta. The ones I bought were headbands. You just wet them & put them on. While attending an Oly event in the Georgia summer, I noticed the cops were wearing "Polar Kool" items, too.  Now, I just take the headband and wrap it around my neck. Much more cooling than putting it on your forehead, like a hippie.

[friendperidot]

My Chlorox spinning bathtub scrubber is on it's way. I considered buying the Turbo one today at Walmart, but just as I started to go to look at them, the check out lane cleared and it was empty! Had to take advantage of the free checker. So I ordered it from Amazon.

[peacheslatour]

12 hours ago, friendperidot said:

My Chlorox spinning bathtub scrubber is on it's way. I considered buying the Turbo one today at Walmart, but just as I started to go to look at them, the check out lane cleared and it was empty! Had to take advantage of the free checker. So I ordered it from Amazon.

 I told my husband last night that I was going to get one of those and I am also getting a Red Copper Flipwhich, the one with the grill marks. Please post here about the bath scrubber and I'll do the same.

[friendperidot]

I'm lusting after several pieces of Red Copper and the butter sprayer thing. I liked the look of a vegetable chopper device until I read reviews of it, apparently it's very hard to actually push down on and cut the vegetables and there's a lot of finger cutting involved.

[peacheslatour]

21 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

I'm lusting after several pieces of Red Copper and the butter sprayer thing. I liked the look of a vegetable chopper device until I read reviews of it, apparently it's very hard to actually push down on and cut the vegetables and there's a lot of finger cutting involved.

Yeah, that Red Copper stuff seems to be the real deal. I've watched Vivian Tries all of it and she seems quite in love with it. Oh, and thanks to whoever here recommended her videos to me.

[Tunia]

2 hours ago, friendperidot said:

I'm lusting after several pieces of Red Copper and the butter sprayer thing. I liked the look of a vegetable chopper device until I read reviews of it, apparently it's very hard to actually push down on and cut the vegetables and there's a lot of finger cutting involved.

I bought the deep square Red Copper piece with the fryer basket and steamer for my son who loves to cook.  He's crazy about it and uses it all the time.  Highly recommended.

On the other hand, I have the vegetable chopper (the one with all the accessories) and find it's more a bother than hand chopping.  Veggies with tough skins like peppers don't cut all the way through and just mush.  Others have to be sliced thin enough (onions, etc.) to fit in it.  The mandolin is treacherous.  The only part of it that I like is the veggie peeler - although it's really cheap plastic, it works terrifically.  Not worth the price just for a peeler though.

[Prevailing Wind]

I've been tempted to buy that inane flipwich thingie (really? A frying pan won't do the same thing?) just to get the knife. The red copper knife intrigues me.

[peacheslatour]

14 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I've been tempted to buy that inane flipwich thingie (really? A frying pan won't do the same thing?) just to get the knife. The red copper knife intrigues me.

The Flipwhich is faster and leaves heavenly grill marks.

[friendperidot]

Got the scrubber today, it's charging, the charger light has changed from red to green, so I think it may be ready to use. I hooked it all up without reading the directions, may need to look at them to be sure.

[Prevailing Wind]

Yes. When in doubt, read the instructions.

[Moose135]

5 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Yes. When in doubt, read the instructions.

Instructions? We don't need no stinkin' instructions!

[friendperidot]

over to small talk for my thoughts. overall, not bad.

Prevailing Wind, now you've got me thinking maybe that Flipwich might be a good starting point and you're right that Red Copper Knife does look intriguing.

Editing because I spent some time looking for the Red Copper Flipwich, if you buy it from their website it is $19.99 plus shipping & handling of $9.99. I have Prime, and it's available with Prime for $19.99, but no knife. You can buy a Red Copper knife from Prime, separately, it $7.99 as an add on only. In order to get add ons, you have to purchase $25 of regularly priced items. So I may buy both, but they have to wait til the end of the month or maybe I'll order the Flipwich now and wait til the end of the month for the knife. I don't know. But my lust grows.

Edited October 5, 2017 by friendperidot

[friendperidot]

I still cannot get rid of the quote box once I put it in. Double posting, it's been a few days and I do not have to lust for the Red Copper Flipwich any more! Bought it at Walmart today. And while I was looking for it I discovered a much larger As Seen On TV aisle! I haven't opened the box yet, but I'll check back in later and let you know how it works. I looked, but I didn't see the butter sprayer thing, I'll have to keep lusting after that for a while.

Edited October 6, 2017 by friendperidot

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, friendperidot said:

I still cannot get rid of the quote box once I put it in. Double posting, it's been a few days and I do not have to lust for the Red Copper Flipwich any more! Bought it at Walmart today. And while I was looking for it I discovered a much larger As Seen On TV aisle! I haven't opened the box yet, but I'll check back in later and let you know how it works. I looked, but I didn't see the butter sprayer thing, I'll have to keep lusting after that for a while.

There's a good tutorial on You Tube of those called Freakln' Reviews. He shows you how to season and maintain it. I would like a bigger one so you can do two sandwiches/larger bread.

[SoSueMe]

5 hours ago, friendperidot said:

I still cannot get rid of the quote box once I put it in. Double posting, it's been a few days and I do not have to lust for the Red Copper Flipwich any more! Bought it at Walmart today. And while I was looking for it I discovered a much larger As Seen On TV aisle! I haven't opened the box yet, but I'll check back in later and let you know how it works. I looked, but I didn't see the butter sprayer thing, I'll have to keep lusting after that for a while.

 

Try this, hold ctrl and right click on the quote. I got it to work once.

[friendperidot]

SoSueMe! Thank you, I was missing the "hold control" part.

Peaches, it is small, if you're cooking for one person, like me, it's fine. I'll put my review on Small Talk. I've already learned a lot what not to do! lol

[Sandman87]

On 9/30/2017 at 7:34 AM, Prevailing Wind said:

Yes. When in doubt, read the instructions.

I endorse this. Than again, I'm the kind of person who reads the instructions when I buy a package of gum.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 1:28 PM, peacheslatour said:

Have you ever tried melting butterscotch chips in with the marshmallows and butter?

A bit off-topic, but that reminds me of the cooking demos they had at SEARS, I think, in which they made rice kripsies treats with different things mixed in. I remember liking candy cane.

On ‎8‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 0:53 AM, friendperidot said:

Just saw a new product and I must have it! It's not on Amazon yet, so this is my marker so I can look again in a few days. Or I may just have to order directly from the company. Butter Bullet! Battery powered, you put a stick of cold butter inside this cup thing and it warms the butter and you spray it on, on toast, on popcorn, on baked potatoes, on whatever! And you keep it in the fridge when it's not in use. In the winter I can leave butter out in a covered dish but these Oklahoma summers are too damn hot. I only use real butter and sometimes I just don't want to do whatever to soften it. I keep mine in an aluminum covered dish (from the 50s or 60s) and I sometimes set this on top of my stove where the pilot light is to warm it just enough. Problem with it, is that I don't always remember to take it out of the fridge ahead of time. I think it was the usual $19.99. I will be looking into it.

I saw the ad for that and thought cleaning it would be a bitch.

[peacheslatour]

Okay, I bought one of those Star Shower Christmas light projectors. I just LOVE it! It hits all the trees in our yard and makes them all look like they have millions of lights on them. One thing though, the lights come in through the windows and the cats are going crazy. They settled down a little last night but whenever I looked at them they were staring fixedly at the walls where the lights were dancing. I hope they get used to it and mellow out.

Edited December 12, 2017 by peacheslatour

[mojoween]

The guy who owns My Pillow is a lying liar who lies.  The pillow goes all wonky in shape during the night and the batting inside seems to be decreasing in size since it was bought last Christmas. Thank goodness it’s my husband’s pillow and not mine.

[peacheslatour]

37 minutes ago, mojoween said:

The guy who owns My Pillow is a lying liar who lies.  The pillow goes all wonky in shape during the night and the batting inside seems to be decreasing in size since it was bought last Christmas. Thank goodness it’s my husband’s pillow and not mine.

We have Carpenter brand pillows that I got at Amazon. They are the very best pillows we've ever had. They stay fluffy all the time, never flatten out and are so comfortable I literally fall asleep as soon as my head touches it.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 12/12/2017 at 6:10 PM, mojoween said:

The guy who owns My Pillow is a lying liar who lies.  The pillow goes all wonky in shape during the night and the batting inside seems to be decreasing in size since it was bought last Christmas. Thank goodness it’s my husband’s pillow and not mine.

Have you seen his longer ad, with no dialogue through most of it? It makes it look like his big idea was not so much how to make a better pillow,  but that he could market something to people looking for one. His first priority was to design a logo.

[FormerMod-a1]

On 12/12/2017 at 5:10 PM, mojoween said:

The guy who owns My Pillow is a lying liar who lies.  The pillow goes all wonky in shape during the night and the batting inside seems to be decreasing in size since it was bought last Christmas. Thank goodness it’s my husband’s pillow and not mine.

If you wash them, they end up good again.  At least that's been my experience.  I've had to wash mine about every 3 months.  

[friendperidot]

I just got my Red Copper Flipwich back together and now I'm eyeing the Red Copper 5 minute chef. What is wrong with me! Gah! It was the cake, she made a cake in it! 

[mmecorday]

She made a cake that had a Snickers bar baked into it! If she doesn't win the Nobel Prize for that, I'm gonna be pissed.

[Tunia]

My latest "As seen on TV" purchase is a huge WINNER!  Today I received my Climb Cart, the one with three alternating wheels per side for going up/down stairs, and had opportunity to try it out immediately.  First of all, it's literally a "snap" to assemble and took no more than two minutes to do so.  The quality is pretty good - looks like it'll hold up for a while with proper usage.  I ordered it with the higher quality, larger waterproof bag, and was happy that I did.  It's roomy and well made.

It arrived just as I was about to leave for the grocery store and errands so I put it right to the test.  I've been having back difficulties and hauling things is becoming a problem, and the Climb Cart came through for me.  It even worked well cutting through snow accumulation, and it is a master on the stairs.  Highly recommend!

https://www.amazon.com/Climb-Cart-BulbHead-Folding-Climbs/dp/B071WQD2V5/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1514701407&sr=8-3&keywords=climb+cart

Edited December 31, 2017 by Tunia

[Prevailing Wind]

I wanted one until I realized it wouldn't work for me...the only stairs I have are 5 steps up to the front porch and they have no actual risers - they're just slabs of concrete in an iron pan welded to the iron railings. The wee wheels would have nothing to push against.  I suggested my brother & SIL get one before they move, but I don't think they did - at Xmas, when I visited, my SIL was schlepping too much stuff upstairs by hand.

[theredhead77]

@Tunia I was eyeballing that at Bed Bath and Beyond a few months back. I moved from a ground floor unit to a third floor unit with no elevator and stairs suck!

[Tunia]

23 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

@Tunia I was eyeballing that at Bed Bath and Beyond a few months back. I moved from a ground floor unit to a third floor unit with no elevator and stairs suck!

I think you'd like it.  With the heavy duty bag, I was able to bring in about 8 fully loaded plastic grocery bags at a time which was probably about the recommended weight limit of 75 lbs.  It was just a bit of a tug on the stairs, but far superior to looping the bags onto my arms.  Wish I had purchased it a lot sooner, although after using my Amazon reward points, it cost only about $22.  Nice bargain!

Edited January 1, 2018 by Tunia

[ABitOFluff]

5 hours ago, Tunia said:

I think you'd like it.  With the heavy duty bag, I was able to bring in about 8 fully loaded plastic grocery bags at a time which was probably about the recommended weight limit of 75 lbs.  It was just a bit of a tug on the stairs, but far superior to looping the bags onto my arms.  Wish I had purchased it a lot sooner, although after using my Amazon reward points, it cost only about $22.  Nice bargain!

My mom got the Climb Cart, and loves it for bringing groceries in from the garage, which has about six steps. I bought one before I moved out of my apartment, and it was great for bringing packing boxes upstairs. Since then, I've moved to a three-story walk-up, but completely forgot about it. I don't have trouble carrying most groceries, but I could use something to bring up cases of bottled water. I wonder if it's better to just put the bottles in the bag over trying to bungee the whole case onto it.

[SoSueMe]

Has anyone tried those egg cups called 'egglets'? They are made of silicone and they look like they might save a lot of work not having to peel hard cooked eggs. There are also 'eggies' which I've read reviews on and they seem to involve even more work than diy peeling, considering they must be oiled and the egg might need a little help with a knife getting out. Anyway the egglets looked effortless by comparison.

[Silver Raven]

1 hour ago, SoSueMe said:

Has anyone tried those egg cups called 'egglets'? They are made of silicone and they look like they might save a lot of work not having to peel hard cooked eggs. There are also 'eggies' which I've read reviews on and they seem to involve even more work than diy peeling, considering they must be oiled and the egg might need a little help with a knife getting out. Anyway the egglets looked effortless by comparison.

Yeah, I'd like to see some reviews of those egglets, too.

[Tunia]

On ‎1‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 8:35 PM, ABitOFluff said:

I don't have trouble carrying most groceries, but I could use something to bring up cases of bottled water. I wonder if it's better to just put the bottles in the bag over trying to bungee the whole case onto it.

I bungeed the entire case so I wouldn't be left with 24 loose bottles once inside.  It was the type of case where it had the plastic overlay (rather than a box), and it was pretty easy to get it up the stairs.  It's probably just a matter of personal preference as to which might be easier.

The bungee seems to work better than I expected it would.  Have used it for large open cardboard boxes from the warehouse club without a problem.

I like the Climb Cart more with each use...just hoping it holds together over time.

[Jaded]

After doing some looking on YouTube today I found that those Egglets were a thing six years ago under the name Eggies. Some of of the differences I've found so far are that the Eggies were/are made out of plastic and the Egglets are made out of silicone. They each seem to need to be coated with cooking spray or oil before use even though the Egglets are supposed to be made out of non stick silicone. The people who did reviews on YT for the Eggies had issues with getting them to come out of the containers. The review I'm posting for the Eggies is from last year but after watching way too many it's the only one that really showed the results close up and is also clear and concise. I subscribed to her channel because of the review.

P.S. One of the reviews I watched had a lady say she got her Eggies from Dollar Tree.
 

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Jaded

[Jaded]

This is one and this is the other listing on Amazon for Eggies that I could find that had a lot of reviews.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Forgive me if this was already discussed and I’m repeating something someone already said. And I’m too tired to go back to find out if this was mentioned.

Ahem.

I finally caved in, after reading reviews and the reasonable price, and got the Flawless facial hair remover! And it works! It’s painless and I have been using it for my chin, under chin/neck area for hair that grew back after laser removal. Granted, the hair was superfine, but it was irritating. And now the area is smooth as a baby’s butt. And I think I will invest in the Finishing Touch Yes! body hair removal by the same company.

Seriously, I don’t even feel the hair being removed.

[riley702]

10 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Forgive me if this was already discussed and I’m repeating something someone already said. And I’m too tired to go back to find out if this was mentioned.

Ahem.

I finally caved in, after reading reviews and the reasonable price, and got the Flawless facial hair remover! And it works! It’s painless and I have been using it for my chin, under chin/neck area for hair that grew back after laser removal. Granted, the hair was superfine, but it was irritating. And now the area is smooth as a baby’s butt. And I think I will invest in the Finishing Touch Yes! body hair removal by the same company.

Seriously, I don’t even feel the hair being removed.

I bought one for my Mom and felt obligated to try it first. And I liked it! I'm keeping this one and will order Mom another one.

ETA: Has anyone tried that reusable pet hair remover? The one where you clean it by inserting it back into its base? And then dump the hair out of the base? It looks good, but I wonder if it really is.

Edited January 27, 2018 by riley702

[peacheslatour]

12 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Forgive me if this was already discussed and I’m repeating something someone already said. And I’m too tired to go back to find out if this was mentioned.

Ahem.

I finally caved in, after reading reviews and the reasonable price, and got the Flawless facial hair remover! And it works! It’s painless and I have been using it for my chin, under chin/neck area for hair that grew back after laser removal. Granted, the hair was superfine, but it was irritating. And now the area is smooth as a baby’s butt. And I think I will invest in the Finishing Touch Yes! body hair removal by the same company.

Seriously, I don’t even feel the hair being removed.

Oh, I want one. Did you get it by calling the number or does Amazon have it?

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh, I want one. Did you get it by calling the number or does Amazon have it?

I got mine from bed bath and beyond! Used my 20% coupon and got it for $16 and change!?

But I do believe Amazon also sells it. 

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh, I want one. Did you get it by calling the number or does Amazon have it?

This is a link to the regular model that's $18.49 right now. Apparently they have a new model with a rechargeable battery for $29.99 too.

[funky-rat]

Sorry that I'm tardy to the party - I didn't know this forum existed until recently.

On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 4:53 PM, friendperidot said:

I have a friend that posts on FB daily some weird recipe involving jello, or at least something with chopped meats or fish in a gelatin mold.  I think I would just stick with canned fruit (drained, of course) and set up in jello

I'm wondering if we have a mutual friend.

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 7:00 PM, riley702 said:

That's exactly what the article said. They were dinged for posting customer testimonials on the web site that said the pillow had helped them with this or that medical condition. Doesn't seem right to me. They were also dinged for calling themselves the official pillow of the National Sleep Foundation because they have donated to the organization and it was implied they'd "bought" the endorsement.

They also had an infomercial that ran at one point.  I never finished it, but there were testimonials in it.

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 12:02 PM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

The bolded part made me think of Better Off Dead: "He is like an octopus, putting his testicles all over me!" So thanks for making me snort-laugh at work.

"We have FRAUNCH bread, and FRAUNCH fries, and FRAUNCH dressing!  And for dessert.....PERU!".  We always call Perrier "Peru" because of that movie.

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 4:47 PM, ivygirl said:

I'm obsessed with the ridiculousness that is Angry Mama, a perpetually grimacing piece of plastic which steam-cleans the microwave with vinegar (I think). I know there are other ways of accomplishing this, but it's just so silly I'm tempted to pick it up. Anyone tried it?

Angry Mama works great!  My husband is bad about cleaning up the microwave, and I don't notice it until I go to use it and it's gross.  The only thing I want to try is without the vinegar, and see if it still works as well.  Heating up the vinegar in the microwave smelled like I cooked pickles for a bit.  It eventually cleared.

On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 1:58 AM, Muffyn said:

The movers I hired used straps like these.  They did seem to make it easier to move really heavy items.  Then again, they were two very strong young men so they would probably have been successful without the straps.

I have a co-worker who swears by those forearm straps and has loaned them to a few people over the years when they move.

 

On ‎12‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 12:04 AM, peacheslatour said:

Right? That's why it was so strange seeing it Dragnet. Joe Friday (I think) was over at Bill's house and they were totally acting like it was a normal thing to grill steaks in the fireplace. In. The. Living. Room.

I had a babysitter once that cooked a lot of stuff on her wood stove in her basement.  She'd make soup, boil water, etc.  I didn't see her use the fireplace, though.