Anyone who’s ever gambled knows how quickly $20 can go. One slot machine & minutes later, HHAHAHHAHH. But even outside a casino, $20 bucks won’t get you far. It won’t buy you a tank of gas. It’s barely enough to cover a large pizza. But a week ago, I discovered something under $20 that has given me far greater enjoyment than all of the above (except for a big cash payout, because that would indeed make my day).
Everyone, meet the Cuisinart Sandwich Grill (**hearts & stars**)
Two weekends ago, I left the house intent on procuring two small kitchen appliances. Translation: I was gonna buy a popcorn popper and a pressure cooker. Only problem? I couldn’t find them. I went to Target, Walmart, Sears, Macy’s & Lowe’s, and NONE of them had what I’d been looking for.
In my quest I stumbled upon the little sandwich grill above. He was in the clearance section at Sears, marked down to $17.80 (plus tax). My older daughter, who was with me at the time, came running over when she heard me squealing.
See, I used to have one of these guys. He was a Magic Chef Sandwich Toaster, like the one below
only mine was an older model. No big red circle, just a single orange glow light. The light would alert you to open or close the lid, but it didn’t glow that brightly, so sometimes you’d miss your cue & wind up with a slightly over-done sandwich. But that was okay! Because the nonstick surface inside had the loveliest scallop design, so whatever you were grilling made you feel like you were dining in style, even if it was charred beyond recognition. OOOooooh how I LOVED that thing!
I hadn’t seen one of these in SO LONG. I didn’t even know they still made them. I was SO EXCITED!!! My daughter urged me to buy it – it was only $17.80 (plus tax) and she was so intrigued she wanted to try it too.
We paid and sped home (within the legal speed limit). As soon as we arrived I called to my husband and younger daughter to COME SEE WHAT WE GOT!! My husband (who’d been anticipating a popcorn popper & pressure cooker) seemed a bit puzzled, but my youngest quickly boarded the sandwich grill bandwagon, begging for a toasty grilled cheese of her own.
Do you know what makes kids happy?
Being able to do stuff for themselves.
Do you know what makes moms happy?
Kids being able to do stuff for themselves.
All last week my daughters were home on winter break. Instead of periodically having to drop whatever I was doing and proceed to the kitchen for snack assemblage, my daughters made their own toasty hot sandwiches. They were EMPOWERED. And I was free to continue playing Just Dance 3. Better yet? They weren’t eating crap. Homemade hot pockets = whole wheat bread + provolone cheese. There’s no added fat (like the gobs of butter we use in a pan) and there’s next-to-no cleanup. Just unplug the machine and wipe the nonstick plates with a wet towel. PLUS there’s no waste because who the heck doesn’t LOVE a hot sandwich?! Crust and all, they gobbled them up. And did I mention it takes less than 2 minutes to make a sandwich, start to finish? Oh yes.
Best $18.69 I’ve spent in forever.
AH ha ha ha ha! Awesome, stoked you found this bad boy!!! I one time got one of those “omelet” makers… Yeah, it made no such thing, ONLY A HUGE MESS! lol… needless to say, I will stick with a regular old pan, but maybe I should explore other cool cooking electronics now!?
I’m serious, this sandwich grill is the BOMB! Of course, I’ve never owned a panini machine, George Forman grill, or anything more sophisticated than this, but SERIOUSLY. The BOMB!
LOL
I’m easy to please, what can I say?
This reminds me of the quesadilla-maker my sister gave me one year for Christmas. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, how I treasured that thing. Until I moved to NYC and gave it away to a roommate.
Biggest mistake of my life.
Gimme that homemade Hot Pocket!
And where on earth can I get my hot little hands on one of these things? Please don’t tell me only at a clearance section of Sears in Portland.
I haven’t seen them advertised in awhile, but you can find them on Ebay and Amazon. Try searching on “sandwich maker”.
Liz is right – the Cuisinart Sandwich Grill is available on Amazon.com and for LESS than I paid at Sears!!
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-WM-SW2-Dual-Sandwich-Nonstick-Electric/dp/B00006F2MD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330442673&sr=8-1
My son used to have one of these, and you are right, it is terrific!!!
YES!
you are brilliant! if you only knew how happy this sandwich grill has made me. i just told me husband about it, and it peaked his interested, too. we.must.have.one. preferably for under $20. thanks for sharing this!
You’re so welcome, babe! Here’s the link to the same one, sold on Amazon for $15:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-WM-SW2-Dual-Sandwich-Nonstick-Electric/dp/B00006F2MD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330442673&sr=8-1
I have a similar one. It’s useful and makes bread delicious. My one is also old type. 🙂
Hope your sandwiches come out a little less “well done” than some of mine used to! I am loving the new one!!
I used to have one of those, too, but it stopped working a long time ago. Now it’s late at night and I want a hot sandwich! And popcorn!
Ahhh.. time for a new sandwich grill AND popper! (I still need the popper… must write about that when I find one!)
Chris and I BOTH are suckers for the kitchen gadget section at any store. It is how we ended up with our ice cream maker (which we LOVE and USE), how we ended up with TWO waffle makers (no shame, people), a sandwich maker (that we eventually gave away because we were eating too much bread), and other assorted bits of awesome.
I LOVE how much you love the scalloped edges. Great find!!
No shame!!
LOL
Love you babe! And your double waffle makers too! XO
This sounds amazing, and I would never have thought of it. I’ll keep it in mind for sure, since the gobs of butter and long time it takes to make a sandwich regularly drive me nuts. -kate
Kate, I don’t normally push products, but when I find something that actually
works – and at such a good price..?? – then YES I DO!
Here’s a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-WM-SW2-Dual-Sandwich-Nonstick-Electric/dp/B00006F2MD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330442673&sr=8-1
Oh, wow! I think my mom had the old model you were talking about… I think my grandmother might have given her one for Christmas one year. Anyway, I remember really liking it, too! So many possibilities… and even I could handle it (which is the true mark of success, I’d say)!
🙂
We used to have one of these but it died ages ago & we’ve never got another one since. I love baked beans sandwiches done in them. They are great. I tried egg sandwiches once but I nearly had to cremate the bread to cook the egg enough. Great price you got on it.
Drats now I want a hot toasty
Plus, you still and $1.31 to go have a night on the town!
My mom had one of these when I was little too and I just remembered eating DELICIOUS sandwiches out of it! I have seen them around but have resisted the temptation to buy one!
~Ang
I want one! I love kitchen appliances. My grandmother had a really old-fashioned HEAVY version of this – she made the best grilled cheese ever.
My dad can not live properly without his brevil toasty maker! The newest model.. purchased only a few weeks ago is an industrial toasty maker and do you know what… You don’t have to cut the crusts off! Thank you toasty making people for making my dad so happy!
over here at gadgets-r-us, we have one of those…and a panini maker…and a waffle iron…and a griddle…and we never use ANY of them. 🙂 well, i have used the panini maker a few times and ant has used the sandwich maker a bit….
Ohhh kitchen appliances are the best purchases ever. This looks great!
heeeeeeelllllllllloooooooooooo 😛
Haven’t seen a post from you in awhile. I hope things are well!