Those of you who know me personally are probably rolling your eyes by now. If you are thinking something similar to "like she needs another piece of equipment/gadget"...you are not alone! I am right there with you. For several years, my siblings have suggested that I purchase a Roaster Oven (see the above picture). They have said things like "You can cook your turkey in the Roaster Oven while you are preparing everything else in your kitchen for Thanksgiving". Well, that may be true for some....but I have double ovens in my kitchen. I insisted on them when we were building our house...and I have really used them.
So, why did I break down and purchase one? For one simple reason...the Young Single Adults. If you have been following my blog at all, you will recall that Rooster Senior and I have been called to serve in a Young Single Adult Ward. This year, we meet in the Talmadge building on the campus of Brigham Young University. That means....there is no kitchen....period. Why does that matter? Well, each month, the ward was "Break-the-fast" activity on Fast Sunday. Each month has a theme....and all the apartments are supposed to contribute.
Let's face it, if you were ever in college or if you recall starting out....things were a bit lean financially. The YSA's do participate, but their offerings are humble. This is where my "Momma" side comes forward....I just want to feed and take care of them all. It's just not possible, but I can contribute. Our ward meetings end at 12:00 and our 'Break-the-fast" meal is at 12:30 at the apartment building. I don't have time to go home and whip up something in my wonderful kitchen. So, this is where the Roaster Oven comes in.
This is what it looks like inside. This unit has a removable liner and a rack to help you lift in/out your food or dish.
You can set the thermostat to the desired level in either Fahrenheit
or Celsius.
For my contribution to the meal today, I chose to bring a Spiral Sliced Ham....because there is never meat at these meals. There are hungry young men in this ward! I am using heavy duty foil and have laid 2 pieces criss-cross on my counter.
I placed my Ham in the center.
Wrap the ham with the first layer of foil....
Then ensure that it is completely enclosed with the 2nd piece of foil.
I don't know if you saw the "Cooking Magic Bag" box in the first picture, but this is why it was there. I enclosed the ham inside of it to keep the ham moist and catch any juices that may come from the ham.
I packed up the ham and my bag of tricks to take with me. You may ask where I am going to put this......
Here! Inside one of the Young Single Adult apartments...with guys! They wanted me to include the 'Mission Impossible" poster hanging just above the Roaster in the picture. They felt it was the appropriate theme for what I was trying to do. I put the oven on two place mats to protect their counter (remember the bag of tricks?). I turned the oven to 325 and plugged it in.
This is Phillip, and he wanted to be the "Vanna White" for the ham after it came out of the Roaster.
He also wanted to show off his cool masculine apron. He is from Europe and said that they would have cooked this in a pressure cooker. So, he was rather intrigued with the idea.
Well, as you can imagine, very little was left on the bone. The experiment was successful. So, from now on, until we 'get' a building with a kitchen, I will be cooking my contributions in a roaster oven. I was thinking of BBQ chicken wings and thighs, pulled pork..etc. What do you suggest?
Anyway, I look forward to using this device to help with our service in the YSA ward. Just know that serving in this capacity truly is a piece of heaven. I thank my lucky stars often that I have been privileged enough to serve with these fabulous young adults. Just keep throwing me in the Brier Patch....
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