With the weather beginning to warm and not wanting to add the extra heat from boiling or steaming the vegetables on the stove for 10 to 30 minutes and the fact that I was in a time crunch for dinner, I decided to buy a package of the Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bags. The small family-owned grocery store in the town I live in only had the large 7 count bags available.
Recently my husband wanted a broccoli and cauliflower casserole to go with the smothered pork chops we had. All the broccoli and cauliflower casserole recipes that I have used always require you to cook the broccoli and cauliflower for a minimum 10 minutes.
I had cut up two heads of broccoli crowns for this recipe and placed them in one of the large steamer bags to the “full bag” line. Read on the cooking time list on the bag and proceeded to use the steamer bag as directed in the microwave while I chopped up a head of cauliflower. Once the cauliflower was chopped, I placed it in another steamer bag. By this time the broccoli was finished in the microwave.
I took the broccoli out of the microwave and placed the cauliflower in. After opening the Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bag that had the broccoli in it, I noticed the broccoli looked as green as if it had been steamed on the stove top. The broccoli smelled as if it were as done as the broccoli that one would boil for 20 to 30 minutes. And the broccoli was as soft as the boiled broccoli.
When the cauliflower was done cooking in the Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bag, I did the same kind of visual and smell test as I did with the broccoli. The cauliflower was steamed perfectly to me. Not only did I not have to add the extra heat from the stove top in combination to the oven to cook the broccoli and cauliflower casserole, the Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bags lived up to the Ziploc standards.
Not only could no one in my family tell that I didn't cook the cauliflower and broccoli on the stove top, they could tell the difference in the taste of the steamed vegetables. This was due to the fact that none of the cauliflower and broccoli flavors were lost in the water that is normally used to boil or steam the vegetables on the stove top.
The Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bags get two thumbs up from me for the time and costs on my fuel bills they saved me. I would suggest these Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bags to anyone who wants to do the same. The vegetables cooked in the Ziploc Zip'n Steam Bags are as fresh as if you were eating them straight from the garden.
