(Part 2) Best bakers & casseroles according to redditors

I have a microwave at my office space rental, but I'm on the road a lot with my job, so I've looked into many different solutions. There are a variety of options available.

Non-electronic storage:

They make a squattier version of the Thermos you have from RTIC, which is what I sometimes use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DRP86T1

Spoon for size comparison:

https://i.imgur.com/AR4itKB.jpg

It's not so deep that I can't get a spoon in. It'd be nice if it were a little wider, but it does the job. A bit smaller than your Thermos at 17 ounces. Pinnacle Thermoware sells insulated a pretty nice insulated bowl set, if you specifically want a bowl shape:

https://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Serving-Salad-Soup-Dish/dp/B07RT1X47C/

If you need more food than just one bowl can hold, Ailijin makes a 2-bowl, single-tote insulated solution: (kind of a round bento-style)

https://www.amazon.com/AILIJIN-Leakproof-Insulated-Stainless-Portable/dp/B07QQ9JYG3/

If you need to heat up a soup before you go to put into an insulated storage container, I use one of these vented microwave mugs, so it doesn't explode all over the inside of my microwave when heating up:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F5IC478/

Electronic storage:

Beyond that, there are 3 common electronic options, depending on what power you have available: (12V in a car or an A/C wall plug)

1. Crockpot Lunch Crock (A/C power)
   
2. RoadPro 300F lunchbox oven (12V car power)
   
3. HotLogic lunchbox oven (A/C power, car-compatible A/C, or 75w+ inverter for car power)
   
   The Crockpot unit is basically like your Thermos, except you plug it in to heat it, and it has a pretty nice wide bowl size. My buddy has one & it's pretty dang handy! My brother has the RoadPro, as he's on the road all day long, and it's super nice because it does a pretty decent job (heats up to 300F, basically like a mini oven), so you can heat up burritos, melt cheesy stuff like lasagna, etc.
   
   The HotLogic is nice because instead of just being a mini portable crockpot, it's also a mini oven, and can be used from a wall plug, a newer-vehicle 2-prong car plug, or with a 75-watt (minimum) inverter. There's a good Facebook group available as well! It heats up to 218F & then holds the food at 180F, so it's more for reheating food than cooking food, like the RoadPro can do (HotLogic says you can cook chicken breast in it in about 2 hours, but ehhh...), but it's also a bit more versatile as you can plug it directly into the wall an hour before lunch & have your food ready to go without needing a microwave or toaster oven.
   
   Homemade soup:
   
   If you're into soup & haven't heard of Souper Cubes, it's basically a silicone ice cube tray with 1/2-cup & 1-cup markings (4 per tray) & lids, plus a wire frame around the top to hold it together, which makes portioning out bulk soup cooks super easy:
   
   https://www.soupercubes.com/
   
   I mean, just look at this insanity:
   
   https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cU_UFBSQp/
   
   Also, if you're into making soups at home, the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) is my BFF...it makes cooking soup a lot faster & more automated (aka easier overall!). Poaching from another one of my posts, here are some soup ideas: (I use the IP for soups, stews, bisques, broths, stocks, etc.)
   
   

• Ham & bean
  
• Vegetable beef
  
• Chili con carne (chili is just thick soup...lol)
  
• Olive Garden's creamy chicken gnocchi
  
• Broccoli cheddar potato soup
  
• Asian chicken noodle
  
  Some ideas for soup toppings & easy no-knead breads:
  
  
• Ranch oyster crackers
  
• Cheese & onion roasted chickpeas
  
• Homemade flavored croutons
  
• Crusty rolls
  
• Ciabatta bread
  
  Also if you're trying to get more veggies in your diet, check out this master guide on making blended soups in the Instant Pot, definitely worth a read:
  
  https://allthenourishingthings.com/make-blended-soup-instant-pot/
  
  I tend to make soup about once a week in my Instant Pot at home, then freeze it in my Souper Cube containers, and keep a stash of different varieties in my freezer so I can just grab one & go. When you have a solid storage system setup (electronic or non-electronic), it makes the whole process pretty dang easy:
  
  

1. Store a variety of soup flavors at home (Souper Cubes or canned soup)
   
2. Heat it up in the vented mug if you need it hot before you leave
   
3. Put it into your container of choice
   
4. Heat up your container (if needed) & enjoy!
   
   For me, it's really about nailing down a solid process & taking care of all of the little annoying details. Like you said, the tall insulated mugs are too small to get a spoon into & eat out of, so you have to find something better that meets the needs of your individual situation better. Then, setting up a system to support convenience means you can always have a variety of soups to grab before you leave the house, whether it's a can that you heat up in a vented mug & store in a food thermos or a frozen Souper Cube that you toss in a Crockpot Lunch Crock & plug in before lunch!

Aren't there other companies that make borosilicate glass bakeware? It can't just be Pyrex

Yupp : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X6936Z8/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_ZfpDwbFFKKXWT

https://www.amazon.de/Arcuisine-4937416-Auflaufform-rechteckig-transparent/dp/B013S58LFE/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2RZ0LDV81TLG2&keywords=auflaufform+arcuisine&qid=1571416021&sprefix=auflaufform+arc%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-1

edit: the old link was for some reason for amazon.com and the number is only on amazon.de

I did a bit of google and it seems there is a type of ceramic dish with the pointy thing called an apple baker or apple baking dish:

link

another link

No idea how it's used though...

edit: oh I didn't even read the text in my own link:

> Just in time for fall apple picking! Make delicious baked apples at home in this beautiful baking dish. Simply core the apple, add 2 T. of water to the dish, and place the apple on the post. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts, raisins, and/or butter and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on the type of apple. The results taste like apple pie!

So I guess that's a thing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XRPDZFK/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=texas+cake+pan&qid=1551338105&s=gateway&sr=8-2

i added microfiber dusting mits and microfiber swiffer pads and swiffer dusters to ours to remove the need to buy those cleaning supplies repeatedly. and tea steepers so we no longer buy tea bags but loose leaf instead

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PS we love our anchor brand glass tupperware! corningware also has they heatable and dishwasher safe mugs with lids that are our favorite for bring left overs to work! https://smile.amazon.com/Corningware-French-White-piece-Multi/dp/B00R236YO4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1543506682&sr=8-6&keywords=corningware+mug+with+vented+lid

There are many many options for housing a salamander. Nobody knows has a better internet presence for keeping them then the folks at caudata.org as mentioned by u/ye_ol_chuckaboo below. They have a helpful forum where you can get info advice and answers to questions. they also have care-sheets. So i suggest you spend soem time looking there.

Some simple ideas would start with something like:

go get a 40 gallon aquarium or larger. or 3 - 4 foot plastic storage box or like this

whatever you use it will need a lid to keep things out and the salamander inside but it must allow air to pass through

the main thing here is that it doesnt need to be more than 15 inches tall but should have as much surface area (footprint) as possible. A good minimum is about 4 - 4.5 square feet. or anything at or above the "40 gallon size " on the standard US tank sizes chart here

buy some organic untreated (chemical free, fertilizer free) topsoil from a garden store.

plan to use at least 6 - 8 inches of soil at the bottom

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order several cork bark hides like this logs or half logs will be good to partially bury and to keep on the surface so the animal can choose a hide.

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get a *large* smooth sided glass ceramic water bowl like this or like this

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use only smooth objects stones, smooth glass ceramic, plastic. no gravel no sharp rocks no sharp wood.

Moss and plants can help add humidity and attractiveness.

a water mister bottle is helpful to have around

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feel free to ask any specific questions

I can't see the video either, but I have https://www.amazon.com/Staub-Braiser-Chistera-Drop-Structure-Grenadine/dp/B00O4DL9M2.

One more, then I’ll let it go! Lol, pampered chef shallow stoneware

I believe that, at some point, maybe within the last 25 years, Pizza Hut made the change from thick seasoned steel pans to anodized aluminum. Anodized aluminum is usually pretty thick, with a dark gray layer of aluminum oxide that's very durable and, while it's not non stick, it tends to be able to take on a bit of seasoning.

https://www.kxly.com/news/made-in-the-northwest-lloyd-pans-2/773517621

>SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - All of the top pizza chains in America use Lloyd Pans to bake their pies.
>
>Domino's, Pizza Hut, "Little Caesar's, Papa John's, all of those," said Lloyd Pans CEO and President Traci Rennaker.

So, if you want to approach a modern Pizza Hut pan pizza replica as authentically as possible, I'd go with a Lloyd pan- most likely with one of their industrial coatings (ptsk, tuff-kote, etc).

But Lloyd pans tend to be pricey. Chicago Metallic makes anodized pans

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/american-metalcraft-hc80142-14-x-2-hard-coat-anodized-aluminum-straight-sided-deep-dish-pizza-pan/124HC80142.html

Allied also makes pans

https://www.alliedpans.com/pizza-pans-supplies/pizza-pans/black-buster/pizza-pan.html

If you want to go old school, then finding thick enough steel pans is going to be difficult. I would probably just seek out a cast iron pan in the diameter of pie you're looking to make.

These are uncoated steel,

https://www.amazon.com/Ottinetti-Blue-Steel-Round-Baking/dp/B011CNVS54/

but they look kind of lightweight.

If you're not married to a round pan, these are well liked, if not a little pricey:

https://detroitstylepizza.com/product/10-x-14-steel-dsp-pan/

It's not exactly like seasoning cast iron, but I've seasoned uncoated anodized aluminum. You can spend more on the industrial coatings, but if I were shopping for pans, I might go for the cheapest anodized pan I can find.

Look around for something like this CorningWare 3qt dish. I have the older version of it, and it makes a beastly giant pan of lasagna. If you can find it in a local store that would be best, this was one of the few things that ever failed to ship safely from Amazon.

I'll just list everything that I can, how's that?

The bakers rack on the left is This

The left most skillet is an AUS-ION
They're made in Australia and so smooth. Some nice touches of the piece are the very detailed cut-out of Australia on the handle and another nice engraving on the bottom.

Then there's the Stargazer. My first expensive piece. It's also very smooth. It's had a hard time keeping its seasoning, and I've admittedly been babying it by seasoning and seasoning it with flaxseed oil and a Crisbee puck.

Then there is the Finex group. It starts with the 10" grill pan. Then there's the 12" and 8". I just love the different geometric shapes of them.

All the way to the right is the Lodge Sauce Pot

I haven't used it a whole lot other than to make a few dips.

Between the big hanging skillets are some Lodge 4" and 5" skillets that I thought just looked cool and rounded out my collection.

The griddle is just a double sided griddle from world market. It's my go to pancake tool.

Then there is an A1 Chef pizza pan that I honestly don't use very much. I tend to just use some cheap aluminum pans with holes on the bottom because they're easier to form the crust on.

On the middle shelf from left to right are my 10" and 12" lodges. The 10" was my very first cast iron skillet. They've both been stripped and reseasoned and are much smoother than factory. I don't see myself giving up my first two skillets. I still use them a lot.

In the middle is the 10" grill pan from Lodge. I honestly hate cleaning the grill pans and have found that the lines in the meat aren't really worth the scraping. There's also some cheap fajita skillet that I don't think I've ever used.

And on the right is the Lodge enameled dutch oven but in the light grey. I love this thing, and got it for a song on Amazon one day.

On the bottom shelf on the left is the Lodge Wok I have definintely not used it. It seems like it would be better on a gas range, which I don't have. This was an impulse buy, and I don't know how to really cook any asian food, so who knows.

Then last but not least is the regular Lodge Dutch Oven
Many a roast has been made in this. The drip spikes on top does the basting for you. I just got a sous vide setup, so I'll probably be using it less and less, but sometimes I know I'll want the smell of a roast wafting through the air all day on a cold Autumn day.

Bonus pieces Kitchenaid Stainless Steel cookware set on top with All clad non-stick pans to the right of those.

Then there are some Lodge Stonewear on the other bakers rack

Like some of these?

https://www.amazon.com/Oz-Round-Gratin-Baking-Dish/dp/B00JR9EPBU/ref=sr_1_42?

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https://www.amazon.com/HIC-Gratin-Baking-Dishes-Porcelain/dp/B005KMKSP0/ref=sr_1_4?

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https://www.amazon.com/BonJour-Porcelain-Brûlee-Ramekin-4-Piece/dp/B0001K17WO/ref=sr_1_9?

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https://www.amazon.com/Fiesta-Inch-Individual-Casserole-Cobalt/dp/B000UVO78U/ref=sr_1_31?

Steel, non stick pan, brand I don't know, 15.4 x 10.5 x 2.

Stainless steel, 16.5 x 12 x 2.5. Comes with a slightly smaller one. Brand I don't know.

Hope one of these might be close or useful. I used 'giant lasagna pan' and 'stainless hi side pan' & similar phrases.

I am using the Emile Henry ceramic bread baker and the bread rise nicely in this closed baker. This bread (FWSY poolish) was baked for 30 minutes closed in and then 15 minutes on the oven rack. The tops browns nicely, but the sides, that were touching the baker for 30 minutes, look miserable.
I am using some oil and flour on the sides of the baker.
Is there a way to improve the look of the sides of the bread?

https://www.amazon.ca/Emile-Henry-345503-Bread-Burgundy/dp/B079P4SZ68

I also use la cloche clay baker. I like it infinitely better than a Dutch oven for ease of use. It also accomplishes the same thing and has more room for larger loaves. I use this one and love it:

Sassafras Superstone® La Cloche Bread Baker with Specialty Bread Lame https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0106TDDYY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AxJ.Ab30EM82W

IIRC the preheated element allows for a better "spring" and crust.

Not sure if you girls are just trying to be thrifty but get yourself a good lid replacement or.. [you could also try something like this if budget allows] (https://www.amazon.com/SuperStone-Covered-Baker-Specialty-Bread/dp/B00N517V3U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467260327&sr=8-1&keywords=covered+baker)

This?