Latest posts: Tagged ‘Morphy Innovators’

This month, we sent Not Supermum one of our Flavour Savour slow cookers as part of our Innovators scheme.

In the blog post below, she reports on cooking up a delicious meal using a slow cooker mix from our parters in crime Schwarz, and shares her thoughts on the product (Go here to read the post on her own blog).

The Morphy Richards Flavour Savour & Schwartz recipe mixes

This month, as part of my role as a Houseproud Innovator I was sent a slow cooker. Not any old slow cooker though – one of Morphy Richards’ fancy new 4.5L Flavour Savour models.

If I’m honest I wasn’t filled with enthusiasm for the slow cooker. Over the last few years I’ve been given two slow cookers and have eventually given them both away without ever using them.

I think the problem I had with slow cookers is that they always seemed like a bit of a faff. You know what I mean, you have to seal the meats in a pan first and then transfer it to the cooker and then mess around with ingredients when you should be having your breakfast.

Then, by coincidence, I was contacted by Schwartz (the herbs and spices people) who have just developed a range of slow cooker recipe mixes. According to Schwartz  45 per cent of homes across the UK have a slow cooker but only 14 per cent of use them, and I can believe that going by my own track record.

So there really was no excuse for me not to have a try was there? Well, apart from the fact that in between receiving the slow cooker and recipe mixes we moved house, I packed everything up, couldn’t find the box with the slow cooker in and then kept putting it off. Well….it’s all seemed so complicated.

Well I’m happy to report that I’ve used the slow cooker and one of the Schwartz mixes and it really was very easy, both of which came with very easy to follow instuctions. Idiot proof even. Even for this idiot.

The Flavour Savour cooker has fast stew and slow cook modes, as well as a sealing function which means you can seal the meat in the actual slow cooker instead of using a separate pan. I browned the sausages, then added the rest of the ingredients including the Sausage and Bean casserole mix, popped the lid on the cooker and went about my day as normal and unlike other slow cookers I could check the food because of the very handy glass lid, so no need to disturb the cooking process by taking the lid off!

I’ll definitely be using the slow cooker again, and I already have plans to use the Schwartz Beef and Tomato casserole mix later this week. There’s also a Slow Cooker recipe book available too. Bon appetit!

Rosie would be the first to admit she’s not a natural whizz in the kitchen, but she’s been cooking up a storm with our Flavour Savour slow cooker and has even tried out one of the recipes from our slow cooker cook book.

You can check out the recipe she tried out, and her thoughts on the product, below (or click here to read the post on her own blog)

Slow cooker Greek-style butter bean and potato casserole

Butter bean and potato casserole

I’m not known for my cooking skills, but even I have managed to successfully produce this Greek-style butter bean and potato casserole from the new Morphy Richards slow cooker cookbook. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare the ingredients, and then you just leave it to cook for four hours. It’s a great recipe for a cold winter evening and great with a chunky bread roll. (Serves 6).

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil
1 mild Spanish onion
4 garlic cloves, crushed
200 ml red wine
400 g white potatoes, diced
2 x 410 g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
2 x 400 g cans chopped tomatoes
Pinch of paprika
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over a high heat and cook the onions for about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and add the red wine. Let it bubble for a few minutes to deglaze the pan. Season and transfer to the slow cooker. Add the potatoes, turnip and butter beans.

2. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix. Season and cook for 4 hours on the high setting and 8 hours on the low.

The recipe is so simple that your children will be able to help, which is an added bonus. We cooked the dish in the Flavour Savour Digital Slow Cooker that we were sent as part of the Morphy Richards Innovators Scheme.

Morphy-Richards-48787-Slow-CookerIt is incredibly easy to use and with a capacity of 4.5 litres it is large enough to cook a meal for the whole family. It has three cooking settings – browning, fast stew and slow cook, which are all accessible via its digital interface. I particularly liked its digital countdown timer plus the fact that it is easy to store, especially as we do not have a large kitchen. I was also impressed with its keep-warm function which keeps food hot in the pan  for up to 2 hours. The pan is also hob-proof so can also be used on gas or electric cookers. It comes with a clear lid with cool-touch handle so you can peer inside and check on your cooking with the minimum of fuss.

I absolutely love the product and simply can’t fault it. It retails at £89.99.

Are you a dab hand in the kitchen? Do your friends compliment you on your home-cooking skills? Can you prepare wholesome, nutritious food on a budget? Then why not enter the Home Made Cook of the Year 2011? Morphy Richards are looking for some ‘Home Made Heroes’ and there are some great prizes on offer. Visit Home Made Cook of the Year 2011 for further details.

Not Supermum was delighted to receive our lightweight, cordless Supervac this month and she’s been putting it through its paces with her two trusty little helpers.

It’s a 2 in 1 vacuum cleaner – one one hand it’s a cordless upright cleaner, but it also has a detatchable handheld for getting into tricky, hard to reach areas. It’s so easy to use that her daughters have used it unprompted everyday for 10 days! Who would have thought that a vacuum cleaner could keep your kids quiet?

You can read her review below or click here to go to her original post.

The product isn’t yet available from the Morphy Richards website, but if you’re desperate to get your hands on one, then take a look on Amazon where you can pick one up for £112.79

Review: The Morphy Richards’ cordless Supervac

My role as a Morphy Richards Houseproud Innovator has meant I’ve tried out some really great products, including last month’s brilliant Accents One Cup which I use way more than my kettle now. So I’ve been really impressed by the products so far.

This month’s product is so new it’s not even available to buy yet, but let me tell you that Morphy Richards have created a small miracle with their cordless Supervac.

It’s a handy 2 in 1 product, a lightweight upright vacuum cleaner which is suitable for all floors and a detachable handheld vacuum cleaner ideal for those hard to reach areas such as car interiors and upholstery. The Supervac is cordless, comes with a charging cradle and the collapsible handle makes it nice and compact and therefore easy to store.

Okay, so it’s a vacuum cleaner and I’m sure you’re wondering why it’s so special, right? Well, we’ve had it for about 10 days and my two daughters have used it everyday. Every single day! The fact that they can pick it up off the charging cradle without having to deal with the cables and plugs has meant they use it without being asked. Their bedrooms have never seen so much vacuuming action, and they like it so much (it’s very lightweight and easy to manoevre) they will also use it elsewhere around the house without being prompted. If that’s not a miracle I don’t know what is.

From my point of view it’s very easy to use. I have it plugged in and the charger keeps it topped up, so at any point I can just take it off the cradle and sweep it around the kitchen floor. It’s particularly handy in the hallway where there isn’t a plug socket and means I don’t have to trail cables through the other rooms to reach it, and the detachable hand-held cleaner is great for reaching the awkward places and for cleaning the car.

I can highly recommend the Supervac, and so can my daughters.

The Supervac will be available from November 2011 priced at £119.99.

Disclosure: I was sent the Supervac free of charge for review purposes. The words and opinions are mine, all mine.

Throughout August, our lovely ‘House Proud Innovators’ have been putting the Accents One Cup hot water dispenser through its paces. Our ‘Innovator’ Katie Bryson who blogs at ‘Feeding the Boys and a Firefighter’ is currently giving away one of the machines on her blog – read her blog post below:

This month the product on test with us Home of the House Proud Innovators is the Morphy Richards Accents One Cup Hot Water Dispenser. Simply pour in a mug of water, press the button and the One Cup will dispense a mugful of boiling water in about 30 seconds.

Quick and easy, perfect for the corner of your desk if you’re holed up in the home office, don’t have a kettle at work, or maybe ideal for a playgroup where mums need access to a quick cuppa.

I’m really pleased to be able to offer my readers the chance to win a One Cup…

The Morphy Richards Accents One Cup Hot Water Dispenser comes in red or black RRP £34.99, with a 2 year guarantee. The winner will be able to choose the colour of their prize.

HOW TO WIN!

1. For your first chance to win the prize please comment on this post telling me about why you need a One Cup in your life.

2. For a second chance to win please tweet this post Win Morphy Richards One Cup with @cookingkt http://wp.me/pU5T8-WB and comment HERE telling me you have done so along with your twitter username

3. For a third chance to win please follow me @cookingkt on Twitter and comment HERE to tell me you have done so.

GIVEAWAY RULES

This giveaway is open to all readers with a UK mailing address. The winner will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced in a subsequent post. When commenting please leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

I am running this competition on behalf of Morphy Richards who will be responsible for sending the prizes to the winners. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries. You must leave a separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they will not be counted.

Closing date: 10pm Friday 30th September 2011

Good Luck!

Thanks to Morphy Richards for providing this fantastic prize.

Not Supermum has been trying out the Accents One Cup over the past weeks she’s become a real fan of this quirky, efficient kitchen gadget. You can read her thoughts below or click here to read the original post on her blog.

Disclosure: I received this item free of charge for review.

This month in my role as a House Proud Ambassador I’ve been testing out a really innovative kitchen gadget. It’s the Accents One Cup which boils enough water for – guess what? – one cup and does it in just 30 seconds.

It couldn’t be simpler to use, you just fill your chosen mug with cold water, pour it into the Accents One Cup water chamber, pop the mug under the spout and flick the on switch. That’s gives you just enough time, 30 seconds in fact, to put a teabag or coffee into the mug before the boiling water is poured in. How easy is that?
The One Cup is quite compact and sits neatly on my kitchen work surface. It has a 3kW element for fast boiling, and boils between 150-300ml of water. The removable drip tray catches any last drips of water.

It’s such a simple little appliance that there’s not much else to say about it, except that it’s now a permanent fixture in my kitchen and I use it more often than my kettle.

This little appliance could be really useful in many settings (small kitchens, offices, caravans, student accommodation) but I think it would be perfect for older people who are less able to lift kettles and pour with a steady hand. It could be set up beforehand and they could simply turn it on when they were ready for a cuppa.

The Accents One Cup costs £34.99 and comes with a 2 year guarantee.

Here at Morphy Richards, we recently launched our Accents One Cup hot water dispenser. Over the last couple of weeks, our lovely ‘House Proud Innovator’ have been testing the product for us. In our latest blog post, read what Marie (The English Kitchen blog) thinks of the Accents One Cup (you can read the original post here):

Fantastic Tuna Melt and the Black Accents One Cup Hot Water Dispenser


As you know I am a Morphy Richards House Proud Innovator, which means that I am sent Morphy Richards products from time to time to test out and review. I was pretty excited this month because I was sent the Black Accents One Cup Hot Water Dispenser, and I have to say that it truly has become an indispensable piece of kit in our kitchen!


From their site:

Accents One Cup is a compact heat and dispense machine that can boil and dispense a cup of water in 30 seconds. A simple three-step process means it’s really easy to use too. Just fill a cup with cold water, pour it into the machine’s water chamber and, in around half a minute, your boiling water will be dispensed. Its compact size means it’s a great addition to the kitchen, for using around the home or perfect for student living. Available in Red and Black.

Now that’s a pretty bold statement to make . . . boiling water in 30 seconds? Come on now! Know what??? It’s true! The water is absolutely boiling in just 30 seconds! My Todd always has to put his hot drinks into the microwave after he boils the water in the kettle because he doesn’t think they are hot enough, but this little baby gets the water plenty hot, and he’s not had to use the microwave at all.

(Check out the action on this!!!)

We had a guest over the other night, who happened to not be a Mormon, and he said to me . . . “How come you have one of those little water boiler things when you don’t drink tea or coffee???”

Well, I am here to tell you that you don’t need to drink tea or coffee to find one of these lovely little machines handy and helpful to have around.


They are great for making one cup of Bisto.

They are great for making cups of instant soups. They are also great for making instant noodles, herbal teas, hot chocolates, or anything else that you might be required to add 1 cup of boiling water to . . . and the best thing of all is . . . YOU GOT IT IN 30 Seconds!!

They retail for £34.99 and come with a full 2 year Manufacturer’s Guarantee.

I’ve a little secret to tell you as well . . . they also boil milk, which I was really narked with the Toddster about. The other night he sat down next to me where I was sitting on the sofa holding a nice hot cup of milk. He said he fancied a hot cup of milk before bed. I thought for a few seconds, and I asked him . . . hmmm . . . you didn’t use the little hot water dispenser to heat that up did you??? He looked at me with this really dumb look on his face and said, “Of course!”

Well, I’m ashamed to say I hit the roof!! Boy was I super annoyed with him . . . poor man! Anyways, I did flush it right through with a couple of cups of water, until the water ran clear . . . and I am happy to say that it is working alright, despite his misuse of it, and this is a happy camp once again.

All in all, I have to say I am well pleased with this machine and in all honesty it gets used multiple times each day. I would not be without one now.

I know . . . I am one spoiled rotten lazy sod, aren’t I? But . . . boiling water in 30 seconds just can’t be beat!

Many thanks to Chris from Finn Communications and the people at Morphy Richards for sending me this little Gem to try out! You can order one here if you are interested, and I highly recommend!


We were famished when we got home from church today, and so I made us a couple of Tuna Melts and then some hot cup of soup using our little hot water dispenser. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy!


And Mighty Tasty too!

*Fantastic Tuna Melt*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

The Tuna Melt is one of my favourite things to make for lunch. I’ve tried many versions through the years and have come up with this one, which I think is the absolute best!

2 cans white tuna packed in brine, drained (I try to use albacore if I can find it)
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 – 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 or 4 gherkins, chopped
1 large rib celery, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup sliced black olives
2 small sweet picked hot cherry peppers, chopped
Seasoning salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Softened butter
4 large slices good whole wheat grainy bread
( I like Vogel’s Honey and Oat Bran with Barley, a good bread you can sink your teeth into)
4 slices gouda cheese
4 slices cheddar cheese

In a bowl mix together the drained tuna, mayonnaise, gherkins, lemon juice, celery, spring onion, olives, peppers and parsley. Mix well. Add the seasoned salt and black pepper to taste.

Spread the outsides of the slices of bread with the softened butter.

Heat a large non stick skillet over medium heat until hot. Place 2 slices of bread butter side down in the skillet. Spread ¼ of the tuna mixture onto each slice, getting it as close to the edges as possible. Top with 1 slice each of the gouda and cheddar cheeses and another slice of bread, butter side up. Toast and brown on the bottom, about 4 to 5 minutes, before carefully flipping over and toasting on the other side, until nicely browned on that side as well and the cheese melts. Keep warm in a warm oven until you have finished making four sandwiches.

Serve hot, and sliced in half, with some potato chips for a delicious lunch!

We’ve thrown a number of products into the mix for our innovators this month, including steamers, irons, ironing boards and milk frothers. Rosie Scribble has been cooking up some delicious, healthy meals with her new Intellisteam steamer.

With its intelligent timer, it ensures that all your steamed ingredients are  perfectly cooked and that that the whole meal is ready to serve at precisely the same time, too. Don’t take our word for it through, read Rosie’s review below or click here to be transported to the orginal post on her blog.

Why food steamers really aren’t boring at all

Anything that means I have to spend less time cooking is always going to be a winner in our house. So the Intellisteam Food Steamer from Morphy Richards, for me, is perfect. All I have to do is prepare the ingredients, programme the steamer, and walk away.

Morphy-richards-intellisteam-steamer
The steamer takes care of the rest. Its intelligent timer ensures that all steamed ingredients are perfectly cooked and that the whole meal is ready to serve at the same time. It cooks anything from meats to crunchy vegetables, dry noodles and sauces and comes with an instruction booklet that it easy to understand.

It’s straight-forward to use and easy to clean and it saves me an average of half an hour a day. Which all adds up to an extra three and a half hours a week that would otherwise have been spent over a hot stove.

So what would you do with that extra time?

Visitors to my home would be quick to point out that blogging seems to have taken the place of housework to an unacceptably large extent, so it would make sense to use my extra time wisely. I have done exactly that and have careful thought have decided to take up Zumba.

Others might opt for an extreme sport or any number of adrenaline-fuelled activities.

Some might consider the steamer a little boring but just think of the extra time it gives you in your week and where this could lead. And it also cooks healthy food. Double win in my book.

Full product details and lots of sensible information about product features and benefits are available on the Morphy Richards website along with a number of useful recipes.

The 48780 Intellisteam Food Steamer from Morphy Richards costs £99.99. I received it free of charge to review as part of the House Proud Innovators’ Scheme. I won’t part with it for anything or anyone so don’t even ask.

We sent Jo an Accents cream kettle and toaster set to test out as part of our innovators scheme. I think you’ll agree her kitchen worktop looks fabulous and by the sounds of it, she’s pretty happy with both products. Check out her thoughts below or click here to read the original post on her blog.

I’ve not always been particularly lucky in the kitchen department, in fact at times it’s been downright disastrous, but thanks to Morphy Richards, the kitchen in our new house has developed a bit of retro chic in the way of a new toaster and kettle.

In June we received the gorgeous Accents Cream Traditional Kettle, and the extremely funky Accents Country Cream 4 Slice Toaster.  As you can see below, they look rather fetching in my tiny little rented kitchen, and go very nicely with my ikea tea-cup shelves and a rabbit water bottle (cough).

They both retail at £51.06 which is kind of pricey, but they do exactly what it says on the box, look great and to be honest give me a little buzz every time I see them.

The kettle is simple to use, boils quickly and feels nicely balanced in your hand.  I can’t say my cups of tea taste any better from it, but I can say it has always turned on when I want it to, is easy to fill and the lid doesn’t rattle in a scary way whenever it is close to boiling – unlike my old one.

The toaster looks a lot more complicated than it is as the operation buttons are just doubled on each side so that you can use it as a 2 slice or a 4 slice toaster which I imagine saves energy.  The slots are big enough for crumpets and teacakes and we’ve also warmed croissants on the top.

Having always had to go for cheaper alternatives before, I would have to say that my head has been turned by these much prettier appliances and I will in future spend more on this kind of thing as I’m getting so much pleasure from their gorgeousness (sad I know).

There are just two things I would change:

1   Though the kettle and toaster are both cream, they’re not quite the same cream, so if you want an exact match go for the Accents Country Cream Pyramid Traditional Kettle which matches perfectly.  You can see what I mean if you click on the toaster link above and scroll down to the bottom where they have both kettles side by side.  As you can see from my pic it doesn’t make a huge difference if they’re not side by side, but I think if I was spending that amount I’d want them to match.

2 It would be useful to have a few more wire gaps under the kettle base instead of just the one, as using the shortest position is a little tight between kettle and wall socket, while the long leaves a coil of wire waiting to trip up a passing tea cup.

Apart from those kind of pernickety observations, I love them, and Morphy Richards, you cannot have them back.   It’s lucky I’m one of your House Proud Innovators and so get to keep the stuff I review, otherwise I’d have to set my vorticity on you.

Rargghhhhhhhhhh

PS  Morphy Richards recently launched ‘Home of the Houseproud‘ – a social community for all things home-related and the only place you’ll need to visit to get the most out of your Morphy products.

Our Accents Kettles and Toasters have been going down swimmingly with our Innovators this month. Rosie Scribble has been trying to keep her beautiful cream toaster under wraps so Grannie doesn’t get too jealous. Check out her review below or click here to read it on her own blog.

Just don’t mention the toaster

Granny is now the proud owner of a brand new kitchen with sparkly white floors and surfaces you could eat your dinner off, she tells me. It’s all very nice and long-awaited except I have put a spanner in the works, because Granny has also put a lot of time and attention into choosing a new kettle to match her new kitchen. After much thought and consideration she has gone for a cream kettle not dissimilar to this:

Accents kettle 2
I’ve admired it, said it’s very nice and then mentioned that I too had a brand new cream Accents dome kettle which was delivered straight to my door without charge from Morphy Richards. Granny smiled sweetly and commented positively but I’m sensing tension. I think she may secretly be cursing the Home of the House Proud Innovator Scheme. Last month I was harping on about my new iron and we’ve already discussed the relative benefits of different brands of vacuum cleaners in a ‘my carpets are cleaner that yours’ type of manner.

So for obvious reasons I have decided not the mention that Morphy Richards also sent me an Accents toaster to match our kettle. It might just push Granny over the edge.

Accents toaster We love them both (and Granny) and under no circumstances would we part with them. The kettle (RRP £51.06) has a 360 degree cordless base for left handed and right handed use, a rapid boil feature so you don’t have to stand around forever waiting for your cup of coffee, and a removable limescale filter to help keep it clean.

The toaster’s design is very stylish (RRP 51.06). It has a variable browning control so you can get your toast just right, a removable crumb tray to help keep the kitchen clean and a fabulous variable width function which means it accommodates breads of all thicknesses. It even has a defrost function which is perfect as we often buy bread in bulk and freeze it.

I can post all this here now as Granny is currently travelling around the fjords of Norway ahead of her 65th birthday, so for the time being I can enjoy my toast in peace.

Our lovely ‘Innovator’ Helen at the ‘Fuss Free Flavours’ blog is currently running a competition to giveaway a Morphy Richards Compact Breadmaker. Check out the competition below or visit her blog and make sure that you enter – good luck!!

The Compact Breadmaker retails for £99.99 and this particular machine is on the look out for a new home. What could be better than waking up to fresh bread every morning… delicious!

This month, we gave our Innovators the choice of receiving a kettle and toaster from our Accents range in one of a number of distinctive colours. Not Supermum chose a traditional cream coloured set, before indulging in much tea and toast. You can read her thoughts below, or click here to go to her original post.

When my new kitchen was installed a few months ago it went slightly over budget which left me short of funds for some of the final touches such as accessories and electrical items. So, as part of my role as a Houseproud Innovator I was chuffed to be offered a kettle and toaster from the Morphy Richards’ Accents Range.

Not one to shirk my responsibilities I’ve been busy reviewing them which has meant I’ve been drinking lots of tea and scoffing hot buttered toast. Really, there’s no need to thank me.

The Accents Traditional Kettle has retro looks and sleek lines. Its handy features include a 360 degree cordless base for left or right handed use; quiet boil technology; a 3kW element for quick boiling and a removable limescale filter. I’m used to using a jug kettle so the water level measure took a bit of getting used to, but other than that it does what it’s supposed to do while looking very stylish. A bit like myself *cough*

The Accents 4 Slice Toaster is a huge improvement on our old 2-slice one. For a start it has nice wide slots instead of the narrow ones we were used to, which means we can toast our bagels, crumpets and muffins without a problem. There’s a very handy high lift feature which means we can lift the toast out more easily, so if you’re one of those people who toasts things and then tries to dig them out with a knife – stop it! Get a toaster like this instead.  There’s also a defrost button and a reheat button. You know when you make toast, it pops up but then you get distracted and the toast is cold before you get to butter it? Well, this toaster will reheat it without burning it. Genius!

Just to compare the two different sets, here’s our new kettle and toaster and the old ones. Which set do you prefer? Yep, thought so.

The Accents traditional kettle and toaster

This month on ‘Home of the House Proud’ we’re focussing of food steaming as this is a great method of cooking over the spring/summer months. Several of our ‘House Proud Innovators’ are currently putting the Morphy Richards Intellisteam through its paces. Our ‘Innovator’, ‘Feeding the Boys and a Firefighter’ is one of those reviewing this unique product.

If you’re a blogger and would like to trial our Intellisteam (or any of our other products), give us a shout, either as a comment or by using the contact form.

Over the last few weeks, our ‘House Proud Innovator’, Marie at ‘The English Kitchen’ has been testing the Morphy Richards Intellisteam food steamer – a perfect product to cook with at this time of year. Check out what Marie had to say about the machine in her blog post below. You can read the original blog post here.

If you’re a blogger and would like to trial our Intellisteam (or any of our other products), give us a shout, either as a comment or by using the contact form.

Not Supermum isn’t the most enthusiastic of ironers, so we decided to make life as easy as possible for her by sending her a brand new Comfigrip iron and top-of-the range Shirtmaster ironing board to try out as part of our Morphy Innovators scheme.

She was really impressed with both – you can read her thoughts below, or click here to read the post on her blog.

It’s fair to say that there are two man-made objects visible from space. One is the Great Wall of China and the other is my ironing pile. So, as you may have guessed, ironing is not my favourite past time. But, for most people ironing is a necessary evil so I’m all for making it as painless as possible.

I’ve been using a Morphy Richards iron for over 10 years, and it’s served me well but was starting to show signs of wear and tear. So when I was asked to review the new Comfi Grip Iron by Morphy Richards I was, how shall we say this, intrigued. Not only that but I was also sent the Shirtmaster ironing board to try out too.

Not one to shirk my responsibilities I bit the bullet one day recently and tried them both out.

The ComfiGrip Eco Steam Iron RRP £79.99
What I liked:

  • It has a longer than average cable (3 metres) which allowed me to use the iron without the usual extension lead;
  • The large, easy to fill water tank meant I wasn’t refilling every 5 minutes;
  • the iron has an automatic cut-off if it’s left unattended for 1 minute lying flat on the sole plate, or 8 minutes standing on its heel. Very reassuring if you leave it unattended;
  • there is an Eco Steam switch option which allows you to iron and save 23% less electricity;
  • there is some fancy-pants technology in this iron which I could into detail about, as well as some very well thought out extras which make life easier,  but I’ll just cut to the chase and tell you this: it irons beautifully. That’s pretty much all we want from an iron right?

What I didn’t like:

  • I was ironing. Enough said.

Shirtmaster Ironing Board RRP £79.99

The Shirtmaster Ironing Board is huge. I mean, just have a look at it in comparison to my old ironing board! It’s unusual shape and size means it’s easier to iron larger items, and also means less time moving items around to fit them on the board. The narrow end is designed for ironing collars, waistbands and smaller items of clothes, while the larger end is designed for shirts, duvets, tablecloths, etc. An added bonus for me is that the board was height adjustable to suit my height (5′ 9″). Most ironing boards are too low for me to use comfortably, but this one was fine.

What I liked:

  • the large work area on the board made it much easier to iron larger items – less faffing around;
  • it was more suitable for my height;
  • I like the red spotty cover!;

What I didn’t like:

  • it is much bigger than a standard ironing board, and takes us more room in my kitchen. When it first arrived I didn’t think I would keep it because of its size, but after using it I’ve decided it’s staying!

Perhaps you actually like ironing! I can’t understand why, but there’s actually a World Ironing Championships . Really, take a look here.

The Home of the House Proud website has lots more reviews, competitions, recipes and news from Morphy Richards.

One of our band of House Proud Innovators, who are going to be road testing our latest products each month, Laura from Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy? has been having some fun with our new Meno Milk Frother, and the kids are loving the results. You can read her thoughts below or click here for the original post.

As a newly initiated Morphy Richards Innovator I was sent a Meno Milk Frother.

I didn’t realise we need one until now … in fact I didn’t know such a thing existed.  But I know now!

As a family we are enjoying capuccinos, milkshakes and the finest frothy hot chocolate.

The children now demand coffee shop standard hot chocolate with marshmallows et al.  The 6 year old calls it ‘Fashionable Hot Chocolate’.

I have to admit that the first time I used it, I didn’t read the instructions.  This resulted in my attempt at Fashionable hot chocolate frothing all over the kitchen worktop as the 6 year old rolled her eyes.

Putting that behind me, and reading the instructions, I love it! It’s so easy, just put the drink in, press a button, watch and wait for the frother to do it’s business.  It even heats your drink for you.

Most importantly you get a Meno Milk Frother moustache!

Last month we launched our brand new House Proud Innovators Scheme. We have teamed up with 15 bloggers who are going to road test some of our latest products every month. A big thank you to our old friend and newly appointed innovator Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews. We managed to persuade her to take on one of her least favourite chores – ironing, to test out the Morphy Richards Comfigrip Iron. This is what she thought. To read Cheryl’s original post click here.

For more information about the Comfigrip iron click here.

At Morphy Richards, we work very hard to be ‘More Innovative’ and to bring the very best products to market that we possibly can to make peoples everyday lives easier. Although we have some of the finest product designers and engineers in the business, we can’t develop the products on our own; we very much rely on help and advice from our customers and from the people that are experts in their relevant fields. That’s why we’re delighted to announce details of our ‘Morphy Innovators’ scheme.

Over the next year (and perhaps longer), we’re going to be working very closely with 15 bloggers who will review one of our latest products every month. The five food bloggers and ten mummy/parenting bloggers will also run special competitions for their readers and will be invited to attend a special event or two.

Anyway, without further ado, let us introduce our 15 ‘Morphy Innovators’:

Watch out for the latest blog posts appearing soon, this month, the Intellisteam, Meno Milk Frother and Comfigrip Iron will be put through their paces.