Being A Maytag Mom Makes Back to School Season A Breeze #Sponsored

***Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Maytag. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.”***

Teenagers are strange creatures. They wear things I don't understand, listen to music I don't understand, and use slang that I discreetly google when my teen isn't looking. Another thing that absolutely amazes me is the appetite of the average teen boy. I have seen my 13 year old, Kyle, devour massive amounts of food, just to complain of hunger an hour later. So the appetite of teens certainly raises some questions for me. Do they have hollow legs? A tape worm? The metabolism of an entire Olympic team rolled into one body? 

It seems that with school back in session, my son's appetite has increased greatly. Sure, he has breakfast every morning and eats lunch at school. But for some reason, every single day when he gets home, he swears that he is STARVING. 

Luckily, my Maytag kitchen appliances are always there to help me solve this issue, and many others! Whether it's a quick snack for my hungry teen, meals for my toddlers, or a quick family dinner on a busy weeknight, all of my appliances are there for me, saving me time and money.

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I absolutely love my Maytag Ice20 refrigerator. This baby is HUGE, and offers a whopping 25 cubic feet of space. I love how easy it makes organization, and the fact that you can store 2 gallons of milk right in the door. 

My fridge also has an easy access middle drawer which makes it easy for my 3 year old daughter to grab a snack of her own. She loves being able to do it herself, and it definitely helps her to feel independent. We usually store healthy snacks like fruits, veggies, and yogurt in our middle drawer. The produce stays super fresh as well, which is something that was seriously lacking in our old refrigerator. 

When Kyle gets home from a busy day at school, he often wants to snack. I have tons of room in my bottom freezer for snacks, frozen meals and veggies, and even ice cream and desserts. 

The freezer is very large, and features 2 different compartments. This really helps to maximize storage space and keeps food clearly visible. This is something Kyle loves, because he can always easily locate his corn dogs or burritos in record time. You know, because he is SO starving and will wither away and die if he doesn't eat NOW. 

Kyle really likes to help cook, and now that he's a teen, I allow him a bit more freedom in the kitchen. I allow him to make simpler meals like grilled cheese, mac and cheese, and even cookies! He loves being able to experiment in the kitchen, and I feel good knowing he is learning to cook using appliances that are dependable and provide consistent results. 

My Maytag Range is built to cook everything from dinner for two to large family feasts. This industry-leading 6.2 cu. ft. capacity freestanding range has the space to get it all done and the power to get it done fast.I absolutely love the Triple-Choice element for more flexible, even heating. This element allows me to set the burner's heat according to the size of my cookware. So if I have a huge pasta pot, I use all 3 elements. For a small sauce pan, I just use 1. There is no wasted energy, no uneven heating, and no scorched pans. 

I also appreciate the convenience of the 3,200-watt SpeedHeat  element—the industry's most powerful-when I am cooking for my family of 5, and whatever guests happen to be over at meal times. This allows me to get food onto the table fast. This feature is especially helpful for searing steaks or a roast before putting it into the oven to finish. 

Here are some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that Kyle and his friend made one day after school. They insisted they needed some cookies to help them study, and I was not one to argue. My oven preheats very quickly, and distributes heat very evenly. So even my 13 year old and his 12 year old friend were able to make perfect cookies on their very first attempt. 

And of course, like most teens, my son loves using our over the range microwave.  This microwave is wonderful for reheating foods, or even cooking entire dishes in. Since the microwave has built-in sensors that can detect proper cooking times and temperatures, this is something even my son can do. No more worrying about cook times and temperature settings. This microwave is "smart" and figures it out for you! (Which is great because my son tends to "over-nuke" foods and has even set an old microwave on fire cooking pizza rolls.) 

Here is an...interesting...after school snack my son made using our Maytag over the range microwave. Yes, it's a peanut butter and banana sandwich with chocolate drizzle and a jumbo marshmallow on top. Yes, he heated it up in the microwave. While it's definitely not my first choice as far as snacks go, he really loved it. (I did mention that teens are odd creatures, right?) 

So while my Maytag appliances make it easy for my teen to be independent in the kitchen and create his own meals, for some reason, he never, ever volunteers to do the dishes. I guess that is where Mom comes in. Thankfully, my Maytag dishwasher takes so much of the work out of washing dishes, even those that have tough, baked on foods. And the best part? You don't even have to pre-clean your dishes. Just pop them into the dishwasher and go. There are several different settings to use, including one that utilizes high pressure spray jets and increased temperatures that really let stuck on foods know who's boss. It even reduces spotting on your glassware! 

I am still head over heels in love with my Maytag kitchen appliances. Not only are they absolutely gorgeous, they're very reliable. They provide so many great convenience features that I never would have dreamed of, and it really helps me keep up with a busy schedule. These are definitely not your Grandma's Maytag appliances! (Although hers are probably still working too, since Maytag is known for their dependability and high quality!) 

You can check out the awesomeness that is Maytag on their website. 

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How do you juggle a busy schedule? Do you have any must-have helpers or tips? I'd love to hear about it!