1. My Crockpot!! (not pictured) For Robbie's birthday, I just got him/us a new one - the one we've had since we got married in '99 had served us well but had a chip in the handle which keeps cutting my hand, and it was getting too small for meals for our family of 6 (not to mention chili for company!) Just today, my sister wanted to borrow mine, and instead I gave her our old one, with her promise to tape the handle. She was thrilled and so was I! Robbie and I LOVE crockpot meals! He and I have won the chili cookoff at Merrill several times, and he always brought the crockpot in a box to work, which is perilous- this new one also has clamp tight lid that is specially designed for you to be able to take it with you places, and a built in spoon holder on top! (And it was still pretty inexpensive at Walmart) I guess it is common to bring in food/treats to thank people, so he is planning to bring in chili to thank some of the personal bankers who have been giving him lots of referrals. He made them his famous peanut butter balls this week! (that's ALL he makes, btw, and although I give him credit for chopping, that chili is really all me-SHHH!!!)
2. Flat top stove- I'll never go back to scrubbing out the drip pans again if possible!! We have VERY little to no counter top space, so this also helps for me to have places to prep things when it's cool.
3. Mini dishwasher. As Christine mentioned, most of the homes in our area surprisingly did not have dishwashers and that was BIG on my list, having gone from an apartment that did have one to one that didn't (you can't go backwards!) so I had to bite my tongue to keep from shrieking with joy when we walked through our house, which i had already deemed my dream house, so the mini dishwasher was the clincher- I was sold!
4. Teapot and tea steeper mug for loose tea leaves. I have never been a tea drinker, but since Maggie got me this pretty mug, it has become a new afternoon ritual to have a nice hot cup of tea. It has a little insert for putting the tea leaves and then you just pour the hot water over and pull out the insert to drink. I have to buy something to add in for a "warm beverages" gift basket for a school fundraiser for one of the kids' classes so I got another one today at World Market with Mags- $5.99 and they have beautiful choices of patterns! (these were maggie's bridesmaids gifts- awesome!!) That is a REALLY fun store by the way! Though hard to get through with a double stroller!
5. Kitchenaid Mixer. This should maybe be top of the list or #2- gets used ALL the time. i made a little yellow shelf even to keep it out. I don't bother with a hand mixer even I just use this sucker. Love it's beautiful indigo color too- we got it a LONG time ago using point on our Merrill Lynch visa/checkcard we used to pay bills. Super great investment.
6. Bread maker: My sister in law in TX was going to throw this out when she was moving about 10 yrs ago, so I made Robbie carry it on the airplane with us back to WI! She had only used it a couple times, and I have gotten so much use from it, especially in the winter, and with stews, chilis, soups. yum! I love how the house smells too!
7. Personal blender- makes my mid morning smoothie and the cup comes right off the base for drinking. No mess or fuss.
8. Under counter radio/CD player. Once scored this on clearance at Target for about $23 and I had a $25 gift card- yay! Dishes and cooking are made more fun when set to music! And even better, Robbie does dishes while listening to sports or talk radio! The only sad thing is that the tuner won't pick up relevant radio for some reason.
9. APPLE PEELER CORER!! Love this guy! It makes perfectly thin cut spiral apples with no peel- perfect for babies learning to gum b/c the slices are so thin, and all age kids and adults love the fun slinky apple snack!!! Gets a lot of use! they have ones in pampered chef, but mine was about $10-15 at Kohls years ago.
10. Robbie randomly bought me a big griddle a few years back. Like Mary, I now don't know how I did without it for big batches of pancakes, grilled cheese, etc. Plus it's electric so I can still use the stovetop.
I do also like my rummage sale scored quesadilla maker, mentioned by Christine, and my 4 slice toaster... I'm sure I could think of more!! :) This was fun!
3 comments:
So many good ideas!! I'm so glad I tagged you! A 4 slice toaster?: brilliant! And the apple corer/slicer: I've never heard of one, how cool! And now I'm going to have to go to World Market to get a mug! Oh boy, maybe I shouldn't have gotten started! Oh, but we should totally swap crock pot recipes!!
Let's see... of total 12 things listed, I have a kitchenaide mixer (in the basement, has not been taken out the entire 3 1/3 years we've lived in the duplex because it literally does not fit on any counter, and because I do not have a dishwasher, meaning the bowl takes up the entire sink until I get to dishes), a countertop radio, and a griddle that goes on the stovetop for pancakes, etc. Boy, is my kitchen not stocked! Those all sound like nice things for a kitchen... but how do you have room for it all???
lol Kim - I don't know... I'd consider my kitchen very small- about 10 x 12? Over the years, I have actually pared down and pared down to only the things I actually use- and I have gotten pretty good at organizing to maximize space! You must get extra graces though having to hand wash your dishes!! I was going to tag you in this ( I had forgotten to tag anyone else) Kim, so should I not?! Or what are YOUR favorite must haves?? :)
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