I love kitchen gadgets! Unfortunately, I don't have the budget or the storage space for them. These 2 are the kitchen gadgets I couldn't do without. The microwave comes in handy so often for warming leftovers, defrosting the hamburger meat I forgot to set out...all sorts of things. Plus I read somewhere that the microwave uses less energy than an oven. I like anything that will make my electric bill even a teeny bit smaller.
The Kitchen Aid mixer was a Christmas present years ago from my dad and step-mother. They bought me the extra large professional size and boy am I glad they did! I can make 3 loaves of bread in it at a time. It makes homemade pizza crust or pumpkin bread a snap. I use it at least once a week.
I have a small George Foreman type grill, but I can't use it. My kitchen has ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) plugs, and the grill blows them every time I plug it in! I can drag the huge 3 prong extension cord out of the garage, and run it from my dining room into the kitchen, but it's just not worth it. When I want to make hamburgers, I just fry them in a pan like my mother always did unless the man of the house wants to fire up the grill.
Other than that, the only gadgets I have are the coffee maker, toaster, blender and waffle iron (I'll have to get that out for breakfast in the morning). I don't like my counter tops to be cluttered and I don't have room in the cabinets for anything else so I think I've reached my limit on appliances. My can opener is a good old hand operated type and my food processor is a sharp knife.
Do you have lots of kitchen gadgets and appliances? Are they really worth the trouble of getting them out?
I'm like you I don't have the counter space for a lot of gadgets. We got a microwave that fits over our stove with the vent built into it, I love it now I don't have the microwave sitting on the counters. But I only have the coffee maker and toaster out. I have a fry daddy and waffle iron and I'm dreaming of a kitchen aid mixer one day:) But I love the kitchen stores with all the little gadgets and tools.
ReplyDeleteI love my deluxe KitchenAid! I try not to use the microwave very much and use my toaster oven instead.
ReplyDeleteVery have very few kitchen gadgets. We have such a teeny kitchen with hardly anyroom that all we really have are a kettle and a toaster. We have an ice cream maker (a gift from my husband's work) and a food mixer but they are kept in a seperate room a taken out rarely because there is so little room.
ReplyDeleteOne day we will have more room and we can have kitchen aids galore!
Great to find your blog.
I have a microwave, a mini chopper, a rice/vegetable steamer, a hand held mixer(I'd like to have one like yours), a pizazz pizza cooker (which I love!) and an under the cabinet mounted can opener. No bread machine, I just do that the old fashioned way. I don't like having clutter on my counters either and I don't have much cabinet space, so I think I'm done with gadgets too!
ReplyDeleteI love my kitchen gadgets too, and I have a lot of them. They mostly stay in a cabinet until I need them since I have so little counter space. I have the same exact Kitchen Aid mixer and it is my favorite gadget ever, I don't know what I would do without it.
ReplyDeleteI have a juicer at the back of my cupboard because it was such a devil to clean but I do use toaster, microwave, coffee maker, handheld blender which is good for chopping. Non electric I have got a good gadget fastened under my top cupboard which takes all the tight lids off of jars and bottles, wouldn't be without that..Do you use toastie bags?
ReplyDeleteThis is a neat blog post. It's fun seeing what everyone has in their kitchens :)
ReplyDeleteMy kitchen doesn't have much counterspace at all and with a water leak in two of the cabinets (it's dried now...just waiting for the cabinets to get replaced), all my pots and pans are sitting on the counter driving me insane...but that's beside the point. :)
I threw out or toaster when we moved last year and our microwave keeled over about 2 years ago, haven't bothered to replace it. Don't see a need too.
We do have a rice steamer / cooker (never been used), a waffle iron (never been used), huge crock pot (never been used), ice crusher (used), small food processor (used), large multi-cooker / steamer (never been used), electric hand held mixer (never been used), and a bread machine (never been used). Everything except the ice crusher was given as gifts to us. One day when my kitchen repairs get finished I would like to use more of my gadgets. :)
Texas blessings to all ~
Dawn
This IS a fun post! Hm...let's see...Okay, sitting out for frequent use, I have a microwave, a coffee maker, a toaster oven, a bread machine (on top of the fridge),and a blender. In cabinets, I have a George Foreman grill, a Cuisinart Griller, a hand mixer, a stand mixer, an electric knife, a waffle maker, two Crockpots, and a Snackster sandwich maker. I think that's all. I use a nonelectric can opener, and like you, my food processor is a sharp knife. :-) My kitchen is very small, but there are quite a few deep cabinets.
ReplyDeleteNot bragging, but I have too much counter space and too many cabinets and too many infrequently used gadgets! The only thing I use consistantly is the coffee maker and toaster oven. We are but two in this house so a few years ago, I purchased an inexpensive toaster oven to save on electricity. I loved it and when it finally died recently, I replaced it with one a bit larger that has a convection oven--PERFECT for just the two of us.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I also have six crock pots of various sizes and use one of them at least a couple of times a week...and they ALL come out for Thanksgiving when we host a huge (30-40 person) dinner for our extended family...our Christmas gift to them...but that's another story!
My kitchen is a tiny bitty thing and I don't have very much counter space at all. I use my microwave quite a bit for reheating ( and I also read it saves energy). I have the same Kitchen Aid mixer that you have. It was a gift a few years ago from my hubby :) I use it ALL THE TIME!! I LOVE it!! Other than the coffee pot, bread machine and toaster oven I don't have any other gadets in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI love gadgets, I love my microwave, my Cuisinart Toaster, big enough for bagels, my Foreman Grill,my hand mixer, bread machine, and the Magic Bullet... I broke the container to my blender and got this,,,I really like it. I love gadgets and wish I had more room in my kitchen. As it is , my bread machine is up in my attic. My dream... A Kitchen Aid Mixer!!
ReplyDeletegosh,, I almost forgot,, my rice cooker, waffle Iron, electric fry pan... I think that's it..:)
ReplyDeleteI love your RED microwave! As soon as mine kicks the bucket...I am getting a PINK one!
ReplyDeleteGirl...I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer...I use it all the time.
I don't like a cluttered counter either...Hugs Julie
I just don't have a lot of counter space for gadgets. So, I have the bare minimum.
ReplyDeleteI have a BOSCH kitchen machine that has a dough hook in addition to the regular whippers and paddles it also has a blender and a food processor that hook to it silimar to the Ktchen Aid, I use it more then anything!
ReplyDeleteI don't like gadgets that are more *clean-up* work than they are worth...Favorites for me are:
ReplyDeleteCrock-pot
Salad shooter/grater
Rice cooker
Microwave
Can opener
COFFEE POT
Neat post!
ReplyDeleteOn the counter all I keep is my Kitchen Aid & hubby's Senseo. We have a sparate cart for the microwave.
I keep my crock pot & my griddle in lower cabinets cause they are heavy.
In my pantry I have my blender & breadmaker (I would leave this out if I had a little more space cause it's a pain to lug out & I use it fairly often)on a bottom shelf.
Up top in the pantry are my smaller gadgets - toaster, waffle iron, hand mixer, fryer.
i love kitchen gadgets too but i find that i don't use them all when i buy them lol i adore my kitchen aid mixer!! i use it daily cuz i bake so much. i also use it for mixing up tuna fish :)
ReplyDeletei use a toaster oven instead of a microwave cuz i'm concerned about the dangers of nuking food but i miss the convenience of the microwave.
i love my air popper popcorn and use it almost daily.
i hate electric can openers cuz i can't find one that works so i don't use them.
i want a griddle!!and a bigger toaster.
Oh, I totally forgot my griddle and electric skillet. Goodness...I think I might need to review how often I use all these gadgets!
ReplyDeletei hate having alot of appliances out too! the only one that is always out is the microwave, and the bread machine(it won't fit in any cabinet except the back linen closet, and i use it too much to be dragging it out all the time) the waffle iron and the toaster, and the coffee pot are all on shelves in the adjoining "laundry room"(closet with doors really)
ReplyDeleteWe have the same microwave! Woohoo! :) It works great for us and I love having it out. We have most of our appliances in the color red.. they all look great together!
ReplyDeleteReally good entry. This was a nice read :)
hi
ReplyDeleteYour space and kitchen appliances or gadgets seem so much like mine and also the situation that you are in would love to have more but cannot.
But i love kitchen appliances and always am on a lookout for something reasonable and small which i can just push in somewhere...
People love kitchen appliances because its make our work very easy, but due to small space in kitchen its not possible to keep all those for what they are looking for.
ReplyDeleteI think cooking skills trump gadgets and appliances. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer and wouldn't be without it. I think the crockpot is essential and the coffeemaker. I do have some bread makers that my hubby scrounged from a trash picking adventure and they work great but I wouldn't have spent our hard earned money on them.
ReplyDeleteI have some pretty good knife skills and don't see the need for a food processor but my husband got one for Christmas last year because he wanted to make pico de gallo. He made it twice and I stored his food processor away and he hasn't gotten it to use it since then.
We have a small galley kitchen and counter space is at a premium.
great post, we like the same kitchen gadgets. I really like this blog. Thanks for posting. :)
ReplyDelete