I love kitchen gadgets.

I could get lost watching infomercials on the latest NEW gadget that will change your life! Wouldn’t it be fun to test all those products out?

Tom and I have been known to go to Bed, Bath, And Beyond to just peruse new items and dream up our perfect kitchen setting. Seriously though, I got upset with Tom just the other day because he went without me to BB&B to pick up ice trays. Love that place.

I am always looking for ways to make things simpler in the kitchen. I love cooking, but I don’t like elaborate slave over for hours type of cooking. And this family just doesn’t have time for that during the week.

These are some of my favorite items that we use almost daily to make our lives a little easier. And these are things that are outside of your normal standard kitchenware like pots/pans and measuring cups.

1. KitchenAid Blender

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• I make a smoothie every morning, so we needed a high powered blender that would stand up to my daily needs. I can put in frozen fruit, and this thing just whips them right up. It has also been helpful to puree food since I am making all George’s food. You really don’t need the “baby blender;” a regular one does just fine. These also come in different colors. Ours is a bright light blue which helps brighten up our counters.

2. Small Micro-Cooker

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• We use this item almost daily. We love steamed vegetables, and this is far and away the easiest way to prepare them. We just grab a bag of frozen veggies, pour in the desired amount, add a little water, and then pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes. Once you are done, you just pour out the water through the strainer lid, and then donezo. Perfect side dish for any meal. Right now it makes enough veggies for just the two of us, but we may look to get the bigger size once we have to start making meals for more than just us. I have done three helpings, but anymore than that I have to just run it twice. You can do a lot of things with this bad boy, but we usually stick to just steaming vegetables. Considering how awful I am at cooking rice, I should use this more often to cook that. Seriously, if you don’t have this, do yourself a favor and get this from Pampered Chef.

3. Mix’N Chop

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• This is another must have from Pampered Chef. I LOVE THIS ITEM. I really struggle chopping up hamburger meat when I am cooking it, and I don’t need hamburgers in my skillet meals. This gadget helps you chop up your meat into smaller chunks so much better than a regular spatula without feeling like you have to do an arm workout to do so. We use this several times a week. This will change your life people.

4. KitchenAid Mixer

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• Another KitchenAid must. This is definitely the best wedding present we received. Sorry for all others, but this one really takes the cake. Literally, we make cakes with this. We don’t use this every day, but I would say almost weekly we use this sucker for something. We haven’t really explored any of the attachments, but I hear they are great too. I would love the pasta roller! We also are in need of a new beater since we have used it so much over the last 4 years.

5. Crockpot

• No explanation needed. We use this great invention at least once a week. Set it and forget it!

6. Manual Food Processor

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• Another favorite from Pampered Chef. I am the worst at cutting things. It is amazing I haven’t seriously injured myself in the past. Now, if any recipe calls for anything diced (or chunks) in the processor it goes. I have done onions, nuts, bread crumbs, meat, and so many other vegetables. It is really easy to maneuver, even easier when you get the husband to do it for you. It gets the job done, and no one is hurt!

These are all my own opinions, and I was not contacted by KitchenAid or Pampered Chef to speak about their items. But I would if they asked! I could talk about their products for dayssssss. We have so many other products of theirs that we love as well, but these are our most used and favorite saving-us-time items. And we will endorse any crockpot. They are the bomb.com.

Do you use any of these products? Do you love these brands as much as we do? What are your favorite kitchen items? What else should we be using to save us time?