Apple Corer and Slicer (if you make apple pie only once a year or have kids, you need one of these, you press it over the top of the apple and it cores and slices it in one motion. And I think they cost $1)
Garlic Press (if you use garlic in everything like me, it makes mincing effortless. Get a metal one…the plastic ones are crap)
Handheld Immersion Blender (if you like to make soups or sauces, these are great. You can blend everything while it’s still on the stove and not have to take it out, put it in a blender, put it back in the pan, blah blah. They’re cheap, like $20. We got one as a wedding gift that has a whisk attachment which is great for making boxed brownies and cakes, and a small food processor attachment which I use all the time for salad dressings)
Coffee Bean Grinder (if you are a coffee lover like me, this is essential to getting that strong, deep, fresh flavor you can usually only find at the coffee shop. These can also be used to grind spices, although I prefer to use a mortar and pestle)
Microplane (like a mini grater you can use right over the bowl. Great if you like cheese as much as I do, but hate whipping out the box grater for a smidgen of parm on top of your pasta)
Breadmaker (I resisted buying one of these for a very long time. Then I realized you can make pizza dough in them, and since you can’t find it in the grocery stores here, I was in. Once I bought it, I realized I like having it around to make bread too. It’s SO easy! You throw some ingredients in and 3 hours later look like a hero when you produce a loaf of fresh bread. We live at high altitude and making bread by hand never worked out for me. It never ever rose properly. But, for whatever reason (maybe the heat?) it turns out perfect everytime I use the breadmaker. It’s also great when Bryan informs me the morning before that he invited a friend over to watch football and have lunch…and we have no bread to make sandwiches.)
I don’t keep kitchen appliances on my counter–just the coffe maker, grinder and blender (we have coffee and smoothies for breakfast every morning). Everything else is on a shelf in our pantry (laundry room) downstairs. I pull it out as I need it. This way we don’t have 5 zillion appliances cluttering our small kitchen.
