Favorite Cooking Tools

I used to be very creative in the kitchen before I had children. I would take joy in making new dishes, cooking for my friends, and attempting difficult recipes. Now my goal is to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, prepare meals everyone will love ( this almost never happens), and get us moving in a healthier direction. I recently purchased two items that I use 95% of the time now to cook. They keep our kitchen much cooler and help me minimize mess and time.

 I LOVE my crock-pot. I used to have one but it broke during one of my many moves. This baby is so user friendly and my favorite part about it is that I can throw the food in during the a.m., go about my day, and dinner is ready in the evening. There are plenty of slow cooker recipes on the web but I found this Crock Pot Blog and have used several recipes. This woman has over 365 recipes to choose from and is extremely creative. And the great thing about making a meal to fill the crock-pot is that you will more than likely have leftovers which means one less night of cooking for you!!

This is my griddle/grill!!!

I love this appliance because it's a two-in-one deal. I make eggs and pancakes on the griddle and then flip it over to make bacon. There is a tray underneath to catch all the mess and this thing heats up fast! Mine is the Food Network brand from Kohl's (got it one sale) but I've seen higher end and lower end griddle/grill sets. I use this every morning to make my breakfast and I've also made grilled cheese, chicken, and grilled veggies.

I use my white toaster oven (in the background) to bake chicken, pork, and fish. This little appliance also puts off minimum heat and requires little clean up.

What are your favorite kitchen tools and appliances?