Kitchen gadgets - what's worth the space?

Happy Friday friends!

New kitchen gadgets are invented almost every week and there’s always something interesting and unique to see out there in mags and on shopping channels. When I was younger I stocked my kitchen with so many things that would make things "easier" and then, you know, never used them. I hate things that take up space but get no use. Sometimes it was because they actually didn't make things easier, and sometimes it was because the quality was not what I thought it would be. 

When something costs $5 or $10, that annoys me, but not as much as when it's $50, $80, $100. The countertop appliance realm. 

Air fryer

The air fryer (affiliate) is the most useful piece of equipment I own aside from the coffee maker or toaster. Most people overlook an air fryer as basically a small convection oven. I have the Cosori and love it, and got my Dad & Carol the same for Christmas one year. Air fryers have plenty of useful functions and they’re extremely convenient to both cook with and clean. They can quickly heat up frozen foods in small batches and you can make almost anything in them. When I'm at the shore and our house is rented in the summer, this is how I cook food. There is no better way to make wings. 

Instant pot

I am not down with the Instant pot but I know a lot of you are. An instant pot is essentially a convenient pressure cooker with lots of handy presets. While many people get worried about using a pressure cooker, they have multiple points of failure that make them extremely safe to use assuming you get a well-known brand.

Whether you’re cooking meat, rice, or even entire meals inside of an instant pot, there are plenty of great ways to use it in your everyday cooking. You can learn how to make instant pot basmati rice at biteswithbri.com, you can learn about the presets to see what other unique foods it’s capable of making, and you can learn more about pressure settings to get your recipes perfect every time without needing to ever look inside the pot as it’s cooking. 

Rice cooker

No interest in an Intstant pot but you eat a lot of rice? Rice cookers have entered the chat. You can cook it in a regular pot, having a rice cooker allows you to set it and forget it. You can even leave the rice in the cooker for some time and keep it warm throughout the day so you always have a fresh bowl of rice whenever you need it. If you have leftovers, you can fry them the following day with some vegetables and protein for a filling lunch or even a hearty breakfast.

Small gadgets I'm into? Basically only the pineapple corer. Worth it every day and twice on Sundays. 

What's your most used small appliance?