5 After 5, Kitchen Appliances You Can't Live Without

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It's time for another round of 5 After 5!  In case you missed it, last week's list was 5 summer traditions and if you're new to this series, you can read more about it here.

Today I've got my list of 5 to share, as well as next week's topic for you to stew about over the upcoming days.

And this series is now a link party, so be sure to scroll down and join in all the fun with us this week!

List 5 kitchen appliances you can't live without

Okay, "can't live without" might sound a wee bit extreme, but I actually would rather live without things like a microwave, oven, stove, and dishwasher than go without these little handy helpers:

1.  Bread Machine

I use this thing several times a week: for our pizza on Fridays, our weekly loaf of bread, or to whip up something special for one of our "trips" or some other special meal.

Sure, it's not that difficult to make bread by hand, but for a lazy-bones like me, this handy-dandy machine allows me to simply dump stuff in, press a button, and walk away.

2.  Electric Skillet

When you're living on a shoestring budget, you learn how to save money in unexpected places.  Using an electric skillet helps keep our power bills low, since we don't have to fire up the stove in order to whip up some yummy vittles.

I cook just about everything in this, unless it's something huge like soup, yogurt, tomato sauce, or some big entree for one of our "trips," in which case I use my crock pot.

Pretty much the only thing I use the stove for is making my weekly batch of cheese!

3.  Toaster Oven

Like number two's electric skillet, the toaster oven saves a ton of money by not having to heat up the gigantic oven - even if you're baking a big old chicken!

Plus, if you live in someplace like hot-as-the-sun Florida, the last thing you want to do is heat up the house by turning on the oven!

Like the stove, I only use our oven once a week, when I make our Friday pizzas or the occasional batch of crackers, so that means we only have to crank down our air to combat the high oven temperatures for a couple hours a week instead of every single night.

4.  Food Processor

I use this thing pretty much everyday - to chop, slice, and dice whatever I'm cooking as well as to whip up some homemade nut or seed butter or a monster batch of hummus.

The only thing that gets almost as much use as my food processor is my Ninja, which I use most mornings when I make Gv and I a smoothie.

5.  Stand Mixer

I've actually been without this pal for the past year and a half.

And I've survived.

But it hasn't been easy.

After grinding one pound too many of wheat berries for all the flour we go through, a gear stripped and then his little streaking self just up and died.

I'd resigned myself to saving up to buy a new one, but G felt confident we could fix the silly thing ourselves...


...and we did, for only about $15!

Of course, it took us a year and a half and multiple weekends of unwrapping various greasy pieces and parts from the protective bags we'd stored them in out on the porch all week while waiting for different parts and supplies to come in, but we finally did it.

Weekly batches of cookies, oh how we've missed you!


And as I'm finishing my list, G is standing here wondering why I've left off two other crucial appliances:  our induction cooktop and electric kettle.

Both of which G uses every morning to make his breakfast - and he's usually heating up another pot of water for some tea at night.

I use both of them constantly, as well, but this is my list, not his, so I'm standing behind my choices!

For next week:

List 5 guilty-pleasure television shows you love to watch

Oh, yes.  It's time to fess up.  What are those shows that you love to watch, but hate to admit?

I've got my five.  Can't wait to see yours!

And now, here's this week's link party!  Two other fabulous bloggers have teamed up with me to create lists of five each week and we hope that you'll join us, too!

That's right, every post will be read, pinned and tweeted!  

Every Saturday, just stop by one of our three blogs to add your own list of five, then pop over and read as many other posts as you're able to each week - treat it like a true party and really mix it up and mingle with our fun little community!

The rules are simple:  just write your own list following the prompt each week (feel free to interpret it loosely - or in a unique way!), follow each of the three hosts on the social media channel of your choice, and then get into the spirit of the party by grabbing your favorite beverage or snack and reading the lists of the other party-goers.

Your Hosts:

Lisa, at Syncopated Mama: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ // Bloglovin'

Samantha, at Motivated Days: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Google+ 

Heather Marie at Life, Love, and Lasagna: Facebook // Twitter // Pinterest // Instagram // Bloglovin'

What's your list?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of great tips like this and all the fun around here, be sure to sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post delivered right to your inbox.

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