I Don't Need It, But I Want It

Sometimes I find myself thinking, "I need a new purse" or "I need need a new pair of shoes".

I don't actually need those items...I want them.

That same things happens to me with kitchen tools and gadgets. I see something cool and instantly think that I need it. Most of the time I don't buy it because I don't want to spend money...but every once in a while I buy something that fits under the "want" category. I also got lots of cool things when I got married. Apparently you can register for somewhat frivolous things and then people buy them for you.

Here are a couple of things that I definitely don't need, but I love having...

My Waffle Iron

I got this as a wedding present and I don't use it a ton. But I just love having it for those times where you really really want waffles. We actually made waffles for my Mom for Mother's day because she had a taste for them. It couldn't be easier to use and it makes really good waffles. I am happy to say that I do not use a fancy shmancy waffle recipe. I just use pancake mix (like Aunt Jemima's) and follow the directions on the back for waffles. They taste awesome. There's all sorts of waffles irons out there. Mine is made by Krupps and is about $60 on Amazon. I'm sure you could find one cheaper.

My Stoneware Mini Loaf Pan

I got this from my sister, who sells Pampered Chef items. I really like the stoneware, but you can find similar metal pans on Amazon. The reason I like stoneware is that it conducts heat so well and makes really nice bread. It also doesn't absorb any of the food that's baked in it, so you don't have to wash it with soap. You can just rinse it with water (and sometimes you can use this little scaper tool that comes with it to get the hard stuff off).

I have the regular loaf pan and love it. The reason I just had to have the mini loaf pan is because I like banana bread.

I like it a little too much.

In fact, I've been known to eat an entire loaf by myself over the course of 3 days. If I make mini loaves, I can munch on one of them and put the other three in the freezer. Wouldn't it be nice to just grab a mini loaf of goodness out of the freezer when you need it? A recipe for one loaf of bread makes four perfect little loaves, so you don't have to alter your favorite recipe. The recipe I like to use for banana bread is here. You can obviously make all sorts of other breads in it as well. Mini loaves are great when you are making baked goods as gifts.

My Egg Slicer

Do I love to slice eggs, you may ask? No. I use it mostly for mushrooms and strawberries. In fact, I've been using it a lot lately while I've been on a bit of a Spinach and Strawberry Salad binge. It's not really that complicated, but it makes light work of slicing strawberries and mushrooms for various recipes. I can't say that I use it all the time, but when I do, I find myself saying, "I love this thing".
Mine was made by Tupperware (my sister-in-law won it at a party and gave it to me). Pampered Chef sells one and you can also get them on Amazon and at Bed Bath and Beyond and Target.

(Wow, I love links today)

If we had a ton of money, I would buy one of these


and while I was at it, I would get one of these

with this


and then I'd get this...




...because my husband got a Subaru and I'm jealous.


Ok. I'm done now. :)