My Kitchen Essentials

When we were registering for our wedding, Mr. B and I went back and forth on so many things. Do we really need a whole cookware set? Do we want to register for that mixer? Will we ever use the spices in that spice rack? And it went on, and on, and on. I read every blog for kitchen gadget suggestions and found nothing. So we registered blindly. We use our dishes daily. We've yet to crack out our china, but it's so pretty that I want to throw Thanksgiving just to bring it out. So dishes and wine glasses aside, these are my fave kitchen essentials:

My Crate & Barrel bowls. We use these daily. I switch off between the clear and the stepped (or, in my mind "pleated like my wedding dress") Parker bowls. The Parker bowls generally get used more often for serving, while the glass bowls do my prep work for me. These bowls make me so happy, I love to see them nested all together, cozy in the cabinets.

My food scale. I bought it years ago at Target, and use it everyday. I couldn't live (at my goal weight) without it.

I didn't know how deeply I could love an appliance until I met this group. You all know about my CrockPot, so it needs no further explanation. My mixer. Heaven. Dear KitchenAid, you make gaining weight eating baked goods just so worth it. How did I ever make a chocolate chip cookie without you? And my darling little food processor. We've talked about this before, too. I've only ever used it to make pesto. So, doncha know, it comes out from under the cupboards a couple times a week.

Next up, my simplehuman plastic bag holder. I have it on the back of my cuboard door. It cost $10. It's the best $10 I've ever spent.

We also registered for a fleet of cookware. And a cast iron skillet. And you know what I use for almost every meal? My $19.99 Walmart skillet my mom bought for me my senior year of college. I've never let this baby go, it's light and easy to pull out for cooking and put away after dinner, cooks beautifully, and sizzles up chicken like it's no one's business. Everyone told me I had to have a cast iron skillet, so we bought one and it breaks my wrist every time I pull it out to cook.

And last, but certainly not least, my green, funky spoon rest. I love this little Crate and Barrel find. It's inexpensive, one of my favorite colors and keeps sauce from broiling itself to my flat cooktop stove. This is love, ladies.

Alright, now it's your turn. What are your can't-live-without-in-the-kitchen-tools? Leave a comment or post your own post about it. Can't wait!