Two Kitchen appliances you need to consider buying

This post is a bit different from other reviews. I was not given these products to test and try out. This is simply me telling you about two small appliances I have had for years that have been surprisingly very helpful around my home.

I was skeptical when I bought both. I didn't think they were worth it at the time I bought them. I didn't think we would use them enough. I figured they would just go into storage after a few uses and be forgotten to collect dust. My husband was the one who convinced me.

The first one is a popcorn popper. I personally have The Presto PopLite popper.




I used to always make microwave popcorn, but I honestly do not think I have made any of that in years. We have owned our machine for over 5 years. It is still running great after this time and I use it at least on a weekly basis. It is great for living frugally and living a healthy lifestyle. It pops with hot air, so you do not need to add oils. You can top it with anything you can think of!

Cost-wise, it is much cheaper than buying bags of microwave popcorn. We get probably 10-12 bowls of popcorn out of a standard bag of kernels that only costs 2-3 dollars.




The second appliance that we use more than I thought we would is the rice cooker. We have the Black and Decker 16 cup rice cooker.



This cooker came with a steam basket and scoop. What is so great about it is it allows you to simply fill the cooker and turn it on and forget it. It does all the work. No more watching water boil, adding rice, stirring etc. Withe the steam basket, you can steam your fresh veggies along with your rice taking you less time and less space in the kitchen.

I used to always buy rice mixes from the store and do rice that way. Those are loaded with sodium and preservatives. Now, I just add rice and instead of water, I add chicken or beef broth and some seasonings. Rice is so much cheaper (especially if you buy it in bulk!) than rice mixes and just like with the popcorn popper, you can make any flavor rice you want.