5 Kitchen Gadgets I Could Live Without {But I Don't Want To!}

While cooking dinner the other day, I was thinking about how many modern conveniences I enjoy when it comes to my kitchen appliances and gadgets.  I like cooking and baking, but sometimes I wonder if I'd like it as much if I had to put as much work into it.  There are definitely a handful of items that I use frequently that are totally worth the splurge (big or small).

*Disclaimer: I'm not receiving any compensation for posting about these items, however, if you click on the link and choose to purchase it, I will receive a small commission.

Pineapple Corer/Slicer  I'll be honest.  I love pineapple, but the thought of cutting it up is just about enough to make me not want to buy them--ever.  Enter the pineapple corer/slicer.  This nifty little tool will core and slice an entire pineapple in less than a minute.  No more worrying about whether or not I'll be biting into a hard piece of core or a pokey leftover piece of the outside that got missed.  I paid $6 for mine off of Amazon and I love it.

Apple Peeler/Corer  If you have kids who don't like the skin of an apple or if you like bottling or dehydrating apples, you know how much of a pain it is to peel it off with a knife.  My kids eat an apple almost every day and I can't imagine not having one of these little gadgets.  It saves so much time and frustration, let me tell you.  And when my husband and I started bottling apple pie filling a few years ago, there is no way we would have actually tried if we hadn't had one of these.

Cupcake/Muffin Carrier  About five years ago, my mother-in-law gave us a cupcake/muffin carrier, complete with a 12-cup muffin pan, an insert for carrying 12 more cupcakes/muffins and a lid with a handle.  I already had a couple cupcake/muffin tins and I remember thinking, "What in the world am I going to use this for?"  Today I am eating my words because I use it on a regular basis.  I've used it when I needed to store cupcakes overnight before frosting them (to keep them moist) and to transport decorated cupcakes/muffins to a party or dinner.  I've had more people than I can count comment on what a great little carrier it is and I couldn't agree more.  (Check out my Applesauce Muffins here.)

Crock Pot  The Christmas before I got married, I asked my mom for a crock pot.  She got me one, although I think she was a little skeptical that I'd actually use it since we didn't use one growing up.  When I got married, I got two more crock pots: one large and one small.  My husband wanted to return one of them but I had a feeling we'd get use out of all of them considering family dinner at his parent's house includes more than 20 people.  In the years since, we've had occasion to use all of them and sometimes even at the same time.  Crock pots are such a time saver and simplify my life.  (Check out my Crock Pot Minestrone Soup here.)

Blendtec  Ever since I've known my husband, he's had a thing with making slushes (we're coming up on our 8 year anniversary in May).  He's been making them since he was a teenager and all his friends ask him to make them even now.  But crushing ice is hard on blenders and he's burned out the motors on at least a couple of ours.  Finally we decided to look into a better blender and settled on a Blendtec.  I cannot say enough good about our Blendtec and we use it every day for everything from slushes (of course) to smoothies to batters to soups.  Worth every penny.

So there you have it!  If you've been wondering if any of these items are worth purchasing, take my word for it that they are.

What are your favorite "I-could-live-without-it-but-don't-want-to" kitchen gadgets?