The 5 Most Forgotten (But Amazingly Useful) Kitchen Products
by Char Gietz

Sure, you use your toaster everyday. Your coffeemaker gets plenty of action in the morning. But you’ve probably got plenty of appliances that could be saving you time that are collecting dust in your basement. Want to know what they are?

1. Your Crock Pot- This little guy has the potential to save you hours in the kitchen every time you use it. Throw in the ingredients in the morning and you get to come home to an already cooked dinner. What’s better than that? Crock Pots are a huge time saver, and they’re definitely worth dragging out of the basement.

2. Your blender- Who uses their blender, right? Well, you could be if you spent some time looking up some good smoothie recipes. Smoothies are a great, healthy dessert for kids, and also make a great breakfast item. Chock full of fruits and protein depending on the recipe, smoothies are a meal in themselves and make a welcome change from cereal. All thanks to your blender…

3. Your toaster oven- Don’t think this appliance is just for making toast. This amazingly versatile kitchen tool can be used to cook a whole variety of foods, and is great to use especially in the summer so you don’t heat up your kitchen by turning on the oven. You can broil salmon with dill, bake a tiny pizza, or roast some chicken with a toaster oven.

4. Your food dehydrator- You probably bought this appliance on a whim and never took it out of the box. Well, if that’s the case you’re missing out! This appliance makes wonderful dried snacks at a fraction of the cost of buying store brands. Apricots, strawberries, bananas, beef jerky, even applesauce can be dried and stored for later snacking. Kids especially love making dehydrated snacks, so this would be a fun project for a rainy day.

5. Your George Foreman Grill- Just about everyone owns one of these little grills, and yet they’re often found at the back of the cabinet. Indoor grilling is a great way to eat healthier dinners. Not only that, but grilled foods are fast and easy to prepare, and clean up is minimal. You can cook burgers, chicken, steak and vegetables on this little appliance! They’re great to use in the winter especially, when it’s too cold to grill outside.

Now that you’re able to look at these old appliances in a new way, it might be worth the time spent to do dig them out of the basement!

Char Gietz is a freelance writer and a crock pot fanatic. She loves cooking with her Rival crock pot and writing about creative ways to use slow cookers. Her numerous articles offer tips and valuable insight for any busy family.