I love to cook. I love to bake. I haven’t done much of either since the move. To be honest, I haven’t made much of an effort because I am still trying to get settled (yes.. even a year later) and I sometimes have a hard time finding things that I need. However, since becoming pregnant, my domestic cooking skills have been coming back in full force. Having the cravings for “something familiar” has gotten me out of my cooking rut and the apron is back on.
But… there was still something missing….. until now!
You see, having been married in Texas, Carlo’s family wasn’t able to come for the wedding. So, when we moved here, and got settled, the wedding presents started to come in. Even after almost 3 years of marriage, the presents are still coming. So a few months ago, we received a monetary gift from one of Carlo’s aunts & uncle. Carlo suggested we split the money BUT… my brilliant idea was even better. Actually what I said was, “It’s a wedding gift, therefore it needs to go toward something we both can enjoy or we get something for the house.” Well, it didn’t take much of a discussion because there are lots of things we need that we don’t have.
1- A Grill
We love us some grilled food! We already have a grill pan we use for hamburgers and chicken but Carlo hates mixing flavors so, an indoor grill was a MUST! We have been waiting for the perfect time to get one. Not only was this a perfect size to grill 2 portions at once, but it also opens completely to lay flat. Sorry George Foreman… this grill is better than yours!… AND… I got it on SALE!!! So now that we have a grill, we can finally go back to having fresh Salmon, or…. these fantastic looking shrimp! (which is what we ate last friday night for dinner)
Next up…
2- A blender & Food processor
How in the world am I supposed to make crust for Cheesecake without a food processor? OR even make a smoothie without a blender?? Problem solved with my Philips Spaces saver food processor! I love that I don’t have 2 appliances when 1 motor can work for both! It has everything I need for slicing, dicing, chopping & then… my blender! I’ve already made a Strawberry Banana smoothie that was yummy! AGAIN… I also got this on SALE!!!
but wait! there’s more!!
3- A Standing mixer
Life just got SO much better! The other 2 appliances we got a few months ago, but last week we picked up this bad boy. No, it’s not a Kitchen Aid which is the Grandaddy of all Standing mixers but… even with the money we got, there was NO WAY we could afford a Kitchen Aid (it costs so much more here than in the States) So, when I was doing price comparisons, I was surprised this particular brand was actually at a good price. Now, I can FINALLY make some cheesecakes, cake, brownies and all other sorts of yummy goodness. OH… AND…. because of my growing belly making pizza dough sometimes gets a little difficult. (ok.. so I just got tired easier) I used my mixer to mix my dough for me. Not only was everything mixed well.. as an experiment, I only had it on for 10 minutes. My dough came out great! Carlo said it was the best one yet! Which means, the time it takes me to prepare dough just got cut in half!!! We did NOT get this on sale.. but that’s ok too.
because I got the other 2 items on sale, we actually had 6 euros left which enabled me to get these…
now, Carlo doesn’t have to drink wine out of a nutella glass!
Don’t be too surprised if you start seeing a lot more recipes or food posts.
I have a lot of catching up to do!!
Status Update: I am now at 38 weeks.. the belly is big and I would very much for this little girl to hurry up and pop out. I’m starting to feel slightly uncomfortable sitting on a sofa.
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texasmomintorino.com 
you are so cute! Killer deal on so many appliances! I'm really jealous. I would get married again for a food processor and a mixer AND a grill! haha. Life looks good for you and I couldn't be happier.
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Don't worry! I'm putting your Kitchen Aid Mixer to good use! lol Lots of fun toys there! I love our indoor grill. You'll use it a lot!
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