A most useful item...

...in my small kitchen is a convection microwave. It serves as a second oven for baking, since my main counter top oven only fits a quarter sheet pan (9x13 inches). A batch of cookies would take hours to finish without that second oven unless you're baking bite-size cookies, that is.

I've also found the convection microwave great for making bacon, corn on the cob, or roasting a chicken, potatoes or other vegetables like my favorite squash, butternut. You can combine settings to also use microwave power, and that speeds up the cooking process - great for when I don't get home until later in the afternoon from work and have less time to prepare dinner. My other time-saver is a pressure cooker - most often used for braising or stewing; maybe I'll post about that in the future.

Here's my quick dinner tonight thanks to the convection microwave - roasted peppers and butternut squash with blue cheese and pecans.