When I moved into my first house in college, and had my own kitchen for the first time, my mom took me to Target and bought me a set of pots/pans and a set of kitchen utensils (think knives, spatulas, bagel cutter…). And it lasted just fine. Not great quality, but it worked.

Over the years, the amount of pots/pans dwindled. I lost a mini fry pan, the right lids for the right pots, all that. And a few months ago, our one fry pan that we owned started losing its non-stick lining. And then it started to stick… so, not non-stick anymore. It started getting out of hand, and so I started bringing up getting a new fry pan. So we did some research and it was about 50 bucks for a new nice fry pan. And we were getting ready to buy one (or a set of two) when my little sister sent me a picture of a 12-piece set of Cuisinart stainless steel pots and pans for $150 at Costco. I love Costco.

So Jonah and I talked, saved up money for a little bit, and went to Costco. Now, at our local branch, the same set was $199. But it was still pretty dang worth it. So we went for it. And it has taken a bit of getting used to, cooking with stainless steel “stick” pans after years of non-stick, but wow is it nice. You don’t need to turn up the heat too high, and they heat perfectly evenly. I’m really looking forward to making scallops in these pans to get a really nice sear on them. And the little pan is perfect for eggs. The moral of the story is that these pans are pretty, shiny, and wonderful to cook in. And a good deal.