I noticed a terrific blog post over at: http://www.growingingraceonline.com/ and the topic was her ten favorite kitchen gadgets. I thought that was a super idea. So, I borrowed it. Here are my favorite kitchen tools. I did not even try to put them in order because the one I am using at the time is always my favorite.
1. Pampered Chef Cooking Stones.
I use these for everything. Biscuits, bread, chicken, steaks, pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. We use them all the time. They are easy to clean. They are not so easy to store, so I store them up on their sides in a row, like books.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
2. My tea pot. We like hot tea around here. Chamomile, Cherry Berry, Sleepy Time, Lemon Ginger (Thanks to Jill, the Veggie Queen who suggested this one when I was sick).
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| From Feb 2009-B |
3. A plant. Having a plant in the kitchen really cheers me up. I have this one, given to me by my Father-in-Law. It is so pretty. Since it is right by the sink, I do not forget to water it. Home decorators say you should have a plant in each room. This is the only room where I keep living plants. The rest are (gasp!) fakes. I figured God does a better job of nurturing the soil and watering them than I do, so why put myself through all that torture? But I do love this one. And I love my aloe plant, also in the kitchen.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
4. My coffee pot. I do not drink coffee, but this is how I brew my iced tea. Put two large family-sized tea bags in there with 10 cups of water and let it brew. Pour it in a pitcher and add 1 1/2 cups sugar (sorry Northerners and diabetics!), then fill the pitcher up to the one gallon mark with cold water, while stirring. YUM.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
5. Bread pans. Seriously these are the key to perfect bread.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
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| From Bread Baking |
6. My mill. I mill my own wheat and this is my favorite mill. It has a large capacity, and it can be turned off and on during milling. That was my favorite feature because I have so many children and may need to turn that thing off any minute to deal with an *issue*.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
7. My five loaf bread mixer. It seriously mixes and kneads five loaves of bread at one time. Perfectly. Every time. When I remember all the ingredients. 🙂 Does anyone else ever forget the salt?
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| From Feb 2009-B |
8. My Club Supra Pans. I wonder if they even sell these anymore. I received these when I got married. I have two of them. I make all my soups in these. They have nice, thick bottoms and never burn things. Well, except that one time I was making taco rice, but we do not talk about that.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
9. Pressure Cooker! You can see a blog post about it here. Yes, I know it is the old-fashioned kind. When I am rich, I will buy one of the new-fangled ones. For now, this one is great. You can cook the best roast you ever tasted in 45 minutes. You can make chicken in about 8 minutes (oooh, check that time, I may be off on that one). If you want 1000 good ways to use your pressure cooker, check out the Veggie Queen’s video. Now, she is a vegetarian, but she put together an AWESOME video about using the pressure cooker. I loved it.
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| From Pressure Cooking With Anne Mary |
10. Crock Pot. I can make dinner at 7 in the morning, when I still have energy. Nice.
Hmm… No pic of my crockpot. Sorry!
11. Oh, can I do a number 11? I really must. My deep freezer. I buy beef once a year. I freezer cook. I have wonderful hunters who give us venison. I buy in bulk when things are on sale. I freeze bread. I LOVE this thing. We actually had it “left behind” at my parent’s house when they sold it to us years ago. At the time, I debating just leaving the thing. I consider it a necessity now. LOVE IT. Now I am praying that thing never breaks. Hmmm. I better add that as a category to my emergency fund.
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| From Feb 2009-B |
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| From Feb 2009-B |
12. Ok, I gotta do a number 12. Really. I must.
This makes your white sinks white, cleans the glass stove top better than anything and is cheap at the store. I love barkeepers friend, and I do not even have a bar!
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| From Feb 2009-B |
are your favorite kitchen tools?
Happy Homemaking!
Malia Russell
We have many fav’s in common. But I have never heard of “Bar Keepers Friend”. Where do you purchase this? Thank you for offering advice and encouragement. Sandy
I have #1,2,5,6,7,10,11. My stone pans are much darker then yours are, almost black from use. I store them on the oven and just remove them if we aren’t using them. I don’t utilize my crock pot as often as I would like- due to the lack of a pre-planning nature in me. I am the type who opens the fridge at 4:30 wondering what I am going to make for dinner! I do have a stuffed full deep freezer- I’m always stocking up on good deals. I don’t use Bar Keeper’s, I always just use baking soda. I have been thinking about the pressure cooker for awhile now, wondering if I could find one somewhere cheap. I just saw a list similar to this somewhere else (Growing in Grace magazine’s website) I like reading what people put on them!
Hi. I just discovered your website today and will be back many times. I’m constantly frustrated with the pull between time efficiency and healthier choices whether it’s cleaning or cooking or shopping. I’m looking forward to any tips and ideas you have to share. Just had to ask, what kind of bread pans do you have? Mine are awful. Absolutely awful. I’ve been told that somewhere out there there are stoneware breadpans but until I find them, what kind/brand are the ones that you love so I can buy them and frisbee my current ones onto the highway.
Carolyn