Tis the season to live in the Kitchen, am I right? No complaints though because I love baking up some delicious cobbler, pies, rolls, and dont forget the mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and sweet potato casserole! Knowing they have been on the Christmas Eve dinner menu for years and that the family will be happily enjoying it all together under one roof. At the same time, AINT NO BODY GOT TIME FOR THAT! Lets talk about those little tools that everyone loves to have in their kitchen that assists in cutting down on prep time and makes clean up a littttttle easier for everyone.
The Vidalia Chop Wizard
Ok, this thing is amazing. In fact, I have my sister, my mom, my mother-in-law and my brother all totally converted to this thing. The MAIN thing I use it for is to make salsa. Slice the tomatoes and onions, lay a few slices on and slam it shut and you instantly have a few hundred pieces of diced heaven. Which brings me to cooking for the holidays because onions are in almost every main dish. This thing will save you so much time dicing those stinkin’ (pun intended) onions.
The Bowl Scrapers
You GOTTA have one of these. So many uses for this. When you are pouring ANYTHING – brownie batter, syrup, gravy, getting the last of thecookie dough – whatever it may be, you dont want to leave any behind in the bowl. Use this to scrape it out. Spatulas are good but this can get out every drop. Also, I love to scrap off the bread dough thats left over on my counters when trying to clean up the mess.
Portion Control Scoops
These portion control scoops will be your best friend when all those relatives start filling your kitchen. To serve cobbler, ice cream, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole or to drop cookie dough balls or biscuits at just the right size and never questioning how much to use to fill the muffin tin – the uses are almost limitless. If you want a fancy looking fruit bowl, grab the small one and make fruit balls.
The Citrus Squeeze
I use this more than I ever thought I would. Wanna know a trick to get the most juice from your citrus? Roll it on the counter while applying pressure and then use one of these bad boys. For lemon water, lime on your salsa, orange juice for your orange rolls, lemon in lemon meringue pie – I promise you will love it.
Immersion Blender
Soups, sauces, gravy, smoothies, salsa, fruit dips – I use this for anything that needs pureeing or blending. If you buy a jar of salsa that is too chunky, just use this to smooth it out. Put the contents of your smoothie in the cup and use this to blend it up. I love this because it cuts out the use of extra dishes. You just wash off the stem of the blender and viola! Check out all the darling colors it comes
The Zester/Grater
I first noticed this at a big fancy restaurant when they came around and asked if I wanted extra cheese on my pasta. They used this to freshly grate a thin layer of cheese over my dish. During the holidays I tend to make things that need garnishing and zesting like lemon peel on my pie or white chocolate on my cheesecakes. This thing is ALWAYS my favorite to grab.
The Spiralizer
Great tool for healthy pasta or a quick “fancy-ing” up a dish! I’ve tried this on a lot of different foods and it’s awesome!
Hand Held Potato Masher
I hate dirty my whole mixer to mash potatoes. This tool is quick to use and easy to clean. And, who doesn’t love Mashed potatoes!?!?!
A Frother
IT’s getting to be hot cocoa season, and this is Shelley’s personal favorite. It just kicks that hot cocoa/latte up a notch.
LARGE Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
You guys, you can never have enough mixing bowls. This one is HUGE and fantastic. I actually found mine at a garage sale of a 80 year old woman who PROMISED me I’d use it all the time….and I totally do. It’s perfect for mixing. We always do cinnamon popcorn and muddy buddies and couldn’t do without this bowl! No need to split into smaller batches and then be left with all the dishes!
What are more of your favorite kitchen items?
How have they helped you cut time in the kitchen?
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