Hello friends!
I do A LOT of cooking. Some days I feel like I live in the kitchen!
But there are a few kitchen tools that, when I don’t have them, I miss them dearly.
And tonight, instead of sharing a recipe, I thought I’d share those tools that are my absolute MUST HAVES. I promise you, they will make cooking so much easier, more efficient, and more fun!! How about that!
And the best part: is that these won’t break the bank! (And I’ve put links to all of them here, so just click on the picture to learn more!)
I love garlic, but I absolutely HATE having my fingers smell like it when I cook with it!
Enter: the garlic rocker!
This little gadget was recommended to me by my mother, and boy, am I grateful she introduced me to it. It creates the perfect “mince” every time, and when you’re done, you can just pop it in the dish washer. Count me in.
This isn’t as much a kitchen tool as it is a kitchen LIFE SAVER. When I say nothing sticks to this, I mean NOTHING STICKS. Every time I’m baking veggies or fish in the oven, I always line the baking sheet with this nonstick tin foil, and not only does it literally eliminate having to wash the baking tray, but it just is so nice to not have to use messy cooking sprays (that are just full of chemicals and seed oils), or excess oil!
This tool, I use at least once a day. Truly. I make banana ice cream with it. I make my pumpkin ice cream with it. I make sauces. I make pesto. I make cauliflower rice. I make almond butter. I make soup! Seriously, not a day goes by where I’m not using this at least once or twice.
They have mini food “prep” processors which can chop up veggies or garlic…but honestly, those are a waste of time. You’re going to want to get at least an 11 cup food processor. This is the one I have. I get about four years out of it with daily use.
Ok, this one is a new…obsession. We got this Nutr Nut Milk Maker of our wedding registry, and I have used it every day ever since. FRESH, HOMEMADE ALMOND MILK WITH ONLY TWO INGREDIENTS: almonds and water! (I also add a pinch of sea salt and cinnamon).
But this is such a game changer! You see, with the Specific Carb Diet, you can’t have gums or stabilizers or added sugars or corn syrup etc…all of which are found in your normal almond milk cartons found at the store: like Silk, Almond Breeze, etc. There’s only one brand of nut milk that I can have, that only has almonds and water as the ingredients…and it’s close to $12 for a bottle. Highway robbery to say the least.
This Nutr machine has literally paid for itself 100 times already. And the milk is so good. You can add different nuts, you can add a little cinnamon and nutmeg, a date, a little honey — it is amazing. Five minutes and you’ve got fresh almond milk for lattes, for drinking, for recipes — I love it. A MUST if you’re dairy free. Truly. The Nutr is the best thing ever.
This, again, has been a game changer…especially now that I’m cooking for a meat eater. I was always SO SCARED I’d be undercooking chicken or steak, so I’d always cook the crap out of it, and it would be like a leather shoe sole. This digital meat thermometer instantly reads the internal temperature…allowing for perfectly juicy chicken, tender salmon and that iconic medium rare steak.
They say that the most dangerous tool in the kitchen is a DULL knife. And oh my gosh, that is so true. A sharp knife is a safe knife. (That and a cutting board that doesn’t slide around.)
My cooking did a 180 when I invested in a good chef’s knife. And yes, I said “invest” because a good chef’s knife — one that lasts, with good craftsmanship, and has good weight and balance — is not $40. It’s over $100. But this is definitely something worth investing in.
Before I got this knife, I would cut everything with a serrated steak knife, or a really dull paring knife that I think was bought from a door to door salesman back in the 90’s. Sound familiar? Do yourself a favor and get this knife!
So there you have it! These are the tools that I simply cannot live without in my kitchen! I will have a new recipe for you next week, but this week, I wanted to share some tips on HOW to cook efficiently, and not just WHAT to cook 🙂
I hope you have an awesome day!
Best,
Caralyn
17 responses to “Five Kitchen Tools I Use EVERY DAY”
I’m with you in the knife department. How do you store yours? I’ve not found the perfect way to store them other than in a drawer. I used to return them to the sleeve they came in until I noticed that it’s not recommended.
I am not the beautiful bride, but I love a magnet strip on the backsplash above my stove. I use it so often it and I always know where it is. I have seen knife blocks that are very nice also for countertop if you have some extra. I put my frequent knives on the strip and less used in the block where it won’t gather dust between uses. But that is me. She might have a better idea.😃
LOL I think the magnet strips might be good. I love my granddaughters, who I’ve gifted
a few good knives to. However, I tend to be selfish when it comes to who can arbitrarily pick up and use them. I definitely don’t want my husband coming in and noticing I even have them and decide he can cut bicycle spokes with them. (no joke) So, I only share with those I know, who respect a good knife. lol
oh gosh!!! haha yeah — i won’t even cut through the tape on an amazon cardboard box with a knife! i’m protective of those babies too!!!
Right? When you get a good quality knife and scissors, you take care of it. I like sharp knives as well and I find dull knives hazardous.
art and functionally in one!!! 🙂 We use a bamboo drawer insert organizer and we’re obsessed because it doesn’t dull the blade! Here’s the link — https://amzn.to/3KA4Lxq — it’s compact and fits all our knives and then some!
Cool, thank you.😃
Hi Jo! Great question! so we actually have a bamboo drawer organizer so they’re out of sight and stored safely, as bamboo doesn’t dull the blade. I previously had a magnetic strip that we put on the side of the fridge, but it actually caused a couple of our knife blades to rust. Perhaps we put them on with a water droplet still on it, i’m not sure, but after that, we found the drawer organizer. This is the one we have and love: https://amzn.to/3KA4Lxq — hopefully that helps!
Thanks!
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Like you, I do a lot of cooking and my five would be fairly similar
Nice! the digital meat thermometer changed my life! hahah (cooking life, that is 😉 )
It didn’t change mine that was probably the food processor
Instead of foil, I use a silicone sheet to line the cookie sheet that I put under whatever I am baking. No need to recycle or throw away! And Lex does not accept foil for recycling even though they do accept aluminum as cans or machine parts.
Gotta check out the Nutr Nut Milk Maker! I love milk but began drinking almost all nut milks, just to stay away from too much cholesterol and saturated fats. Making my own would be a hoot!
❤️&🙏, c.a.
Ooooh that’s a great tip! i will look into that! does silicone handle 400 degrees in the oven?
And yes! oh my gosh the Nutr is literally amazing. Our only regret is that we didn’t get it sooner! Next up on my kitchen wish list is a dehydrator/air fryer. Breville makes a combo machine that is gorgeous. But to think of all the money we’d save on apple chips! hahah
Caralyn, those are all useful items, I’m sure. The chef knife really needs to be plural and accompanied with some good paring knives. But you got no where near the most useful item ever, the Mater Knife. You may never have heard of one but I use mine 3*10 times a day. It does not go in a drawer but after each use, it is washed and put in the drain rack. Mater knives are not just good Durbin Mater season. I use it to cut all types of fresh vegetables and fruits, but never any meat or plastics. If you try to fib one, you might want to use the more proper but less fun name T O M A T O knife. By the way, it’s good for slicing taters too.
https://www.pepperfool.com/best-tomato-knives/
My favorite is a mini colander. Takes little room in the kitchen sink—so handy.