Top 10 Kitchen Tools used in LMLD Kitchens

With how much we cook and bake in our kitchens, we use a lot of different kitchen supplies daily. In fact, I have shelves in my garage (as it connects to our kitchen) filled with so many different kitchen gadgets and tools it looks like the shelf of a Bed Bath and Beyond store)

But, some of our kitchen tools get a lot more use than others. And some sit on my shelf for most the year and only get used once or twice for special occasions.

Here is a list of our top 10 kitchen gadgets. The gadgets that get the most use in one or both of the LMLD kitchens.

What is your most used kitchen tool?

1. Kitchen Aid 5 Quart Mixer. I use this thing at least once a week, maybe more. It works great for cookies, cakes, muffins and other baked goods. But I also use it for shredding chicken. And I’ve got a few wonderful attachments that we often use, especially the shredder/slicer attachment which works great for shredding cheese, make hashed browns, cutting vegetables for ratatouille and more!

2. Pyrex. Lets be honest with only 2 people in both Mother and Daughter households we often end up with leftovers. Pyrex are my favorite containers for keeping food fresh and tasting its best when reheated. They are fridge, freezer, oven, microwave and dishwasher safe which makes easy storage, easy reheating and easy washing.

3. Digital Meat Thermometer. We eat a lot of meat in our households, especially chicken, and the best way to make sure our chicken is fully cooked is using our meat thermometer. Chicken usually needs to be cooked to 165 to fully get rid of all the bacteria, and if you use a digital meat thermometer you can make sure your chicken is fully cooked and safe, but also not overcooked and dry.

4. Magic Bullet. Magic Bullets are the perfect blender. They aren’t bulky and taking up space on your counter top and they make just the right amount for an individual smoothie, or small amounts of soup, sauce, etc. We actually love using ours to whip up eggs for scrambled eggs, it makes them so frothy and delicious!

5. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons. Any measuring cups or spoons work great. Especially with baking, measuring out your ingredients is the best way to get precise and delicious results with the best texture and taste. I also have these magnetic measuring spoons which are great because they stick together in your drawer and you don’t have to fumble around for them, and I also like having two sets because I often use 1 and need another for a different ingredient that I don’t want to mix together.

6. Non Stick Pans. Non stick pans are lifesavers, life savers I tell ya. We’ve also got a nice set of stainless steal pans that looked really pretty when we got them as a wedding gift and can be put in our oven, but now they aren’t so pretty and they’ve got black stuff stuck to the bottoms. But these non stick pans? Perfection. They are so great for cooking up sauces, eggs, pancakes (when I’m just cooking for me), browning meat and more and then once you’re done cooking with them they clean up so easy because nothing sticks. It’s amazing!

7. Ikea Cheese Grater. This cheese grater is great with two different sized grating holes depending on what kind of cheese you are grating or what you are grating your cheese for. But the best thing is you pop the lid on to the top of the grater and your cheese goes right into the container making it ready to serve at your table or even a great way to store that little bit of extra grated cheese.

8. Silver Mixing Bowls. Having multiple sizes of silver mixing bowls is so helpful for cooking and baking (because sometimes you need wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls) . These bowls are great for mixing together ingredients and can also be used for serving things like mashed potatoes or salad.

9. Breakfast Sandwich Maker. Did you guys know that you can totally make your own “egg mcmuffins” from home? This breakfast sandwich maker is awesome. Nate and I have made sandwiches with full eggs, egg whites, with bread, bagels, pancakes and english muffins as the crust, with or without cheese, and with ham or bacon inside too. We love making up these sandwiches for a lazy (but easy and quick) breakfast and we often end up making them for dinner or late night snacks too!

10. Crockpot. We both use our crock pots often, its such a great time saver and its so nice to come home to a fresh cooked meal. Aimee recently got a new programmable crock pot which is awesome because she can set it to cook till the food inside is a certain temperature, or for certain lengths of time on high and then switch to low. It makes crock pot cooking even more convenient. Ellen still has her first crockpot that she got when she was married, can you believe it?