Top Ten Favorite Kitchen Items

When it comes to kitchen items, I am quite passionate. I firmly believe if you have good recipes and good cooking utensils, anyone can learn to cook great home-cooked meals! Here are some of my favorites:)


1. Victronix Paring Knife.
Ladies, this is a must have. It is the.best.knife.in.the.world. without a doubt. this little beauty costs only a few bucks and I do not travel anywhere without it. It cuts tomatoes and onions (some of the hardest foods to get a clean, quick cut) easier than any other knife I've tried. The best part is that it never gets dull. I've had one for at least 4 years and I use it everyday and it is still as sharp as the first day I got it. Amazing!


2. Braun Hand Blender
I LOVE my hand blender. I would choose this over a regular blender any day. It is SO easy to use and better yet, even easier to clean up! Who hates trying to clean all the way down at the bottom of a blender under the blades? I know you can take the bottom off, but that is just too much trouble for me! With my little hand blender, I can make salsa, dips, smoothies, and best yet...baby food:) and in about 2.2 seconds, I can whip the bottom off, run it under the kitchen sink and it's clean! Love it!


3. The Best Cookbook EVER!
I learned to cook from scratch out of the Betty Crocker cookbook. My poor copy has been spilled on, splashed on, has traveled around the world, been rebound, recovered and much more. I couldn't live without it! if you are looking for a great, simple cookbook to learn how to cook, this is one you must try! Yay for Betty!


4. Who doesn't love, delicious coffee from a french press in an adorable mug??
HEB (sorry for those of you who live outside of the best state in the world) is where I find my favorite coffee ever. It used to be the Snickernut Cookie Coffee (pete says it's half cookies, half coffee), but now my new fav (a little more tame) is San Antonio Blend. We love making our coffee in a french press. and I have a slight obsession with coffee mugs. If we didn't move so often and have to pack everything up, I think I would own many many many more. This is my all-time favorite mug, from one of my all-time favorite people:)


5. Oxo Y-Peeler
Ok maybe a bit more boring than yummy coffee and a gorgeous mug, but nonetheless...a necessity, when it comes to quick cooking. This Y-peeler is so efficient. You can peel down and the peel right back up your veggie or fruit, peeling twice as fast as a regular peeler. It's so quick and efficient and the blade is so sharp. I'm all about not taking lots of time preparing food and this one definitely helps!


6. Soft Scrub. I love my soft scrub. I have a tendency to "overcook" (pete likes to call it burn) vegetables when I'm steaming them, especially when I'm making baby food for Noah. A few weeks ago, within 24 hours, I burned 3 batches of veggies, thus, ruining my only 3 pots. I went to ACE hardware (the only place in town you can find American brand cleaners) and bought this bottle of soft scrub for $9. And it was worth every penny.


7. my rice cooker. It took me a while to realize how wonderful this appliance is. (even though I've forgotten to add water a few times.....) when you do add the water, it's so much easier than the traditional method of cooking rice!


8. Oneida Silicone Spatula
These babies can be heated up to over 600 degrees without melting! I got this as a wedding gift and it's still going strong! And the best part is that it comes in my favorite color, purple:)


9. the One and Only
what can I say? Who doesn't love this drink? (haha, I know...most people in the world) but I had to put it in my top 10 list. It's not quite an appliance or gadget, but it sure does help me get through the day!

10. There is one more appliance that I dream about, but is not in my possesion...yet. I'm hoping I was a very good girl this year, because it was at the top of my Christmas list.....I guess we'll just have to wait and find out!!!