My Favorite Things – Kitchen Gadgets

I thought it would be fun to have a “My Favorite Things” week here on Love and Laundry! Most of it is stuff I already own or use and completely love. So, if you’re looking for some ideas for Christmas presents still, maybe there are things you might love too! This is my Kitchen Gadget list. Before I start, you have to know that I will not hold on to a kitchen gadget unless it gets used in my house. I hate the build-up of useless and bulky kitchen tools. All my favorites are ones that get used at least weekly at my house.

Here are some of my favorite things:

1. Universal Housewares Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron 15 Inch Skillet

It took me a long time before I bought a cast iron skillet. I remember my mom using one while I was growing up. When I finally did get one, I couldn’t quit using it! In fact, I still use it almost every day. They are incredibly durable. And if you treat them right, they’ll literally last you the rest of your life. What other kind of skillet could be so loyal? This is a great present for everyone – even people who rarely cook can use one of these babies!

2. Aroma Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer

This is the third rice cooker I’ve owned and I completely love it!! I honestly don’t know how people live without rice cookers! This particular one is great because it cooks more than just rice. You can steam veggies, use it as a slow cooker, and throw together tons of easy meals. The instruction book comes with some recipes. I tried the Green Chili Chicken and Rice and it was delish! Plus it only took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

3. KitchenAid Classic White Stand Mixer

Maybe this one is a little obvious. It seems like I see recommendations for this baby all over the place. Over Thanksgiving weekend, I had one of my favorite friends over. She is a total foodie and didn’t own one! Before I knew it, I was scouring the Black Friday ads trying to find her the best deal around. She was looking for one of the larger Artisan models. Mine is the small classic one. But it has more than done anything I ever needed it to do. I’m telling you, if you don’t already have one, you should buy one for yourself for Christmas. (How do you think I got mine?) It will change the way you make cookies. It will make your bread and rolls without hesitation. And if you want fluffy white frosting on your cupcakes, you gotta use this!

4. Ninja NJ600 Pro Blender

For a long time, I thought that I would hold out on buying a nicer blender until I could afford a Vitamix. And I may still eventually cave and get one, but oh boy! are they expensive!! Well, after burning through 3 or 4 cheapo blenders on my green smoothies, my husband finally brought this one home. I really love this blender! It has way out-performed any that I’ve had so far. And the bonus is that is can double as a food processor on some recipes. I even use it to chop onions by pulsing it. It’s way faster than doing it by hand. And you want know a secret on quickly cleaning blenders? After your done, just add it half full of water and put in a drop of dishwashing soap. Then, run the blender. It swishes all that dish soap water around and cleans it. Much faster than hand washing every.single.time.

5. Norpro Silicone 9 Inch Springform Pan with Glass Base

Okay, so maybe I don’t use this every week, but it is definitely worth having! I needed a springform pan earlier this year, and found this at a local baking shop. I’ve used springform pans before, but the silicone is genius! It’s so easy to clean. Plus the glass base makes the finished dessert look so elegant. I make cakes quite often with it and I don’t have to try to move the cake onto another plate. I love this!!!

So, there you have it! My kitchen gadget must haves. What kitchen tools do you love?