My favorite kitchen gadgets

I was making Chili though the other night and my boys, while they love foods with tomato products, they still prefer not to see chunks of tomatoes. So what to do. I had already dumped a jar of home canned tomatoes in the pan...I could put them in my blender but then I looked up and saw a beam of light shining towards my brand new, never opened immersion blender..the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender.  Got it down and blended those tomatoes in a snap!  (It's not a Bamix...but it's also not $179)
I am now officially in love with it. I've used cheaper ones and wasn't impressed which is probably why I kind of set it aside last Christmas and didn't give it much thought.
Some day I'll tell you the "TNT" lentil soup story and how I decorated my kitchen in about 3 seconds by blending hot lentil soup. 


My other favorite,  kitchen must-have devices:
1. Bosch Universal mixer  (I can make one loaf or 6 loaves of 100% whole grain bread dough in 6 minutes. You'll never go back to store bought.) And it has an awesome blender on it. I have a 17 year old Bosch Universal and am really lusting after the new Universal Plus!
2. Cuisinart waffle maker. I have the small round one that stores upright. It's a space saver and makes thinner waffles than our old belgian one.
3. Cuisinart Griddler G-4. This should have tons of ****** by it. I LOVE this and I'm not crazy about stuff taking up my countertop space. But I can't live without it now. Use it DAILY! 
4. Quality and I mean high-quality knives. My favorite one is a paring knife that my dad made me and no...you can't have it. But my second favorite paring knife is a wood handled Chicago cutlery one I got at a garage sale. Don't buy the Chicago Cutlery knives at discount stores like Shopko. UGH. Got a whole set of those for Christmas last year and they have caused me to come close to swearing. Lousy knives. I've giving them to my mom for...for gardening. She loves using knives to work in her flower bed and I'm telling you...these aren't worth the space they take up on my countertop for kitchen work.
5.  I also have a grain mill so I can grind my own flour, but that' isn't practical for most people. It is nice though.
6. My pampered chef can opener. It takes the top off instead of cutting around the inside. It's wonderful.
7. Last but certainly not least..an under the cabinet radio/cd player. Love it!


Note. I don't have a microwave. Haven't had one since our last one died. And quite frankly, I don't miss it anymore. 


When you equip your kitchen with the tools you need for your healthier lifestyle, you will enjoy cooking more and eating healthier foods that you can prepare at home in a snap! Cooking healthy doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming or expensive.  I'll show you how in some upcoming videos..if I ever get them edited. :)  


In this together,
Anne