The Noble Pagan Forums - What are your favorite kitchen doodads?

I know this isn't a recipe.....I thought I would post this here in the kitchen area though because it is kitchen related.
I cook a lot of from scratch home made things. I love the food I make. I DON'T love the prep work though ( I'm somewhat lazy ) So I have a few time saving kitchen doodads and I thought I would share them.

The Nicer Dicer
I love this thing. I HATE dicing things up into small pieces ( like say home made hashbrowns). I love eating diced things though.....and that is why I love this lovely doodad. You can dice things with a simple chop motion ( and there are 2 dicing sizes too). It makes dicing onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, green onions so flippin' quick and easy plus the clean up is a snap.

Mini Food Processor
I call this my Chop O Matic ( or Choppy for short). It's small ( handles only a couple of cups of food if that) however I got it for $10 at Walmart. I don't think there isn't anything this doodad can't mince up. I've minced garlic, peppers, cooked chicken, broccoli, bacon and so much more. All you do is take bits of what you need chopped up or minced, fill the container, close the lid and push the blue button. You have to hold the button down so the longer you do this the finer the food will come out.

NuWave
This is one of those countertop oven things. It's pricey but well worth it ( in my opinion). It's really versatile ( can roast, grill, make cookies or pancakes etc). I also like the fact that it doesn't suck a lot of energy ( my power bill went down when I started using it) and it doesn't throw off heat which means when it gets hot here and I want baked potatoes or ribs I can cook them up ( and quicker too than using the oven)and not have to endure a sweltering kitchen. Another nice thing about this doodad is that it cooks meats from frozen to completely cooked without having to wait on thawing (which I love ).

Crockpot
This is also known as a slow cooker. I think every kitchen should have one of these. You can make breakfasts, desserts, breads, dinners, soups, and stews with it. Recipes are just a google click away.
I like to prep the ingredients the night before and then when morning hits I just dump them all in the crockpot, switch it on and let it make my meal for me. Dinners are DEELISH!!!!


So what kind of time saving doodads do you use in your kitchen? Which ones are your favorites?

C.S.

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Even though I'm of the generation that cuts corners in the kitchen, I mostly cook from scratch. Good to find someone else who does too.

The reason I cook from scratch is when I was a kid my grandmother told me that when I grew up (real) cooking would become a lost art. That was all it took...who wouldn't want to learn a lost art?

One of the first things I bought when I was out on my own was a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I had my grandmother's but it weighed a ton and was almost worn out. It makes me smile to know someday my KitchenAid will wear out as well.

I also love Crockpots. I mostly use them on Winter days. Nothing beats a cold day with some yummy soup bubbling away in a crockpot

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"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." ~Sarah Williams.

I know what you mean about cooking becoming a lost art. I go to the stores and see crockpot meal in a bag and all I can think is "why would I pay for that when I can do the same damn thing at home?"

For me though.....for many years the only kitchen doodad I needed was my microwave. Yup I would cheerily tell people that I was the Microwave Queen ( though I was familiar with the stove top.....the oven itself was almost a foreign country to me).

If it couldn't be nuked then it didn't need to be eaten . Sad huh?

Then a couple of years ago I got hooked on the BBC channel and one of my favorite shows became "You are what you eat". Quite frankly it scared the crap out of me. For starters I was not enthused to find out the truth behind preservatives and the like. Secondly I noticed that what people mostly eat comes only in some vague golden brown color spectrum ( most of it fried, greasy and what not). That grossed me out so much that I changed up how we eat here in the house and now do most of the cooking from scratch.
The end result is learning new recipes, eating more healthy and enjoying meals that have COLOR in them ( like reds, greens, yellows and more).

C.S.

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I guess i am blessed i grew up in a family where eating out meant going to a party/bbq at a friend or relatives. That and now one good freind is a chef another is in culinary school and my sis in law is a chef. I get to try great from scratch food all the time. And yes the food network is the greatest channel ever created. My favorite kitchen tool isnt im my kitchen its on my deck My grill is my best friend. I can grill or bbq about anything from a simple burger to whole turkeys or even pizza. The one thing im dying to buy other than a nice set of stainless cookware is a pasta roller, fresh pasta is so easy and cheap and so much better than store bought crap. Homemade is so much better and so cost effective most of the time. The one thing i preach to everyone is olive oil its cholesterol free a great source of monounsaturated fat and it just tastes better.

I'll have to say that my favorite kitcen doodad must be my kitchen... I bake my own bread, cook my own meas and have fun doing so... I learnt cooking from my mother, and a few tricks from my grandmothers while they were still alive... And I wouldnt sell anything from my kitchen... But I'm oldschool compared... I dice, mince and chop by hand... Nothing more relaxing than chopping up your food...

must agree i love my chefs knife it was my moms

I have a small cast iron frying pan that was my grandmothers. It's completely black from years of 'seasoning' it and I use it only to bake cornbread in.

I also have her rolling pin but I've never used it because it was packed away in the barn of her old house for years and some sort of wood eatin' BUG gnawed holes all in it.

I considered boiling it for a few hours to sterilize it and make sure the bugs were long gone, but I just can't make myself do that *shiver*. Plus there would be tiny holes all in the dough I would roll out with it so it's safely packed away in my attic.

My grandfather actually made the rolling pin for her and I've always wondered what sort of wood it's made from. Something apparently appetizing to bugs.

I've seen those frozen crockpot meals too. The LAMEST thing I've ever seen is frozen peanut butter sandwiches. I mean who can't slop some peanut butter on a slice of bread?

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"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." ~Sarah Williams.

I generally cook/bake mostly from scratch; sometimes it is semi-homemade depending on how much time I have. I do love our grill as Sammy mentioned above. I have a food processor, it's an amazing thing especially when taking out hard candies that are a pain to chop or smash into little pieces.

My fondest childhood memories are in the kitchen, I can do just about anything and everything in the kitchen although I am afraid of pie crusts (cheaper to buy at the store and saves sooooo much time) and sauces =P. I am giving sauces another chance.

I have to say my chef's and paring knives, cutting board, rolling pin and essential cooking pans/skillets are my primary tools. I love my double boiler for making my candies, chocolates and other goodies. I need to replace my candle thermometer =*(....And when I get back into gardening, my dehydrator and canning utensils are another must haves too. I love my Pampered Chef stoneware that I have manage to get so far. And we need to get a cast iron skillet or two....

Of course, can't forget the crock pot...wonderful invention.

Can I just say...all? If it helps me make food that I can cram into my face and be all squinty eyed with glee over it...its love at first sight..and bite!

Though I have to say I love my chopper from Pampered Chef. I -hate- chopping unions but this makes it easy.