Favorite Kitchen Tools

I keep trying to come up with what my favorite cooking tool is, and its always something different. As I previously posted, one of my favorites is the crockpot. I use it to make soup, stew, turkey, brisket, chicken, etc. Recently I found a tasty dessert recipe that was fun to try too. But I do not just use my slow cooker in the kitchen. There's a lot more that goes on there, as the multitude of dishes and utensils that get washed daily can show. Can we say dishpan hands?!

Yesterday I was prepping boneless skinless chicken breasts using kitchen shears. We bought a lovely knife set at least 4 years ago, but I didn't use it until 2 years ago. Why? Well, I'm a bit chicken around knives courtesy of my older sister being a little accident prone on occasion around blades, and she rubbed off on me. However, now that I cook a heck of a lot more than I did pre-Allergy Babe, they have come in handy. And the reason why I love the kitchen shears is that it makes working with raw meat and poultry that much easier. Yes, boneless skinless chicken shouldn't require much work. However, there are still some things that need trimming, and when I need smaller pieces or chunks, snip snip. A scissors is just a scissors, however to me it was a light bulb that went off when my mother-in-law was using it in our house prepping a cut up broiler chicken for soup. The ease with which she got rid of some excess skin was impressive...guess I'm just a slow learner.

I can think of a few more items in my kitchen that are a must. Extra sets of measuring spoons and cups definitely make life a little easier. I'm starting to think I might need a third set, but that might be going a little wild here. An immersion blender makes soup making more fun. I love my food processor, but don't use it enough. Its kept out of the way, in a box, under a dark shelf in the pantry. It sits there sadly neglected but one day it will find a permanent spot on my countertop (when my husband no longer enters my kitchen to notice it), and it will get the attention its owed. Until then, it comes out when I make potato pancakes and kugels. Now that I think about it, it needs some attention...stat!