I spend a lot of time in the kitchen whether it is making homemade meals for my family, canning, brewing kombucha, making homemade bread Etc. I have learned what makes the process go smoothly and the things that just collect dust. Here is my list of items I use on a regular basis.
- Kitchen Aid
- Vita-Mix
- Instant pot
- Cast Iron Pans
- Pressure Canner
- Water Bath Canner
- Kombucha Heater
Now that you know my favorites I will go into a little more detail about each item and what I use it for and why I love each one.
- Kitchen Aid
I use my kitchen aid for all sorts of things. Anything baking related, which I admit is not that much. I am not that good at baking. But when I do want to bake something it is very nice to have because unlike a hand mixer is doing the work for me and I don’t have to stand there the whole time.
I love it for making bread and pizza dough. Kneading takes forever and I love that I can just turn it on and walk away.
I also use it for shredding chicken. Did you know you could do that? Its so simple all you do is put your cooked chicken breast into the bowl and turn it on. It will shred it for you!
There are many more uses for the kitchen aid these are just a few of my favorites.
2. Vita-mix
I will have to say that the vita-mix is probably my most used kitchen tool. I use it at least once a day. You can use other mixers I just decided for the amount of time I am in the kitchen and the thing I make it was a worthwhile investment for me.
I use it for smoothies. It does a great job chopping up just about anything. I make flours out of it. We try not to eat a whole lot of white or wheat flour in our house so I use the vita-mix to make oat flour. It grinds it up beautifully.
I make all my sauces in it. When my harvest is ready and I am ready for canning I use it all the time. I make my pasta sauce, salsa, tomato sauce Etc. in it.
I am going on 3 years of having my vita-mix and have had not a single issue with it so far. I would highly recommend it.
3. Instant pot
So I will have to admit that I just recently took the plunge into the instant pot world. And let me tell you it is a magic pot! I’m not joking. There are so many things you can do with it.
My kids love yogurt and granola and we can go through a lot of yogurts. Well, I now make my own in the instant pot and it is SO easy. And it saves me money.
I also make a lot of different meals in the instant pot. It is so nice to be able to dump everything in and have dinner done. Another thing I love to use it for is making beans. Making your own beans is quite a bit cheaper than buying canned beans and it is very easy.
Potatoes are the best in the instant pot. You can throw some potatoes in the instant pot and have baked potatoes in 15 min. I also throw sweet potatoes in there for my baby. It also makes perfect hard-boiled eggs! Like I said I just got an instant pot a few months ago and I have already used it for all these things. And I know I will continue to find more uses.
4. Cast Iron pans
For years I thought that you just used cast iron when you were camping and cooking over a fire. Well, I have proven myself so wrong. Cast iron is so good! I make almost everything in cast iron pans. The cast iron gives everything such a great flavor.
My favorite things to make in a cast iron would be, pizza, chicken pot pie, Cobblers, any breakfast food and honestly I could keep going but we love just about anything in cast iron. I will say it takes a little bit to get used to making eggs and certain things in it.
The best thing about cast iron is the fact that you don’t have to worry about anything getting into your food. When you use those non-stick pans it can come off into your food.
5. Pressure Canner
I always canned with my mom and she just liked to water bath can. But there are certain things you can’t can with the water bath method. So I got myself a pressure canner and learned how to use it! So many people are scared of them but they are really very simple.
6. Water bath canner
I do like having the option to can my food both ways. So I like to keep both kinds of canners in the house. A water bath canner is very cheap, it is really just a big pot!
7. Kombucha heater
I know kombucha seems like a fad but it really is good for you! I love it! It has helped my gut a lot. And making it is so simple and saves a lot of money. But when you live in Michigan it can be tough to get a good brew in the wintertime.
So I found a cheap heater on amazon and it works really really well. It honestly makes the kombucha taste way better because it is keeping it at a consistent temperature.
Conclusion
This is my list so far and as I use things in my kitchen that I can’t seem to live without I will continue to add them to this list! And I just want you to know that I own and use all of these things! I never want you to feel like I am trying to get you to buy something that I don’t use and love!