I do 100% of the cooking in my house. That’s 3 meals a day, for 4 people, 7 days a week. Ugh, that’s exhausting, and I haven’t even done the rest of the math. So you better believe I’ve tried every trick and gadget that will make meal prep easier.
My husband and I got married when I was 23. And I thought I knew everything. I remember my husband trying to convince me to buy a toaster oven and an electric can opener, and I rolled my eyes at him. What did he know about cooking?
And then I tried them.
I had to admit that he was right.
I started using the toaster oven to make half of our meals, and I have rarely used a manual can opener since.
After that experience, I have always kept my eyes open for anything that will make meal planning and food prep easier or faster.
These are the essentials that will always be in my kitchen because they are so helpful during meal prep.
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13 Essentials That Make Meal Prep Easier
1. Immersion blender
You know those recipes that tell you to cook a few things, pour them into a blender to blend, and then put the mixture back into a pot? Yeah, that’s crazy. After a couple of soup recipes with those instructions, I bought a stick blender, also called an immersion blender. It was relatively inexpensive and has blender and whisk attachments.
2. Tomato knife
This one is a pretty recent discovery for me. I spent years trying to cut tomatoes with santoku or paring knives. Then I found this tomato knife from Rada. (By the way, Rada is my favorite knife brand- great quality and they last forever.) Regardless of the size of the tomato, these tomatoes slice them perfectly.
3. Pan strainer
When you cook any kind of ground meat, it leaves fat and grease in the skillet. That’s where a pan strainer comes in. And it works not only for meat, but pasta, and draining washed produce. Try to contain your excitement.
4. Mini cutting board
I use these mini cutting boards daily. They are perfect for quick cutting jobs like fruit or veggies.
5. Kitchen scissors
This is the kitchen tool I probably use most. My motto is if you can use scissors to cut food, you should. I use these to cut corn dogs into circles, trim the crusts off of bread, cut chicken nuggets, cut sausage links, cut pizza into slices, trim fat from meat, and more.
6. Large measuring bowl
When I found one of these a few years ago at ALDI, I was hesitant to buy it because I was unsure how much I would actually use it. Wrong. It is my favorite mixing bowl and always the one I choose first when I am prepping food. Because it is glass, I can put it in the microwave and it is super easy to clean. The handle makes it easy to pick up and the spout makes pouring easy.
7. Meal containers
I have tried several different meal containers over the years. The plastic ones are harder to clean and have been known to warp a bit in the dishwasher, though they are supposed to be dishwasher safe. 🙄 I much prefer glass containers. They are more expensive but they last forever.
8. Condiment bottles
I think every family has a ton of condiments in their refrigerators. Because every person has their favorites when it comes to mustards, salad dressings, and sauces. The problem with all those condiment bottles is that you often can’t tell how much is left in the bottle because of the packaging. That’s why I bought clear condiment bottles for things like salad dressings and oils. This article shares 11 creative uses for condiment bottles.
9. Toaster oven
I told you that my husband introduced me to the toaster oven, but I didn’t tell you why I love it. We have a large toaster oven big enough to fit a muffin pan, so I have made everything in my toaster oven from kid foods like chicken nuggets and corn dogs, to 8×8 casseroles, to roasted vegetables, to small pizzas, to garlic bread. I really only use my real oven when I am baking something in a 9×13 pan, or on a cookie sheet, or I have several things to bake. The toaster oven saves me a lot of time because I don’t preheat it. I just cook everything according to the temperature listed and add a minute or so to the max time.
10. Mini Crockpot
Confession: I own three crockpots, and I use this one very often. The small crockpots have 1.5 to 2 quart capacities and are made for things like dips, appetizers, and sauces. But I use mine most often for cooking chicken. I just throw chicken in the crockpot for 4 hours on high and then shred it after it cools off a bit. Many of the recipes I cook call for shredded chicken and this is the easiest way for me to make it.
11. Salad spinner
I am particular about lettuce. I prefer romaine, and I like it chopped into small pieces rather than torn, which means I typically by lettuce by the head, chop it myself on a cutting board, and put it in a container so I can make salads quickly whenever I want them. I don’t buy a lot of organic produce, so I try to wash my conventional produce well and a salad spinner helps me do that. After I cut my lettuce up, I put it into the salad spinner, wash the greens with produce wash, spin the greens out, and lay them on a kitchen towel to dry. You can use a salad spinner to do more than just rinse lettuce, such as removing water from berries and pasta.
12. Garbage bowl
If you have watched Rachael Ray cook, you are already familiar with the term “garbage bowl,” but if not, I’ll fill you in. Rachael Ray actually sells a garbage bowl, but you can use any large bowl you own. This idea is simple but useful. Instead of going to the garbage can several times to throw cans, scraps or empty ingredients away, toss all your trash into a garbage bowl. Then when you are done cooking, you can make one trip to the garbage can to dispose of your garbage. For me, using a garbage bowl prevent me from spilling or dripping things on the floor on my way to the trash can.
13. Amazon Echo or Google Home
This is not a kitchen gadget, but it is a huge help, almost like another set of hands in the kitchen. Alexa can search recipes on Allrecipes, recommend a recipe based on reviews, and give you the steps to make the recipe you select.
With Google, you can search for any recipe on your phone or tablet and select to send it to Google Home. Then Google Assistant will read the recipe ingredients and instructions to you, one at a time.
These smart devices can also help you in the kitchen by setting timers and help you find substitutes for ingredients you are out of.
I hope these kitchen essentials help speed up your meal prep and get you out of the kitchen faster. But that’s just the start. I’ve put together a FREE cheat sheet of 10 hacks I use to save major time in the kitchen. You can sign up to get it here.
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