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The Recipe Doctor's Favorite Kitchen Tools
I do quite a bit of cooking in my family life and in my professional life and I definitely have a few of my favorite kitchen tools that make all that cooking easier. If you have a new kitchen or if you are giving your old kitchen a little makeover...check out some of the tools I use to make my healthy recipes.
Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer
At the top of the list would be my Kitchen Aid standing mixer. I use it so much I've had to replace the attachments over the years. I would get a new one, what with all the new cool colors you can get them in now, but my ten year old white one is still going strong. These mixers are built to last, that's for sure. I use the mixer for everything from cookie dough to muffins and mashed potatoes.
Mini Food Processor
Often you don't have enough food that you are "processing" to fire up the regular sized food processor, especially if you are cooking for just one or two. The mini food processor is the answer. I actually I use my mini food processor more than I do my regular sized one. Need to puree an avocado or a cup of raspberries? Need to chop some nuts quickly? Need to grind some toasted oats into oat flour? Time to pull out that mini food processor.
Indoor Grill
One of my favorite veggie side dishes is grilled asparagus spears. I can make a batch of these in 5 minutes using my indoor grill (like a George Foreman brand grill). One of my favorite sandwiches is grilled eggplant with fresh basil or pesto and mozzarella. The best way I've found to grill up thickly sliced eggplant is with my indoor grill.
Microwave Vegetable Steamer (Pampered Chef)
When I'm making dinner, I'm often tending to the entrée so I like being able to place my vegetables in a container designed for the microwave and just press a button. The lid of this container has holes in it (to let the steam escape) so I just set the cut fresh veggies in the container, add water into the container to rinse the veggies, place the lid on top, and then turn the container upside down to drain the water out. Whatever water droplets are left on the veggies are enough to help them steam and stay moist. You want to avoid over-cooking your vegetables, so set your microwave to a shorter rather than longer cooking time.
What is your favorite kitchen tool? Do you have something you really depend on? Tell us about it!
Related Topics:
Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer
At the top of the list would be my Kitchen Aid standing mixer. I use it so much I've had to replace the attachments over the years. I would get a new one, what with all the new cool colors you can get them in now, but my ten year old white one is still going strong. These mixers are built to last, that's for sure. I use the mixer for everything from cookie dough to muffins and mashed potatoes.
Mini Food Processor
Often you don't have enough food that you are "processing" to fire up the regular sized food processor, especially if you are cooking for just one or two. The mini food processor is the answer. I actually I use my mini food processor more than I do my regular sized one. Need to puree an avocado or a cup of raspberries? Need to chop some nuts quickly? Need to grind some toasted oats into oat flour? Time to pull out that mini food processor.
Indoor Grill
One of my favorite veggie side dishes is grilled asparagus spears. I can make a batch of these in 5 minutes using my indoor grill (like a George Foreman brand grill). One of my favorite sandwiches is grilled eggplant with fresh basil or pesto and mozzarella. The best way I've found to grill up thickly sliced eggplant is with my indoor grill.
Microwave Vegetable Steamer (Pampered Chef)
When I'm making dinner, I'm often tending to the entrée so I like being able to place my vegetables in a container designed for the microwave and just press a button. The lid of this container has holes in it (to let the steam escape) so I just set the cut fresh veggies in the container, add water into the container to rinse the veggies, place the lid on top, and then turn the container upside down to drain the water out. Whatever water droplets are left on the veggies are enough to help them steam and stay moist. You want to avoid over-cooking your vegetables, so set your microwave to a shorter rather than longer cooking time.
What is your favorite kitchen tool? Do you have something you really depend on? Tell us about it!
Related Topics:
- Healthy Cooking with Elaine Magee, RD
- Healthy Cooking Newsletter - recipes, kitchen and shopping advice in your inbox
Labels: kitchen tools, Recipe Doctor
