Quarantine in the Kitchen: Gadgets I have grown to love!

Hey guys!

Getting to cook at home during quarantine has been a blessing and a curse! I can create amazing, healthy things for most meals and snacks -- but holy dishes?! Anyone else feel that way!? 

I am going to start a running list of some of my favorite things to use in the kitchen -- mostly that I have grown to love during quarantine but I plan to continue testing and sharing all the hacks I learn! Let me know if you have any favorites! I would love to check them out!

1. My griddle -- We received it as a wedding present and didn’t use it much for many years. But now, I use it almost every day. The specific one I have is from JCP -- https://www.jcpenney.com/p/cooks-10-x-19-non-stick-griddle/pp5003550694?pTmplType=regular

Sometimes I use it for cooking meats like burgers, bacon, and chicken. I have even done flank steak on it! I have made my eggs and warmed up my breakfast burritos on it. My son loves homemade pancakes and french toast, so I make those on there as well. 

Do you use a griddle? What have you used it for?

2. Stone fruit slicer -- Lately, I have been doing a lot of paleo dishes that use stone fruit like peaches. We also love to eat peaches as snacks. A stone fruit slicer makes it super easy to slice and pit all at the same time! 

Have you heard of a stone fruit slicer? Here is what they look like:

3. Baggy Rack -- yes, you heard it. A baggy rack. This thing is so cool if you are prepping into ziplock bags! It holds up the bag, so you can throw everything in without it falling over! My husband thinks it’s silly, but he should try prepping without one! (This is one of the giveaways for the nutrition challenge, because I think it is THAT COOL)

Here are the ones I have:

4. Pineapple Corer/Slicer thingy -- This thing is amazing. I love fresh pineapple and it also shows up in some of the recipes I use. It cuts the core off and the rind at the same time. You are left with spiral cut pineapple and it is so fast and easy! This is what it looks like: 

5. All things measuring! If there is one thing I will take away from quarantine it is: MEASURE EVERYTHING! I used to wing it, sure I could get by -- but man things taste so much better when you follow the recipe! I recently got the “Thug Kitchen” cookbook and man does it have some “in your face” wisdom! But the biggest thing I took away was “read the recipe first” ALWAYS. You can’t get into the middle of a recipe and go “oh snap, I should have done that first” or “dang that’s dirty and in the dishwasher” and then it’s too late and you're in a hot mess! 

So now, I don’t wing it. I read and I MEASURE! So number 5 is my measuring cups and measuring spoons! I just grabbed a cheap set from Kroger to help! 

Let me know what some of your favorite kitchen items are!