Kitchen Gadgets

While I finalize my gluten-free post with links and pictures (sorry about the wait on that) I wanted to quickly include a couple kitchen gadgets that are totally unnecessary but nonetheless awesome!  And would make awesome gifts for any cook (and are all reasonably affordable).

These are silicone mats that you can use as cutting boards. I LOVE mine!  This set (picture from Bed Bath and Beyond) comes in a set of four and are priced at $6.99. I got mine while we were in South Korea and had never seen anything like them.  I love that they are so bendy so when you are done cutting, you can just pour your ingredients right into your pan or bowl. Also, they are dishwasher safe.  Super cool!

This is an apple peeler, corer and slicer. I got mine from a local grocery store for $10 and it has been worth every penny. It peels the skin off the apple, cores it and slices the apple into spirals. I have used it for apple pies, once it is spirals I just cut it in half twice for bite sized pieces. The kids like to eat it in spirals.  And when I was making my huge batch of applesauce for canning, it helped me peel, cut and core a half bushel of apples in no time. I love this thing!

This is a DASH yogurt maker. I just recently started making yogurt with this machine (twice so far) and I love it!  I tried multiple other times making big batches in a crockpot and another time in canning jars, but this has worked the best.  It comes with eight one cup containers and heats the milk bacteria mixture evenly creating a super smooth and tasty yogurt in eight hours. I have done it to make regular yogurt and added the powdered milk to make Greek yogurt and was very happy with both results. This is a more expensive of my kitchen gadgets and cost me $29.99 at Target. You could probably shop around and find it cheaper.  We eat yogurt by the ton (I am making a batch a week) so it will definitely pay off for us.

This is my Coffee Bean Tea Leaf milk frother.  This is the most expensive of my kitchen gadgets in this post and retails at $59.99. You can definitely get other brands for cheaper. I got this one because the box was damaged and Target gave me 50% off.  I LOVE this machine. Basically what it does it heats liquids by circulating them and slowly warming up. When you turn it on, there is a stirrer on the inside that moved the liquid and it automatically shuts off before it scalds.  I can make hot chocolate for the kids without it being too hot. I can reheat a latte without burning the milk. I can brew tea without heating the water separately.  Obviously none of things things are life essential, but I have definitely used this enough to make it worth the price. 

Last one:

This is a julienne slicer for vegetables. I got this a Bed Bath and Beyond for $7 and am excited for the possibilities of this. You can cut any vegetables into thin slices, like noodles. Zucchini noodles, carrot noodles, sweet potato noodles. Noodles without gluten, noodles with extra vitamins. I am a fan.  

So these are my extras. If you know anyone that loves cooking, these all make awesome gifts.  If you have problems coming up with gift ideas to ask for, ask for these. You will be happy. I promise!

What kitchen extras do you have that have become essential to you?

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