The Kitchen Tools I Can't Live Without

There are some things I just can't live without in my kitchen.  One of those things is my knife block. When my husband and I first started dating, he had asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  We were only going together for 3 months.  I told him that I wanted a good knife for the kitchen.  Apparently he was really trying to impress me because he bought me a whole set of J.A. Henckel Knives...a professional quality set.  I was thrilled!  That set of knives is now 15 years old.  Funny story, the next Christmas he bought me the meat cleaver to go with that set, and then the Christmas after he bought me an electric knife.  He always jokes that he must trust me, otherwise he wouldn't have bought me so many knives.

After being heavily used for 15 years, the knives have developed some issues, one has cracked in half, and three of them have a rattle in the handle.  They have to go in for warranty for 6-8 weeks and I am so sad!  They are like extensions of my hands when I am in the kitchen.  I bought a cheapy knife set (for $15 on Boxing Day) to hopefully get me through.  This got me thinking about what else in my kitchen that I can't live without.

Obviously my knives.  The set I have are not made anymore, but this one is of similar quality.  The imperative thing with knives is to keep them sharp.  I let my husband do this because, well, I am clumsy and am afraid I will slice my hand off. I am a big fan of J.A. Henckels knives.  They are easy to work with, fit nicely in my hand, and are not super heavy.

The next thing on my list of must haves is a stand mixer.  I have been through two in my adult life, one being a regular Kitchen Aid which was gifted to me by my husband's family.  It lasted me a good 5 years before it had to be replaced, mostly due to the fact that I wanted a more powerful one.  I gifted it to a friend of mine.  I am pretty sure it is still going, 15 years later.

The 6-Qt KitchenAid was the next, which is what I currently use in my kitchen.  I bought it when it was on sale at Costco for around $300.  The unit actually ended up having a warranty issue, and KitchenAid sent me a new one. That one is still going today.  I can't even recall all of the things I have used this for baking and cooking, but it is a must have for anyone who mixes a lot.

The next must have is a good set of measuring cups and measuring spoons.  I must admin, I don't have enough of either.  I have 1 and a half sets of each (from things going missing).  So if anyone needs a gift idea....just kidding.  I prefer metal cups and spoons for dry stuff, and glass for liquids (with the exception of my Pampered Chef Measuring thingy).  I love that metal and glass wash up so well.  I find plastic ones end up getting stained and kind of gunky from our hard water.

The measuring cups and spoons that I have are very similar to these ones.  I am pretty sure I bought mine from a direct sales company about 15 years ago.

I love the glass measuring cups from Pyrex or Anchor Hocking.  You can often find these at Canadian Tire when they have kitchen deals for a really great price.

Another thing that I use religiously are these pinch bowls.  My little brother bought them for me for Christmas one year and I have since bought a second set.  They are also a measuring cup.  I love that you can pinch and pour from them.  I use these in a lot of my prep.

Last item for today's list is a great cutting board.  I have gone through so many cutting boards that I can't even remember all the ones I have had.  My favorite ones have the little ridge around them to catch any juices, and grips on the bottom.  These ones are very very similar to the ones I had that were my favorite.  That reminds me I need to get another package.

Thanks for reading this week's favorite things list!  I will be back in two weeks for another list!

Jen