Five Things I Can't Live Without - In The Kitchen

I cook..... a lot.  Seriously, sometimes I feel like most of my day is spent in my kitchen.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, food prepping, baking.... the list goes on and on.   Honestly... I spend the more time in my kitchen than any other room in the house.  Some days I love it... other days I wish I had a private chef to do it all for me!

One thing I have learned in my years of cooking..... is there are certain things that I could not live or should I say cook without.  Do you have anything like this????  If my home went up in flames and everything burned... these five things would be the first things I would HAVE to replace.

A Dutch Oven : funny enough I barely got mine this past Christmas.... but I love it more than ANYTHING else in my kitchen.  I have cooked a whole chicken in it, made numerous soups and stews in it...... you can even use it to make bread which I have yet to try.  I haven't even used a single pot out of my cupboard since I got mine.... honestly it's been life changing.  I also love the fact that mine is red.... it's so cute that I leave it out on my stove for display even when I am not using it.  It is seriously a one pot wonder.

Tovolo Cooking Utensils -  Oh how I love this brand!  Once I got my first spatula I was hooked.... then proceed to buy the cooking spoons and their tongs.  They are silicone cookware.... they will not melt no matter how hot they get.... not that I have ever left a spoon on the stove and had it melt, no never.  I also love that they have metal handles.  They are so well made..... once I got these I threw out every other spoon I had.

 

Calphalon Roasting Pan - basically any well made roasting pan will do.... I just know this one rocks, hence why I have it.  I have made Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey's, ham's, roasted whole chickens, made beef tenderloin and even prime rib using my roaster.  If you don't have one... it's a must.  Make sure you go ahead a pay a little more for a v rack for the inside if yours doesn't already come with one.  This makes the meat come out perfect... even on the bottom.

Pampered Chef Measuring Spoons - I have a small kitchen.  It's quite depressing actually.... but I made the choice to have a small kitchen so that my byrdies could have a backyard to play in.  Now one of the downfalls of the small kitchen is... you guessed it lack of space.  That means counter and drawer/cabinets.  I love pampered chef items.. but these are my favorite.  You only need two spoons.... one tablespoon and one teaspoon.  It has an adjustable sliding notch that lets you choose the exact measurement you need.  When I bought these I got to throw out the 10+ measuring spoons I had taking up space in my drawer.  Love these so much I use the EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Eat What You Love Cookbook - I got this cookbook as a gift from my awesome aunt for Christmas two years back.  It is my favorite cookbook.  Truth be told... I haven't even opened any of my other 25+ cookbooks since I got this one.  The recipes are yummy, low sugar, low calories and low fat.  I also love that they are relatively simple with practical ingredients.  I use it so much that it sits out on my kitchen counter at all times because I cook out of it at least 4 times a week.  Evidence is in this blog post here.... see it sitting out on my counter? 

So there you have it.... five things in my kitchen I could not live without.  What about you?  Anything in your kitchen you could not live without?