Five Kitchen Must-Haves

Between work, taking care of the children and housework, it’s no surprise time is at a premium. The question “What’s for dinner?” rears its ugly head daily. But don’t rush out for fast food just yet. Investing that take out budget in these small kitchen appliances makes preparing meals easy and fun.

Electric grill – This gizmo, one of which is backed by a boxing ring favorite, packs a one-two punch. Invest in the model with the removable plates so you can put them in the dishwasher. The grill heats fast and cooks food fast because it’s heated from the top and bottom. Hotdogs, hamburgers, steaks, fish, grilled sandwiches, vegetables, burritos … the possibilities are many. Grilling also tends to render the fat from and pool fat away from the food.

Electric griddle – This is great for cooking a bunch of items at once. Breakfast staples were made for the griddle. Cook pancakes, bacon and eggs simultaneously. You’ll feel like a short order cook as your family asks for their favorites. Because they are done at the same time, there’s no more wasted time standing over a frying pan waiting for two or three pancakes to cook.
Quesadillas, stir fry, reheat pizza and more. The great thing here is the surface space you have to work with. You can control the temperature more precisely than a saut�© pan too.

FoodSaver – It may not help prepare the food, but this baby will save all those leftovers. It also reseals nearly any type of bag, so no more stale chips or cereal. The idea is simple: all the air is sucked out, therefore food stays fresher longer. This means fewer trips to the grocery store and less waste. Besides it’s cool to use.

Mini food processor – It’s the pint-sized version of a classic with huge potential. No more crying over onions or having garlicky fingers, it finely dices anything (be careful). The KitchenAid version operates using a pulse-only function, which gives you control over the consistency of the chop. Make your own bacon bits, nut topping, chopped beef BBQ sandwiches, chicken salad and minced herbs.

Stand mixer – This is the granddaddy of them all. It will set you back a couple hundred bucks, but its uses are endless. Make batters in 10 minutes, knead bread dough, whip up some chocolate mousse. The KitchenAid version can accommodate attachments for ice cream making, rolling out pasta, grinding meat and more.