7 Wonderful Kitchen gadgets

My friend Jackie did a blog post about the 7 kitchen gadgets/items she could not live without. She then challenged fellow bloggers to name their 7 items and either leave them in the comment section or do a post about them. I chose the post so here goes:

1. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer--I got it as a wedding gift and have used it, used it, and used it even more. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need a new one soon. I've lost count of the hundreds of cookies, cakes, meringues, and frostings I've made during the years. I've never tried making bread but maybe someday I'll use the bread hook attachment.

2. My silicon baking mats-- These things are AWESOME!!! I have one 9 inch and two 11 inch and they are a baker's dream. I use the smaller one when I make biscuits, rolls, french fries, or chicken sticks. No messy greasy clean-up and the food always comes right off. The two larger sizes are perfect for cookies. I never have to worry about spraying the pans or burnt cookies. When I'm done baking I let the pans cool off and put them away and a quick wash of the mats and that's it.

3. My commercial grade baking sheets-- I got these as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. These are the type of pans that kitchens in restaurants and hospitals use for baking. They are heavy and sturdy so they'll never warp or rust.

4. My Pampered Chef rolling pin combo-- I finally broke down and recently purchased this. It is a small double ended rolling pin. The purpose is to roll dough out in pie pans, baking dishes, or onto pizza pans. It's easily held in one hand and non-stick so there is no stopping and "readjusting" or spending 20 minutes trying to press sticky dough out evenly. I don't know why I waited so long.

5. My Melamie mixing bowls-- These are so much lighter than my other sets of glass bowls. I can't microwave them but I don't need to. I can grab one for those quick mix-it-ups like pizza or pie crusts or brownies ( can't use the mixer) or dry ingredients for cookies and cakes. It is a lot easier to dump the dry part in when the bowl doesn't weigh so much. They are also a cute shade of red so I can put food in them and use them as serving dishes too.

6. My meat fork thermometer-- I actually bought this as a gift for the loving husband but I think I use it much more than he does. After all how else am I supposed to know if the chicken breasts or pork chops are done? It has settings for beef, burgers, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, veal, lamb, and potatoes.

7. My "cake" carrier-- This is supposed to be used to transport a 11x13 size cake or at least pan of that size. I bought it this past summer to carry a cake out to Minnesota for a baby shower. I was able to put two unfrosted layers along with the ingredients for the frosting and my icing spatulas in this. It also works great as a cookie holder. I can fit at least 4 dozen in with no problem. I don't have to worry about the cookies getting smashed up during transport. Later this year it will be used for puppy chow.

Well that's my list. Let me know if you like it or not. What's on your fave list??