Today is my first post in a series that will be ongoing throughout the life of my food blog. I reached out to my followers and asked what they would like to see added to my blog besides just recipes. The response was unanimous, COOKING TIPS! So, I am starting a section dedicated to COOKING 101 and I will randomly be adding posts in between recipes.

I’m going to use the term cooking to encompass anything involved in the kitchen from stove top, in the oven, no bake, baking, tools, methods, ect. Today I want to introduce a few of my kitchen tools that I never realized I would use so much until I actually got them. While I have a bunch of tools I use every single day these few aren’t actually necessary, but make cooking so much easier. I worked with basic tools for years and it didn’t hinder my ability to create good food, but if you can make your cooking easier, and faster, then you know you’ve accomplished something.

My first kitchen pal that I use EVERY SINGLE DAY is my 10-ounce Ramekin. I wanted one for years, but had absolutely no idea how often I would use it until I got a set of two. If you’ve looked through any of my recipes, you will have noticed that I use them for just about everything! They seem to be just the perfect size for anything that you want to bake for just one, or two, servings.

Single Serve Creamy Rice Pudding

Penny Pinchers Potato Soup

Creamy Chicken Potpie

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

Second are my scoops. Oh, how I love them! I put them on my Amazon wish list and my husband surprised me with them when he placed an order for something he was ordering for the office. I still want one that is one step down smaller than the Tablespoon scoop, but these are great! I used a rounded Tablespoon before I got these, but these speed up the process for meatballs, cookies, muffins, pancakes, or really anything that needs to be scooped!

Blissful Blueberry Muffins

Crunchy Dark Chocolate Energy Bites

Easier No Bake Cookies

Vanilla Protein Pancakes

Third is my spatulas. You are probably thinking that a spatula is a spatula, but you’d be wrong. In order to make the scraping process quick, and mess free, you need a heavy duty set of spatulas. I have 3 different sizes and they all work great for different jobs; such as scraping a batter bowl, scraping out jars, or scraping out caked up beaters. Seriously, have you ever tried to scrape a bowl with a bendy spatula?!

Caramel Dip

English Muffins

Apple Pie Egg Rolls

Baked Ground Turkey Chimichangas

Last, but not least, is my hand sifter. I don’t sift my flour very often, but there is nothing worse then getting a bitter chunk of cocoa powder in a nice sweet dessert. It is also great for garnishes plates, or foods with cocoa powder, or powdered sugar. Don’t underestimate the power of a good sifter.

Super Quick Lava Cake

Elegant Apple Roses

42 Calories Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Like I mentioned, these are just a few of the tools I use every day in the kitchen. Of course pots, pans, different size mixing bowls, measuring cups, graters, and the list goes on, are all important in making cooking an enjoyable experience. Why not have fun with cooking instead of it being a chore? Cooking tools to a foodie are just as important as a shovel to a ditch digger. 😉 That is why gadgets, and kitchen tools, that speed up the process, or make cooking easier are a must when it comes to COOKING 101.

What is your favorite cooking tool?

What would you like to see in future Cooking 101 posts?