The most useful kitchen gadget?

Islandmaid

Washing
Ironing
Food
Etc

Oh Bob........... (Shakes head)

Ben84

Home cooking, even with all the mechanical help from a dishwasher to a kenwood mixer is still more work than anything ready made. So, maybe at this point you just need a good book of simple recipes? One of those one-pot cookbooks, or something like that. You can also browse online for simple recipes.

It's a big help to have a selection of very straightforward things you can make easily. It also helps to make double of something and serve it twice in a week. I usually have a few no cooking days a week because of this, which is nice.

However, if you don't have one already, perhaps a microwave oven for your husband to to reheat food you made earlier would be useful?

evie451

Bob! Pretty sure you can't buy one of those with an amazon gift card much less get Yodel to deliver it! :rotfl:

I recently got a mixer to do bread cakes pizza etc its great but best time saver would be my slow cooker...as mentioned before maybe a slow cooker cookbook?
When I started trying to cook more the book feeding your family a healthy diet with very little money no time and a tiny kitchen etc by gill Holcombe was great.....:o

PasturesNew

I'd not recommend soup makers to many people, but would buying a cheap soup maker work for you? You can just lob stuff in and 20-30 minutes later it's soup.

I think they're a big waste of money as soup's not hard... but if soup's more than you can face making, then it might be an answer.

Question is though - do you eat soups, do you see them as a meal, or not.

It probably needs to start from looking at what you used to cook a couple of years ago and enjoy - and see if there's a gadget that enables you to lob stuff at a gadget that produces the food you used to like to cook.

You could try to use your existing slow cooker more - just find 2-3 recipes where you lob stuff in (no prep at all)... the thing with a SC is you do need to think ahead and that takes some getting used to. If you're not in the mood for it, then it's game over.

suicidebob

evie451 wrote: »

Bob! Pretty sure you can't buy one of those with an amazon gift card much less get Yodel to deliver it! :rotfl:

I only read the thread title, didn't realise I had to read any more!

Big_Graeme

The most used thing in our kitchen gadget wise is the Borner V Slicer, I'm on my third in 20 years, best £30 I spend. Note to the wise do not buy cheaper makes, the blunt quickly and break.

suki1964

My must haves are a good set of knives and a good sharpener

Then I use a £5. Stick blender more then anything

Then my food processor

Seriously a good set of knives stored on a magnetic strip if at all possible with a great sharpener ( I'm hopeless with a steel) will save you time, money and energy

Gadgets are gadgets. Unless you use them at least weekly, they cost more in storage space then they yield in usefulness

Seanymph

I too think a book would be best - because your slow cooker is the answer sitting right there and your life would be easier if you made friends with it.

Mine is my best friend.

Especially if your OH comes in early hours looking for food! You can put anything from a whole chicken (Mine fits two at a time) - switch it on, leave between 7 and 90 hours and fish it out ready to eat, to curry, soup, stew, rice pudding, cakes............ the list really is endless.

There are all sorts of sites online (and facebook pages) for slowcooker (americans call them crock pot) recipes and tips (If you are doing a curry or bolognese and don't want it watery put a teatowel under the lid to absorb the condensation) - really, there is a whole world out there ready to support you making your life easier with the tool you already have.

Have a crack at it - I made carrot and honey soup in ours last week, needed the blender at the end, chicken thighs in salsa with peppers, and did a gammon joint - bung it in and ignore it for about 8 hours, then give it half an hour in the oven to go crispy on top...

It makes life easy, and means your OH will walk into hot food ready to be ladled out.

TravellingAbuela

I have to agree with Prinzessilein on this - treat yourself to something nice you deserve it! If you don't use the gadgets you have then I don't think you would use any more. The gadgets I use most are my slow cooker, food processor, blender and stick blender and hand mixer. I use them all and don't find the need for anything else. I also have a panini press which only gets used occasionally, though we do enjoy the paninis when I make them. Also a George Foreman which very rarely sees the light of day! Get a good slow cooker recipe book and the sc will become your best friend. My well used one was from The Works - Slow Cooking Properly Explained (with approx 100 recipes) by Dianne Page. It was about £3 if that!

RedCola

Thank you for all the replies! On reading them, I am definitely going to be ordering a stick blender with some of my voucher. I think you are all right, I probably wouldn't use a gadget very often, I just think I would.

One of the reasons I don't use my slow cooker much is just because I haven't had the want to. I really wasn't very well at all, and I didn't even think about it at the time. However, I will have a look at recipes for them ( is there any on here?)

I find it very hard to cook at the moment & my food seems to taste awful when I do. However, I need (& want) to start cooking properly. I have got another thread about this too.

I am also going to look at 'How to feed your whole family a healthy balanced diet.........'