The Platefull

Inspiring home cooks to be creative with accessible, nutritious recipes.

Espinaca

~ Appetizers, Side Dishes, The Platefull Blog

I love cheese dip of any sort, but this Espinaca is especially delicious! I use Homemade Velveeta in this recipe, but of course you can use store bought. It’s the perfect side for Smoky Pulled Sheet Pan Chicken Nachos!

This recipe is simple to make – all ingredients get thrown in a pot (or the crockpot) together and cooked over low to medium-low heat until melted and combined. That’s it!

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Espinaca

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

16 oz cream cheese

1/2 pint heavy cream

2 4-oz cans Rotel tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup diced jalapeno

8 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

4 chicken bouillon cubes

8 oz Velveeta cheese

1/2 cup milk

1/2 onion, chopped

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until all ingredients are melted and well combined.

Notes

This recipe can also be made in the crockpot.  Place all ingredients in the crockpot over low heat, and stir occasionally.

Homemade Velveeta

~ Sauces and Dressings, The Platefull Blog

There are just some things that are better made with Velveeta. We all know that gooey, melty goodness that is the golden cheese product. Over the last year, I’ve spent a lot of time focused on nutrition and fueling our bodies in a healthy way, which has meant eliminating foods like my dearly beloved Velveeta from our diet. This left me wondering, “Is there a way to make copycat Velveet at home, using real cheese?” This recipe is pretty darn close to the real thing and it’s surprisingly simple to make. I love the fact that I can feel good about feeding it to my kids. I use this to make any sort of cheese dip or casserole that calls for Velveeta. It’s a 1:1 substitute. The only difference is that with real food ingredients, this recipe is not shelf stable to infinity and beyond (you can thank my 3 year old for that reference).

Why can I feel good about this version? Well to start, its only 5 ingredients. Cheddar cheese, milk, cream, salt, and gelatin. The gelatin is the magic ingredient – it gives it that creamy texture that solidifies it, but provides a great melt. Why can I feel good about the gelatin? I’m not talking any off the shelf gelatin here. I’m talking about 100% grass fed bovine gelatin. It’s essentially collagen that has been cooked. There are a whole host of benefits to consuming gelatin in this form, some of which are that it provides collagens (which support bone and joint health), protein (but does not contain tryptophan, etc that meat does, which can cause inflammation), and is high in amino acids. I use Vital Proteins Unflavored Beef Gelatin (found at Whole Foods – my Whole Foods has little packets, of which you’ll need less than 1 packet to make this recipe).

Alright, now that the geeky food knowledge stuff is out of the way, let’s get started. Add the milk and cream to a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Don’t turn on the heat – you want to just let the gelatin sit for a few minutes. After 5-10 minutes, turn the heat on to low or medium low. You want to slowly heat the milk mixture.

In the meantime, shred the cheddar cheese in a food processor. You do not want to use pre-shredded cheese for this recipe, as you won’t get as good of a melt (and I have other issues with pre-shredded cheese containing unwanted ingredients, but that’s a whole notha’ thing). Anyway, just use cheese and only cheese. 😉 . Sprinkle a little salt on the cheese.

When the milk mixture is warm, pour it into the food processor and let the food processor run for about a minute. You want the cheese to melt completely and should end up with a smooth mixture. Transfer to a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate. If you are using in a sauce or casserole, use it right away – no need to let it solidify fully in the fridge.

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Homemade Velveeta

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

3/4 cup whole milk

1 Tbsp heavy cream

2 tsp grass fed gelatin

12 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Pour the milk and heavy cream into a small saucepan.  Do not turn on the heat.  Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let it sit for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, turn the heat to medium low and heat until just steaming, being careful not to let it get to a boil.  You want it hot enough to melt shredded cheese, but not boiling.

While the gelatin sits for 5 minutes, shred the cheddar cheese in a food processor.  Add the salt to the food processor.  Pour in the heated milk mixture and turn the food processor on.  Let it run for about 1 minute, until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.  Transfer to a bread loaf pan that has been lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  If you are using in a casserole or dip, put it straight into your other recipe – no need to solidify it.  Otherwise, refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Notes

You do not want to use pre-shredded cheese for this, as it has ingredients added to prevent the shreds from sticking together.  You’ll get a smoother melt from a block of cheese that you shred.

Smoky Pulled Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos

~ Main, The Platefull Blog

I love this recipe because its a simple sheet pan dinner that can be ready from start to finish in about 15 minutes. It uses the chicken from my Smoky Pulled Chicken Tacos. When I make that recipe, we always have leftover meat, so I freeze it. It’s perfect for a quick meal.

Here’s how easy this meal is. Spread out tortilla chips on a sheet pan. Warm the leftover meat in the microwave and layer it on top of the chips. If you don’t have a batch of pulled chicken in the freezer, you can substitute shredded rotisserie chicken.

Add ranch style beans and shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite nacho toppings! Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, jalapeños, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and espinaca are my favorite toppings. I typically set out the toppings in little bowls and let everyone top their nachos with what they like!

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Smoky Pulled Chicken Sheet Pan Nachos

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

Tortilla chips

1 can Ranch Style beans

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese blend)

2 cups Smoky Pulled Chicken (or shredded rotisserie chicken)

For topping:

Shredded lettuce

Chopped tomatoes

Chopped jalapeños

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Salsa

Espinaca

Cilantro

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

~ Baking, Dessert, The Platefull Blog

This is my Mom’s chocolate chip cookie recipe and I think they are the absolute best! My kids haven’t ever turned one down, so I guess they think they are pretty good too. 😉

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

1 cup Crisco

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1/2 cup quick oatmeal

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350.  Beat the crisco, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until fluffy.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tarter and mix until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips and oatmeal.  Using a 1 inch cookie scoop, scoop balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Oat Squares

~ Baking, Dessert, The Platefull Blog

My mom made these when I was a kid and they’ve always been one of my favorites. I make these every Christmas when I’m doing my holiday baking. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Start by combining the flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, salt, and melted butter to make the crust.

Press about 2/3 of the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.

Pour the caramel evenly over the top.

Crumble the remaining crust mixture over the top and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

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Caramel Chocolate Chip Oat Squares

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

1 cup flour

1 cup quick oatmeal

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup melted butter

32 Kraft caramels, unwrapped (or 1 bag Kraft ready to melt caramel balls)

5 Tbsp evaporated milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, oatmeal, sugar, soda, salt and melted butter.  Put about 2/3 of the mixture into an 8×8 baking dish, pressing evenly into the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes.  

In the meantime, melt the caramels in the microwave.  Add the evaporated milk and vanilla and stir well to combine until smooth.  Remove the crust from the oven.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour the caramel evenly over the top.  Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

The Best Kitchen Gadgets for Home Cooks

~ Lifestyle, The Platefull Blog

As you can probably tell from the types of items on my wish list, I’m fortunate to have a well-stocked kitchen. Cooking has always been something I’ve truly loved, so I’ve collected a fair amount of kitchen gadgets over the years! I thought it would be fun to share the things I love that have withstood the test of time. When you’ve used as many brands and kitchen gadgets as I have, you definitely develop favorites that you consistently return to. This list has all of my favorites, broken down by category!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I use in my own kitchen and these are all of my favorites.

Small Gadgets

I posted all about my most loved small kitchen gadgets here.

Cookbooks

There are three cookbooks always on display in my house. They are beautiful and have earned a place of prominence due to the amount I use them! The fourth spiral bound book you see here is my family recipes book, which is something my Mom made for all of us and is one of my favorite things ever.

The Food Lab is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. I’ve owned it for four years now and I still consistently refer to it. This cookbook does an amazing job of teaching you the very best methods to cook anything and everything. My boys are absolutely spoiled because of the Buttermilk Pancake recipe in this book!

Magnolia Table is a beautiful book first off. Second, if for no other reason, you need this book for the biscuit recipe. You’re welcome. (P.S. I can’t wait for the second one to come out!)

No Crumbs Left is another beautiful cookbook with delicious recipes that my family will actually eat. Some of them are even Whole 30 compliant! Bonus!

Pots and Pans

Outside of using cheap pots and pans through my earlier years, I’ve mostly used four “nice” brands for the last ten years. They are Kitchen Aid, All-Clad, Le Creuset, and Calphalon. I like them all for different reasons. I would say Kitchen Aid and Calphalon are pretty comparable. These are my “every day” pans. I use certain All-Clad pots and pans more than others, partly because I find them harder to work with (read: food sticks and if I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong within a few seconds, I won’t mess with it any further. Sorry.). My most beloved pots and pans are my Le Creuset. They heat so well and clean up so easily, plus they are just beautiful! Here I’ve linked the specific pans I have and love from each brand and how I use them.

Le Creuset 3.5 Qt Braiser I use this pan for anything that requires browning and then moving to the oven. I also use it for anything that I plan to serve straight out of the pan because it’s so pretty.

Le Creuset 5 Qt Dutch Oven This is my favorite pot for making soups and chili. It’s small enough for every day use, but just the right size for all of the soup recipes that I make.

Le Creuset 9 Qt Dutch Oven I use this one for braising meat, like large pork shoulders or beef roasts.

Calphalon 10 Piece Pots and Pans Set This is the set that I currently have as my every day set. For the most part, I am really happy with them. The only thing I don’t love is the one saucepan that has a lid with a built in strainer. I originally though I would really love this feature, but I don’t use it much because this pot isn’t big enough for cooking pasta really. And with the holes, it means it doesn’t seal tight enough to cook rice, which this pot is the perfect size for. Other than that, I love this set and it’s held up really well in the dishwasher.

Kitchen Aid 10 Piece Pots and Pans Set This set is really quite comparable to the Calphalon set, except they don’t stack as nicely. I still use the saucepans from this set because I like them slightly better.

All Clad Stock Pot I use this pot for the occasions when I need a giant pot. Mostly for brining a chicken or making stock/broth.

All Clad 3 Qt Sauce Pan I use this saucepan a lot for things like lentils, quinoa, coconut rice, etc. It’s a really good size and a great, basic sauce pan.

Small Appliances

I tend to get very excited about small appliances and then rarely use them once I buy them. What can I say, I’m a creature of habit. When the Instant Pot came out, I was super excited. But, I find myself going back to my trusty slow cooker more often than not. Maybe it’s because of the learning curve, I don’t know. Here are the small appliances that I consistently use!

Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer This thing has been WELL LOVED and is still running perfectly! I’ve had mine for probably close to 10 years now.

Kitchen Aid Immersion Blender While I don’t use this all the time, it is nice to have for pureeing soups right in the pot or making homemade mayo, dressings, and marinades. Those are the primary things I use it for. I would say for the price, I’ve gotten a good amount of use out of it and it’s lasted several years now.

Kitchen Aid Food Processor I’ve had more food processors than I care to admit, from super tiny to the big guy with multiple bowls. This one is the one I’ve always gone back to. It’s the perfect size, not too heavy to get out, not too many pieces, and all dishwasher safe. Can’t beat that!

Kitchen Aid Slow Cooker Like I said before, my slow cooker is one of my old trusted friends. I just like it and I know how to use it.

Breville Smart Oven I originally got this to put in our basement bar area because we spend most of our time entertaining there in the summer. I found myself running up and down the stairs to use it so much that it now has a permanent place upstairs in my kitchen.

Breville Barista Express I’ll admit, when I first got this machine, I was coming from using a Nespresso, which is beyond easy. I was intimidated and found myself going back to the Nespresso until my brother showed me how to use this one. This is now all I’ve used, every single day (too many times a day than I care to admit) for making fancy lattes at home for the last 2 years and I’ve grown to absolutely love it! I’ve found the secret is buying freshly roasted beans. Makes perfect espresso every time!

Breville Juicer This is one that when I bought it, I found it on a great sale and wasn’t entirely sure I’d use it. But the price was so good, I figured I’d give it a shot. Now, a year later, I still use my juicer regularly. My only complaint is cleaning it. Outside of that, I love it – and my kids do too! They get a kick out of putting the fruits and veggies in. They’ve really surprised me with the combinations they are willing to try! Their favorite is actually Green Gorilla Juice! They get quite adventurous with what they will put into their juice. Yet somehow, they still love to drink it. That’s a win in my book!

Check out my current wish list (you know, in case you need a last minute gift idea for me, I mean for the cook in your life…..).

Candy Cane Bars

~ Baking, Dessert, The Platefull Blog

Candy cane bars are a nice break from chocolate in holiday baking (don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate…like, a lot…). These bars are both beautiful and delicious!

First, make the cookie crust and press into a 9×3 prepared baking dish (lined with foil and coated with baking spray). Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until barely light golden.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Then, using the edges of the foil, lift the bars out of the pan and slide off of the foil onto a cutting board. Spread the frosting over the top.

Sprinkle on the crushed candy canes and snowflake sprinkles (if using).

Cut into triangles to serve. Aren’t they beautiful?!

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Candy Cane Bars

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

For the bars

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

4 Tbsp plain greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

For the frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 Tbsp cream cheese, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

For topping

1/4 cup finely crushed candy canes

Snowflake sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 9×13 baking dish with foil coated in cooking spray.  In a mixer bowl, cream together 1/2 cup of softened butter with granulated sugar and powdered sugar.  Add in the egg, greek yogurt, and vanilla and mix well to combine.  Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until the dough is no longer crumbly.

Press the dough into the lined baking dish.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, until just starting to turn light golden brown.  Set aside to cool completely.

For the frosting, whip the softened 1/2 cup of butter until fluffy.  Add the cream cheese and peppermint extract and mix to combine.  Add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time and mix well.  

Using the edges of the foil, lift the crust out of the baking dish and slide off of the foil onto a cutting board.  Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled bars.  Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and snowflake sprinkles.  Cut into triangles to serve.

Notes

You can find pre-crushed candy cane pieces at some specialty stores like World Market.  Williams Sonoma has beautiful snowflake sprinkles.

Spaghetti

~ Main, The Platefull Blog

This is the spaghetti sauce recipe my Mom has always made for us. We always laugh because in our family cookbook, it’s called “Spicy Spaghetti” but there’s really nothing spicy about it! So, we’ll just call it Spaghetti. This spaghetti sauce happens to be Whole 30 compliant and it’s delicious over carrot or zucchini noodles. I serve it over organic, whole wheat noodles for my kids, but I often make carrot noodles for myself. However, my children will not be fooled by any sort of creative name for the carrot noodles – they know pasta isn’t orange and no non-carb alternative is acceptable. The great thing about this sauce is everyone can eat it on whatever they want. Side note – I buy the carrot noodles in the freezer section from Trader Joes. Means very limited work for me, which leaves me no excuse to not go the healthy, Whole 30 compliant route. I actually prefer carrot noodles over zucchini noodles. I think the texture is more similar to real pasta and they don’t water down the sauce like zucchini noodles can.

I keep jars of this spice mix already mixed up in my pantry, right next to the cans of tomato sauce. It makes a quick weeknight meal. This sauce also freezes very well – just thaw and reheat in a sauce pan.

This recipe is so simple and takes just a few ingredients – tomato sauce, spices, onion, and ground beef. I get ground beef from Trader Joe’s or Butcher Box. I always buy organic, 100% grass fed beef. I suppose that’s a debate for another day, but over the last year, I’ve really learned a lot about the importance of 100% grass fed and eating organic whenever possible. Trader Joe’s has great prices for 100% grass fed organic beef!

To start, add the onion and ground beef to a sauce pan.

Once the beef is cooked through, drain the grease. Then add the tomato sauce and spices.

Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer on the stove for up to a couple hours. If you don’t have time to let it simmer, that’s okay. Just let it go while the noodles cook and you’ll be fine.

I like to serve this meal with my Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Bread and Apple Kale Salad (pictured above).

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Spaghetti

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 15-oz cans tomato sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

Sprinkle of dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp marjoram

1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

Instructions

In a saucepan, brown the ground beef with the onion.  Drain the grease.  Add 2 cans tomato sauce. Add 1/2 can water.  Add the spices and stir to combine.  Let the sauce simmer, up to a couple hours if time allows.  (If not, serve right away).  Serve over spaghetti noodles.

Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Bread

~ Baking, Side Dishes, The Platefull Blog

This is the fattiest, butteriest, cheesiest, but most delicious garlic bread ever made. Ha! That’s probably not the way you’re supposed to start a blog post, huh? It’s not low calorie, but I can promise it’ll be a crowd pleaser! When I make Italian food on weeknights, I typically go with frozen garlic knots or bread because….time. But, when I’m craving a slow meal on a chilly weekend night and time in the kitchen with my family, it’s usually Italian food and this bread on the menu.

Start by cutting the top off of the garlic bulbs and remove the loose “paper” from the outside edges of the bulb. Place in a muffin tin. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the tops with foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic cloves out of the bulb and into a bowl. You should either use the roasted garlic immediately, or if you want to do this step ahead, you can freeze the roasted garlic. There are two ways you could do this:

  • Method 1: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay each clove separately on the parchment paper and freeze. Once frozen, you can move the cloves to a Ziploc bag and place back in the freezer.
  • Method 2: Mash the roasted garlic cloves. Measure out 1 tsp portions into an ice cube tray, wrap in plastic wrap several times so it doesn’t make your freezer smell, and keep frozen. Note that once you do this, you will never be able to use that ice cube tray for anything else because it will absorb the garlic odor and taste.

Once the garlic is roasted, you will mash it and combine with softened butter, parsley, salt, and pepper. (In this picture, I have not yet removed the cloves from the bulb – please don’t try to mash the whole bulb – ha!).

Next you will slice the baguette on the diagonal, not slicing all the way through. You want the slices to be about an inch and a half to 2 inches apart.

You will then use a fork to stuff the roasted garlic and butter mixture into each diagonal slit. Open each slit slightly and sprinkle in some grated parmesan. Last, cover the top of the baguette with the butter mixture and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes, until starting to crisp on the outside.

Slice and serve!

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Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Bread

  • Author: Sarah
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Ingredients

Scale

3 garlic bulbs

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 sticks of butter, softened

2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 sourdough baguettes

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Start by cutting the top off of the garlic bulbs and remove the loose “paper” from the outside edges of the bulb. Place in a muffin tin. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the tops with foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic cloves out of the bulb and into a bowl.

Adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees. Use a fork to mash the garlic, then add the 2 sticks of softened butter and parsley. Slice the baguettes diagonally, but not cutting through. Spread half of the butter mixture in between each slice on both baguettes, being careful not to tear the baguette apart at the bottom. Sprinkle parmesan cheese in between each slice. Spread the remaining butter mixture over the top of both baguettes and sprinkle on a little more parmesan cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the butter is all melted and the bread is starting to crisp.

Tops Gifts for Cooks under $25

~ Lifestyle, The Platefull Blog

To say that I have a lot of kitchen tools is an understatement. I love to cook and I always love to try the newest gadgets for the kitchen! Over time though, I find myself going back to my tried and true favorites. If you’re looking for stocking stuffers for the cook in your life, here’s a list of my favorites. Each of these are tools that I use in my own kitchen on a regular basis and love! I’ve included links to each of these products to make your holiday shopping a cinch!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products I use in my own kitchen!

1: OXO Pineapple Corer I love to make salsas for tacos, etc with fresh pineapple, and my kids love to eat fresh pineapple for a snack, so I find myself using this tool much more often than I ever thought I would! It cores and slices at the same time, so all I have to do is cut the top off the pineapple, use this tool, and we are eating fresh pineapple seconds later. I also love that you get juice left in the bottom of the pineapple, which my boys fight over getting to drink!

2: OXO Good Grips 11 Inch Better Balloon Whisk I have an embarrassing number of whisks of every type. This is the one I use by far the most. The balloon whisk is sturdy and any time this one is clean, it’s the one I reach for. I should just order myself another one to replace the others I never use. Ha!

3: Mini Whisk I use my mini whisks every day when I’m making my fancy coffee. I add the syrup to my cup, the shot(s) of espresso, and whisk as I pour in the milk (there’s no fancy latte art going on here, so the milk just goes straight in the cup). I also use these alot when I’m mixing small amounts – like cornstarch into water, etc.

4: Lemon Squeezer So I know the TV chefs can squeeze a lemon and filter the seeds out with their bare hands, but, alas, I am not a TV Chef and I do not have those skills. So my Lemon Squeezer is a well loved tool in my kitchen. I use it for everything I squeeze a lemon for – tea, salad dressings, marinades, etc.

5: Kiwi peeler and cutter My kids love kiwis and I hate cutting kiwis! This tool, while I realize has one purpose, is seriously a lifesaver if kiwis are a regular thing in your house. It peels and cuts the kiwi all in one step, which makes serving kiwis a breeze!

6 & 7: Microplane and Microplane Glove I grouped these together because if you have a Microplane, you need the glove! I use my microplane all the time, for zesting oranges, lemons, and limes, grating cheese, ginger, and garlic. The glove has saved my fingers many times. I even use it any time I’m using a box grater!

8: Spice Jars I use these spice jars all. the. time. One of my keys to simplifying meal prep is to pre-mix spice mixes that I use alot. For example, I always have the spices pre-mixed in these containers for taco meat, spaghetti sauce, pork tenderloin seasoning, etc.

9: Cookie Dough Scoop I use my 1 Tbsp cookie dough scoop every time I make cookies. It just makes forming the cookies so much faster!

10: Jar Grips I find that these really do help with those tough-to-open jars! I also use this a lot to get lids off of my kid’s paint containers because those get stuck when the paint dries.

11: Measuring Cups I have multiple sets of measuring cups, from the cheapest of the cheap to ultra pricey. But these are the measuring cups I reach for the most. I love the “off” sizing like 2/3 and 3/4 cup. I also love the pouring spouts. They work so well when measuring liquids! They stack neatly in my drawer too. I actually bought mine as a set – see the Measuring Spoon link below.

12. OXO Thermometer Again, probably no surprise, but I’ve had several brands of thermometers in the past, some on the high end of the thermometer price ranges. This little thermometer is easy to store, gives a quick reading, and I don’t honestly notice a difference between it and the pricey ones. For any home cook, this one is perfectly good!

13. Measuring Spoons This might be weird, but I am super picky about measuring spoons. I like the stainless steel look, but they have to fit into my spice jars, which means the end cannot be round! The shape of these is perfect for spice jars! The 1 Tbsp doesn’t fit into some of my spice jars, so I just pour for those. The others do all fit though (at least any spice jar I’ve tried).