I love to cook, but I love a successful meal even more. Having small adjustments or additions help me make a recipe mine. Even the best recipe calls for a personal touch. Here are a few things I keep stocked in my kitchen to ensure I am prepared to personalize my food.
Favorite Kitchen Essentials:
Organic Better Than Bouillon
Remember those little cubes of condensed chicken soup? They are often used in place of chicken broth or make the chicken broth more rich. The problem is it’s high in sodium, filled with a bunch of preservatives and don’t really boost your flavor much.
Organic Better Than Bouillon is the better option. Better ingredients and better flavor. The exchange is 1 teaspoon = 1 cube of traditional bouillon. I honestly don’t measure it. I just take a heaping spoonful and add it to pretty much any dish. It brings out the umami flavors in a way those salty cubes never will.
Frozen Garlic
Okay major game changer here. We love garlic. Like LOVE it. But I’m not a big fan of cutting it just because I like shortcuts in the kitchen that work. This one works. One cube is equivalent to one clove. You can find it in the frozen section. I get mine from Trader Joe’s. Just a side note, they also sell frozen ginger cubes, which are also one of my favorite kitchen essentials, but I’m telling you this because it’s easy to accidentally grab ginger instead of garlic. These cubes are the perfect hack for garlic lovers.
Seafood Seasoning & Rub by Bone Suckin’ Sauce
Okay so don’t be fooled by the word “seafood,” this spice blend can be used for anything. It’s a simple combination of dehydrated garlic and onion, spices, salt, smoked paprika, celery seed, and mustard seed. I recently found out Bone Suckin’ Sauce makes variety of different rubs that don’t have sugar and I’m excited to see if some of their other blends can be a go-to for me!
Speaking of smoked paprika, I use it a lot. Even on its own. It adds a nice smoky flavor to your dish and for me that means depth.
Maybe adding spice and flavor is too off plan for you. My tip for you is butter. The secret to any recipe people dream about is lots of butter. In the old days, butter was the devil. But now, it’s good for you!! Yes, good for you. If you are using a quality butter, that’s even better. I switch between Kerrygold and the organic butter from Trader Joe’s. Anytime a recipe calls for a fat like oil, add butter.
It’s not all about spices and flavor when it comes to my favorite kitchen essentials. I also have to favorite utensils.
Spoonula from Pampered Chef
This is hands down my favorite cooking utensil. It’s basically a silicone spatula that’s curved. This helps you scrape the sides of the bowl with better ease than a traditional flat spatula. Being that it is more spoon-shaped, it just feels more comfortable to mix and fold while scraping the sides. It comes in 3 sizes and yes, I use all 3. I actually bought the mini one for my son but ended up loving it for scrambled eggs in the small pan.
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
No particular brand. I just get mine off of Amazon. They are super basic and get the job done. I always need a mixing bowl of some sort and having a set of mixing bowls gives me a variety of sizes. Unlike plastic or glass, these favorite kitchen essentials are very light and wide allowing me to use my bowls for a variety of food prep techniques.
The fact that I love to cook isn’t really a factor here. These favorite kitchen essentials are plus for any level cook. What’s important is they make the job easier and make the food tastier. I’d love to hear how you used one of these this week!
