Occasionally, I have told you about some kitchen gadgets and products that I have found useful in my kitchen.  These are items that I feel are essential for my cooking needs.  Today, I want to tell you about a kitchen gadget that I feel is unnecessary; it is the spoon rest.

I have seen spoon rests in people’s houses.  The spoon rest sits on top of the stove and many times it will match their decor.  I just sits there, usually unused.  One time I asked a relative about the gadget and asked her why she used one.  She said to …read more

About seven years ago, I bought my first Rada knife. I’d seen them before and heard good things about them and someone was selling them as part of a fundraiser. I bought the tomato pairing knife and have been hooked since then. These knives are inexpensive, long lasting, and provide such a smooth cut. 

My husband and I enjoyed our first knife so much that we found it was always dirty.  Last year, I found someone else that was doing a Rada fundraiser.  We ordered another knife, the knife sharpener, cutting board, and chopper. 
My husband frequently sharpens our Rada knives.  I have never found …read more

My husband was really wanting a new blender to make smoothies and milkshakes.  We had priced some blenders, processors, and machines and I had decided I was not paying $299 for a machine.  We decided to give the Hamilton Beach Wave Station Express Dispensing Blender a try and have not been disappointed.

Here’s a few things we like about this blender:

The price – under $20!
chops the ice and leaves no chunks
liquid dispenser
does not leak
easy cleaning – pieces come apart

The one thing I don’t care for is that the height of the dispenser.  I would like to put taller glasses up under …read more

GE is having a sale on their stainless steel appliances.  You can buy select GE Stainless Steel Appliances for the same price as their regular appliances until July 6, 2009 at participating retailers.  For a limited time, select stainless steel appliances are the same price as white, black, or bisque.  It’s like getting an upgrade for free!
To celebrate the sale, GE has created a funny “Strong as Steel” video.  The exercise routine in the video uses GE kitchen appliances as workout equipment and features The Biggest Loser’s Alison Sweeney.

GE is also giving away a dream vacation.  Visit the GE website for …read more

When you need to transport a meal, it’s important to keep the food at the correct temperature.  Bacteria can quickly grow on food when it is not kept at proper conditions.  Also, when you’re headed to a covered dish meal you want your food to taste good.  It is for these reasons that I enjoy my Pyrex Portable dish so much.

Today we had a covered dish luncheon after church.  Having my Pyrex Portable made it so much easier to decide what I would cook and how it would stay warm.  I baked my cheesy chicken bake in the Pyrex dish, …read more

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the “must-have” dishwashing brush.  There is another item in my kitchen that I feel is absolutely necessary.  This must-have item is a pair of kitchen shears.

My first set of kitchen knives was a very cheap set, but it came with kitchen shears. It didn’t take me long to become a fan.   This was many years ago and since then I have replaced my cheap pair with a pair of Chicago Cutlery kitchen shears, such as the ones shown above.  They can be purchased fairly inexpensively.  The ones here are on sale at Kohl’s for …read more

Today was my first attempt at making fresh lemonade.  My dad bought a bag of lemons because they were on sale for $1.99 and I thought I’d give it a shot.  Homemade lemonade is so yummy anyway.

I tried two different kinds of gadgets – the old fashioned hand squeezer and the lemon press. The lemon press was much easier to use and it seemed like it did a much better job at getting all of the juice out of the lemons. The directions on the lemon press said to cut the lemons in half. It was easier to press them …read more