There are many useful gadgets that can help you cook with a big family. They can either help to fix the food faster or they can make the meal without having to stand over a hot stove for a long time. Below is a list of a few of the many gadgets to help you make it much more easier for you.
Meal Kits
Meal kits that are delivered to your home and makes it where you do not have to plan or shop for the food for the next meal. Face it that is the most difficult part of dinner the meal planning and then the shopping for the ingredients. One of the best ones to use is HelloFresh. It has delicious recipes that are easy and fast to make. These meals can also be more nutritious because they use the freshest of ingredients for the meals. The main drawback to this option is that they do not always offer very many choices for diets that are restricted. Such as vegetarian meals, sugar-free, or salt-free meals.
Microwave Meals
Microwave meals are fast and easy as all you have to do is throw them in the microwave and cook them. I know you are probably thinking that you can pick up a microwave dinner at the store easier than ordering one. There is a difference between the two kinds of microwave dinners. They are freshly made using the finest and freshest ingredients which are then fixed into prepackaged meal kits. They are fairly close in taste to homemade meals. You may want to check before ordering and see if they have meals for people on restricted diets. Freshly is one of the best ones to order.
Tongs
Grilling out is a favorite past time during the summer. To grill our properly you need to have the proper utensils for grilling. Grilling tongs is one of those essential items. They can pick up foods for turning them over or removing them from the grill. A good brand to use is OXO Good Grips. They have scalloped edges on the pincers to be able to grab the ears of corn out of boiling water. They are made where it is easier to grab hold of different types of food and many different textures of the food.
Instant Pot
Another gadget that is a favorite is the instant pot. There are different cooking methods that you can use with this gadget. These pots have seven different cooking settings. You can use it to sauté, steam, cook rice, slow cook, and be used as a pressure cooker. The favorite one is the InstaPot. You can just dump in the food in and cook it or you can follow a recipe. The best thing is that you can cook anything in it that you want.
Air Fryer
There are times when you just want something that has that deep-fried flavor but do not want to stand over a hot deep fryer. This is when an air fryer would work out well for you. You get the deep-fried taste and texture without the grease and the mess, so it is healthier for you. This also means that you do not need to turn on the oven and heat up the house just bake them in the oven. The best one on the market is the
Philips Airfryer XXL. It is large enough to cook enough for a large family at a time.
Mandolin
The mandolin can make cooking easier for you. It can slice fruits and vegetables at a uniform thickness. It has five thickness levels so that it can be adjusted if you need thicker or thinner slices. This makes it great for fresh salads and sandwiches. This gadget is fast and easy to use. The best one that we found was the Kitchen Aid. It has a V-shaped blade for ease of use. The finger guard on the food holder is larger for better protection for your fingers so that they do not get cut. To keep from sliding they put rubber on the feet.
Food Processor
A food processor can make summer cooking faster and easier. It is one of the handiest gadgets out there. It can chop, shred, and it dices much faster and in finer pieces than can be done by hand. Cuisinart is one of the best brands that are out there. It has a 14-cup reservoir for the food and a larger food feeding tube for continuous processing. This means that you can get more food prepared faster.
Meat Thermometer
A meat thermometer can be very useful when you are grilling out during the summer. It will give you the precise temperature of the meat that you are cooking. This way the chicken is cooked just right and is still nice and juicy. No more cutting the meat to check if it is done or not. The best thermometer we found is the ThermoWorks ThermoPop. In three seconds, it will read the temperature of the meat and let you know if the food is to the correct temperature. The screen on the thermometer can rotate up to 360-degrees so that you can read it from any angle. This makes it perfect for when you are grilling out.
Snap-On Strainer
Summer cooking is not complete without some pasta salad. When making a batch of pasta for the pasta salad you will need a good colander. Moving pasta from a pan into the colander and then to a bowl can be a hassle but with this strainer, it will be easier. It makes the colander unnecessary for the process. This strainer attaches to the pot by snapping to the sides of the pot. It drains the pasta without losing any of the pasta in the process. This will make the process a whole lot easier. The Gizmo Snap N Strain Strainer is the best that we found on the market.
Strawberry Huller
Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits in the summertime. They are used for many different types of foods, from fruit salad to other desserts. One of the most dreaded parts of fixing strawberries is getting the green stem piece off and out of the strawberry. You need a strawberry huller to do the job for you instead of using a knife. The best one that we found is the Chef’n Strawberry Huller.
Peach Pitter
Another set of fruits that are popular during the summer is peaches, nectarines, and plums. Dealing with the pits in these fruits. That is the tricky part of these fruits. A peach pitter makes the job of removing the pits easier.
