Must Have Kitchen Products

When it comes to kitchen products, there are so many options and opinions about what you absolutely must have.  The following products are ones that I actually use almost every week.

The Instant Pot

I use the Instant Pot almost weekly.  It’s become one of my absolutely favorite small kitchen appliances and a must have kitchen product.  Why?  Because it can cook food quickly, is easy to use and can make true one pot meals.

I love that you can use the SAUTE function on it to cook onions or garlic or brown your meat.  Then you can quickly switch it to MANUAL mode and cook your food fast.

Some people wonder if the Instant Pot actually cooks food in 8-10 minutes.  My response to that is kind of.  It does cook meat quickly, but the 8-10 minutes is the time after your Instant Pot reaches pressure.  

So, it will take more time to get your food to reach the pressure, but it still does make cooking so much easier.

Think about this:  Instead of waiting by the skillet, you can do other things while you are having the Instant Pot cook your food.  It’s pretty awesome actually.

A Non-Stick Deep Skillet

I use this non-stick deep skillet (like a wok) almost every time that I cook.  I love this skillet because it’s non-stick, it’s deep enough to cook most meals without using multiple skillets or pots and is easy to clean.  I have used this skillet in multiple recipes that have a bunch of ingredients and I never run out of room.

A Fancy Knife

Every good cook needs a good knife.  And while this one isn’t cheap, it’s well worth it because it will be the last knife you ever own.  I actually have 2 of these so that I always have one on hand even if I use one.

What sets this apart is that it cuts things that other knives just don’t cut as well.  And I have more control over what I’m cutting and I’m able to not hurt myself.

True story:  When I use other knives, I always hurt myself or slice my fingernail.  But when I use this Santoku knife, I have never had an issue at all.  Not sliced fingernails and no cuts on my fingers.

A Non-Stick Skillet

A non-stick skillet is essential to have in your kitchen.  I use my 12 inch one often for browning meat or sauteing vegetables – anything that I need a small skillet for and when I don’t want to use my deep skillet.

A Dutch Oven

When we were registering for our wedding, I had no idea what types of kitchen pots and pans I would need.  I knew that I wanted something that I could make soups in, but I didn’t necessarily need one of those massively huge pots that I have seen before.

Going through the aisles at Bed Bath and Beyond, I became aware of a smaller pot that I was looking for.  It happens to be a dutch oven, which means that you can use it on the stove top or in the oven.  We selected this one from Calphalon and I absolutely love it.

It’s big enough for most soup recipes, and it is small enough to fit into the oven and in our kitchen cabinets.