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If you have learned anything about me, then you know that I love cooking! Also baking, grilling, and pretty much anything that has to do with making food, other than doing the actual dishes part at the end of a cooking session. What can I say? I’m messy AF. But I digress. Since you may have picked up some new kitchen skills thanks to the pandemic, it’s probably time to upgrade some of your kitchen gadgets. I’ve compiled a list of the best kitchen gear that I’ve found that makes doing everything from making cupcakes to pasta to storing leftovers or marinating meat for the grill a breeze. Scroll on down to find your next best kitchen purchase!

1. Silicone Baking Cups-These silicone cups make baking muffins or cupcakes without having to deal with paper or foil wrappers a breeze. Typically, at least a quarter of my bake goods wind up sticking to a foil wrapper, and the paper ones just get a little on the wasteful side. I also like using these to freeze portions of broth when I don’t use an entire carton in a recipe. I’ve also used them to freeze coffee to make salted caramel coffee smoothies before, too. You can even use them to keep things separated in your lunch box!
2. KitchenAid Stand Mixer-This is one of two big budget items on this list but I promise you, this one is well worth the spend! If you are doing anything in the kitchen, this mixer will make it infinetly easier. Making cookies? KitchenAid mixer. Bread? Knead that shit with the dough hook attachment. Need to slice an extreme amount of potatoes? Say no more friend, there is an attachment for that too. Plus, it comes in just about any color you can imagine!
3. Vitamix Blender-I’m just gonna get both spendy items out of the way here. Yes, it’s pricey for a blender, but honestly, blenders are one of those items where you typically pay for quality. If you want smooth AF smoothies, Vitamix has your back. They can also come with a heating element so you can make soup in the damn thing! Want to whip up a quick hollandaise sauce? Use a blender! I promise you, spending money on a quality blender will not disappoint. Also, I mean Christmas is right around the corner. It’s not too early to start working on those gift lists!
4. Stand Mixer Attachments-When I said there was an attachment for that, I meant it. KitchenAid offers a variety of attachments for their stand mixers. This slicing and grating set are one of my most used items. There are also meat grinder attachments, pasta roller kits, and so much more!
5. Flexible Edged Mixing Blade-This little gem is a life saver when it comes to mixing things like cookie dough with the stand mixer. The flexible edge does a great job in scraping the sides of the bowl while mixing so you aren’t constantly stopping the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl down. A must-buy item if you are getting a stand mixer.
6. Giant Silicone Pastry Mat-Forget the plastic pastry mats of old and get this one! It covers so much space on your counter top. I use it for everything dough related. It doesn’t matter if it’s pasta dough, pizza dough, pie crusts, or tortilla dough, if I’m rolling something out, this goes down on my counter. Bonus tip-lightly wet the counter before setting it down and you won’t have any issues with slipping! When I’m done, I just wipe it clean, fold it up, and toss it in my baking drawer.
7. French Rolling Pin-I had a regular rolling pin for ages and could never quite get my dough as smooth or as thin as I would want it. Plus, I always wondered how clean it was since I couldn’t see in the space where the handle runs through the roller. I took a cooking class in Italy and we used similar rolling pins to this, and I loved them! I find it so much easier to use than a regular rolling pin. Plus, they come in a variety of widths, and don’t have sharp edges thanks to the tapered design so you don’t have to worry about cutting or marring your dough while rolling it out.
8. Silicone Lids-A few months ago, I purchased an assortment of stainless steel bowls from my local restuarant shop. Unfortunately, they didn’t have lids. And if you’ve ever fought a battle with cling wrap, then you know how obnoxious it can be. So when I found these lids on Amazon, I knew they’d have a perfect place in my kitchen. I can throw them on one of my stainless bowls to store leftovers in or pop one on a glass bowl to marinate meat in before putting it on the grill. Super handy to have!
9. Pasta Roller/Cutter-If you haven’t made your own pasta yet, what are you waiting for? It may seem like a daunting task, and yeah, it can be a little time consuming, but it’s well worth it. A little flour, a little water, some salt. Not much to it. And rolling and cutting it just got easier with this handy little machine. There’s something insanely satisfying about rolling out perfect sheets of pasta and then cutting it into noodles. I can’t even begin to explain it! Get one and channel your inner little old Italian lady!
10. Pasta Drying Rack-You’ve made your pasta dough, rolled it out, cut it and now your standing there with a handful of noodles and a counter full of uncut pasta sheets trying to figure out the next step. Uhh, you need a drying rack! This is the perfect place to hang your pasta while you finish cutting it and let it dry a bit before you boil it to the perfect al dente texture. This particular one is easy to set up, clean, and then it completely disassembles for storage. I love it!

There you have it! My list of the best kitchen gear to enhance your cooking escapades. I personally own each of these items so I can attest to their handiness. Drop a comment below if you want a little tutorial on how to make the best pasta dough! I’ll be listing all these links in my shopping section of the blog so you don’t have to search through for this post to remember everything!

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