Now that I have a house again, I must confess that I’ve been acquiring some new kitchen gadgets.  There wasn’t room in the RV for many gadgets or things that I would only use occasionally.  Now that I have more room, kitchen gadgets are my greatest temptation.

John and Jackie got me an electric griddle for my birthday in November.  I didn’t cook bacon at all in the RV.  Dealing with all the grease and the smell in such a small, enclosed space put me off bacon entirely.  For six years I didn’t cook bacon.  When we bought the house with the larger space, I tried cooking bacon a couple of times in my big skillet.  But it took forever and grease still got all over the place.

I asked for an electric griddle for my birthday and John and Jackie got me a nice-sized one.  I have really been enjoying using it.  When I cook an entire package of bacon at one time, the grease runs off the griddle into a drip catcher.  Then I can immediately pour the pancake batter out and make all my pancakes at one time as well.  I love it!  And cleanup is much easier.  The griddle doesn’t spatter grease all over the kitchen.  Tom and I are enjoying pancakes and bacon about once a month now.

I found another kitchen gadget that I love but that has an impossible name to remember so I call it a spout for bags.  Sugar bags are a challenge in my baking.  I pick up the bag to pour it, but invariably get more sugar than I wanted.  The sugar shifts as I pour.  I got some of these spouts and put one on my sugar bag.  Now I can pour the sugar out of the spout and hold the bag with both hands.  I have also used the spouts on my bag of cranberries and a very large bag of chocolate chips.

I asked for, and received, a Flip-it Bottle Emptying Kit for Christmas.  This lets me get every bit of liquid hand soap, dish washing soap, or hand sanitizer from a bottle without having to find different ways to prop the bottle upside down.  I can also use it for shampoo, molasses, honey, BBQ sauce, or any of those things that like to come out very slowly.  Tom said it was something I could easily live without, and he is right, but that is the fun thing about kitchen gadgets.

Jackie got me a cookie press for Christmas.  I have always enjoyed making spritz cookies but you have to have a cookie press to do it.  Mom got rid of her cookie press years ago, so that was the end of the spritz cookies.  Now that I have my own cookie press, you will see spritz cookies on my Christmas cookie baking list.  This will probably be the least-used of the kitchen gadgets, but if I use it just once a year it will be worth it.

How about you?  What are some of your favorite kitchen gadgets?  What do you use and wonder how you ever got along without it?  Maybe there is something else I need to get and use!