Favorite Kitchen Gadgets: Bench /Bowl Scrapers

I’m starting off the series with the one of the least expensive and probably most used tools in my arsenal.

 

Bench scrapes are traditionally used to loosen the flour left over from kneading and rolling out bread and pastry dough from the counter. I almost always use a flexible cutting board to roll dough on so I rarely use it for that. But they are wonderful for cutting brownies, dividing bread dough into halves or quarters, or transferring mounds of chopped veggies to the cooking pot.

As you can see I have two. The metal one I got at Target several years back. I think it was 5 years ago but may have been longer than that. I probably use it the most for cutting scones or my fluffy yeast rolls into strips.

The red one is plastic and quite flexible and is perfect for scraping the inside of a bowl to get all the cake or brownie batter out or to smooth the top of your batter in the pan. I got it at the dollar store last summer or the summer before that.

Be sure to check back next Wednesday when I share another kitchen must have. If you miss a week I will have all the posts linked on the announcement post.

Do any of you, my fabulous readers, have a bench scrape?

None of these posts have been sponsored. These are all products that I have purchased or have been gifts from my family.

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Favorite Kitchen Tools and Appliances

I am a kitchen gadget geek. I love looking through the aisles at stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond or at the cooking section of the Ikea website. Instead of having a closet full of shoes, I’d love to have drawers filled with whisks, bench scrapers, and rubber spatulas.

So for the next few Wednesdays I am going to share my favorite gadgets and small appliances and probably talk about the ones I’d like to have but they haven’t found their way into my kitchen.

•  Bench and Bowl Scrapers

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Tips for saving money in the kitchen

If your family is like ours than you are definitely feeling the burn of rising food costs. While there is no one sized fits all grocery budget here are some ways you can help lower your grocery bill while still eating delicious and nutritious meals without spending an exorbitant amount of time in the kitchen.

Make it from scratch

There are some items from a cost alone stand point it makes no sense to make it at home but there are many items where making it yourself not only saves money but produces a tastier and better for you end result.

For example, I calculated the cost of ingredients for one loaf of the Master Recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day to be 23 cents.  A similar loaf of store bought bread in my area costs in the ball park of two to three dollars.

Buy in bulk but only if it makes sense to

There are certain things I only buy in bulk if I can help it. I buy yeast two pounds at a time at a warehouse store. The average cost of one 2 1/4 teaspoon packet of yeast around here is 83 cents but the same amount of bulk yeast is four cents. Yeast can be stored in the freezer for quite a few months before becoming inactive.

Another frequent bulk purchase here is string cheese. When my niece and nephew visit they would eat their weight in it if allowed.

Be sure that you will be able to use the larger amount before it spoils or loses quality. I learned that lesson very quickly when we had to toss a bunch of tortilla chips because we couldn’t eat them before they became too stale to salvage.

Menu Plan

This is probably the area that has saved my family the most money. By planning meals with double duty ingredients and by incorporating parts of meal into another meal a night or two later I’m able to save money and spend less time in the kitchen.

If you need some help with meal planning I wrote a series called Menu Planning Basics last year.

Freezer Cooking

Having meals or meal components such as seasoned taco meat and cooked shredded or chopped chicken at your fingertips in the freezer is another fabulous way to save money and time in the kitchen.

Day old bread can be turned into fabulous French Toast and frozen easily to be reheated for a quick and tasty breakfast.

Bean, rice, and cheese burritos are very budget and freezer friendly and take very little hands on work.

If you don’t have the time to commit to large cooking sessions check out Money Saving Mom’s Freezer Cooking in an Hour.

 

What are some of your favorite tips on saving money in the kitchen?

Linked to Frugal Friday

Happy Easter

Photo Source

No menu today while I celebrate this blessed day with my family. Check back tomorrow for a new recipe.

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January Happenings

Unfortunately I still don’t have access full time to a working computer but over  Christmas I was able to use a computer to update the Recipe Index and make a few other changes. The new layout of the index is by category and is automatically updated when I post instead of me having to remember what I have and haven’t updated. I also removed the sidebar category buttons and left a drop down menu to clear up some of the clutter on the side bar.

Since I can’t really blog on my phone but I can use Facebook I am going to be more active on the Facebook page. Everyday in January I will be posting a recipe link for some cold weather comfort food. A few will be from here but the majority will be from other blogs. Even if you aren’t on Facebook you can still see the links. Hopefully one of the computers will be repaired soon and I can get back to sharing recipes.