Day 5: Leftovers! (January 10)

Hey, every once in awhile, ya gotta eat some leftovers. I decided on some leftover chicken pot pie and added a Caesar salad.

But, I will not leave you hanging, I know you'd still like something to leave this page with, so here is a list for you. It is only 6, because everyone else does 10 :)

The Top Six Kitchen Items You Could Live Without, But Probably Shouldn't


Pizza Peel
I'll warn you now, this list is pizza gadget heavy! I love to cook pizza at home, but I also don't mind picking up the occasional frozen pizza from the store to make life simple. Regardless of whether you are scratch making a pizza or throwing a frozen disc in to the oven, a pizza peel makes life simple, along with my next two items.

My recommended pizza peel of choice? Wooden Pizza Peel

You could spend a lot more on a stronger, longer lasting peel, but why? This one is durable, cheap, and gets the job done. I usually replace it once a year or so, but at $10 each, who cares?

Pizza Stone
More pizza! Again, whether you are scratch making a pizza, or picking up something frozen, a pizza stone makes any pizza that much better. Make sure to preheat the stone in a hot oven and slide it right on with some cornmeal. I use mine for homemade bread as well. Don't bother washing with soap and water, you want a nice seasoned stone. Just scrape off anything that burns to the stone and wipe down with warm water.

My recommended pizza stone of choice? Pizza Stone

Again, cheap and durable. It gets the job done at a low price. I have had mine for over 4 years now and it still works like a champ!

Pizza Knife
I don't even know the proper terminology here. Knife? Cutter? Chopper? Either way, cut your pizza like the pros! When you use a standard rolling pizza cutter all the cheese always goes with the blade.

I do not have a preferred knife as I am betting they are all similar but here's one

Pasta Machine
Pasta is extremely easy to make at home and tastes 1000 times better than the dried pastas you can buy in the store. Want to impress your friends and cover yourself in flour all at the same time? Get one today!

My recommended pasta machine? Pasta Machine

It's sturdy, not too expensive and comes with a clamp to attach to your counter top when in use. Also comes with an attachment to make either linguine or spaghetti noodles.

Fryer
Fried food is delicious. Whether making wings or experimenting in late night drunken fried desserts, no home is complete without an indoor, tabletop fryer. Make sure to get one that has an electric interface with temp control and timer. Again, make your life easy would you?

Chef's Knife
This seems ridiculous to list, I know. But so many people buy blocks of knives from Target and pretend like they are going to use every knife there. There is no need. I do 90% of my cutting with a good chef's knife. Instead of spending $100 on a block of useless knives, spring for a good $50-$60 chef's knife.

I personally love my Pampered Chef chef's knife and would recommend one close to this. One of the best purchases you can make




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DISCLAIMER: As much as I try to measure each ingredient, a majority of the measurements included in this recipe are guesstimated but well within reason. I cannot guarantee that using this exact recipe will yield the same result I had so please taste as you cook. Improvise, enjoy, these are recipes for real (yes, that was cheesy).