Author: sandydarson778 | Total views: 67 Comments: 0
Word Count: 871 Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 6:01 AM

Reduce Stress in the Kitchen with these Cooking Accessories

Does your kitchen stress you out? No, this is not just another article about getting the clutter out of your kitchen to live a stress-free life. There are so many different ways that you can face stress in the kitchen. Let’s take a look at some stressful kitchen situations and the various kitchen gadgets and accessories that can erase that kitchen stress.

Mom, I need a cake for the bake sale tomorrow!

Who hasn’t been there? It’s 9 p.m. you’re looking forward to relaxing for the evening and your fifth grader suddenly remembers that the bake sale is tomorrow! Skip the layer cake and break out a fancy cake pan that makes it easy to turn out a showpiece beehive or heart cake, the kind of cake that will earn heaps of praise – and top dollar at the bake sale.

Honey, did you take the chicken out of the freezer like I asked this morning?

Oops! It is dinner time and someone forgot to take the meat out to thaw. You can pop it in the microwave and lose half the flavor, you can try to thaw it under running water, or you can put some stress on your wallet by ordering a pizza. Or you can do none of the above if you own a Nu Wave oven, which cooks a full meal in under an hour, even if the meat is frozen. The Nu Wave combines convection, regular heat and infrared heat to cook three ways at once, even if you forgot to take the meat out for dinner.

There’s no more room in the oven for the rolls!

You know how it goes, you’ve got the roast on the top rack, the potatoes on the bottom rack and there’s no room for the green bean casserole. What’s a busy cook to do? How about a Three Tier Oven Rack that better than doubles the room in your oven by adding three racks, and still leaving room for the roast on the side? Even better, it folds flat when you’re not using it so it takes up almost no room at all in your cupboard.

What did you do with the lid to the Dutch oven, honey?

How much time do you spend rummaging through the kitchen cabinet to find the right lid for the right pot? Never lose your lid again when you’ve got a Lid Organizer that slides in and out of your cabinet on casters. You can store up to six pot lids in almost no space at all. It also holds storage lids so you can find them easily, eliminating yet another kitchen stress.

Ouch! Those oven racks are hot!

It happens to the most careful chefs and cooks, while reaching for the cookie sheet a hand or forearm (or both) brushes against the edge of the oven rack. Pot holders and oven gloves only go so far in protecting you from burns. What’s the answer? Put the guard on the oven rack instead of on your hands. DuPont Nomex Rack Guards slip onto the front of most standard oven racks, protecting you from accidental burns.

I hate cleaning the oven and those drippy icky messes on the burners!

Don’t we all? Stop spills from baking on by protecting your oven floor with a silicone oven liner. When it gets dirty, just pull it out, pop it in the dishwasher and voila! The result is a sparkling clean surface. Do the same thing with your stovetop by investing in a set of fiberglass burner bibs that collect up all those boil-overs and splatters, and a spoon rest to hold your spoon and pot lid without dribbling on the stove.

When I lift the bird, you slide the plate underneath it and… oh, no!!

It’s the most fun moment of the entire day, getting the roast or the turkey from the roasting pan to the serving platter. If the transfer juggle stresses you out, there are a few great options to erase the stress from your life. One of the best is a Silicone Roast Lifter. Just put your bird on it before you put it into the oven. When it’s finished roasting, grab the handles and lift. That’s all there is to it.

What stresses you out in the kitchen? Whether it is getting dinner on the table in a hurry or remembering to take the rolls out of the oven before they burn, there are ways to get rid of it. Take a few minutes to think about what makes you feel hurried and rushed, then figure out which gadget or trick will help you overcome it so that you can truly enjoy cooking again.