My favorite things (giveaway)

As you know, I love to bake. I have recently begun cooking more creatively and this has been a fun venture! There are a few things I just can't do without in the kitchen, and I thought you might like to know what they were. After all, I consider them indispensable.

First and foremost is my beloved KitchenAid Mixer 600 Professional. This is one of the best gifts I have ever received, hands-down! It mixes sooo much batter without blinking. (Well, if it had eyes.) I have made quadruple cookie batches in it, which is one of the reasons I wanted one so badly. I rarely make a single batch of anything, so this comes in quite handy. Believe it or not, I own no attachments, and I don't have any I'm dying for. I wanted this mixer for its brute mixing strength. :)

Second is my collection of stoneware from the Pampered Chef. I don't even own any metal bakeware. (I don't think...I need to go through my cabinets and get rid of what I don't use...it's on The List.) I currently own 16 pieces and my 4 cookie sheets of various sizes are my faves. Well, I do like the muffin and loaf pans for banana bread, which the boys love and I bake often. They are heavy and slightly cumbersome (I really loathe the way they scrape when I have to dig out a less-used one from the bottom of a stack.) but the baking quality and consistency is well worth any trouble in my humble opinion. These are available from other manufacturers, but I've never used one and don't know much about them.

Now, I don't know how much any of you roll out dough, but if you do, you need this. The flour/sugar shaker, once again from the Pampered Chef (no, I'm not a rep, nor do I know one) is wonderful. I have 3, actually. One for flour, one for powdered sugar when I'm dusting, and also one for cinnamon and sugar. It sprinkles nice and evenly, light or heavy, so when you're rolling out dough you don't have big globs of flour that will dry it out or just look ugly. *gasp*

I've mentioned the cookie scoop before (yup, from PC again) and they come in 3 sizes. I use the smallest one for cookies usually, but the medium and large are nice for special occasion, giant cookies. I also use them for just about anything that needs consistent measuring. Muffins, cupcakes, pancakes...you name it. They take so much work out of baking cookies. I seriously wouldn't bother if I had lost my scoop. They just wouldn't get made until I bought another one! Once you try it, you'll wonder how you lived without it. I've seen these other places and by other brands, but I've never tried them. I imagine a good quality one would still be satisfactory, but that's just an assumption.

Pampered Chef also has 2 micro cookers. I have both sizes and these are great for quick cooking. I use them constantly for the boys' lunches. And for dinner. And veggies. And melting butter. There isn't much you can't do with these and they're wonderful because you don't have to babysit something in the microwave.

And last, but certainly not least is my Rada peeler. This little baby will make peeling fruits and veggies fun - seriously. Ok, well maybe not if you 20 pounds of potatoes, but it would definitely bring less insanity that using a knife! I've never - never- used a peeler this good. Maybe it's because it's a patented design, who knows, but this tiny thing is fantastic. I use it for everything, soft or hard, it doesn't matter. The only think I don't love is that it's not dishwasher safe. :( But I consider it a small price to pay...

Ok, everyone, now here's your reward for reading this entire post! I'm having my first giveaway! I was going to do the Rada peeler, but then I couldn't decide if I should do the cookie scoop instead. Sigh. So I'm not deciding - you are! Enter to win by leaving me a comment, and the winner gets to choose the peeler or scoop. I will select a winner this Sunday, February 14th at midnight, so enter by then!