13 Things I’d Like to Have in My Kitchen

With the kitchen makeover going on, it seemed appropriate to do this week’s Thursday 13 with the kitchen in mind. So if money were no object (isn’t it always) here’s a list for fun of all the things I’d like to fill my redone kitchen with. {I take donations in larger bills, mainly 100’s and 50’s.}

1. KitchenAid Stand Mixer – I’ve always wanted one of these! It “BEATS” the heck out of a hand mixer. (Ar, ar.) The fact that you add attachments just makes it even neater. I really think I’d use it and I don’t think I’d mind the kids helping so much if all they had to do was dump it in. I think.
2. Kitchen Aid Attachments for Stand Mixer– Just one of the many attachment packages. Just think, if you get this it’s like having a mixer and food processor all in one! I’m sitting here thinking about how much faster it would make taco prep! We eat tacos quite frequently and all the shredding of the lettuce and cheese and slicing of the tomatoes and onions – oh my! This would make things so much faster.
3. Espresso/Cappuccino Machine– Okay, okay, definitely a one (or in this case two) use item. Typically I like multi-functional items, but as much as I like coffee.. yeah, I think I’d like to have one of these. At least I hope I’d use it. Hmm… perhaps I should borrow one first. Anybody?Anybody?…
4. Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker – Okay I KNOW I’d use one of these. I’d definitely like to have one of these as opposed to just an ice cream maker because you can make sorbets and frogen yogurts healthier and lower fat than ice cream. (Notice I said CAN. I’m sure you can also fatten up frozen yogurt with delicious add-ins, but let’s pretend for a moment that we’re being really good and healthy.) My kids and I go through a ton of popsicles during the summer and though their cheap, I think I’d much rather make something with real fruit in it to cool off with instead of frozen sugar water. Still, in the meantime, I’ll keep stocking up on those frozen sugar-cicles.
5. Juice Machine – Now these are neat. A friend of mine has one (not sure what brand) and she was telling me about using all kinds of vegetables from their garden along with other fruits to make different juice and their kids were loving it. Imagine sneaking in some extra green and yellow veggie by throwing in some carrots or zucchini? Love. It.
6. Pantry Cabinet – This one is a bit more practical since I’m low on pantry space, and it would really be nice to have more room. It would also be nice to have two pantry spaces, one for everyday items and this week’s dry goods, another for extra and overstock goods. It sounds nice in theory right? Still, the place where I’d put it is currently occupied by a baker’s rack that belongs to my landlord. So until the day it goes back to her, I guess I really won’t have a place to put one of these.
7. Pressure Cooker and Canner– Okay, another one I hope I’d use. Ideally, I’d have a garden. Of course, garden’s work better if you actually water them, and I think it would be easier to have a garden in the ground (rather than a container garden) because they dry out quicker. But IDEALLY I’d have a garden and I’d use this for all sorts of canning goodness. Salsa, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc. Or at the very least I’d travel to a U-pick farm and stock up on lots of fruits and veggies that way. But seeing as how my garden is not thriving (again, the whole water thing) and I have yet to attempt to can anything (some things you can can on the stove top in a hot water bath)… this one is still a bit hypothetical.
8. Touchless Infrared Automatic Trash Can – How cool is this? Oh, come on… think about it! You don’t have to touch that trash can? The kids would love it. Do you think it would encourage them to actually throw their trash away? One could only hope. And hopefully I wouldn’t be finding all sorts of things that didn’t belong in there, tossed in by a 3 yr old just looking for an excuse to use it. The product description says it uses little enough battery that the 4 D cells can operate 10,000 consecutive lid openings – how long do you think it would take my kids to hit 10,000??
9. Hanging Pot Holder – I’ve always wanted a pot rack. I think it makes a kitchen look professional and “gourmet.” Perhaps I only want one so I can create the illusion of gourmet. You know, the cooking is pretty standard, but hey! look at that fancy pot rack hanging there – doesn’t it look special? Hm, perhaps this is a topic for another post: “My gourmet cooking skillz or lack thereof.” I’ll get right on that.
10. Food Saver Vacuum Sealer – Another one I’d really use. Great for buying bigger packages of meat and sealing them into smaller packages. Or what about when I prepare extra pancakes and throw them in the fridge for toaster pancakes later? And I could do the same with cookies and brownies and muffins – Oh my! I like the sound of this. For some reason, I’m feeling a little hungry now.
11. Precut Brownie Pan Set – My mom is laughing at this one. My mom would laugh at anything that has been “as seen on tv.” Mom. Really. I would use this. Think about it in a less one dimensional sort of way. It’s not just for brownies. Like cornbread? Like the crust? Imagine each one invidually, completely crusted. Yum-O. And those brownies, banana oat muffins, and cookies I’ll bake up, seal with my vacuum sealer and toss into the freezer for later in the week? How about individual and easy to cool and freeze baked treats? See this one and the last one can go hand in hand. Okay mom, you can stop laughing now.
12. Cast Iron Tortilla Press, 8 Inch – I already make tortillas. WITH MY ROLLING PIN. Don’t get me wrong. It works. But Y’ALL. I think a press would really make this a whole lot easier, don’t ya think? I’ve seen some really nice electric ones but at the very least, a handpress would at least speed things along. (I’m a little slow with the rolling.) But the results are so worth it. Homemade tortillas are much better than storebought. Really, you should try it.
13. Pancake and Tortilla Keeper – Why hadn’t I thought of this before? I mean, I’ve thought about getting a tortilla keeper for the tortillas but I’ve never thought about using them for pancakes. And waffles, too! That’s a great idea. Everybody would get to enjoy hot tortillas or flapjacks. Suhweet!

Which ones do you have? What’s on your wishlist for your kitchen?