Essentials for Cooking

This is the 3rd part in my Essentials for... series. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here. Also make sure and stop by and enter the giveaway here

Today we are going to talk about what I think is essential to COOKING. I love to cook. I have a list of 20 recipes that are my fall back recipes. We end up having those things a lot.

A good stock pot. You can use a large stock pot like this one or even have a set of smaller ones. I have 4 different sizes. A small one that holes 4 cups about, a medium one, a large one, and an extra large one like pictured. I use them all, but for different purposes. When it was just my hubby and I, I rarely used the extra large one and mostly used the 2 smallest sizes. Now that I cook for 6 every night I use all the different pans at least once a week.


A good frying pan. I use a frying pan at least a couple times a week. Just like with the stock pots I have 3 different sizes. One small one, a medium one, and then a large one. I love using the non stick ones. They make for easy cleanup.


Spatulas that can be exposed to high heat. This is what I use because I use pans that you should not use things that will scratch the surface of the pans. I have a set of different sizes and really those sizes don't matter much to me. Just that I have a good set of spatulas and several of them so that I am not constantly washing them while I am cooking.


Good set of knives. Again, I am a Cutco nerd. I love them. I rarely use my 2 set of knives that are not Cutco. If one of my Cutco knives are dirty that I am needing then I will use my back up set but not very often. They are extremely sharp, lightweight. Just super nice all around, but they are spendy. If you are really wanting a set of these check out Ebay. That is where I got my set and they are perfect.


A way to grade cheese
I have several different ways that I can grade cheese. A regular cheese grader, a cheese slicer, and my bosch. I use all 3 ways just depending on what is easier for me at the moment.

A can opener. Even though many cans are now having pull tabs on them there are still many out there that don't.
a good set of food storage. It is never more frustrating for me when I have decided to cook something and then to find out I don't have all the ingredients needed. I HATE that. This is not my pantry, but it looks great. I know what we use a lot of and what we don't. I try and keep a list on my phone of the things that I need to pick up at the grocery store. I also try to only go grocery shopping once every week or 2. If we really need something from the store hubby will stop and pick it up on his way home from work.
For me having the right tools to cook makes my job much easier as a mother. What tools are essential for you to cook?