Gadgets are good (with recipes to try!)

There's no end to kitchen gadgets - each fills a niche in helping you craft meals for yourself and your family. I tend to be partial to the Oxo brand - well designed and high quality! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, here are some you may want to add to your grab bag:

Pastry chefs (real ones and wanna-be's) find this chopper/scrapper indispensable. In the South, where I live, we take our biscuits seriously ... and this dough blender is a big help. I use this can opener frequently and appreciate that it really does leave smooth edges - it can't eliminate all risk of unintended cuts, but it sure helps! For preparing veggies and salads you'll need a vegetable brush to clean your produce (this would also be a great stocking stuffer for your favorite cook). There are many ways to prepare mashed potatoes, but one common thread is the mashing of the spuds - here's what you need to be a master masher! If you're feeding an army and need more than one, someone else could be using this model. Garlic is good in just about everything - this tool can help you mash them up to release their pungent taste. But before you smash the stinking rose into what your cooking up, you have to get the paper off! Here's how - just place the cloves in this simple device and roll it on the counter while applying pressure with your hand. Super simple - I have one and I love it! While this is described as being for turning pancakes, I'm sure it could be used for other things as well (just not on the grill since it is made of plastic)! For those of you who like sipping tea or java on the way to work - I've used this travel mug. This whisk will help you in "whipping up" any number of recipes. When you need to replace your sink stopper, try this one. You can use this lemon zester on oranges as well, of course - and this is something that can be done ahead of time, and frozen in small baggies to be ready for when you need it (these also make a fabulous stocking stuffer). This next product may help decrease spills of cereal (and let the kiddos be more independent in getting the breakfast while mom and dad sleep in), but won't help them get the milk in the bowl over the cereal rather than on the counter or the floor!

Clearly this is just a start - there's more to see, so poke around, and you can also check out previous posts or other pages in my Amazon store. Want what everyone else wants? Check here for what's hot. If you need one of these (or other items) by Thanksgiving ... click here to start an Amazon Prime membership (which includes 2 day shipping as well as streaming a multitude of songs and TV shows).

Since this post has been about kitchen gadgets - here are a couple of my favorite recipes you may want to try with your new tools:

I made this tonight ... absolutely delish! Can't wait to see if it's just as good cold.

 Medley Meatloaf

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb ground beef

2 italian sausages (squeeze the meat out of the casings)

2 large eggs

½ cup instant oats (I used a coffee grinder with rolled oats)

1 can tomato paste (may substitute BBQ sauce)

1 chopped onion

1 chopped carrot (peel first)

5oz fresh spinach, chopped

fresh chopped garlic (as many cloves as you like, to taste)

½ teaspoon salt (may omit)

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 and coat 2 non-stick 9” x 5” loaf pans with cooking spray.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Wash hands then mix together all ingredients.

(I used a food processor to chop the vegetables into small bits).

Place meat mixture into loaf pans and shape so it is even.

Bake 1 hour, or until meat thermometer inserted into the center reads at least

160F.

(This recipe would also work great for meatballs)

This next one doubles as a side dish or a dessert, and is a great way to get

carrots into anyone who doesn't like them!

Carrot Souffle (from Katie Smillie)

1 1/2 lbs carrots (peeled)

1/2 cup (one stick) butter

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Boil carrots for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and add to work bowl of a food processor. Combine with all other ingredients in food processor and process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Scrape into 1 1/2 quart 

baking dish and bake for about 1 hour or until set and lightly browned.

Also works well with pumpkin, could also consider sweet potato.