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While you don't need any fancy appliances to throw together a delicious home meal, there are a handful of products that I swear by, which make cooking at home easier and more fun. Here are some of my absolute favorites.
1. An Instant Pot air fryer that allows me to cook things like chicken, fish, and veggies to they're crispy and delicious, and all without any oil.
2. A no-mess microplane for zesting lemons, grating Parmesan, and so much more.
3. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet that I can transfer directly from the stove top to the oven, and which helps me make crispy chicken thighs, perfectly charred steaks, and more.
4. A starter set of spices and seasonings like crushed red pepper, paprika, turmeric, and so much more that I use just about every time I cook, no matter what the cuisine.
5. A no-frills but easy-to-use wine-opener that removes the cork from a bottle of wine in two seconds and never fails me.
6. A reliable pair of kitchen shears strong enough to cut through bones, shells, and tough cuts of meat.
7. A small, flexible silicone spatula that can get scrape all the hard-to-reach places in your mixing bowls and the edges of your pots and pans.
8. A sharp, sturdy, and comfortable chef's knife for slicing, dicing, chopping, and mincing.
9. A sturdy baking sheet with deep edges that I use often to make easy, one-pan dinners with very easy cleanup.
10. A bottle of really good extra virgin olive oil to add depth and flavor to everything from simple salads and roasted vegetables to pasta and pizza.
11. A rice cooker, which removes the guess work and effort from preparing this versatile grain.
12. A heavy-bottomed Dutch oven that I use for soups, stews, braising meats, and baking bread.
13. A pair of thin, reusable chopsticks – I use them not just for eating sushi, but also for handling lots of ingredients in the kitchen.
14. An easy-to-clean garlic press that makes mincing garlic — usually a time-consuming task — a three-second affair.
15. A fish spatula to make it easy to slip and plate fish without it sticking to the pan or falling apart into flaky pieces.
16. A stainless-steel screen that sits on top of my pots and pans and protects my stovetop from grease stains and sauce splatter, keeping my kitchen mess-free.
17. A Y-peeler for quickly and easily preparing veggies for salads, soups, stews, and more.
18. A salad spinner that cleans and dries lettuce instantly for easy, no-fuss salads.
