It’s Friday again! Time for Plate for One. This week, I’m bringing you a special edition of Plate for One. This week, we’re going to be talking about the tools you should have in your kitchen. These tools will help make your kitchen endeavors easier!
*Affiliate links are used in this post to help you find the items on Amazon. The blog benefits from these links but they don’t hurt you in any way! My kitchen has terrible lighting so I appreciate being able to use their photos in this post as well!*
After combining our stuff, we have a well stocked kitchen. In fact, we had to get rid of some duplicates after we married and moved in together. Since starting this series, I have found that there are certain gadgets that I use more often when I’m alone. I thought I’d take a break from recipes this week to share my favorite gadgets and how I use them for successful meal planning and cooking for one.
Crockpot
A crockpot is a must have – especially when you live alone. It makes batch cooking a lot easier, which is helpful for making freezer meals. It also means less use of the oven, which saves electricity. I have two crockpots – a full sized programmable crockpot and a mini crockpot. I use the full size one for meal prepping and the mini crockpot for individual meals. I found the exact big one for you on Amazon and a small white one similar to mine as well. Click on either picture to find out more about them.
 
Pots & Pans
These might be obvious as a kitchen essential but I wanted to include them in case they weren’t as obvious as I thought. I use my pots for cooking pasta, canned vegetables, and other items that need to boil. In your set, you also need a good skillet. This will be helpful when browning ground beef or ground turkey, which are both essentials for a lot of recipes. I’m actually in the process of looking for a new set for us. We have two decent sets from living apart, but I would like to invest in a nicer set now that we’re married.



Glass Baking Dishes

 
I love using the oven to bake chicken, vegetables, and so much more. When I moved out from home, my parents bought me a glass baking dish set and it’s one of my most used kitchen items. It came with a variety of glass dishes that were different sizes. They’re great for making a variety of dishes big and small. I highly recommend having a set in your kitchen.
 
 
 
 
Storage containers

Storage containers are a must when you’re living alone. Leftovers and freezer meals are your best friends when you’re living alone. Storage containers help you keep these fresh and available when you need them. There are a variety of ways you can store things – plastic containers, Ziploc bags, or even mason jars. I use a variety of all three for storing leftovers and freezer meals.

What are your kitchen essentials? What would you add to this list?