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I couldn’t live without my “plastic” coffee grinder. I grind it fresh every day.. that and my plastic wine glasses because I break the glass ones
There is one kitchen tool I can’t live without and neither can my Mother. I believe my sisters all have one too. It’s made originally by Foley, so we call it a Foley Fork. It’s a folding fork, full size, like a spatula or serving spoon. The Foley Fork is wide and rectangular like a spatula and what makes it special is that the tines are angled. That makes it perfect for blending everything from pastry dough, to batters, to stirring and whipping anything you want to do by hand. I can’t live without it and scour cooking stores and thrift shops looking for them for everyone I know!
I use plastic throughout my kitchen: for storage,preparation, and even freezing. But the most important plastics that I use are plastic cutting boards-both the solid and folding ones because, unlike wood, they can be bleached, washed in dishwasher, hammered upon, and most importantly, don’t absorb germs and other contaminants like salmonella.
I couldn’t imagine a picnic without plastic. We store and pack our sandwiches and chips in waterproof plastic bags, and our veggies in airtight plastic storage containers. I always take an extra plastic grocery bag to gather trash up when the picnic fun is all wrapped up. The best part is that all my bags are recyclable and my storage containers are reusable! http://twitpic.com/1qmijy
Always use plastic dishes outside for picnics, bbq’s etc. Then you don’t hate your friends when they break the good china.
I store all of my leftovers in plastic storage bags and containers.
The good thing about plastic glasses at a party, is that you can have Sharpies lying around and everyone can label their glasses – no losing your drink, less waste, and discreet name tags for newbies.
I love using plastic bags to store stocks and soups in when freezing! It keeps my freezer organized and lets me store even MORE fabulous food!
Also, even though I’m way past my party years, red plastic party cups are still a huge hit at our gatherings and keeps things feeling festive!
I could not live without my Gladware. Years ago I ditched the Tupperware for the less expensive Gladware and I’ve never gone back. I love the variety of shapes and sizes, I love the multi-packs, I love that they are cheap enough that you don’t cry when they’re not returned or your spaghetti sauce just turned one red. I just love the convenience
I love love love my “tofu” containers- they nest inside each other- perfect for pressing tofu and homemade gravlax. Below are links to the posts and pictures. If I were to win; I would most likely do an entire post on all the plastic things in my kitchen that I can’t live without!
http://thevillagecook.com/tofu-that’s-tasty
http://thevillagecook.com/gravlax
I’m a young, single, professional with no children. I like to host informal dinner parties. team FUN gatherings. The best way to start and end the nights have been with a plastic shark “claw” toy that is used to grab candy out of our big clear plastic candy bowl. we all take turns and laugh at how difficult it is and hilarious to watch.
Plastic +big kids + candy = FUN
I love plastics! As a recipe developer and food writer I need quality tools in the kitchen. One of my favorite is my ball whisk which I can use in any pot, pan or bowl without worrying about scratching their nonstick surfaces. I also have spatulas and scrapers that I use on a daily basis. But my friends and family most appreciate my plastic food storage containers and plastic bags that they get to take home samples and leftovers in!
Many of the kitchen gadgets I own are made of plastic, however, I use my plastic containers and bags probably more than anything. I store leftovers, freeze soups and stocks, ice cream, nuts, meat and cheeses. I could not live without them. They are a great way to preserve and keeps foods fresh. I also love being able to go to the freezer and reheat leftovers. That is truly a time saver!
I don’t know what I would do without my Gladware and my vacuum seal bags. It’s so great to be able to send friends and family home with leftovers and not worry about getting back the good Tupperware and the vacuum bags allow me to store food much longer than I used to.
Tupperware is where it’s at for me. All sizes and shapes make it easy to find just the right packaging for my daughter’s meals for daycare, our lunches during the week, and treats for my friends when I make something yummy!
Penny Pincher picked plastics to play at parties. How many plastics did Penny Pincher pick? Penny picked plastic with digits and an American Express logo and partied plenty!
I slip plastic bags over my hands when working with hot peppers to prevent any accidents involving eye-rubbing. It’s way less costly than latex gloves, plus easier to slip on and off! I’ve been using this technique a lot lately to make yummy bacon-wrapped jalepeno poppers for various get-togehters.
Plastic storage bags are also great for marinating. Easily seals up so no mess in the fridge and no bowls or pans to clean up afterwards!
BIGGEST kitchen money saver-Plastic bags: From recycling plastic grocery bags to freeze chicken carcasses until trash pickup day, to using them as mittens to sweep the counter clean into the trash, to Plastic Freezer Bags: 1-open both ends of tomato paste can, push the contents in,freeze, slice off TBSP.as needed. Freeze bacon in a single layer in a Plastic freezer bag with paper towels between, then cook as needed. Use as you would a pastry bag to pipe icing or make funnel cakes: cut out corner, fill with icing, or dough, close the freezer bag and Squeeze!
This may sound trival, but my favorite kitchen tool is a cake tester. I have arthritis in my hands and holding a fork to puncture a potatoe or sweet potatoe before baking is difficult. The cake tester is easy for me to puncture the potaotes and also does not cause the skin to split/
I love using some of the more environmentally-friendly plastics at my parties. For example, corn plastic utensils are plastics made from corn, and the benefits of them is they are biodegradable. You can put them in your acomposter and it takes about 30 to 45 days to biodegrade.
If it weren’t for my “I was once a plastic bottle” lunch bag, or the plastic containers I use to put my lunch and breakfast smoothie inside, I don’t know what I’d do!
Are you kidding me? How could I possibly entertain without plastics? When I entertain, I go all out and I spend 2-3 days prepping all of the food. Where I live, our humidity can drop as low as 10%. Keeping food fresh is a top priority. I depend on sealable plastic bags, plastic containers, and plastic wrap for storage and to preserve those flavors I work so hard to bring out. My friends would be very sad and hungry if I didn’t have plastics to aid me in the kitchen.
I keep a tub of plastics outside under my table/bar combination. In in, I keep plastic everything for outsisde use – plastic plates, cups, margarita glasses, regular glasses, serving bowls..EVERYTHING. That way is is right where I need it WHEN I need it and I don’t have to make room in my kitchen for storage.
In keeping with my Mother’s great southern tradition of “feeding you” to demonstrate her love for you, I keep plenty of multi sized zip-locs and disposable plastic containers to send home extras with guests and share meals with an elderly neighbor couple.
Mini-silicone muffin pans to make chocolate cups for holding mousse, custard, or fresh fruit! Easy & fab.
I absolutely love my plastic containers. I use them every day. I have to admit I always cook enough food to serve my family and anyone who might just drop by. Therefore, I always have leftovers to give away. I put everything in plastic containers or ziplock bags. Food and cooking is my love language and I share alot of love in my plastic bags and containers.
I love to cook but hate to wash dishes. Plastic utensils are so sturdy and disposable, yay!
As a bit of an environmentalist, I try to stay conscious of my plastic use. I avoid using plastic baggies for leftovers or pb&j’s to eat on a day hike, and I try not to eat with plasticware from restaurants. With that in mind, plastic plays an important role in my daily struggle to reduce waste whilst meanwhile enjoying delicious foods! I have a collection of tupperware that is constantly cycling from my home to friends’ after delicious thai food dinner parties. Even the compost bin that I have recently started (gently) forcing my new roommates to use to get rid of food scraps is made out of durable airtight plastic. Without these reusable plastic items, my meek personal attempt at reducing my footprint would be laughable. Hooray for responsible plastic use!
What else would I use to pack my lunch each day for work? Plastic bags and containers.
I use plastic bowls to hold floating candles, flowers, fruit, and beverages! It makes tables look festive and can be useful too.
I’m a plastic storage container junkie! Large bins for Christmas decorations and baby clothes that have been outgrown all the way down to small plastic containers for leftover food and snacks on-the-go. And my plastic wine glasses deserve a shout-out too, perfect for summers outside.
I buy plastic martini glasses and fill them with shrimp cocktail or a chinese chicken salad. Plastic glasses are inexpensive yet still showy. One time, I served chineses chicken salad to over 300 guests at a wedding reception. Can you imagine all of the washing if I had served in glass???
I love to use the clear short plastic cups for desserts. When I have guests over, I’ll make individual dessert cups that look so pretty cause they are see through plus no washing when they are done! My favorite is strawberry shortcakes cause you can see the colorful layers.
I take to heart the age old saying, “Waste not, want not.” While, it’s a great idea to use recyclable plastic cups and utensils, why not take it a step further. I tend to like to end my hikes with a nice picnic or impromptu happy hour (I’m Irish, can you blame me?) While on the hike I like to keep my bag light. A few water bottles, some bread from the local farmers market, some cheese, nuts and few pieces of fruit go a long way. At the end of the hike, our water bottles are usually empty. I like to cut the bottles in half and use those as wine glasses. The person that gets the neck of the bottle can conveniently dig a small hole in the ground and ‘wha-la’ your glass won’t tip. Use the lids of your containers as plates. Tear a flat piece of bread and you can use that as your cheese plate. The plastic bag that your bread came in can serve as your recycle later bag. Great thing is all your plastic containers can be reused or handed off to friends with leftovers. Similar to the movie “Sisterhood of the traveling pants” my girlfriends and I embrace the “Sisterhood of the traveling tupper-ware,” from one house to the next, the containers for leftovers travel round and round amongst our friends.
Side-note: In the kitchen an empty Heinz-ketchup bottle is the perfect pancake batter dispenser!!!
Plastic in the morning, plastic at night, using plastic in the kitchen is outta sight!
I start my day with greek yogurt out of a plastic container topped off with blueberries packed in a plastic snack bag. My at-work lunch is always leftovers from home packed in plastic storage containers like Gladware or Rubbermaid. In the evening I prepare dinner using plastic cutting mats for prep work, silicone potholders when grabbing hot pans, and plastic bowls for mixing up salads. At the end of the day I clean my dishes and leave them in the plastic drainer in the sink to dry overnight. I really couldn’t accomplish all of my kitchen tasks without plastic!
How could any event be complete without drinking games? and how could drinking games even exist without plastic solo cups?
I love my plastic coffee maker, of course!
Got to stir a casserole, fold some goodies into that cake, whip up a batch of brownies (sorry, no gooies left in the bowl for licking!), flip those eggs, or work that risotta?? Those beautiful rubber spatulas, good for over 500 degrees. Would’nt walk into a kitchen without one.