Thursday, February 10, 2011

I Love My...

Last night as I tucked the wee people into their beds, Superman, in an effort to stall bedtime, announced, "Mom, I know what I'm going to get everyone for Heart Day."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I'm going to get Ava a new doll. And I'm going to get my baby sister a new doll too. And you know what I'm going to get you, Mom?? A new laundry basket. A shiny green one."

Hm. It makes me laugh to think of how he preceives me. The thing is... I'd actually love a shiny new green laundry basket. All of our laundry baskets are broken from me dropping them over the upstairs bannister into the foyer with clothes in them (self-made laundry chute... it's faster that way). His innocence just makes me smile. If my husband gave me a shiny new laundry basket for Valentine's Day I would not be smiling. But from your kid... well its just darn cute. And I love that.

So, in a similar less romantic fashion, I want to give one of you one of my favorite things this Valentine's Day. My friend Katie, long ago, gave these the name of "The Chicken Choppers," although they are formally known as Salad Choppers. I use them ALL the time on this blog to shred/chop chicken. And you probably hate me big time when I do because it is so much faster then chopping, or heaven forbid the laborious task of two-fork shredding.


Its actual purpose on earth was to put whole salad ingredients into a bowl (a head of lettuce, a tomato, an onion, a cucumber) and then just go at it with the salad choppers in the bowl as opposed to chopping them all on a cutting board. Even cooler than that, I love using them to make salsa in one bowl in 5 minutes (just throw whole tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and cilantro in a bowl, and chop away). Perfect for a quick appetizer or one of my summer faves, Classic Salsa Pizza.
Same goes for bruschetta!




I use them to mash up old bananas for banana bread. I use them to chop up a can of whole tomatoes straight in the crock pot. I use them to cut up pasta for the kids right in the pot. And I can do it all with one hand, which is crucial when I need to free up my other hand for helping the kids. Okay or more realistically for my glass of wine. I often daydream about carrying them in my purse and whipping them out to cut up my salads at restaurants (like McDonalds, and the other fine establishments we frequent these days). Seriously, is it that difficult for them to cut my cherry tomato in half, chop the chicken, or give me a cucumber smaller than the size of a coaster?

I digress. Anyway, for the technical stuff... it's dishwasher safe, and has two parallel blades with micro-serrated edges so it's actually sharpening itself everytime its being used. It is amazing and definitely one of my favorite little kitchen gadgets. If you already own one, don't let that stop you from entering. I'm sure you can think of someone you know who would love to take it off your hands!






Giveaway Details


1. You must be a follower on this blog (not facebook)

2. leave a comment on this post that starts with "I Love My..." and tell me what your favorite, can't live without kitchen gadget is.

3. I will pick a winner on Valentine's Day. Okay more realistically, the day after Valentine's Day. Because I'll probably be really busy with my shiny new Laundry Basket. I know, that is not very long from now, but I procrastinated on getting this post up and I like to keep contests short and sweet :) So enter now or run the risk of two-fork shredding your chicken forever.

4. If you enter the giveaway and do NOT win, but think you really can't live without some salad choppers like I can't, shoot me an email and I will help you get it for 10% off and free shipping.
5. OH! And I forgot to mention I am picking the winner at RANDOM like I normally do. The "I Love My ..." is purely for my entertainment value. If it was a subjective contest however, Whitney's answer would totally win.
Good Luck!

48 comments:

Kelly said...

I love my salad spinner! I've been washing and laying out (or eating wet) salad for years until Mary Cook bought me a salad spinner for Christmas (b/c i'm a nerd and always talk about how great they are). You just stuff it full and pull the cord! Boom- fresh and dry! I just got it this year but know it's going to get worked this summer. Pick me! I also love my old plastic spatula that the dogs chewed but i still use every single day, and my really sharp knife that i always wonder what i would do when im cooking alone and cut off my finger....should i continue? :)

Megan said...

I love my kitchen scissors as well! Though I can't find any quite like my favorite pair, that separate/disassemble for easy washing. I'll have to check your favorite pair out, or maybe I will win!

Dancinhart77 said...

I love my veggie chop, though these choppers would give that a run for it's money. pick me!

The Samsons said...

I love my deep covered baker! and for the record Ava would like anyything dreamy Drew gave her for Valentine's Day...are they going out on a date somewhere? hehe

Unknown said...

I love my Pampered chef pan - the one that goes from stovetop to oven and makes the best Frittatas (including Karen's recipes!) I use it all the time and don't know how I got by without it! Well worth the investment!

Courtney said...

I love my food processor, never used it till I saw your pesto recipe, now I use it all the time! I would love these choppers since I'm currently using the two fork method and think about these every time I have two forks in my hand!

Unknown said...

I love my power juicer. Not only does it make the more delicious juice, but it also allows me to use the left over pulp to make things like banana bread, meatloaf, carrot cake and so much more. I definitely would not be getting my daily amount of fruits and veggies if I did not my juicer.

Aliya said...

I love my mini-food processor. For real. I use it ALL the time to make sauces, gravies, or even mush up sauteed veggies to toss into meatloaf or burgers to keep them extra moist. Its the perfect size and then I just throw the whole thing in the dishwasher. Couldn't live without it! Thanks for hosting, Karen... what a great give away!

Liz and Craig said...

I love my food chopper! It makes so many of our daily recipes 10x easier - and it's super easy to clean! Love it!

Melissa @ A Dozen Years Later said...

I love my Kitchenaid Mixer. I would really love this kitchen gadget as well!!

Whitney said...

I love my... dishwasher.

Carrie McLean said...

I love my potato masher (even though the handle is sharp and uncomfortable because my pup chewed on it!). I use it to make guacamole at least 2x a week (because we eat that much guac), egg salad, refried beans, banana bread. I love that thing. . . perhaps I should treat myself to a new one.

Laurie Digges said...

I love my garlic press and Deep Covered Baker. Both help with easy, quick, dinners!

Elizabeth said...

I love my Pampered Chef food Chopper! And my rice cooker, of course, since we eat rice a few times a week at my house.

NKDFamilyBlog said...

I love my pampered chef deep covered baker because coming home after work and being able to have chicken cooked in 6 minutes in the microwave is heaven to me:)

Katy said...

I love my mini-food processor.

Christina C. said...

I love my pampered chef small scoop - I use it for ice cream, cookie dough, pancake batter, etc.

Mile Posts by Dorothy Beal said...

I love my magic bullet blender. I made frozen hot chocolate, or my version of it anyways, last night. SOOO yummy :)

Lynsie said...

I love my Keurig Coffee maker...It is sad but some nights I can't wait to go to bed so I can wake up and have coffee...sad but true!

Rebecca Samson said...

I love my wok from Crate and Barrel (wedding present). Perfect for making stirfry dishes!

Lisa said...

I love my...Capresso coffee maker #1, but a close second is definitely my Deep Covered Baker. Comes in sooo handy! Would also say the Batter Bowl as well. :)

Sarah said...

Already follow :)

Julie said...

I love my "Chicken Chopper" too! Oh, and my food processor...I don't know what I'd do without it!

Sarah said...

I love my salad spinner!

Christy said...

I love my large scoop I just got from Pampered Chef - cut down cupcake production time dramatically :-)

Peyton said...

I love my, it's a tie between my deep covered baker and my salad chopper. and karen for introducing me to both

Unknown said...

I love my food chopper and my pampered chef spatulas. I use both for almost every meal I make and they both have withstood the test of time:)

Kimberly said...

I love my Kitchen Aid... oh and my pamper chef rolling pin ;)

Lori said...

I love my brand new, shiny french door style refrigerator ;)! & would really love the salad chopper!

turnerlifearound said...

I love my best friend Kaaj...i thought of you today when i used my salad choppers to cut up onions and peppers for chili in the crock pot! (i'm really growing up!!)

party of five said...

I love my salad (chicken) choppers and the big PC mixing bowl! :) Seriously though...those choppers have changed my life.

Unknown said...

i love my chopper, and thanks to you i love to take off the bottom and use a cutting board and love it even more! i also love my $3.00 collapsable laundry basket, highly recommended because you can throw it from the 2nd floor and it floats down!! (and if it accidentally hit a child it does not hurt them:)

Laura Villarreal said...

I love my PC don't-know-what-it's-called-butitisaserverscraperthingandiuseiteveryday!

Unknown said...

I love my salad/chicken choppers and the fact my husband thinks they are cool enough to use too :)

A Home Blog said...

I love my chicken chopper!! That is what it is to me!! LOVE it. Thanks for giving me a shout out karen! :)

Jackie said...

I love my other PC chopper (not sure what it's called) because I can pulverize onions and "hide" them in food! I also like it for easy nut chopping! Is Kelly's salad spinner PC?! She makes it sound so great!

stewsie.stoll said...

I love my glass mixing bowls - nice presentation for serving and easy to clean.

Erin said...

I love my garlic press - you don't even have to peel the garlic!

The Claybornes said...

i love my garbage disposal :)

Shae said...

I love my garlic peeler! Have you seen one? Check it out, if not

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/984302/?catalogId=53&bnrid=3180501&cm_ven=Shopping&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Cooks_Tools&cm_ite=984302

...it's magical.

MP said...

I love my salad choppers and my dishwasher that is a gadget right? Of course I follow your blog!!!

String Beans' Mom said...

I love my new stoneware baker; ok not so much a gadget but I still love that I can tell the husband to throw some things in the baker, microwave it and dinner is done.

Unknown said...

I love my kitchenaid stand mixer. I really could not live without it. And to go hand in hand with that I love my PC mini muffin pan and small scoop to fill it with all my baked goodies. :)

The Roberts said...

I love my Keurig & my Le Cruset dutch oven!!!

Unknown said...

I love my pizza stone...it's well loved and richly colored from many, many uses.

Unknown said...

I love my crockpot!

Krissy Downs said...

I love my mixer - unlike 99.9% of the people in this world, I don't have a KitchenAid. I have a Bosch and love, love, love it. I agree with the comment above about loving the dishwasher too - didn't realize how much I loved it until ours busted a couple weeks ago. Misery.

Lindsey Smither said...

I love my Ginsu knives!