Although I’m certainly eating fewer bagels, like none,  these days, my boys still love ‘em dearly.  I do miss a nice toasted schmear with cream cheese.  If only my body wouldn’t violently reject it.  But no.

Anyway.

Real bagels, you know, the kind from the bakery, need to be sliced in order to be toasted.  Have you ever tried to slice a round, rolling object with a really sharp knife?  Don’t.  Try.  This.  At.  Home.

Instead, get this bagel slicer which will neatly and easily slice your bagels, buns and rolls, but not your fingers, because there are two blade guards to prevent cuts.  Easy to clean, dishwasher safe and comes in this here purty red color.

Bagelpod Bagel Slicer – $17

My fantastic new oven burned me last week. Burned me bad.  I still have the scar, although I’m sure, in time, it will fade, as my pain has faded.

Sniff sniff.  Waaahhhhh.

Here’s what happened:  I was minding my own business, removing a key lime pie from the second rack in the oven, when OW, @#$(*@(#*! , my wrist touched the top rack.

Almost dropped the pie.

I know it’s my own fault because I just reached instead of pulling out the bottom rack, but still.  Ow.

If I had these oven rack guards, my flesh would still be perfect and creamy white, without ugly red burn marks.

These protective oven rack guards are made from the same material used in fireman’s suits.  They snap right onto your oven rack and can just stay there and keep your skin perfect.  Oven safe to 500 degrees F and machine washable if you get some gunk on it.

JAZ Oven Rack Guards (set of 2) – $19

Make a mess o’ pancakes or a heap o’ eggs on this double burner griddle from KitchenAid, a name you know and trust.

Well, I know it, and I trust it.  I’m in love with my KitchenAid stand mixer, and my many other KitchenAid products (except this one – do not buy this one!).

This griddle simply fits over two of your burners, even works on the new glass cooktops (be careful of scratching though, as you do with every pan on that cooktop), and acts very griddle-like.  The interior is coated with a patented hard-base ceramic nonstick system for outstanding food release, durability, and scratch resistance, while the outside is porcelain enamel and tough as nails.  Oven safe to 500 degrees F.

KitchenAid Double Burner Griddle – $55

Back in college, in the olden days, I had a hot pot, affectionately termed Polly Hot Pot (I don’t know we called it that), in which I made everything imaginable, so as to avoid the food in the dorm cafeteria.

Polly Hot Pot never failed.  She persevered through it all: mac-n-cheese, Chunky soup, chocolate fondue, hot chocolate.  You get the idea.  I lived on the foods created in Polly, along with cans and cans of caramel corn sent to me by my awesome mom. (Thanks Mom!)

Anyway.

I saw this hot pot the other day and I almost bought one, just for old times’ sake.  It reminded me of Polly.   I got just a little teary-eyed.  Because of  my age.

Not only is the RoadPro Smart Car Pot  a hot pot, able to warm anything and everything, but it plugs into your car’s power socket.  It’s a hot pot to go!  How friggin’-fraggin’ cool is this?

Immediately, I thought of making coffee on the way to work, but then, after careful thought, I decided the Smart Pot was probably designed more for RVs, boats and maybe even big rig drivers.  Yeah, do not take your eyes off the road to check the status of your brew.

RoadPro Smart Car Pot – $23

I have this pot.

It’s on my stove right this minute, full of fiery hot chili…. our dinner, which will be served with fritos and grated cheddar cheese.

A perfect meal for this frigid weather we’re having here in Texas.

And this pot really fits the bill because it’s plenty large to hold all the ingredients that make up my recipeless chili.

Does anyone else do this?  Throw a bunch of stuff into the pot along with some chili powder and call it chili?  There are so many veggies in there, but my family thinks they’re eating meat.  Bwah hah hah haaaaaa.

Anyhoo.

The pot.

Calphalon, a name you know and trust.  Nonstick interior.  Oven safe to 400 degrees.  Heats quickly and evenly.  Domed glass lid included.  Inexpensive.  Leftovers guaranteed so you don’t have to cook tomorrow.  Done deal.

Simply Calphalon 5-Qt. Chili Pot – $40

Hate scraping the bowl? Me too.

Know why?  Because my fantastically awesome KitchenAid mixer is so automatic that it should do all the work for me, which means that I shouldn’t have to stop periodically and scrape the sides of the bowl.

And now I don’t have to because the Sideswipe will do it for me.

See those squeegee things on the sides?  They scrapes the sides & bottom of the bowl automatically for thoroughly-combined, fluffier mixtures. No stopping. No scraping.  My kinda mixing.

Durable aluminum core offers a better connection to your stand mixer and the reinforced nylon frame won’t crack or melt in your dishwasher.

With this scraper, my mixer will be as automated as possible.  Now, if only someone would create a long arm to take it from the mixer to the oven.

SideSwipe – $25

With all the things that moms are required to attend to these days, helping with homework, batting practice, combing hair, washing clothes, etc., any tool that makes life easier is totally welcome.

And this is one of those things.

This digital spoon scale measures both weight and volumes for precise cooking results.  You heard me.  This spoon scale has an accurate, easy-to-read digital display works in both grams and ounces.

In case you’re actually familiar with the metric system.

Digital Spoon Scale – $20

Love clean dishes, but hate those scrubbie sponges that attract all kinds of funk and whatnot after their first use?  Me too.  And then I wonder if I’m really cleaning my pots and pans or just adding more bacteria than I started with.  Ick.

Spaghetti scrub to the rescue.  Listen up, because this is unique and really cool!

This is a kitchen scrubber, so it’s made for heavy-duty scrubbing of your metal, cookware, sinks and grills, BUT it’s made of cotton, polyester and corn cobs.

Corn cobs!  And also peach pits, if you order the orange one.

So, it’s environmentally friendly.  I mean, no peaches or corns died to make this scrubber.  AND, you don’t have to use detergent with this scrubber.  You heard me… no detergent.  Better for the environment and you won’t have that soap taste in case you don’t rinse it thoroughly.

If all that’s not enough to convince you of the merits of this scrubber, how about the fact that it dries completely and therefore mildew is eliminated from even thinking it can grow here.  Buh bye.

Spaghetti Scrub – $11

Sometimes you just need a quickie.

You know, where you don’t want to drag out the big guns for a small mixing job?  That’s where this powerful (290 watts and 6 speeds) hand mixer comes in handy because it’s got enough get-up-and-go to muscle through thick cookie dough as well as whip up delicate egg whites to perfection.

Includes snap-on storage case.

Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer – $29

No need to spend the big bucks on a huge pot to boil lots of stuff.  As long as you have a pot with a thick bottom that conducts heat well, the cheap ones work great.

This 12-qt. pot is large enough to hold enough food to feed a ton of your peeps or to have leftovers for the freezer.  Either way, the nonstick interior, vented lid and sleek black exterior will more than meet your needs if you’re looking for a big ass pot.

Great bargain at $31.