I spring, you spring, we all spring for--scoops

I'm not a fan of gadgets that have only one purpose, they just clutter things up in my cabinet. I do have a few things that are single purpose use, like my juicer (it was a wedding gift) and egg separator, but for the most part I buy items which can be used for multiple tasks in my kitchen. When we moved to our house in Tulsa I dreamed of setting up a baking center in our large kitchen. I really, really wanted a space that was dedicated to just baking, Kendra agreed and it's wonderful. The overhead cabinets contain all of the ingredients I need for baking, as well as mixing bowls, a slew of itty bitty bowls I use for ingredients when getting recipes ready. The drawer is laid out with all of my baking tools: spatulas, scrapers, whisk (why do I only have one whisk? It's huge!), measuring cups, measuring spoons (three sets), etc. I'd take a picture, but I don't' have a camera and I won't remember when I do get one (the one I use is either lost or living with someone else who has no morals or objections to stealing from people). Among the things that I love are my spring loaded scoops.

These pictures are from the Pampered Chef website and the scoops I own. Feel free to go to this website and order you some scoops, or look up a consultant in your area. Pampered Chef is a great kitchen/cooking company. I've loved this company for nearly 20 years. Kendra was a consultant for about three years and we had such a good time doing it. I won't make anything on this plug, but I also want to keep it real and let you know when I feel great about something. You can find other scoops in other places and pay a lot more or a lot less, but these work really well and are backed by a guarantee. How easy is that?

I like to use scoops because I have the ability to get even, precise measurements. I'm anal about things being exactly the same, but don't have the eye for doing it by hand. These scoops give me the right amount, no skill required. So to keep this short and sweet I'll give you some bullet point tips that I think make scoops worth screaming about.

• Small scoops are the perfect measurement for mini-muffin tins.
• medium scoops are the perfect measurement for regular size muffin tins.
• Large scoops are the perfect portion for mashed potatoes, and other starches. If you are watching your weight, then you know portion control is paramount. This scoop will be your best friend and help you have control.
• Having a party? Make it an Ice Cream Sundae bar! Use all of your scoops to make different size ice cream balls. Place the ice cream "scoops" on a sheet pan and then place that in the freezer. When you guests come you can pull out those pans and have already portioned ice cream scoops ready to go.
  
• Use your scoops for cookie dough and get exact portions of cookies each time.
• Meatballs roll right out of the bowl with your small scoop, you can also use the larger scoop for bigger meatballs, the choice is yours.

Is there a kitchen gadget that you just love to scream about? Let's hear about it. There are other gadgets that I love as much and you can rest assured you'll hear about it. Have a great day.