Gadgets in my Homestead Kitchen

Being a homesteader doesn’t mean that you have to be desolate. There are a lot of people that think that homesteading has to be this off grid lifestyle where you don’t live with conveniences. Honestly, when we first started that was the direction we were headed. It created a lot more stress than it was worth! I finally realized that everyone’s version of homesteading is a little bit different. You can have a homestead without having a milk cow. Just like you can live a low-toxin lifestyle and still use your kitchen gadgets. We have a small kitchen so I’ve paired down to the list of my favorite and most useful gadgets in my homestead kitchen.

Ninja Foodie

I could not think of another piece in my kitchen to highlight first. The Ninja Foodie was a gift for our wedding and it has become a staple piece of our kitchen. Most unlike instant pots, it also has the ability to bake and air fry things as well. It’s basically an air fryer and an instant pot all in one, making it incredibly useful. We use this thing minimally once per week. 

Some of my favorite ways to use it:

• Cooking a whole chicken in around an hour.
• Air frying potatoes to have as a side with dinner.
• Cooking potatoes to be mashed.
• Using the air fryer to cook chicken tenders or sides in a hurry.
• Making bone broth.

This list could honestly go on for quite awhile. We even got rid of our toaster oven because the Ninja Foodie has a bake feature so anything we were previously baking (like cheesy garlic bread) can be done in the Foodie.

KitchenAid Mixer

This is a debatable item and I get that. I sometimes question our decision to have it and contemplate switching it out. I’ve heard that a lot of people prefer their Bosch mixers over the KitchenAid. That’s another conversation though. I’m going to tell you what I like about the KitchenAid and that is mainly the attachments. Sure, we use it as a mixer for doughs and batters too. The highlight for me is the attachments though because those really start to change the game. 

The corer and slicer is one of my most favorite attachments. I’ve had it for years now and it gets used often in the fall. Making apple crisp and canning apple pie filling is a lot easier when you have a machine to do half of the work. I do realize that they have countertop versions of this too but if you are doing it in bulk the attachment makes a big difference.

You can also turn the KitchenAid into a mill. In a small kitchen it feels really important to make sure we are using the very most of the kitchen gadgets that we have. I truthfully don’t have room for a mill at this point in time. Though I could probably clear some space to make one, it’s nice to be able to have one machine and a small box of attachments that turn it into something else.

Bread Machine

For this particular kitchen gadget in my homestead kitchen, I’m not going to talk about the brand. Mainly because mine is a super basic machine and it works great. I don’t want to steer you to one certain machine because they don’t even make mine anymore. Instead, I want to talk about the advantages of this item. There are a lot of homesteaders out there that are making bread by hand and I’m not knocking that. Heck, I’ve been that person! I love to make a good sourdough loaf, it’s so good! I just don’t always have the time and energy to be able to do that. Enter the bread machine! It makes life so much easier to be able to throw some ingredients in and just let it run for a few hours. It’s a win-win, homemade bread without chemicals and without the work. 

Plus, you can even make dough with it! This is my most recent discovery and it’s been incredible. I was able to get a couple batches of cinnamon rolls in the freezer for part of our postpartum meal prep. Plus I was able to make the dough for our freezer chicken pot pie too! It’s been super helpful because by the time I’m ready to cook the dough is ready to go and it’s cooked perfectly every time! 

Crock Pot(s)

This can be another debatable item and it’s something I’ve come to terms with. When I first started homesteading I didn’t want to use my crockpot anymore. I thought it was too toxic and it felt like “cheating.” Not sure who was grading me but I’m glad I came to my senses. I love using my crockpot for a good soup on a cold winter day. Or, when it’s too hot, I like using it to cook some meat so that we have a quick meal that doesn’t require heating up the house. Plus, who isn’t hauling this thing around to get dips to other people’s houses for parties. 

As a note, I did ditch the plastic bags that I used to use in it to make cleaning easier. These suckers are super toxic and leach a lot of plastic into your food. I use them strictly for occasions where something might get left in the crockpot and get baked on where it’s hard to get off. Otherwise, I’m putting in the effort to get it clean! 

Ninja Food Processor

I’m leaning towards the Ninja again here because the brand really hasn’t let me down. All of their equipment has lasted years for me and has operated exactly as I needed it to. I’m hard on things so that says a lot in my opinion. They tend to be a more expensive brand but I find that I get my money’s worth. Here’s why I love the processor.

It’s got different size containers. If I’m only doing a small amount I can have less dishes because I use the small container. Or, if I’m doing a big batch of salsa I can use the big pitcher and it makes that job a lot easier. I’ve found that it chops things well for salsa just as well as it mixes things like homemade hummus. It’s a tool that I love to keep around and have found very useful.

My Wish List

#1 item on my list of additions to the gadgets in my homestead kitchen is a Ninja Creami. Yup, that’s right. It’s 100% unnecessary and I WANT IT! I would love to be able to make ice cream or sorbet out of just fresh fruit. One of our goals is to plant more fruit trees and bushes around our property  and as we get more and more I want to find more ways to use it. Plus, I’ve seen some people make some really cool protein ice cream and I’d much rather make healthy versions of ice cream than buy the toxin filled kind at the store. At least, that’s the excuse I’m using to justify the fact that it would be really fun and come in handy. Maybe after a year or so the price will go down and I’ll be able to afford it. 

The other thing I’m considering is switching to a different food processor. Don’t get me wrong- I love mine. However, I love my mom’s too! It’s hard for me to say what is the best. Ideally, I’d have a canning kitchen that would hold my big processor and I’d keep the small one in my inside kitchen for daily use. A girl can dream right! 

On my list of KitchenAid attachments to get is the pasta maker. I currently have the countertop version that I got super cheap at an estate sale. We don’t make a lot of pasta yet so that is fine for right now. One of our goals is to start having pasta days where we get together to make large batches of pasta and when that happens I think we will want the attachments.

In Conclusion: Gadgets in my Homestead Kitchen

Everyone has different goals for their homestead and it’s so important to remember that your goals don’t have to be like everyone else’s goals. When I first found homesteading I wanted to do it all. Heck, who doesn’t right?! The thing is, you have to figure out how homesteading fits into your life and not the other way around. Maybe you work full time outside of the home still but add animals. Maybe you are a stay at home mom but want to work to reduce toxins. All of these goals are equally as important and still make you a “homesteader.” We can cook from scratch and use our kitchen gadgets to make our life more simple. 

In fact, it may be a much better way to get yourself to cook from scratch! Not getting takeout or picking up premade items from the store can be super overwhelming if it’s not something you are used to. My best advice is that you don’t make it even harder than it needs to be. Save up for some tools that can help make your life easier! I know for certain my cooking would not be nearly as successful without the gadgets in my homestead kitchen.