My mom recently hosted a Pampered Chef party- and I came out with some pretty awesome products! Seriously, if you’re not familiar with these kitchen gadgets and tools you have got to check them out. They have so many different and unique utensils that make prep time faster- meaning dinner is on the table sooner; and they have a lot of high-quality pots and pans and pretty much anything you can think of that you might need for satisfying the tummies of your loved ones.

One of my favorite investments is the Mix n’ Chop. This seems like such a basic tool, but it is actually so helpful, and really was a lifesaver just a week ago!

I was asked to cook just under 40 pounds of pork for a fundraiser our local scout troop was putting together. I had 6 huge crock pots going at one time, and once the pork was cooked I had to shred all of it. That is a lot of pork to shred. I don’t know about you, but shredding 40 pounds of pork is just something I could live without doing. I had heard a really useful tip that you can actually shred meat in your Kitchen Aid mixer using the paddle (something which I am still dying to try!). However, the particular recipe I was making required a lot of sauce, and I knew there was no way to get 40 pounds of boiling pork in and out of my mixer and back to crock pots without making a huge mess and probably burning myself along the way. So I decided to use my nifty Mix ‘n Chop! It took me just a couple minutes to shred the pork in each crock pot. And the best part was that I only had to wash one extra dish when I was done!

But that’s not all this baby can do. Here’s some of the cool things you can do with a Mix n’ Chop:

•   Cut up ground beef/turkey or sausage as it’s cooking
•   Shred chicken (or any meat!) in the pan
•   Mash strawberries (or any fruit) for jam
•   Mash strawberries (or any fruit) for jam
•   Make mashed potatoes
•   Chop avocadoes for guacamole
•   Chop whole fresh tomatoes instead of using diced canned tomatoes (fresh is always tastier!)
•   Or chop those tomatoes for salsa!
•   Crumble cornbread for stuffing
•   Crush store-bought ice
•   Chop up hard-boiled eggs for egg salad
•   Use it to mash and stir your frozen juice concentrate
•   Mash bananas when making banana bread
•   Crush your cooked apples when making applesauce

One creative idea I saw was to dab it in some food coloring and create stars on your cake or sugar cookies!

Seriously, this is such an awesome tool. What I love about the Mix ‘n Chop is that it has sharp edges so you can cut through things, but its shape allows you to double it as a mixing spoon. So you could chop and mash the strawberries and stir in the lemon juice and pectin for your jam with just one utensil! Another thing I love about this utensil is the fact that it’s dishwasher safe and it’s nylon- meaning you can safely use it with your nonstick pans, and you don’t have to worry about scratching them. It’s only $11.50 from The Pampered Chef (not including shipping fee). If you have a little extra cash lying around, I would definitely recommend the Mix ‘n Chop! It would also be the perfect gift for any of the cooks in your life!