One of the things that sold us on our sticks and bricks house was the large kitchen. But, a few years ago, when we decided to replace the pulls on the cabinets and drawers, we counted them for the first time – 53! Downsizing to a 5th wheel with 17 much smaller cupboards and drawers required some thought. (Five two-door cabinets and seven drawers is actually a lot for an RV.) Needless to say, a lot of stuff was sold donated or given away. What remained included these five things I feel no RV kitchen should be without.
Slow Cooker
A slow cooker generates much less steam. This is an important consideration in an RV since moisture can create so many problems. It’s great to throw something in it before heading out and come home to a dinner ready to eat. Unfortunately, I had to buy a medium sized one (that is just right for the two of us) to replace my small and large slow cookers. By the way, using a slow cooker instead of the oven saves on propane cost.
Small Blender
The large blender was out-the-door and the Nutri-bullet came along. This is a must-have for my homemade guacamole – not to mention making frozen drinks, chopping nuts, and anything else a full-size blender can do but in a much more compact size . I tossed the extra attachments and brought only the two I use.
Electric Fry Pan
It’s important to have multiple ways to cook in an RV. If you are hooked up to electricity, you can save on propane costs by using an electric fry pan. It also works great for pancakes, so I was able to pass the big electric griddle on to a family member. Some prefer to use an induction cooker which also uses electricity but requires a specific type of cookware.
Glass Bowl
The first thing I did when I started downsizing the kitchen was to get rid of all things glass. I was focused on the weight and possibility of breakage. Since I prefer microwaving in glass rather than plastic, this was immediately a problem. I purchased one medium-size glass bowl to use in the microwave.
Step Stool
No one under seven feet tall can get by living in most RVs without a step stool. I use mine several times a day to reach items in the upper cabinets. Since every bit of space is valuable in an RV, there’s not much room for things you don’t use very often. The upper cabinets in the house were filled with those use-once-a-year items. Everything in the RV is used often, so it needs to be easily accessible.
I’m sure there are many other “must-haves” that are not on this list, so please subscribe and comment below. We’d love to hear your ideas!
Another big plus of using an electric skillet while RVing is that you can use it outdoors if you don’t want the cooking smells released (and trapped) indoors. We used ours much more than we ever thought we would. Hola from Ecuador!
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