Building a Baseball Season Kitchen Kit
Packing for the season can be a bit overwhelming. Overpacking can make things even more stressful when you have limited car space at the beginning or end of a long year away from home. So, I’ve pulled together a quick overview of what is in my kitchen bin. Hopefully this helps keep you from bringing everything but the kitchen sink while also covering your cooking bases.
Ok, so let’s talk through the basics-
Medium size pot. This is essential for anything from cooking pasta to boiling eggs, making soup or that late night box of mac and cheese after a long game. This one I have has a lid that also doubles as a strainer which makes draining pasta water super easy and eliminates the need for a separate strainer. (I have seen some really cool fold flat strainers that I would not be opposed to adding for rinsing produce or draining elsewhere.)
Nonstick saute pan. You need this for scrambled eggs, sauteeing chicken, making grilled cheese, browning ground beef, cooking up veggies…the uses are endless. A 10” pan will cover you and won’t take up too much space. Get a good one that you won’t be trying to scrap to clean later. I love this Ballarini pan. Nothing sticks and it’s so easy to clean. It is also made without nasty Teflon chemicals.
Small Cookie Sheet. I have a small cookie sheet for baking cookies, duh. But also it’s great for roasting meats and veggies or a quick sheet pan meal. This quarter sheet size (13x9) is perfect and fits in the bin easily.
Medium casserole dish. Great for roasting, baking brownies, casseroles (obvi) and any other meals that you need to go in the oven. I find it helpful to have more than one pan that can go in the oven for times when I need to cook separate things or even just in case one is dirty. I have a second! Mine has a lid so it serves double duty as food storage.
Plastic cutting board. This one is thin, light and easy to clean in the dishwasher. Nothing fancy and gets the job done without wasting space or adding weight to your bin.
2 cup liquid measure. It never fails that you need to measure milk or water or something for a recipe. This one isn’t huge and will do the job.
Silverware and steak knives. Self explanatory. But don’t make the mistake of not having a knife to cut a steak or your meat. Butter knives aren’t super necessary but they wouldn’t take up too much space either so you make the call there.
GOOD chef knife. You truly don’t need 8 different knives. That holds true even in your off season home. One good chef knife will cover you for most chopping or cutting needs so there is no need to bring a whole set. Wrap it in a kitchen towel for travel and safety.
Microplane/Grater. A microplane is a small grater. It saves space compared to a box grater and will do most jobs. I do also have a flat cheese grater that works well for space constraints but find I don’t use it much since I will typically buy pre shredded cheese during the season. I prefer the microplane for a just in case scenario but this one could be optional based on your cheese grating needs. This is also great for zesting citrus and grating fresh garlic instead of chopping it.
Tongs. Necessary. Don’t need to explain this much but when cooking anything on the stove or in the crockpot, these are your best tools.
Can opener. I’ve definitely been mid recipe and couldn’t open the can. You’ll for sure need this at least once during the season.
Wine/Bottle opener. Wine, beer, glass soda bottles? Even the little knife on this one works great for opening boxes or turning a screw. It’s a must have item.
1 TBSP, 1 tsp, 1 cup and 1/2 cup dry measure. You can bring a whole set of measuring spoons and cups but I find the most needed ones are these sizes. You can always eyeball smaller measurements using them if needed like 1/4 cup or 1/2 tsp. (Here is a collapsible version I also love!)
Scissors. Obvious necessity. No one likes struggling to open a box or bag. Life’s stressful enough.
Veggie Peeler. This is another optional item. Sometimes they are helpful if you cook frequently during the season and they don’t take up a lot of space so I have one in my bin.
Silicone Spatula. This will work as a spatula to flip, a spoon to stir, and a bowl scraper for baking.
Mixing bowls with lids. These are plastic and lightweight. They fit inside each other and come with lids to double as food storage. Put other small items inside them when your bin is packed for space saving.
Your favorite coffee mugs. We now bring these Yeti mugs because they not only work for our morning coffee and keep it hot longer, but also have travel lids so we don’t have to bring other travel mugs. Two birds, one stone. Done.
Not Pictured. Plastic plates and bowls. I get mine at Target and they are lightweight and super cheap, like less than $1. They are easy to fit in the bin and are dishwasher and microwave safe.
These won’t fit in your bin but these are the two appliances we always travel with. A reasonably sized crock pot or Instant Pot will save your life throughout the year. They are so nice to have ready to go when you want to eat dinner after a game or to meal prep and make multiple meals out of one recipe. They are also helpful if your kitchen is less than ideal and you don’t want to bring as much with you. You can get away with an Instant post and just a few utensils if you are more of a minimalist traveler.
Coffee is non negotiable in our house so we always bring a coffee machine. A good old Mr. Coffee is our go to but we also have opted in other years for a Bialetti stovetop maker. They are smaller and travel well.