
Top 4 Easy Homemade Meal Preparation Gadgets to Make It From Scratch
There are several types of food you probably eat on a weekly and monthly basis that you buy store bought, no muss no fuss. However, if you’re up for a little extra work you’re in for a treat when you start making foods like pierogies, pasta, ravioli, and tortillas from scratch.
Not only do you save money by just using staples like flour and eggs and other raw ingredients, you can adjust ingredients and recipes to get food to taste exactly how you want it to or even get a little experimental. Keep reading to learn about our top 4 must have gadgets for meal prep of foods that definitely taste better homemade as opposed to store-bought.
Pierogies
College students across Canada head straight to the frozen food section while grocery shopping to pick up a bag of the ultra-easy, comfort food - Pierogies. You’ve probably had these before, and they’re good but did you know that homemade pierogies are so much better and worth a little extra effort.
You can make them by hand, but Bear Country Kitchen also stocks a couple versions of the Pierogi Press - a tool that will easily help you make them fast and in a uniform size. The Fox Run Pierogi Maker makes 6 pierogies at a time. It’s great if you want to make a single serving. Hunky Bill’s Pierogi Maker makes 18 large sized pierogies at a time, a better option if you’re making dinner for the whole family.
To use these tools:
- Flour the press so the dough doesn’t stick to it
- Cover the press with thinly rolled dough
- Add filling over the tool’s holes
- Cover with a second layer of thinly rolled pierogi dough
- Use a rolling pin over the pierogi maker to seal the dough around the filling
- Flip the pierogi maker over and push the pierogies free.
You can repeat this process until you have as many pierogies as you want. Once freed from the pierogi maker they are sealed and ready to boil and fry as you wish to prepare them.
Pasta
Flour, Salt, Eggs, and Olive Oil are the only ingredients you need to make pasta from scratch. Dry pasta is probably already a staple in your cupboards, but fresh pasta is worth the extra effort, especially for special occasions.
The Josef Strauss Pasta Machine and Ravioli Attachment is the perfect addition to your kitchen if you want to add a pasta night to your meal plan. With adjustable steel rollers and 7 thickness settings, you can customize the chewiness to your exact preferences and experiment to discover new textures and flavours. Even better, this product comes with a recipe booklet to guide you as you get started on your pasta from scratch journey.
To Use:
- Adjust the steel rollers to knead and laminate your pasta dough.
- Pass the dough through the rollers, progressively adjusting to a narrower setting until you reach your preferred thickness.
- Cut the resulting sheet of pasta into a manageable length before making noodles.
- Pass the dough through the pasta cutters to make noodles.
HELPFUL TIP:
Work with a partner so one person can turn the crank and the other can feed and direct the pasta into/ through the rollers. It’s quite easy to turn pasta-making into a fun family activity.
Ravioli
Yet another meal that is way better homemade is ravioli. With all the potential fillings, you could almost make it every night of the week and never get bored. The possibilities go way beyond frozen and canned food, and as with almost everything - fresh is worth the extra effort.
Bear Country Kitchen stocks the Norpro Jumbo Ravioli Maker with Press, the perfect tool for making 10 uniform sized 2-inch square raviolis. Not only is it easy to use, but it also comes with a recipe and instructions. If you get used to making pasta from scratch, ravioli can use the same dough recipe and is only a few extra steps to make the filling.
To use the Ravioli press you:
- Flour the press.
- Place a strip of dough over the frame.
- Press the dough into the frame with the indented tray.
- Fill the pouches with your desired filling.
- Place a second strip of pasta dough over the first and press strips together with your fingers.
- Seal by running a rolling pin over the top. Roll across the dough covered frame, gently at first and then increase pressure until the zig-zag edges of the frame are visible through the pasta.
- Remove ravioli from the frame by tapping on the counter.
- Trim out squares using a ravioli wheel or knife.
- Remove excess dough and re-roll. Repeat the procedure until dough and filling are used.
- Place ravioli on a heavily floured cookie sheet and let dry for 1 hour. Turn over and let dry for another hour.
- Cook ravioli 8 minutes or until tender (cooking time will vary with thickness of dough). Drain and serve with your desired sauce.
Tortilla
Have you ever made tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or fajitas entirely from scratch? Another food basic that tastes way more wholesome and healthy homemade is tortillas. Whether you’re making corn or flour tortillas, a tortilla press is just what you need to achieve a uniform size and the desired thinness.

The dough for both can be made with just three or four simple ingredients, and coming in at about .65 cents per dozen - homemade means you’ll save a lot of money in the long-term making tortillas from scratch, especially if you have Mexican food a couple nights a week.
Bear Country Kitchen sells 3 different tortilla presses from the Norpro and Fox Run brands. The sizes range from 6 inches to 8 inches in diameter, and selecting the right one for your needs comes down to your preference for size and material (cast iron or aluminum).
How to use a tortilla press to make tortillas:
- Make your dough.
- Take about a golf ball sized piece of dough and place it on your tortilla press between two pieces of wax paper. Press down hard on it. Rotate the tortilla once or twice and press again to ensure an even thickness.
- Transfer the pressed tortilla to the skillet, cooking for 10 seconds on the first side, flipping it and cooking for 30-60 seconds, and flipping it again to cook the first side for another 30-45 seconds until golden brown.
HELPFUL TIP:
You will want to cook the tortilla immediately after pressing it to prevent it from drying out.
4. Stack tortillas as you bake them so they can continue to cook. Cover them to trap in moisture, they will soften as they rest.
5. Serve within 30 to 45 minutes for the freshest flavour and texture.
And there you have it, if you add a pierogi maker, pasta machine, ravioli press, and tortilla press to your kitchen arsenal and you’ll have a new array of tools to make family-friendly meals from scratch that are going to be much more satisfying than their store bought counterparts.