Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes {#Recipe} + Sweepstakes ‪#‎goodcookcom‬

**Full Disclosure: I received the Good Cook kitchen tools pictured in exchange for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Kitchen utensils can be so much fun – especially when I use them to make delicious treats or a scrumptious meal.  I find that I try to limit the number of tools I use when I cook or bake so I don’t have nearly as many dishes to wash.

I had a hard time narrowing down my selection of kitchen tools to just 15, but I think every kitchen should contain the following items.

Tools in my kitchen drawer: 

• 5 piece Prep Bowls – These bowls double as measuring cups!  I love that they are stack-able and can be used as mise en place dishes. 
• Bottle Spatula – Little spatulas are my favorite because they can be used on so many things.  I like this one to clean out nearly empty food bottles and to clean off my mixing blade. 
• Mini Liquid Measuring Cup (1/4 cup) – I am so in love with this tiny measuring cup!  You can see the markings from the side or top and it can be used for tablespoon or 1/4 cup measurements.
• Large Silicone Flex Turner – This turner is pretty large and I feel clumsy when I use it but I like the silicone.  
• Nylon Slotted Spoon – A slotted spoon is a must have in your kitchen and this one is a great choice.
• Nylon Ladle – I like the size and the edge of this ladle.  It’s a great tool!
• Parmesan Cheese Grater – I used this grater to zest lemons and really liked it.  I can’t wait to put it to work on Parmesan!
• SMART Scoop Ice Cream Scoop – I love this scoop!  It’s so easy to use and I really like that I don’t have to use another utensil to pull the ice cream out of the scoop.
• Berry Colander – I like the size of this colander.  It’s big enough to hold (at least) one pound of strawberries but small enough that it fits in my cabinets without issue.
• Party Frills (72 count) – How fun are these?!  I used these party toothpicks to hold my strawberries in place on the cupcakes, but you could use them for just about anything!
• Nonstick Sandwich Knife (5 inch) – You can never have too many knives, can you?  I was intrigued by the sandwich knife and can’t imagine my kitchen without it.
• Nonstick Chef’s Knife (5 inch) – Another fantastic kitchen knife.  The cut is very smooth.  This knife is pretty big and scares me a little. 
• Nonstick Santoku Knife (5 inch) – And another fantastic kitchen knife.  I like the size of this knife better than the chef’s knife (I don’t feel like I’m going to cut myself) and it cuts nicely as well.
• Corn Skewers (premium, 8 count) – Can you believe I’ve gone 10 years without corn skewers?!  It’s so nice to be able to eat corn without burning my fingers!
• Strainer (2 1/2″) – I haven’t used the strainer yet, but I am glad I have one now.  I am sure I will find something to use it for very soon!

Of the 15 kitchen tools I put in my drawer, I was asked to use at least 7 of them to make a dish.  Boy was that difficult for me!  I decided to make Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes.  I was able to use the 5 piece prep bowls, bottle spatula, mini measuring cup, berry colander, Santoku knife, Parmesan cheese grater and the party frills.  They are the perfect summer cupcake made with fresh strawberries and lemonade mix.

You can find the tools I selected (and many more!) at goodcook.com.  Everything will be 25% off during the contest, so if you find something you can’t live without, you can buy it right away!

How to enter:  Build your ideal Kitchen Drawer filled with great Good Cook tools and gadgets at goodcook.com.   Choose up to 15 items (from select Good Cook products) to create your ideal kitchen drawer by using the ‘ADD ME’ icon.  Then you’ll be able to enter to win everything you’ve selected!  If you can’t decide what you want, let the Kitchen Experts help by picking one of the featured Kitchen Expert Blogger drawers and enter it for a chance to win.

There’s more!  You can participate in Good Cook’s first 5-day product giveaway on Facebook starting June 2 (ending June 7). Every drawer entered has a chance to win an instant prize or discounts.  Participants can submit a new drawer every day for a chance to win.

Which tools did you add to your ‘Build Your Kitchen Drawer’ contest entry?!