Mixers and Blenders

Friday, after I posted the chocolate chip cookie bar recipe, I had a couple of questions about my mixer and blender, so I thought I would answer in the form of a post! :) For those of you who may be in the market for either a mixer or a blender, perhaps this will help you narrow down your selection!

Mixer

I should probably start by saying I really love to cook and bake. If you don't, investing in a mixer like mine may not be the best use of your money. You might very easily be able to get away with a much cheaper handheld mixer that you use on rare occasion. (Save yourself some countertop clutter, too!)

I did not own a stand mixer until we got married. So for the first ten+ years of my adult life, I scraped along with a series of cheap, handheld mixers. The $20 kind from Wal-Mart. They were okay, but I always knew I wanted a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It was one of the main things I hoped to get when I got married, actually, because I knew I couldn't afford to buy one for myself.

My wish came true! I was still working at the station when I got married, and Lynne knew I so badly wanted a stand mixer. She found one for a great deal on a Black Friday sale and told me that's what she wanted to get us for our wedding. Because it was a doorbuster, she didn't have a choice on color, so that's how I ended up with a red mixer! (We love it, though.) Ours is this Classic Plus model, which is perfect for our house. It's not too huge, it has enough bells and whistles to give me all I'd dreamed of in this mixer, but not so many that it's overdone for what we need. It came with a wire whisk, a flat beater, and a bread hook. 

By far, I use the flat beater the most. The wire whisk comes in second, and I confess I've never used the bread hook, because I don't make bread. But maybe someday, right? I do love it that this mixer has the option to add additional accessories (ice cream maker, pasta maker, grinder, etc.) if desired, though we haven't yet purchased any of those.

What I love about this mixer compared to the handheld ones that I used to have is that I can cook hands-free now! When I'm putting together a baking recipe, I can put in ingredients and let it mix while I step away to grab the next item. I also love the strength of this mixer. There were times, in the handheld mixer days, when the batter was so thick, it was hard to keep control of the mixer while I worked. This is strong, and I don't have to worry about flyaway batter. 

Obviously I make all my desserts in this mixer (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc.) but I also use it to shred meat (that flat beater attachment shreds meat beautifully) too!

Blender

For all of my adult life until my last birthday, I had sadly subpar blenders. Again, $20 versions from Wal-Mart graced my kitchen, and I learned they really didn't blend well. Anything that was really hardy (like ice, for example) just sort of jumped around inside and didn't blend at all. Maddening.

So bless Ryan's heart, for my 39th birthday, he bought me a Ninja system. The whole system!!!!!! This is really close to the system I received, except mine came with a total of three single serving cups, not just one. (Two talls and a short for me.) 

The first thing I love about the Ninja is that it blends everything. Kelly, I think you asked if it blended hard foods, like carrots, and I will confess I have not tried that yet. But everything I have tried, including ice, has pulverized in no time. I have used this often in the last almost-year, and I haven't encountered anything that would not blend. 

The second thing I love is how quickly it works. My old blenders would run and run and run - and still nothing would happen. This one finishes the job in mere seconds. YES!!!!

The system came with two pitchers (and accompanying blades) for blending. A big one and a medium sized one. We keep the big one in storage and only pull it out for huge projects. The medium pitcher lives on the Ninja base as it sits on the counter and I use it quite often. We keep the single serving cups in storage too and pull them out when we're making smoothies or smaller things. 

For us, this was a great investment, because we use it all the time. Brenda, you asked if it can be used as a juicer, and I didn't know, but I looked it up. Here's what I found: It cannot be used as a traditional juicer, because juicers make juice without added fiber. The Ninja can make fruit and vegetable juices that have added fiber, apparently. (Hope that helps!)

Kelly, you asked about recipes and what else we use it for besides smoothies! Well, as you know, I cook with a lot of Dashing Dish recipes, and that was actually one reason why I wanted a high powered blender like this. Many of her recipes depend on it! I make a lot of her smoothie recipes, and since this comes with the single serving cups, I'm able to create those easily and drink right from the cup!

Ryan uses the single serving cups to grind our coffee beans, so we no longer need a separate coffee grinder. I use the pitcher to make oat flour, which is a staple in many of the Dashing Dish desserts. (Ground oats = oat flour.) I also use the pitchers to make some Dashing Dish soup recipes. Some of her recipes call for a partially pureed soup, and this takes care of that perfectly. I make salad dressing in the single serving cups and have made hummus in this before, too. 

I'm sure there are many more things I can make that I haven't tapped into yet, but so far, I'm loving what I can do! 

So there you have it!! :) Our mixer and blender loves!

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