The MamaMixer

It is very stereotypical for the guys in our lives to love their gadgets.  For some guys the more powerful the tool the better. For others the more technical the gadget, the more fun they have.  We gals don’t usually get rolled into these stereo-types but I have the same fanaticism about some of my appliances as certain guys do about their chainsaws.



There are a few appliances that I use regularly that I just can’t imagine life without.  One of my biggest helpers in the house is my KitchenAid stand mixer.  I LOVE that thing. I first got the experience of playing with a KitchenAid stand mixer while we were house-sitting for friends.  It was around Christmas time so I gave my friend’s mixer a work-out: cookies, pies, cakes.  By the time we were done house-sitting I knew I needed one of those, except hers was too small.  I wanted the MamaMixer: the KitchenAid Professional Stand Mixer.

At the time we were living in a tiny apartment while HandyMan was going to grad school.  I worked all week and on Saturday mornings he’d go off to play soccer and I’d stay home and work out the stress of the week baking and cooking.  He’d come home hot and sweaty, and the counter would be full of warm treats.  Cinnamon rolls, cookies, breads, lasagnas, enchiladas, you name it.  That Christmas, I received a gift with a promise.  When I opened up the heavy box it was a pasta roller attachment and it came with the promise that when we were settled in our own house, he’d get me a KitchenAid.  “The big one?” I asked.

Fast-forward three years, and two more attachments under my belt, and we are finally settling down.  I mention the promise of the KitchenAid – we were closing on our house on December 1^st after all.  HandyMan says –I was planning on giving it to you for Christmas.  Hmmmm.  That’s like hiring the housekeeper after you’ve finished spring cleaning.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much baking happens between December 1^st and January 1^st in my house.  After some negotiation, the MamaMixer was ordered and it was one of the first things moved into the new house.  It helped the lobbying process that Amazon had it on sale the day after Thanksgiving for the same price as the regular stand mixer!

The first night in the new house, I did laundry and baked cookies.  My MamaMixer gets regular workouts all seasons of the year:  breads, cookies, cakes, and with attachments, applesauce, tomato sauce, and pastas.  This mixer is a huge help with batch cooking as I can make 3-6 loaves of quick bread at a time and freeze the extra.  It is a powerhouse on cookie dough and I can usually triple a batch.  It has been a wonderful investment for the time I've saved and it has never hiccuped, no matter how big of a batch I give it.