Another Kitchen Must have

I own a blender.

I never use it.

It sits in my kitchen cabinet collecting dust.

Maybe it's time to give it away?

Perhaps you are wondering how I can blog about smoothies and then confess that I don't use my blender.

This is why:

Allow me to introduce you to a kitchen essential that I use everyday. 

Everyday.

An Immersion blender, stick blender, or hand blender.
Whatever you want to call it
it blends, and really well.

With all the different attachments that come with it I can also chop, whip, dice, and puree.

I love that you can stick it right into liquids without getting another thing dirty.

For instance, say you want to make hummus, and you have all your ingredients in a bowl already. You can blend it up until smooth and serve right out of that same bowl without the need to transfer to another dish.

My other favorite use is when I have a soup that needs to my pureed, like butternut squash. No need to ladle hot liquids into a blender. Just "immerse" the blender in the pot and hit the button.

So much easier, faster, safer, and there is less to clean up because of that function.

All the pieces, except the motor itself, can go right into a dishwasher. I personally hate having to take a blender apart with all the little pieces and blades. Ugh.

I own a Braun 400watt turbo which I can't seem to find online right now.

I know Kitchen Aid makes one (featured in the picture above), as well as Cuisine Art, Wolfgang Puck,  and Oster. They can be purchased at Target, Amazon.com, Bed Bath and Beyond, and many other places.

Just make sure you get one that operates around 300w or more, and that the stick part is metal, not plastic.

Mexican Banana Smoothie

I used to make bread when I had an overly ripe banana that needed to be used.

Then I started making banana chocolate chip muffins.

Today I didn't feel like turning on the oven when I remembered a drink my friend from Mexico makes when she has a black speckled banana laying around.

Lately my kids have really enjoyed drinking smoothies, and since I had a couple of bananas 

sitting on the counter, I whipped this up. 

Here's my version:

2 ripe bananas

3 C cold milk

(I used whole for creamier consistency)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6-8 ice cubes

Blend until smooth.

Fruit Pizza

My oldest child has never really liked to eat cake on his birthday.

 He always chooses something different each year.

This year he requested fruit pizza which sounded good to me.

I know most people like to use refridgerated sugar cookie dough for the crust, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact if you are short on time buying the premade dough can be a life saver.

However, we opted for the made from scratch version which I found on Allrecipes.com

*Please note that I changed the recipe*

I didn't have cream of tarter on hand so I just increased the baking soda by a 1/4 tsp.

Also, I made a different frosting than the one called for in the above link.

I used a whipped cream frosting that has cream cheese in it and I like it's consistancy better.

Top with your favorite sliced fruits and enjoy.

Try not to eat too many slices...you might get a tummy ache, which we all did!

Interesting.

A recent article claims that watching cooking shows can make you fat. I'll admit that I sometimes feel hungry after I've watched an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, but not always.

The advice given: don't watch those shows when you are hungry. I guess that's about like 

not going to the grocery store hungry.

Now I'm hungry...