Kitchen Must-Haves Part 3

My third kitchen necessity is a fun one, and you’ll never realize how valuable it is until you start using it.

Immersion Blender: These things are, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest kitchen inventions. I’m all about blending, but hate to clean blenders. They’re big, bulky, sharp and food always somehow manages to get stubbornly stuck underneath the blades. The immersion blender lets you have the advantage of a blender at your fingertips, literally! Most come with attachments, like whisks for things like mayonnaise or souffles.

Some things I use my immersion blender for:

• Soups: I make a mean tomato soup that’s garlicky and thick, without the cream. Instead of waiting for the soup to cool before I blend it, I just stick my immersion blender in the hot pot of soup and go at it. I have thick, smooth and creamy soup in about a minute. No cooling and re-heating required!
• Smoothies: Most immersion blenders come with a tall plastic mixing cup that the blender fits nicely into. You can easily make shakes and smoothies in these cups. Combine all ingredients, then insert the immersion blender and switch the on button. You’ve got a creamy shake or velvety smoothie with no mess and no time.

Stay tuned for my other favorites!

What's a must have in your kitchen?

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