New Mixer

Well there is a club here in Texas called the Texas Extension Education Association....most people remember them being called the Home Demonstration Clubs....anyways....the point is I used to be a member of one of our local chapters. I enjoyed working with them but my family situation changed and I need to spend more time concentrating on my family and less time doing stuff for club. However, the local clubs are full of friends that I know and love, and I occasionally help them out with various things. This week I offered to make cookies for them....5 dozen for most of the club members at a discounted price equals Mama D making 95 DOZEN cookies! Luckily I have lots of freezer space and heavy duty stand mixer! Or so I thought!

My old Mix master

This is my trusty Stand mixer....I have been using this for about the last 7 years. I loved it! It died as I was making cookies on Monday of this week! I had a couple of panicky moments...you remember the 95 dozen cookies I was talking about! I had a 1970's version that I found in the back of the cabinet when I moved into my Grandmother's house...after trying to make one batch of cookies I discovered why it was in the back of the cabinet!

Lucky for me one of those really nice club ladies called me Monday night...said she had a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer that I could borrow for the week! AAAhhhh....do you hear my sigh of relief!

OK now I have been wanting one of those Kitchen Aid Stand Mixers since forever!!! It has always been one of those unattainable dreams...1. they are really expensive (especially for mine and my husbands budget), 2. I had this more reasonably priced Mix Master, 3. it just wasn't practical! So I drool over them when I see them in stores....amazed at all the really pretty colors that will match your kitchen and personality....dream over all the things I could make with one....but never really thought that I would get one.

My husband decided that I needed one....so when he decides I need something I generally get it...as long as he has the means to get it for me! Now let me explain something about my husband....he really doesn't buy me gifts for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas...it's not that he doesn't love me, he just doesn't remember things like that till its too late and he has paid the bills with his pay check, you know silly stuff like that...he just blows all of the money he makes taking care of us!! BUT he considers out tax return extra money....and depending on our financial standing depends on what he does with the tax return....this year we are doing good. So, because I have become Ms. Homemaker Extraordinaire and make everything from scratch, cater, bake for the public to bring in extra money and generally use my stand mixer on a daily basis, a want became a need and need became reality!

All pretty and shiney! It needs flour dusting!

My new Professional 5 Plus arrived on Wednesday morning!!! I was so happy I did a very bad Happy Dance! And of course the first thing I did was take it out of the box and take a picture of it...then put it to use! I have had it a little over 24 hours and it has made about 40 dozen cookies and a 5 Flavor Cake...and before the weekend is over it will have made much more! I am so excited about this machine!

Now it took me 2 weeks to shop for this mixer and finally pick out the one I wanted. Do you know how many varieties there are of this simple looking Stand mixer??? Well I didn't count, but there are a bunch! I found through my comparison shopping that the main differences are the wattage of the motor, the size of the mixing bowl and weather the bowl lifts or the head tilts! My model came with a 450 watt motor, a 5 quart mixing bowl and a bowl lift!

The other thing I figured out is that the shopKitchenAid.com website had the best prices for their product. Which is kinda surprising to me....most of the product websites are the highest! Or so I thought! They also offer refurbished models. Now when I saw that I immediately thought that they meant broken ones that had been fixed and were being resold...and that was partially true! However most of them were returns that had been inspected and resold...and they still come with a 6 month warranty! Now this is the route that I took...I managed to get a mixer that would have cost me over $400 for just a little over $200! Yay Me! I would call that a bargain!

I hope you have a wonderful, warm and pleasant evening! I have spaghetti on the stove and a family waiting!
God Bless, Mama D